150F Playbikes
Let’s talk about the 150F bikes this week. There has been a lot of interest in this size bike again with the introduction of the KLX140. Yamaha, Honda, and Suzuki have also updated the TT-R125, CRF100, CRF150, and DRZ125 in recent years. It is great to see the interest again in these bikes and it is great to see that this portion of our business is strong. Some people don’t understand why adults would ride slow playbikes that are nearly the size of a full-sized motorcycle. The reality is that these bikes are a blast to ride with your buddies. They make great trainers for real MX (with less chance of getting hurt) and it takes real skill to make one go fast. Name any top motocross star and you can just about bet they have a 150 playbike in their garage.
Lets start by going back to the first real 4-stroke play bike; the 1973 Honda XR75. This bike was a hit right from the start. The smooth power delivery, sharp handling, reliability, and incredible performance potential all made for the perfect storm. Performance companies popped up all over the place. Companies like DG, PK racing, J.W.R.P., Redline, and a host of others all started building parts for the little XR. It didn’t take long for adults to start riding and modifying them for pit-bikes and backyard fun. There was even a mini-bike race the night before the nationals that most of the stars of the day competed in. If you are into XR75s check out this video:
Eventually, the XR75 movement turned into the XR100 movement with the introduction of the first XR 100 in 1981. The bike had an all new engine and big 16"/19" wheels for the first time. The larger wheels made the bike adult friendly and a great bike for the wife or girlfriend. Adult backyard races were starting to pop up all over the country. Langtown became the most famous race since it was located in Southern California with all of the magazines and factories nearby. The race took on a life all its own with semi-trucks and factory backed riders, all making the trek to the tiny backyard track for a shot at the Langtown title. The hand made bikes that showed up there to race were as much a part of the show as the race itself. Some of the trickest bikes in the world came from the desire to win at Langtown. Aluminum frames, carbon fiber tanks, disc brakes, and stroker motors were the norm. Every imaginable hybrid bike made its way through Langtown over the years. If you want to see more, click on the photo below to view video of this legendary race.
The next step of the evolution came with the introduction of the TT-R125 in 2000. This bike was like a fully modified XR100 right out of the box. It had a front disc brake, 125cc motor, fair suspension, and YZ looks. BBR had a field day with this bike building pipes, bore kits, filters, and springs. You name it, we built it. We even built a perimeter framed version and took it to the White Bros. 4-stroke World Championships. With Rich Taylor onboard we walked away with the championship. It instantly made the TT-R the bike to beat. In 2001 BBR took over the 150cc class and put up a huge $6000 pro purse. That was a huge amount for that time period, and even bigger considering that it was for an adult minibike race. 87 riders showed up on homemade XR100s and TT-R125s from all over the country. Instead of having qualifiers it was decided to run a three row start and let everyone bang bars together on the Glen Helen track. What a Blast! The list of riders was a "who’s who" in the motorcycle industry. From current national pros to former national champions, they all showed up for a shot at the $6000 purse. Lance Smail walked away with the win with Jimmy Lewis in tow. I wish I could have raced, what many consider to be the best 150 race ever, but I had exploded my foot the day before. It was frustrating watching the race go on without me. I did get to help do the TV announcing (in a Vicodin haze and on crutches). Click on the photo to watch the video:
Honda introduced the next generation of play bikes with the 150F in 2003. This bike was aimed at adults with its friendly size and 156cc motor. The bike sparked a whole new group of riders that were too big or too fast for the XR100. The 150F had some girth to it and was over-built so that it could take a beating. A big-bike pro could get on the 150F without worrying about snapping it in half. Honda gave BBR a pre-production bike to start working with. The first thing we did, in typical BBR fashion, was pull the motor out and toss the rest of the bike away. We built a perimeter framed bike and headed to Langtown with it. Steve Lamson was set to race it but had to fly to Japan for some testing. Luckily, team Honda Manager, Eric Kehoe, stepped in and took the job. He ended up finishing second to Roncada that year in his first attempt at Langtown. It was impressive. He didn’t win, but the writing was on the wall, and the CRF150F was here to stay. The perimeter 150F was a huge success and went on to become the standard for 150 racing. At the first Mini-Moto race in Vegas 2004 the 150 class was the premier class with Stanton, Cooper, McGrath, Taylor, Antunez, and Emig all banging bars for the title. All twelve bikes in the main were BBR framed 150s.
