behind the build

The 1995 Honda CR250R is the ultimate Revo Racer
Read More...

Kawasaki didn’t try to overthink the KX250X. It’s basically a motocross bike with off-road suspension. In the case of a 250 four-stroke, that’s good; it already has a smooth power delivery that works off-road. Still, there are some things…
Read More...

Working on “project bikes,” as they’re commonly called, never gets old. Some projects start with new bikes and some are Craigslist finds, but this bike has a unique story behind it. Kevin Bailey from Race Winning Brands takes us through…
Read More...

It was probably the dumbest idea that ever came out of an editorial meeting. These meetings are already known to generate cases of mass stupidity, as editors, staff members and test riders get together to discuss future issues of Dirt Bike,…
Read More...

There are two kinds of riders in the world: those who love the Suzuki RM 125 two-stroke and those who haven't ridden one. The little RM is sweet and easy to ride, but  getting kinda old. Suzuki stopped making the RM125 back in 2007. …
Read More...

When it comes to 500cc two-stroke projects, they usually go one of two directions: the first is a complete restoration of the stock steel-framed chassis, or the second is taking the two-stroke powerplant and fabricating it into a…
Read More...

The 2003 Kawasaki KX125 was good, not great. Here's what great looks like
Read More...

We will be the first to admit that sometimes we get carried away with our two-stroke rebuilds. It’s so easy to do. With this 1996 Kawasaki KX250, our main goal was to find an off-road bike that the average person could afford to not only…
Read More...

KTM is one of the manufacturers still pushing two-stroke motorcycle technology advancement in the industry today, but unfortunately the largest displacement is 300cc. Johnny Weisman and his crew at the Ride Shop AZ decided to combine…
Read More...

During a bench racing session the phrase was muttered, “We should race the 3 Brothers 24-Hour endurance race at Glen Helen this year.” With that one sentence, Josh Trimble, Randy Garrett, Josh Dalton, Joey Martin and Dan Dreier’s lives…
Read More...

A father and son wrenching on motorcycles in the garage is something special. Johnny Jump now works at ODI Grips and has been in the motorcycle industry in one way or another for most of his adult life, so building a dirt bike was nothing…
Read More...

The late ’90s to mid-2000s Suzuki RM250 two-strokes might just be the best used motorcycles out there. They feature a strong engine and a great handling package that makes the bikes fun to ride. This is probably why we don’t come across…
Read More...

The 200cc KTM has a very devoted cult-like following, and the fact that KTM stopped production of this model back in 2016 just fuels the fire of desire for some. Lendon Smith and Robert Lightfeldt, owners of Seat Concepts in Idaho, are two…
Read More...

TM is a small motorcycle manufacturer located in a small town in the Italian countryside. TM makes a limited number of hand-built, very specialized machines each year and is perfectly content doing so. The largest-bore two-stroke TM has…
Read More...

We started our trail build with the last 300XC model to come equipped with a carburetor: the 2019 KTM 300XC. This machine was fairly well-received by the carbureted community as a whole but did have some issues. One major issue was the…
Read More...

Building a YZ250 for Mike Brown
Read More...

The Yamaha YZ125 is the perfect project bike because there are thousands available and parts are easy to find
Read More...

The Honda CR250R has got to be one of the most popular early-to-mid-2000s two-stroke machines to rebuild in history. One reason is that Honda sold a ton, and the other reason is the bikes all seem to be aging very well. We found what looked…
Read More...

There have been plenty of 500cc two-strokes from Husqvarna throughout dirt bike history. But, since the brand’s rebirth a few years back, it has shied away from two-strokes above 300cc. We teamed up with former factory Kawasaki race team…
Read More...

We make a Honda Dual-Sport CRF450L with greater off-road capabilities with IMS
Read More...