106 | JANUARY 2018 http://www.adbmag.com.auS
omething isn’t quite right with
the dirtbike industry. Can you
see it too? It’s not immediately
obvious, but have a good look
around and you can see the
signs. We’ve become too professional,
too reliant on technology and too
concerned about image. What
happened to the good ole days?
Remember the Nineties and the
early Noughties? Man, they were good
days. I was only a kid but I can still
picture myself watching the Crusty
movies in awe, or seeing McGrath and
Reedy throwing tricks over supercross
finish lines. I can remember the
colour, crazy hairdos, punk rock and
two-strokes. And I can remember
riding for the pure fun of it.
That’s the problem with the modern
era; we’ve forgotten why we ride
dirtbikes. We ride because it’s fun.That’s why the two-stroke class at
Straight Rhythm with Reedy,
Villopoto and Ronnie Mac drew so
much attention. Not only was it cool
to see the old school two-strokes in
action, but also the banter between
the riders was hilarious. It didn’t
matter who won, or who looked like
what. It was dirtbike racing purely for
the fun of it.
And that is why Matt has built his
2000 Yamaha of Troy YZ125; to bring
the fun back into riding.
You might remember Matt from the
Kawasaki KX250 Splitfire story in
March (ADB #450). The Splitfire is
still a work in progress, complete with
factory parts that can’t be bought off
the shelf. Matt built that bike as an
exact replica and has gone to so much
trouble that he doesn’t even want to
ride the thing when it’s done.Legend of
WHEN YOU’VE GOT A FACTORY RACE
REPLICA, WHAT DO YOU ACTUALLY RIDE?
REPLICA RACER I 2000 YAMAHA OF TROY YZ125
WORDS // DYLAN RUDDY PHOTOS // BEN GALLI