The HARSH Reality of Working on James Stewart's KX125...
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- Опубликовано: 24 ноя 2024
- Randy Lawrence has had one of the most remarkable careers in two wheels I have ever come across. He was an OG of the BMX scene in Southern California and the brother of "Factory" Phil Lawrence. He found his way into a roll as a mechanic and wound up working with "The King" Jeremy McGrath before retiring to race the Downhill World Cup for Intense. He then came back into moto to work as a trainer and carved out an amazing career for himself training guys like Jake Weimer and Ryan Villopoto.
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Gotta stop comparing Jett to bubba.
Agreed. James invented the scrub
@@okaydudeshe in no way invented it, he did however take it to another level!
Reason I don’t watch 90% of his content anymore. Everything turns to “oh but Jett” “Jett can do it” “I recon Jett”
@@hung8969 who do you want him to compare people to? Ofc hes gonna compare people to the best at the moment.
It's a pretty good comp, really. He's been just as dominant and he rides differently than everyone else on the track. Yeah he's not just sending it like stew was but he's doing the same thing to the sport.
To have this actually said and put out there is great! Small bore 2 strokes ridden full potential are constant rebuilds, but to hear how much a full on factory 125 got “trashed” and went through… I’d love to have the other teams/mechanics come out with this about the top guys and 125 specialists like Brown or Lamson…
^^^what this guy said!!!
From what has been said and written, Mark Barnett created a wasteland of RM125's in Indiana. Lol. I hill climb the 125 as a hobby. I do a top end every season just to ensure I don't seize and destroy my very old body. Stewart and, others absolutley destroyed suspensions and clutches but the transmission and top end would last so an amateur could run 50 hours on the top end easy.
J-Bone said essentially the same thing when interviewed during the final "125" at Glen Helen in 2004...saying that the 250F was so much less work for them at race weekend compared to the 125 KX.
@@scottpeters8640 that’s a full known fact all around about the 250f vs 125. Was always that way once they got the Hot Starting figured out. Easier to ride fast for the rider. Easier to keep going for mechanics, until rebuild time obviously. The modern high performance 4 stroke is a better Motocross bike, 99% of riders are faster on it.
@@barthur2645 I knew this 20+ years ago, as I was an early adapter and raced the 2001 and then 2003 YZ 250F and holeshot half my motos and could ride much longer without getting tired, so a professional could really use those traits to their advantages.
As a first-year pro in AMA flat track (way back in the day) I was riding a Suzuki 250 twin 2-stroke - so, 2 125cc cylinders - in a dirt track frame. The piston rings on the 2-ring pistons were less than 1mm thick and I had to replace them every race (about 15~20 race miles) or it would lose power. Changed the pistons (Wiseco) every 2nd race. No brakes, compression releases only and 2 unmuffled chambers on the right side!
RL is a legend. Great interview.
miss this era alot..the racing wasnt always good but the nostalgia is def there!
Same with Travis’s RM125s. Travis is a big dude and he would go through bikes just as much. You could hear his bikes were not good after a moto riding back to the pits.
I once did the top end on my KX500. Biggest waste of money ever. After years of riding it it still looked primo inside. Put new piston and rings anyways since I had already bought them.
Never been ridden properly thats why!
Now that's what you call " Built Different".Reinventing the game eight seconds a lap faster than the competition. Not too sure we're going to see that again.
Gypsy Jett Tales...
He try’s so hard to compare Jett to bubba.
@DaqwanLamarJenkins 🤣🤣🤣 kid hasn’t even won a sx yet and you’re already on his nuts. Jett is good but don’t compare apples and oranges
@DaqwanLamarJenkinslol ok.
@@Thatkidswift You were saying?
@@smokecheckmaster5896 still can’t compare him to bubba. I like Jett, but let him get going before comparing him to anyone
@@Thatkidswift I think people are just looking at it as they're comparing full careers instead of current time comparison. On paper, they both have 2 Lites/250 titles outdoors and sx. They both have 1 MX title and Jett is on track to match him at 1 SX title. The comparison is it took Jett 3 to 4 years (Assuming SX title) to accomplish what took Stew 7 years to accomplish if you stopped at his last title in 2009. Hard to argue with the comparison when the numbers match 3-4 years in. Hard to say who was truly faster, Jett rides way different than Stew did but guys like ET3 or Kenny outdoors who ride similar to Stew did, Gnarly and gritty also look like they're having the ride of their life while Jett looks like he's on a daily stroll and leaving them in the dirt. You just can't compare them in any way aside from on paper and on paper you absolutely can. Nobody remembers you for how many moto's you won or how good you looked doing it, everyone remembers you for how many titles you won and starting off with an undefeated 450 title was pretty dam good, if he stays healthy there no possible way anyone can say its not realistic to think he can beat some serious records.