Suzuki didn’t want to be left out of the fun so they introduced a bike that was similar to the TT-R125. It was an instant hit with the Suzuki crowd. It never caught on as big as the XRs, TT-Rs, or CRFs because it was a little late to the party, but it is one of the best bikes Suzuki ever built. BBR makes a ton of parts for the DRZ125, so if you are a Suzuki nut we’ve got you covered.
OK, let’s talk about the KLX140. This is the first new 150cc sized play bike to come along in years…and it’s a great one! It has a new 140cc engine with great torque, a steel perimeter frame, front and rear disc brakes, and a good rear shock. Overall, the bike is a blast to ride right out of the box. The best part is that the bike can be easily modified. This is a good thing, because in stock trim, the bike is pretty tame. With its 86 decibel pipe and a 20mm carb, it seems like you can run faster than the bike can go. No big deal. Modifying the bike is half the fun of owning a play bike. BBR already has a D2 pipe, carb kit, suspension mods, graphics, and other parts in stock. If you're a KLX140 owner, feel free to give us a call. You can check out the video of us testing the KLX here:
The 150 bikes are going stronger than ever, there are plenty of places to race them, and best of all, they are inexpensive, quiet, and can be modified as little or as much as you like. The other great thing about this bike is that there is a company who dedicates itself to making the best performance parts money can buy for them. Just give our BBR Toll Free Line a call (1-888-MOTO-BBR), and we'll get you anything you need for your CRF150F, KLX140, TT-R125 or DRZ125. And don't forget, we still have hundreds of parts for the CRF100...one of the bikes that started it all.
Question of the Week
"Hey guys, love the new website! Will the U-flow filter do any thing for my bone stock KLX110 or do I need a pipe, or bore kit?" Bob in SoCal
Thanks Bob! Absolutely, the KLX is one of he most corked up bikes of all time. The stock filter setup is about as restrictive as you can get and have the bike still run. If you were to pull the stock air box off, and try to ride the bike without it, you would find out that the bike is jetted from the factory very lean to compensate for the restrictive air box. With the U-Flow filter installed ALONE, you have to go up almost twenty sizes on the main jet! At $129.95, the U-Flow is definitely the best bang-for-the-buck for the KLX110. It does more than any cam, pipe, and even some of the bore kits out there. If you don’t agree once you get it on the bike, we will be happy to take it back! I have seen guys on the web taking radiator hoses, PVC tube, etc. trying to do the same thing. Trust me - we tried all of that but it made the bike slower in most cases. The trick is in the exact formation of the U-Flow boot which creates the perfect dead-air space right at the mouth of the carb. Every single modern 4-stroke uses this technology. Can you name one bike that comes from the factory with the filter clamped right on the carb? OK, maybe some Maicos did, but we are trying to move forward in time here! It just hasn’t trickled down to the play bikes yet. Another trick you can do if you are going to run the stock pipe, with the U-Flow, is to drill out the stock header. Simply take the stock exhaust off and take a 5/8 drill bit or a dremel tool and drill or grind out the restrictor washer that is welded into the pipe right where it goes into the head. This will give you a noticeable increase in top end. It’s no BBR pipe, but when combined with the U-Flow it’s a great setup if you need to keep your 110 whisper-quiet. Hope this answers your question. - Duane
Blast from the Past
This week’s, "Blast from the Past" comes from Motocross Journal and all our friends over there (Jimmy Mac, Tim Olson, and the Hi-Torque gang). The issue is February 2000, and keeping with our 150 sized bike theme, the featured article is the 1999 BBR perimeter framed XR100 Lance Smail Replica. Click on the photo to see the complete story.
We carved this bike out of a block of aluminum, pre-CNC days at BBR. The bike used CR80 components (wheels, forks, shock). BBR teamed up with Powroll on the motor. We ended up using the XR80 crank and stroking it up to 121cc’s. It worked pretty good on a tight track like Langtown. We ran the PVL ignition that had a fixed ignition curve so it was a nightmare to start and a nightmare to dial in. I believe we melted at least two of these ignitions just during the testing process. The day after these photos were taken, we headed over to Langtown...or at least tried to. Our good friend Lance has had a few dozen injuries over the years, and on the morning of the race his back decided to go out. He crawled to the bathroom of the Holiday Inn and laid down in the shower for an hour before he could even stand. A dozen Ibuprofen later and Lance was ready to race. Lance pulled the holeshot and blocked his way to the first moto win. Moto two was a different story. He got a bad start and just didn’t have the strength to aggressively move his way to the front. A 4th place finish, for third overall, was all he could come up with. Looking back, it was amazing he raced at all! Lance and BBR would have their day. The next year Lance, Brad Hagseth, and Timmy Weigand stormed Langtown with a BBR 1-2-3 sweep. This was one of many dominating performances at Langtown for BBR, and we look back on those days with great memories. The event, the bikes, and the people were all very unique. Thanks Bob Langen for so many great years!
