Racer X Illustrated — October 2017

48 http://www.racerxonline.com

B

ack when I was racing full-

time, I didn’t think too much

about the specifics of building

my bikes. I was lucky enough

to have great mechanics throughout

my career, and they all took great care

of my machines. I guess I wasn’t inter-

ested in learning how the sausage was

made, just as long as I got to enjoy the

final product. But since I’ve transitioned

into more of a weekend warrior and fan/

pundit of the sport, I’ve really come to

enjoy the process of building bikes. If

you’ve followed this publication for any

length of time, you’ve likely seen the

Garage Build projects we feature near

the back of the magazine and on Racer

X Online. Some of those get built with

the help of our West Coast staff and

some industry friends, but many of

them are my ideas and visions. Hon-

estly, it’s become a passion of mine to

build the coolest project bikes possible.

Race bikes are works of art. From

the titanium nuts and bolts to the ri-

diculously expensive suspension

components to electronics that rival

a passenger airplane, building a fac-

tory race bike isn’t a reality for any-

body who doesn’t work for one of the

race teams. A couple of my race bikes

stand out from my career that I wish I

could have back. My Pro Circuit bike

in 1996 was amazing. For the Anaheim

round that year, Mitch wanted to do

something special, so he called his

buddy Troy Lee. Troy, known for his

wild ideas and his girlish giggle, de-

cided to paint all the plastic chrome

for one round. The chrome paint

looked incredible—just as long as you

didn’t crash or bend the plastic too far.

I crashed twice that race (once quite

dramatically) and destroyed the bike

by the end of the main. Another really

cool bike was the 1998 FMF Honda I

raced at the Glen Helen season open-

er for the Nationals. It was the anni-

versary of the Honda Elsinore, and the

FMF guys designed a retro look for the

bike and our gear that was crazy. The

pipe was even painted red!

Factory bikes might be out of the

question, but we can still get pretty

dang close thanks to some industry

experts who spent years building fac-

tory race bikes. I love starting with a

look or a particular bike from the past

to add some personality to the project.

I was always a fan of Damon Brad-

shaw, and last year I built a YZ125 that

looked like a modern version of his

race bike from 1989. That is still one of

my favorite builds. The 2017 CRF450R

I built this year was also really fun. I

helped Pro Circuit develop a good

customer suspension setting (dialing it

in for myself in the process), and Rob

Healy at N-Style went above and be-

yond to make it look great. I love work-

ing closely with the folks at N-Style

and DeCal Works to create looks that

are unique and eye-catching.

While riding is still the end game

for most of us, I think most folks

would agree that there is something

therapeutic about working on your

machine out in the garage. No job, no

family nagging you, just you and your

machine and the sweet, sweet smell

of Maxima contact cleaner and VP

Racing fuel making you forget all your

worries and stress—and really any-

thing else, for that matter. That stuff is

hard on the brain cells.

ELECTRONIC PING

BY DAVID PINGREE @DAVIDPINGREE

I think most folks

would agree that

there is some-

thing therapeutic

about working

on your machine

out in the garage.

KYLE SCOTT