@Gypsy: NEVER COMPARE STEWY TO JETT
Both couldn't hold a candle to RC so fuggit lol
To prove your point, count Ricky’s plates, end of debate.
@@RubelessAnd then compare that to showtime hahaha
What am I comparing? Mac has one more supercross title over RC. Mac has one, I repeat, one outdoor title which he barely beat out emig. Motocross titles show who put in the work and Jeremy will admit even for his SX titles he didn’t have to put in work due to lack of competition. Ricky is by far the superior rider. Unless you are just a fan of supercross, which most spectators are. Those of us that race know MX is the real deal.
@@Rubeless I was just trying to get under your skin and it worked. You’re right I only watch supercross and have never ridden a dirtbike 😂
Hey Randy! Nice to meet you at Killington!!!
I rebuilt my top end every 5 hours of riding to keep compression levels super high on my old RM125 back 25 years ago. Helps when you have steep jumps.
Would be nice to hear how they modified James's 125 engine/bike in full technical detail for 2 stroke enthusiasts. That thing looked like it ran like a 250
Once he got it wound out I’m sure it made just as much or more power than a 250
@@Yz4Life uhhh no
@@Yz4Life a 2005 kx 250 says 54hp stock.When I raced shifter karts you spent a billion dollars to get a 125 to 43hp.
@@AAAskeet not sure if you know this or not but a kx250 did not come anywhere close to 54hp. Lol. The way these guys tuned there engines it is more than possible to get 50hp out of a 125cc motor I’m not sure where you get your info from but don’t even reply to this comment until you go do some research and get your facts straight. Good day to you.
@@Yz4Life I'm a man,I'll admit wher I'm wrong.I'm getting mixed numbers where ever I search.I'll agree collectively more like 45hp ish stock but no way a built 125 is putting out more than that in my experience.I'm not a motor tuner guy for sure but I've owned/rode/raced a lot of dirt bikes over the last 50 years.
There will never be another stew he was truly fuckin special!!
Yes....Stew changed how the whole world rode bikes.
“That’s 69 for all those listening at home.” Jase - chicken dinner 👏🏽👏🏽✊🏽✊🏽!! Namaste Jase and Gypsy Tales crew. 🫶🏽
Gotta stop bringing up Jett in every conversation
Damn that must have been an experience. That sounds awesome. Preparing bikes for one of the best in the world
Cranks, crank bearings, crank seals, rod bearings, rings, are all critical on a 125. When I raced a 2005 KX250 in B Class it would be down on power after only a handful of hours. I didn’t need peak performance (and preferred it a tad less pipey), but I still replaced rings every 3-4 months, and a new piston every other ring job. Back then, if you scattered a piston a rebuild was very costly. Modern bikes go hundreds of amateur hours on a top end.
3:43
Hahaaa! Many have said, "If you want to be a good mechanic, get a kawi."
These are the stories I love.
A piston would last an hour and a crank would last 4.5 hours? That's wild.
Jett is still fresh with no real opposition yet,but james was pretty much in a battle every week .you can't compare let jett go through a couple of seasons of supercross.
You bring up jett a lot. With that being said this is a motocross podcast and Jett is the fastest best guy. I see a lot of comments harping on you for how much you bring up Jett but it’s like he’s the main guy in the spot light right now and has made history so it’s kinda a catch 22 to not bring him into it. Keep grabbing gears boys.
Yeah, but I have heard him say that he tries not talk about Eli. I wish I could remember the episode. But it’s understandable since he’s hella Australian, he’ll bend things a bit for his fellow aussies. He once said to Chad Reed’s face that he dethroned Ricky.. that (the dethroning part) never happened but… I get it.
James is a much better rider and got what he earned.
Curious to know how much compression james bikes have !
Cheers fella's for insight. Having that amount of support and number of new practice bikes is so lucky. Alot of rider's with talent could be helped to succeed. He was awesome rider still, don't get me wrong. 4strokes ruined the sport
Avagud1
@ 6:06, it wasn't Suzuki KTM combo, but suzuki kawasaki combo.
If one was not around during that time, it could be mistaken that way, incorrectly.
I get it, it's an interview with an icon in the industry.
I make incorrect statements also.
I desperately miss racing from 97 to 2009. I'll throw in those last few years of james and the upcoming takeover crew til 2014 but i miss the 2strokes so much. Jeremy and Emig, john dowd. I mean all of those guys and then it made me less awkward in my community when james popped up professionally! Being black and all. Lord, im almost 40 and this takes me back to being 16!