Alright back to riding! Call us anytime and, as always, thanks for helping us live the dream.
Duane
Lets start by going back to the first real 4-stroke play bike; the 1973 Honda XR75. This bike was a hit right from the start. The smooth power delivery, sharp handling, reliability, and incredible performance potential all made for the perfect storm. Performance companies popped up all over the place. Companies like DG, PK racing, J.W.R.P., Redline, and a host of others all started building parts for the little XR. It didn’t take long for adults to start riding and modifying them for pit-bikes and backyard fun. There was even a mini-bike race the night before the nationals that most of the stars of the day competed in. If you are into XR75s check out this video:
Eventually, the XR75 movement turned into the XR100 movement with the introduction of the first XR 100 in 1981. The bike had an all new engine and big 16"/19" wheels for the first time. The larger wheels made the bike adult friendly and a great bike for the wife or girlfriend. Adult backyard races were starting to pop up all over the country. Langtown became the most famous race since it was located in Southern California with all of the magazines and factories nearby. The race took on a life all its own with semi-trucks and factory backed riders, all making the trek to the tiny backyard track for a shot at the Langtown title. The hand made bikes that showed up there to race were as much a part of the show as the race itself. Some of the trickest bikes in the world came from the desire to win at Langtown. Aluminum frames, carbon fiber tanks, disc brakes, and stroker motors were the norm. Every imaginable hybrid bike made its way through Langtown over the years. If you want to see more, click on the photo below to view video of this legendary race.
The next step of the evolution came with the introduction of the TT-R125 in 2000. This bike was like a fully modified XR100 right out of the box. It had a front disc brake, 125cc motor, fair suspension, and YZ looks. BBR had a field day with this bike building pipes, bore kits, filters, and springs. You name it, we built it. We even built a perimeter framed version and took it to the White Bros. 4-stroke World Championships. With Rich Taylor onboard we walked away with the championship. It instantly made the TT-R the bike to beat. In 2001 BBR took over the 150cc class and put up a huge $6000 pro purse. That was a huge amount for that time period, and even bigger considering that it was for an adult minibike race. 87 riders showed up on homemade XR100s and TT-R125s from all over the country. Instead of having qualifiers it was decided to run a three row start and let everyone bang bars together on the Glen Helen track. What a Blast! The list of riders was a "who’s who" in the motorcycle industry. From current national pros to former national champions, they all showed up for a shot at the $6000 purse. Lance Smail walked away with the win with Jimmy Lewis in tow. I wish I could have raced, what many consider to be the best 150 race ever, but I had exploded my foot the day before. It was frustrating watching the race go on without me. I did get to help do the TV announcing (in a Vicodin haze and on crutches). Click on the photo to watch the video:
Honda introduced the next generation of play bikes with the 150F in 2003. This bike was aimed at adults with its friendly size and 156cc motor. The bike sparked a whole new group of riders that were too big or too fast for the XR100. The 150F had some girth to it and was over-built so that it could take a beating. A big-bike pro could get on the 150F without worrying about snapping it in half. Honda gave BBR a pre-production bike to start working with. The first thing we did, in typical BBR fashion, was pull the motor out and toss the rest of the bike away. We built a perimeter framed bike and headed to Langtown with it. Steve Lamson was set to race it but had to fly to Japan for some testing. Luckily, team Honda Manager, Eric Kehoe, stepped in and took the job. He ended up finishing second to Roncada that year in his first attempt at Langtown. It was impressive. He didn’t win, but the writing was on the wall, and the CRF150F was here to stay. The perimeter 150F was a huge success and went on to become the standard for 150 racing. At the first Mini-Moto race in Vegas 2004 the 150 class was the premier class with Stanton, Cooper, McGrath, Taylor, Antunez, and Emig all banging bars for the title. All twelve bikes in the main were BBR framed 150s.
Suzuki didn’t want to be left out of the fun so they introduced a bike that was similar to the TT-R125. It was an instant hit with the Suzuki crowd. It never caught on as big as the XRs, TT-Rs, or CRFs because it was a little late to the party, but it is one of the best bikes Suzuki ever built. BBR makes a ton of parts for the DRZ125, so if you are a Suzuki nut we’ve got you covered.
