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Five Questions with Australian FMX athlete Kain Saul
Five Questions with Australian FMX athlete Kain Saul
by Jerry Bernardo
JB: You were the first lunatic to ever backflip a Harley Davidson. Tell us when, where and fill us in on the bike itself.
KS: It would have been 2009 when I heard that my mate Gav Walker was looking for someone to backflip one of his Harley Davidson’s. As I was kind of young at the time I called him straight away and told him to lock me in.
I had never ridden a Harley before but being young and thinking I was invincible I was up for the challenge. Thinking we would have months before even attempting this was also the problem. Gav called me two weeks later and told me that I needed to fly down to Melbourne and get this done this weekend as an American rider was claiming they were also going to try it. I got on a flight the next morning and flew to Melbourne and caught up with all the boys.
That night I thought: “Fuck it, why not have heaps of beers with my good mates as this might be my last night‑‑and yes‑‑many beers were had. The next morning, we headed to Cam Sinclair’s compound. It was getting real now and to tell you the absolute truth, I was shitting myself. I had my first look at this Harley Davidson 1200 Sportster and I thought: “Fuck!” I rode it around the paddock for about 20 minutes before I lined the pit up for my first jump into it. We had a rule that you weren’t allowed to waste jumps into the pit which means no straight jumps
I did a few run-ins as the power delivery was nothing like I’ve ever felt.
My first jump into the pit I nearly missed it, landing at the very end of it against the wire fence. Second jump I was all in and thought let’s see if this thing will spin. I pulled harder than any flip before and the thing came around perfect. That was a massive weight off my shoulders. I think I than did another five or six clean ones into to the pit. After that we dragged the ramp over to the dirt down ramp and set it up at the same distance. I was all in and there was no fucking around, so I flipped it to dirt. Super kicker, 40’ foot, clean as you like!
JB: It looked so sweet and smooth when you nailed it. Explain how gnarly it got when you didn't stick the landings.
KS. The first one I ever did was the smoothest landing. Soon after the Crusty Demons tour with 10 stops came in 2010. This time we went to Jacko Strong’s compound to get some practice in. The swingarm had been changed over and the bike just wouldn’t spin like it did the first time.
I think I landed on my head three times with a 270 kilo Harley sitting there sizzling away at the foam in the pit. We worked out the swingarm had been changed to the longer swingarm that Seth Enslow was using for the distance jumping. We busted out a quick change-over and we were back to rotating them around. The second one I did was at the Gosford Crusty show to a portable landing. I came in a little too hot and just caught the last bit of the down ramp. Somehow, I rode out of it. My landing was so hard, it snapped the rear shock bolts off and I hit my ass so bad it sent tingles all the way from my tailbone to my neck. I couldn’t move so just rolled to the end of the football field where I came to a stop. Everyone came running up to me slapping me on the back congratulating me. I just screamed: “Don’t fucking touch me! My backs fucked!” I went straight to the hospital but still made it to the after party
The third time was smooth, but I hit my ass on the seat and got the gnarly tingles from my tailbone up to my neck again. I came up short at Melbourne and cracked my ankle bone. I had a heavy landing at Bundaberg and fell straight off the back of the bike. The bike kept going and went straight into the crowd, luckily no one was hurt. By this time my body was flogged but I didn’t want to miss out on any stops or any money. Somehow, I finished off the tour.
JB: Things like this always are based on 'risk versus reward'. Did they treat you and your wallet right, or did the promoter need to buy his missus some new curtains and whittle your pay down to a nub?
KS: Like I said, I was young and thinking I was invincible so I would have done that shit for free if there was a massive crowd watching me.
In saying that I was happy with the amount of money I was getting for each show plus it really helped me buy my first house with plenty of renovation money to spare. After all those crashes, injuries, and the amount of pain I’m in today from some of the Harley stuff, I still wouldn’t change a thing. Being the first person to backflip a Harley Davidson and only one to do it successfully to this day is an achievement.
JB: You broke the mould with a unique stunt on a massive machine. You haven't seen anyone else replicate, or even want to do it moving forward, have you?
KS: It’s already been done, on a HD 1200 Sportster anyway. We did try flipping a Harley Davidson Road King a few times into the pit, that’s another story. If it did happen again, it would be on a Road King. People would want to see that.
JB: As one of the original OG's of Australian freestyle, you continue to make a living riding today for Airtime FMX. How many weeks a year are you away from home doing shows?
KS: Last year was probably one of Airtime FMX’s busiest years yet. I think we had around 110 days of shows plus you have all the travel days. We are away a lot but luckily, we can fly in and fly out to a lot of events. I get plenty of time at home to see my little black dog Griff. I just had my 40th birthday in October last year and my body is proper flogged, but I’m going to see how many more years I can get out of it. Plus, I still really enjoy doing this for a living.
