INSIDE CHASE SEXTON’S FACTORY GEICO HONDA CRF250R

Taking a step back to appreciate the factory bikes is something we do each weekend while shooting our story. The intricate details that the team and mechanics put in during the week to make this bike run at max performance on Saturday is extremely impressive. We sat down with Jade Dungey of Geico Honda to walk through Chase Sexton’s Factory steed.

Starting at the front of the bike you will find HRC clamps that the team purchases. Chase is in a standard position on the bar mounts. Bar position is something Chase is very picky about as well as his ARC levers. The Pro Taper bar is a Suzuki standard bar bend and not cut. Chase like the races of the steering to be fairly loose. The stem is standard and the locking aluminum nut has holes in it for wire fastening for added insurance.

Factory hubs are supplied to the team with beefed up spokes and nipples for added durability.

Chase is running a titanium axle up front. The team has several options to run but the light titanium is what was chosen. An interesting note about the fork lugs on the Geico bikes is that Dan Betley (team manager) outsourced this component so the KYB and Showa forks became more universal in fitment. The Caliper hangar is all the same and makes it easier for parts on hand in the truck.

A 260mm Moto Stuff front rotor with pads is added to the CRF250R

A close look at the Factory Caliper that is provided to the team by Honda. The actual size is the same as production but the entire piece is made out of billet. The trick carbon guard is given to the team by Asterisk.

Bob at ARC makes the start devices for the team. It is in a pretty neutral setting. Everyone is already in a deeper setting with the addition of metal grates on the start.

All of the suspension is taken care of in house with JT and Mitch. If there is a new setting that the 450 team learns about that knowledge will trickle down to the 250 team and can be used for their riders. There is a lot of data availability for the team.

Beyond the protective covers on Chase’s bike you will find a factory HRC master cylinder attached to the handlebars.

ARC levers are added to Chase’s bike. Chase likes the brake lever very close to the handlebar as a feel preference. The levers on both sides of the handlebars also have been shortened a bit to keep away from a tough block or debris hitting the ends. Chase has been with grip donuts for a long time and just prefers to have them with his 1/3 waffle grip. The throttle tube is billet and made to the teams specifications.

The head technical director makes all harnesses for the team. This year he made a separate start/kill switch and map switch. Jade explained that the technical director creates harnesses that clean up the electronics and allow for more efficiency to the team.

The radiators are outsourced by Kibby at Geico Honda. They are over sized more to maintain a particular operating temperature throughout the entire moto than anything else. The team keeps these on for both Supercross and Outdoors. Twin Air supplies covers to block debris from getting in.

The titanium tank is from Factory Honda. They supply them to the team and have a unique configuration. For Supercross the team doesn’t have to fill it to the top. This tank holds a few more liters than stock and helps when it becomes outdoor season in several months. Renegade provides a high performance fuel to the team that Kibby has worked with them on.

Ken Roczen actually inspired the team to have a back up starter. Ken Roczen had a start button problem at Monster Cup and had to use the 2nd button. A lot of teams like Geico Honda have installed a 2nd button to ensure their rider can get going again. A privateer in Atlanta actually got sand stuck in his start button (Honda OEM design has a small pocket that sand can get trapped in ) causing him issues. For that very reason Geico Honda takes the extra precautions and has back up.

There is actually an ’18 and a ’19 skid plate. Because the team has so many extra ’18 skid plates they are using those until inventory runs out. There is no benefit to the team to run the ’18 skid plate over ’19 other than saving money.

Kibby is the main engine guy at Geico Honda in house. Mick and Gill do all the race engines, Pedro also helps with amateurs as well as pro engines. The entire team works together to find the best packages for their riders to compete with. Derrick Dwyer does the cerakote for the team. Derrick is actually a mechanic for Geico Honda and on his down time plays with color combinations in the cerakote to give the team that factory look. Cerakote is also a great way to cool down operating temperatures and add protection from debris.

The water pump cover and oil filter cover are akodized while the rest of the motor is cerakote. Factory Honda supplies a titanium tip on the brake pedal. This tip already has a pre made hole for the brake snake to attach to. The brake snake protects from damage to the engine and brake pedal during racing.

