Thomas must have really flexible ankles, because the rear brake pedal and shifter run low and take a reach to make things happen. Since he rides sitting down more than normal, these positions make sense. Also, the triple clamp offset is a tight 20mm, down 4mm from stock, and it makes the bike extremely light-steering. In fact, it got downright shaky when I'd come into a turn hot, surprised again by the rear brake pedal position, then go for a hefty tug on the incredibly strong front binder. With all that weight on the front, I wouldn't mind my front wheel a little bit farther in front of me. But due to the bike's power, the Subway CRF tended to be a rear-wheel turner because the front wasn't on the ground much anyway. -Jimmy Lewis
Team Sponsors and Bike Modifications
Subway
Coca-Cola
Honda
Ride Engineering braided-steel brake lines
Engine Ice coolant
ARC levers and clutch perch
Plasticwerks vented front number plate
UFO plastic
Michelin tires
50/50 MX103 Shell 96 fuel
Vortex front 13T and rear 50T sprocketsWiseco high-compression piston kitBraking front and rear oversize Wave rotor and front and rear brake padsMB1 suspension
Carbon-fiber works motor, skid plate and frame guards
Pro Circuit modified motor and T4 exhaust
Hot Cams Stage 2 cam
Hinson clutch basket
JP ignition
Griffin 1.7 radiator cap
ProTaper 20mm-offset clamps, Henry/Reed-bend bar and half-waffle grips
Subframe cut down 6mm
Seat shaved for lower seat height
IMS tall footpegs
Ready Filter air filter
One Industries graphics
Pro Wheels race rims
Pro Honda oils and chemicals
VPE clutch stabilizer
Ryan Morais'
WBR Suzuki RM-Z25O
If there's a formula to building a 250cc four-stroke racebike, then it's a secret recipe, and everyone has a different list of ingredients. Mostly based on rider preference, it is designed to get the right kind of delivery and power to run National motocross speeds. The WBR Suzuki has some pretty serious bark and a controllable delivery, so Morais can hold the throttle wide open and let the motor do the pulling. He likes a very new-school clutch setup, meaning high but regular front brake positioning. His bar is a little on the low side as well.
As with all the smaller thumpers, the idle was set high, but this bike has a slightly cammy nature to the low, low rpm, granted in an area the racebike would never be ridden. But as soon as the throttle is cracked it livens up and starts pulling. Its snap will lift up the front end and bring the bike to attention, but the Suzuki isn't really as potent as possible with small or medium throttle openings. It likes to be whacked wide open. It responds instantly with a big snap, but the motor builds rpm more slowly than most full-race motors. It gets good traction on even the slickest of turns and makes really good use of all the gears. Its power delivery is pretty similar to the stock bike's curve, but boosted in amplitude quite a bit and revved out slightly further. Oh, that snap on the bottom is about double!
One interesting thing is its slipper clutch. It dramatically reduces compression braking, allowing me to bang an extra downshift going into turns. In fact, I could even do it earlier than normal and then hit the throttle hard on the exit in the lower gear without using the clutch.
The WBR RM-Z doesn't feel cramped, even with a low bar setup. Being more portly than these half-sized men racing the small-bore class, I crushed the rear suspension, so I'm not the choice evaluator for this component. But I can say I could ride it faster than stock because the setup has so much control on the stroke, especially in the mid and during bottoming, that it actually worked for me on bumps and jumps. I suffered in cornering because I couldn't get the front turned in; no fault of the bike, as I was most likely pushing near 120mm of sag on the poor kid's machine. -Jimmy Lewis