OK, let’s talk about the KLX140. This is the first new 150cc sized play bike to come along in years…and it’s a great one! It has a new 140cc engine with great torque, a steel perimeter frame, front and rear disc brakes, and a good rear shock. Overall, the bike is a blast to ride right out of the box. The best part is that the bike can be easily modified. This is a good thing, because in stock trim, the bike is pretty tame. With its 86 decibel pipe and a 20mm carb, it seems like you can run faster than the bike can go. No big deal. Modifying the bike is half the fun of owning a play bike. BBR already has a D2 pipe, carb kit, suspension mods, graphics, and other parts in stock. If you're a KLX140 owner, feel free to give us a call. You can check out the video of us testing the KLX here:
The 150 bikes are going stronger than ever, there are plenty of places to race them, and best of all, they are inexpensive, quiet, and can be modified as little or as much as you like. The other great thing about this bike is that there is a company who dedicates itself to making the best performance parts money can buy for them. Just give our BBR Toll Free Line a call (1-888-MOTO-BBR), and we'll get you anything you need for your CRF150F, KLX140, TT-R125 or DRZ125. And don't forget, we still have hundreds of parts for the CRF100...one of the bikes that started it all.
Question of the Week
"Hey guys, love the new website! Will the U-flow filter do any thing for my bone stock KLX110 or do I need a pipe, or bore kit?" Bob in SoCal
Thanks Bob! Absolutely, the KLX is one of he most corked up bikes of all time. The stock filter setup is about as restrictive as you can get and have the bike still run. If you were to pull the stock air box off, and try to ride the bike without it, you would find out that the bike is jetted from the factory very lean to compensate for the restrictive air box. With the U-Flow filter installed ALONE, you have to go up almost twenty sizes on the main jet! At $129.95, the U-Flow is definitely the best bang-for-the-buck for the KLX110. It does more than any cam, pipe, and even some of the bore kits out there. If you don’t agree once you get it on the bike, we will be happy to take it back! I have seen guys on the web taking radiator hoses, PVC tube, etc. trying to do the same thing. Trust me - we tried all of that but it made the bike slower in most cases. The trick is in the exact formation of the U-Flow boot which creates the perfect dead-air space right at the mouth of the carb. Every single modern 4-stroke uses this technology. Can you name one bike that comes from the factory with the filter clamped right on the carb? OK, maybe some Maicos did, but we are trying to move forward in time here! It just hasn’t trickled down to the play bikes yet. Another trick you can do if you are going to run the stock pipe, with the U-Flow, is to drill out the stock header. Simply take the stock exhaust off and take a 5/8 drill bit or a dremel tool and drill or grind out the restrictor washer that is welded into the pipe right where it goes into the head. This will give you a noticeable increase in top end. It’s no BBR pipe, but when combined with the U-Flow it’s a great setup if you need to keep your 110 whisper-quiet. Hope this answers your question. - Duane
Blast from the Past
This week’s, "Blast from the Past" comes from Motocross Journal and all our friends over there (Jimmy Mac, Tim Olson, and the Hi-Torque gang). The issue is February 2000, and keeping with our 150 sized bike theme, the featured article is the 1999 BBR perimeter framed XR100 Lance Smail Replica. Click on the photo to see the complete story.
We carved this bike out of a block of aluminum, pre-CNC days at BBR. The bike used CR80 components (wheels, forks, shock). BBR teamed up with Powroll on the motor. We ended up using the XR80 crank and stroking it up to 121cc’s. It worked pretty good on a tight track like Langtown. We ran the PVL ignition that had a fixed ignition curve so it was a nightmare to start and a nightmare to dial in. I believe we melted at least two of these ignitions just during the testing process. The day after these photos were taken, we headed over to Langtown...or at least tried to. Our good friend Lance has had a few dozen injuries over the years, and on the morning of the race his back decided to go out. He crawled to the bathroom of the Holiday Inn and laid down in the shower for an hour before he could even stand. A dozen Ibuprofen later and Lance was ready to race. Lance pulled the holeshot and blocked his way to the first moto win. Moto two was a different story. He got a bad start and just didn’t have the strength to aggressively move his way to the front. A 4th place finish, for third overall, was all he could come up with. Looking back, it was amazing he raced at all! Lance and BBR would have their day. The next year Lance, Brad Hagseth, and Timmy Weigand stormed Langtown with a BBR 1-2-3 sweep. This was one of many dominating performances at Langtown for BBR, and we look back on those days with great memories. The event, the bikes, and the people were all very unique. Thanks Bob Langen for so many great years!
Alright back to riding! Call us anytime and, as always, thanks for helping us live the dream.
Duane
posted by DuaneBrown at
10:54 AM
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