Long Haul: 2006 Honda CR144R #1

"You picked a 125 for a long haul bike? Are you out of your mind?"

For some reason, I have been hearing that question a lot lately. Yes, I did choose the CR125R to ride for the whole year and no, according to my therapist I am not out of my mind anymore. Of course, the question does have some meat to it, since two-strokes are losing the war to the thumpers, and the 125 is at a bigger disadvantage on the track than a squirrel playing red rover with a semi truck. But have you ridden a 125 lately? They are a blast! Light, snappy and totally underpowered, motoing on a peashooter is great practice, since the lack of torque forces you to carry momentum and take smarter lines. For me, there is no better way to work on speed and aggression than by winding out a little motor. Ever hopped on a 250F after riding a 125? If not, go try it...you'll see what I mean about good practice.

These benefits of the 125—combined with the AMA's new rule allowing 144cc machines—have led me to try to build a solid, race legal "cheater" two-stroke. Throughout the next year, I am planning on piecing together the bike in the most basic yet competitive combination of mods, starting with a 144cc kit from LSE. With a little luck, I can figure out what it takes to make the 144 the best bike it can be, and hopefully we will beat a few four strokes in the process. Actually, make that a lot of luck.

So how does this sucker run? Well, it's not spanking all the thumpers by any means, but it definitely rips. The 144 kit adds much more power to the bike, but it does alter the engine characteristics, from the slower revs to moving the meat of the ponies down the powerband. Since the motor was done, I have added an FMF Fatty pipe—which has broadened the power and added some more up top—but makes for a really noisy little bike. At present, I have raced the CR several times against a gate full of four-strokes, and have actually holeshot a few motos! For sure the little bike will hold its own, although it definitely has to work for it. The biggest downfall so far has been running completely out of gas at a local GP, where I burned a full tank in about 43 minutes. Is an offroad tank in this bike's future? Don't laugh, it may be! Ironically, the only thing to break so far has been the hour meter, which was zapped after 7 hours. I have a few things in mind for the 144, but for now I plan to continue to put time on the bike, push the durability and try to figure out how to get in front of those dang four-strokes!