Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126334
LOP modified Suzuki 125C , Marty Moates' National machine By Jim Gianatsis So there you are - you've just dropped some $1300 on what all the..moto-monthlies and Cycle News have told you is one of the best bikes in motocross. And it is. The la test Suzuki RM 125C is still as fantastic as the B and A models which caine before it. In stoc k form it's the fastes t one-eighth liter in the 18 ankle -biter class. and only the production Yamaha YZ 125E can match it for handling. -' Bu t now you run across this test of Marty Moates' National bike in Cycle News . An RM 125C modified to the outer limits by Laurens O ffner ' of LOP, You expect I'm going to tell you how bitchin' Marty's bike is. and how much of a stone the stocker is in comparison. And how , for an extra thousand dollars or so, you can tum your turkey into a real National caliber fire- breather like the LOP Suzuki. Well , yes and no, You're right to a degree, but to how much of a degree depends upon a lot of thingsr, How good a rider you arc, the competition you a re up against at your local tracks. how often you like to work on your bike. and certainly what you can afford. Suzuki . like any other manufacturer. builds the best bike they can to sell at the most rea sonable price for the , majority of racers. Any bike can be im proved with better quality up-to-date, and obviously more ex pensive. components. What you have to decide for yourself is what do you really need to improve on your bike? If the competition at your local tracks has equipment no better than your own stock R M Suzuki. then perhaps you can win on ability alone . u hen again. if you a re up againSt equal or better riders than yourself on modified bikes . it might be time to do something about it. One word of advice though . before going' any further. Be sure that your riding ability is good enough to take advantage of any modifications you make to your bike. Otherwise. you'll be wasting your money . If you can't ride your stocker to its potential. what makes you think you can do better on a works bike? And in effect. the identical LOP team Suzuki RMs ridden by Marty Moates and Mark Gregson to the top non-factory placing by Suzuki riders in the AMA/Mr. PiBB 125cc Nationals are as close to RA works bikes as you can get. Handling and performance of the LO P bikes seemed to be as good as the factory Suzukis. It 's in the handling department where any mod ifica tions to a stocker ' should first begin. Here improvements can be felt and be taken advantage of by any rider, showing up on improved lap times more impressively than any engine modifications ever would. A bike that's easier to ride is easier to ride faster. and longer. LOP re lies upon s~me proven components in the suspension department along with some ingenuity of their own. Front forks are the best presently available. Simons air/spring units with 12.2 in ches of travel actually out-perform, the best Kayaba and Showa factory legs for travel and rut -soaking damping action. The worst whoops won't flex these babies. Lauriens did a lot of experimenting with the fine tuning of these extra long damper rod models which increase travel some three inches over the stock RM 125C . Air pressure is set at 18 psi with ·the oil fill five inches from the top of the tubes for an extra progressive feel. The oil is 7.5 weight. which is actually a 50 /5U mix of Bel -Ray LT 100 and LT ·200 . Rear suspension uses Fox AirShox , still the best shock absorber unit in motocross. used in conjunction with the strange looking LOP aluminum swingarm. Built to specifications by Rich Thorwaldson , the LOP swingarm has a rdically bent trailing arm so the shocks can be located in a position closer to perpendicular. A long shock like the 17.5 inch Fox AirShox is still required, but lower air pressures than a more laydown geometry can be used. Marty favors 130 /80 psi in the two AirShox chambers. Despite the LOP Suzuki's strangelooking long and spindley legs. the bike's strong point is handling. I rode it on the rough sand course of Florida's Sunshine Motocross Speedway, site of the final 125cc and 500cc National events of the year. Despite a day of wid e-ope n National racing which turned the track upside down. -I could vault my way over or crash my way int o the worst sand whoops without getting out of shape and bai ling . Now I know why I hate to go back and ride stockers! This thing handles, and the 12.2 inches of travel at the rear to match the front never felt tall and awkward . One advantage of having so much suspension travel is that you can set the suspension up soft on initial travel. actually lowering the ride height t two or three inches from topout , putting . you back down closer to the ground than a shorter nine -inch travel suspension set up with less ride height. The other advantages of longer suspension. of course, include more travel on the softer settings to soak up the small shudder bumps, with lots of long travel still left for those humongous mothers that used to pitch you over the bars. Before leaving the subject of suspensions. I want to point out that I still believe progressive spring rates are important for motocross , soft initial travel followed by progressively stiffer springing as the suspension nears bottoming out. Nearly everyone now uses progressive springing with the common air/spring front forks . At the rear. though . shocks with conventional straight wound steel springs. even dual rate springs . can't handle the job effectively. Particularly in the now common laydown suspensions where spring rate has to be sacrificed for stiff rates in mid- travel to prevent excessive bottoming out at full travel. A progressive spring rate for a shock is twice as important as for a front fork. and the Fox AirShox with its dual progressive air rates has to be the best available. Numerous parts have been changed on Marty's bike, some not so easily available, but most can be ordered from LO P or your dealer . The 250 /370cc Suzu ki optional magnesium rear hub used is no longer availab le . An aluminum stee ring stem. manufactured Pre-Fab, helps to reduce weight over the Simons unit. Marty picked up a set of Ren tha l handlebars when he was over in England a couple of months back to race the Knobby Shop's 450cc Honda thumper. and he swears they're unbendable . . Goodies you can get include Preston Petty front fender. LOP Pro side panels, fork boots , and hea-vy 520 chain kits , and LO P air filter.