Australasian Dirt Bike — January 2018

110 | JANUARY 2018 http://www.adbmag.com.au

Circuit,whereastheyusedastock
clutch cover and a carbon ignition
cover. And, of course, they used KYB
suspension instead of the Showa
suspension that I’ve used. Aside from
those, everything is the same.”
The detail on the Yamaha is
impressive although, unlike his
Splitfire, Matt maintains that this bike
is built to use. “I’ve built this bike
around something that is fun and
really awesome to ride,” says Matt. “I
wanted something that rides really
well and is practical. It’s a hard task to
keep to the line of building a trick
bike, but still being able to ride it.”
Some people might look at a 17-year-
old bike and assume that it can’t be as
much fun to ride as a new one. But Matt
says the main let-down with old bikes
is the suspension. “Once I put the
factory suspension in this bike, it
brought it six or seven years forward,”
he explains. “The suspension absolutely
transforms the bike.”
So what is it like to ride? “It is so

much fun; just ridiculous amounts of

fun. I don’t think that there is a person

in the world that could jump on a

YZ125 and come back without a smile.”

Matt agrees that the fun is missing

from dirtbike riding these days. “I

think that racing is dying out in

Australia and I think there are a lot of

guys that just want to jump on a bike

and have a grouse time. And that’s

why we all ride, to have a great time.”

The culture that we’ve created in the

dirtbike world dictates that new is

better, but Matt says that this bike is

proof that it’s not. “There is nothing

better than passing guys on new bikes,

riding a 17-year-old 125. The rider is

the main factor when it comes to riding

and this bike represents that. You can

have an old bike and still have a really

good time.”

As a spectator, how do you think we

make racing fun again? “The industry

needs some fresh air,” says Matt. “It

needs new thinking and it needs to be

more affordable. And most

I don’t think that there is a person in

the world that could jump on a YZ125

and come back without a smile

importantly, it needs to bring the fun

back into it.”

To make racing fun and affordable,

Matt says we need more two-strokes.

When you look at the Lites class of

today, 250cc four-strokes are more

expensive, more dangerous and more

focussed on horsepower. The 125cc

two-stroke used to be the Lites class

and Matt thinks the racing was more

exciting because the bikes needed

more technique to ride.

The old-school fun seems to be

fading from dirtbike racing these

days. Modern technology is

overwhelming and expensive, and

racing isn’t nearly as exciting as it

was. Sometimes I feel that the only

reason we ride these days is so we

can get an epic photo or video and

post it to social media (Matt’s

Instagram handle is @lips395, in case

you’re wondering). But when I look at

the Yamaha of Troy YZ125 and

imagine myself tearing around a

motocross track, I remember why we

all ride, for the pure joy of it. Let’s not

forget that.

Got something to say about this yarn?

[email protected]

More images and info at adbmag.com.au

Matt and his long-suffering father

Showa A-Kit suspension came out in 2000

Pro Circuit pipe is a thing of beauty

Yamaha of Troy used a
carbon-fibre ignition cover,
Matt went with magnesium

REPLICA RACER I 2000 YAMAHA OF TROY YZ125