There is added protection around the oil view glass window more for outdoors. There is actually silicone protecting the glass from being shattered by a rock or other debris.

All team members are on a very similar set up as fasr as the Hinson clutch goes. The team has a host of parts available to them if need be. The factory brake pedal is actually a smidge raised up for Chase in Supercross. Wiseco supplies the pistons and Amsoil handles all the lubricants for the motorcycle.

The engine hangars are very similar to the OEM hangars except for the drilled out hole in the center. This will change the flex characteristics of the motorcycle. Surprisingly the riders have commented that this little changes makes a huge difference. The riders have 2 options to choose from and this option shown here is used by most of the team riders this year.

The footpegs are supplied by HRC. They have several options to choose from. Chase is running a peg mounted a little further back in position compared to OEM. The pins and springs are OEM. The entire footpeg and footpeg mount are made from one large block of titanium.

Yoshimura supplies the brake clevace. The spring is an OEM brake pedal spring.

A fun story Jade told us was when he started these Factory master cylinders were hard to get. Jade took a bunch at the shop he found and vapor blasted them to clean them up. Those are now on the race bikes currently. The site glass is removed and actually that is what makes this a factory master cylinder.

The swingarm pivot is titanium and the nut is aluminum to save some weight.

Factory Honda makes this carbon piece helps move the starter relay out of the way. The current shock configuration they are using requires for the relay to be moved so it isn’t damaged. An Eliiy battery is used along with Twin Air air filters.

The brake lines along with the rest of the braking components are OEM. The tabs are removed on the bottom for the brake guard but beyond that you will find this exact system on a 2019 Honda CRF250R.

A closer look at the Factory Connection built KYB rear shock for Chase Sexton with a steel spring and coating. On the actual shock body they have high speed/low speed compression and rebound available for adjustment. The mechanic has it all right in front of them so they can quickly make changes on the fly. Below is a look at those available adjustments.

The Factory connection link comes from in house. The team does test different variations of this link. Most of the stuff the team is running can be found on the website and purchased for a Honda owner. The team likes to race on what they sell.

Kibby had the blocks out sourced and they are billet. The design actually helps keep the chain tensor bolt from having to be so far out on the threads. You will also notice that the rear wheel position is pretty far back. Most of the Geico team prefers to have their rear wheel further back to help with stability. The rear axle is also titanium and made to their spec.

A spec Dunlop rear tire is mounted to a DID Dirt STAR LTX rim and oversized spokes/nipples. Chase does run the same tires for the most part each weekend.

Pro Taper sprockets and a DID chain are used on Chase Sexton’s Honda.The sprocket combination doesn’t change that much throughout the season. (13/51)

Yoshimura supplies the exhaust to the team. Kibby works with Yoshimura to tailor the exhaust to the engine package. Jade explained that Yoshimura has hit a home run with the package and have made it very easy to pass sound testing as well as put power to the ground.

All of the chain guides are OE, the bottom piece actually does have a factory component to it. The aluminum part doesn’t have a hole in it. This keeps from rocks and debris getting caught in there during racing.

CMI supplies the shift lever that is built to the teams specifications. The team did used to have titanium but the cost was high and CMI came up with this billet piece for them to use instead. Yoshimura makes the ignition cover plugs. The case saver has been outsourced and made for the team.

Something that caught our eye was the breather hose. Most teams run a rubber hose but this is more from the automotive industry. This has a hard casing so it can’t pinch. The bottom part has an added rubber wrap around it so it doesn’t fray. Jade explained this material is much better than your typical rubber housing you see on other bikes.

A lightweight foam is used under the D’Cor seat cover. Everyone is on the same 6 rip seat cover. D’Cor supplies all the graphics and has worked with the team on material thicknesses to save weight.

The ’02 Sensor or Bung is for data acquisition. This supplies the team with information on how the engine is running.

These pieces here are for the team’s data acquisition system. Vortex supplies the ignitions to the team and work with the team to create maps that are specific to the motorcycle. This helps gather information on the motorcycle and also give the rider the best motorcycle possible on race day. Jade explained that the team has really fine tuned their data program.