Really cool account. I dont believe that anyone needed, or now needs new brake pads per hr of use, but cool all the same.
You can’t compare to todays standards, the money , bikes and whole sport is entirely different now. Just looking at the riders back In james day, you can tell they were riders. Nowadays it just looks like these 450 guys are lugging around the track. It’s not fun to watch anymore, but imagine if james was young now and had the reasearch, bikes and training they have now as teens
Wow!! What a cool smart guy. Thanks
I raced against Bradshaw at Sugar Tree. yea. im old..
My best friend (76 CR and or Elsinore rider) showed me how to change the rings on my first bike (75 RM 125 with the low pipe I bought used in 78 with my paper route money.) That and oil changes is about as far as that all went. So many years later Motorcycle Mechanics are still the coolest dudes.
So where is James one and only 250F? Since it was the last race it’s a title bike so Kawasaki has it?
He needed new brake pads. Every time he rode the bike? Were they made out of butter?
That explains the depths of bubba’s style of racing… heading into a corner with so much speed, immediately hard on the breaks, religiously over and over every lap.
I can easily see this. A 125 race motor needs a top end every 20hrs minimum, That is a normal build not a pc 125 for James Stewart lol. One can only imagine how on the edge Mitch and the gang were running that bike, It hit the leap after all.
Stewart didn’t ride a PC bike. His KX 125’s were legit Factory Kawasaki 125’s to fit the 125 class rules on suspension and other things.
@@barthur2645 it doesn't mater who built it man. things gonna be about ready to blow up regardless
@@barthur2645 id bet a pc 125 is better then his bike
@@TommyToboggan611 go look at my posted comet to the video… 125’s are high maintenance bikes when ridden to their full potential by anyone.
As for the PC bike being better, James made it clear when he was going pro; it was Factory Kawasaki team or nothing… he didn’t want to ride for Pro Circuit or their bikes. All the teams goals are to get factory support and parts for the engine and when it comes to Premier class (250/450 depending the era) suspension because it’s that much better.
my comment has nothing to do with who made the damn bike guys! all im saying is any 125 is gonna need a rebuild at 20 hours, especially a race bike.
Amazing
If they were rebuilding in between practices and did this throughout the year, wouldn't this "technically" call a "break-in" period for an engine obsolete?
Legends!💯💯💯💯🤘🏼
Jets style reminds me of stephan everts
DK should have been his mechanic his whole career
This dude has been around more talent than don king
Jett was taught by bubba
Dam that's fuckin crazy
nice
Porting, headwork, maybe stroking, pipe, reeds. Not a lot more you can do to a 2stroke
And the best fuel available. The rest is up to us.
carrrrrb work "the wizard"
Stop hitting the table!
Who is Randy’s brother?
Phil Lawrence.
Did Randy get the 'big ass pad pool parties, if you set your mind to it you can do whatever you want' chainsmoke.
Could Bubba beat Jet in his prime?
Dude seriously got off Jetts nuts, hes no Bubba, this guy is a lost cause.
Fix your levels.
A piston an hour sounds like somebody wants to sell a lot of parts I've had a KX125 since 1997 bought new and never changed the piston Ride it like hell But OK
Never change anything in it Original everything even pipe Dented to Hell a d back.
I know what you mean same for me when I had a YZ for 10 years, I would suggest upgrading the piston to one of those wisco whatever pistons. Do little end while you’re there.
Probably hard to keep the frames straight from all the crashing, lots of bent parts
Jett isn't James. Give it up.
The announcer with Ricky was a mistake. We need an announcer like Larry. He was very energetic and entertaining. I like hearing from the riders but they seem to take a lot of time to state the obvious.
Tomac is going to hurt himself if he tries to keep up with Jett outdoors
He's not racing outdoors
@@chrisbuehler6868 IF
I think tomac could gap Jett easy. Say 45 seconds
@bodieparks7055 that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. So Sexton smoked Tomac at some races last year but couldn't beat Jett even one moto this year. But Tomc is gonna smoke Jett? LoL naw!
the sound is unbearable on this i couldn’t listen the bass is wild
This guy might as well just change his podcast name to "Lawrence" I've tried and tried to listen to him and just hearing him say "he looked like what jett looks like" is it for me.. i mean he can't have a good conversation without talking about jett or hunter.. dude is lost
Oh poor you, triggered by such small thing. Go get laid or something mate ...
Where are all the 2 stroke are better people now? Hahaha literally none in the comments 😂