LA SLEEVE SUZUKI RM125 PROJECT: TWO-STROKE TUESDAY

On this week’s Two-Stroke Tuesday brought to you by Decal Works we take a look back at our LA Sleeve Suzuki RM125 project. For this project we worked with a bunch of industry leading companies like FMF, Acerbis, ODI, Boyesen, Pivot Works, Backyard Designs and of course LA Sleeve. See the first MX  Shootout ever published in Dirt Bike Magazine in our 2-Stroke History section and don’t miss the exclusive link to our YZ300 project at the bottom of this post.

Everything on this 2001 RM125 was either replaced, rebuilt or refinished. The frame, swingarm and subframe was coated by Chris Johnson’s crew at San Diego Powder Coating.  The frame has metal flakes that sparkle in the sunlight.

We added some Boyesen bolt-on performance parts and an FMF exhaust system with a shorty silencer for the crisp sound.

The stock chain guide was hammered from years of abuse so we replaced it with a bright yellow unit from Acerbis.

A full floating Galfer oversized front rotor kit and steel braided brake lines added some welcome stopping power. The master cylinder and calipers were rebuilt using kits from All Balls.

LA Sleeve did the internal engine work cleaning up the cylinder, replacing the top-end and the clutch with kits from Pro-X.

 

The side panels were trimmed to give the bike a more aggressive look and we went with a two-toned color scheme matching the frame and swingarm . Jeff at SDG made us a custom seat to complement the one-off matte graphics from Backyard Designs.

2-STROKE HISTORY

In June of 1971, the first issue of Dirt Bike Magazine appeared on newsstands. Within it  was the first modern motocross shootout. The Husqvarna 250 Cross, Maico 250 K5 and CZ 250 were the subjects of the test. Here is the test as it was presented in 1971. CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE ORIGINAL COMPLETE TEST!

2-STROKE BEHIND THE BUILD

We started out with our test mule that had 50-plus hard hours on it. Anthony and the crew at Wrench 42 Motorsports did all the manual labor on this project. For once we got to sit back and sip a cold drink while we watched others sweat. With the bike seeing some heavy usage, Wrench 42 Motorsports decided it needed a complete tear-down and rebuild. CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW FOR THE FULL STORY!