Lechien Tribute YZ125

evomx244
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evomx244 8/7/2015 3:59am
8/7/2015 3:59am Edited Date/Time 8/7/2015 4:00am
I was a Huge fan of Ronnie's, first time I saw him was 1982 at the first Loretta Lynn's amateur national. I had never seen anyone go that fast and be that smooth before. The 83 YZ125 ranks as one of my favorite bikes I raced. I recently picked one up to restore/race.

Here's a few pics from back in 83.







2
Dick Trickle 8/7/2015 4:20am
8/7/2015 4:20am
Great Pics, EvoMX. I see you were running the white aftermarket shrouds back then... can you remember what they were? For me, choosing the K as a vintage racer was a no brainer. I'm too old to lug a 105kg bike around a sand track... the K was advertized as the FIM minimum of 88kg... and mine feels so light. In fact, the new "lightest ever" 2016 Husky is advertized as 89kg. Not much has changed weight wise in 32 years in this class.

I had the white one in 83....


Paul333
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Paul333 8/7/2015 5:55am
8/7/2015 5:55am
This has to be one of the coolest builds I've ever seen.

I am also a huge Lechien fan so seeing this bike brings back a lot of good memories for me.

Very impressive.
barkhard696
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barkhard696 8/7/2015 6:08am
8/7/2015 6:08am Edited Date/Time 8/7/2015 6:24am
> I see you were running the white aftermarket shrouds back then... can you remember what they were?

PlasticWerks. They really were the ones who started the whole white plastic thing. They still have a website last time I checked but they do not fill orders.

I'm a huge Lechien fan also. IMHO the most naturally talented rider of his generation with the exception of Jean-Michel Bayle.

This is a grand build Dick T! The baloney slicer bike is a classic and the '83 YZs were some of the coolest bikes of a great era.

The Shop

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CamP
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CamP 8/7/2015 7:09am
8/7/2015 7:09am
I saw Lechein win his first national at Whitney on that bike in '83. I was wondering who that triple digit guy on the works OW was when he smoked everyone.
jcm3
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jcm3 8/7/2015 7:43am
8/7/2015 7:43am
Wow, super clean build. Beautiful. My first real bike was an '83 YZ125, loved it back then.

The white radiator shrouds were available, don't remember who I bought them from, but I put them on my bike as a kid also so that it looked more like the bikes I was in the mags. Here's a pic from a riding trip to Hollister Hills, I'd imagine in '84 sometime.

Great bike, nice work!



evomx244
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evomx244 8/7/2015 9:12am
8/7/2015 9:12am
Dick Trickle wrote:
Great Pics, EvoMX. I see you were running the white aftermarket shrouds back then... can you remember what they were? For me, choosing the K as...
Great Pics, EvoMX. I see you were running the white aftermarket shrouds back then... can you remember what they were? For me, choosing the K as a vintage racer was a no brainer. I'm too old to lug a 105kg bike around a sand track... the K was advertized as the FIM minimum of 88kg... and mine feels so light. In fact, the new "lightest ever" 2016 Husky is advertized as 89kg. Not much has changed weight wise in 32 years in this class.

I had the white one in 83....


For some reason I want to say the shrouds and side panels were made by ceet. I'll go back and look in some of my old magazines and see if I'm correct. Funny thing I still have the right side panel, I remember I put black contact paper on the radiator shrouds (seen in barley the first pic) because Lechien had them on his works bike.
evomx244
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evomx244 8/7/2015 9:49am
8/7/2015 9:49am

This is the look I was trying to copy with my black contact paper :0

barkhard696
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barkhard696 8/7/2015 11:32am
8/7/2015 11:32am Edited Date/Time 8/7/2015 11:51am
Plasticwerks made the actual white plastic the team used -- other companies jumped in with copies. PW also helped to popularize lower fork/front brake covers -- remember those?

I have a picture of an '83 YZ250 with PlasticWerks front plate, shrouds and sidecovers, when I get home (usually this at about 9 PM or so, local time) I'll try to post it.

There were several companies making the white plastic after it started showing up on the works bikes -- DG was one. All this was really before there was a UFO or an Acerbis (at least, imported here in the U.S.).

I remember working my tail off mowing yards to buy a white shroud (and pipe) from DG in 1984 for my RM80 because PW didn't make a shroud for my bike. If you had a yellow bike, white plastic was what everyone wanted back in those days!

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Wandell 8/7/2015 12:26pm
8/7/2015 12:26pm
Great job!! Lechien's rotary valved OW125 is one of my favorite works bikes of all time!








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Wandell
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Wandell 8/7/2015 12:28pm
8/7/2015 12:28pm
Also, here are a couple pics of Jim Gibson in Europe on the rotary valved ow125.








jcm3
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jcm3 8/7/2015 1:29pm
8/7/2015 1:29pm
evomx244 wrote:
For some reason I want to say the shrouds and side panels were made by ceet. I'll go back and look in some of my old...
For some reason I want to say the shrouds and side panels were made by ceet. I'll go back and look in some of my old magazines and see if I'm correct. Funny thing I still have the right side panel, I remember I put black contact paper on the radiator shrouds (seen in barley the first pic) because Lechien had them on his works bike.
I think you're right! I think that's where I got mine from back then. Great memory.
evomx244
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evomx244 8/7/2015 3:16pm
8/7/2015 3:16pm
evomx244 wrote:
For some reason I want to say the shrouds and side panels were made by ceet. I'll go back and look in some of my old...
For some reason I want to say the shrouds and side panels were made by ceet. I'll go back and look in some of my old magazines and see if I'm correct. Funny thing I still have the right side panel, I remember I put black contact paper on the radiator shrouds (seen in barley the first pic) because Lechien had them on his works bike.
jcm3 wrote:
I think you're right! I think that's where I got mine from back then. Great memory.
Can't remember what I had for dinner last night but Moto info from 32 years ago I rememberSmile



Also found this article




Dick Trickle 8/7/2015 6:05pm
8/7/2015 6:05pm
Great photos, articles and info from everyone. Its amazing! Might have to keep an eye out for some Ceet plastics.. they would be rare. When putting together my Lechien tribute YZ, i used the Yamaha Race Report below. I have the 36mm carb jetted to spec, modded airbox, modified pipe, Gorr cylinder, ignition mods. As the MXA aricle from Oct, 1983 above states, i also upgraded the suspension to full Race Tech with heavier springs and gold valves/emulators.







evomx244
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evomx244 8/8/2015 2:03am
8/8/2015 2:03am Edited Date/Time 8/8/2015 2:05am
I remember doing the wrench report carb and 82 pipe mods. I ended up taking the 82 pipe off as it was a lot harder to ride as I recall. I had 2 bikes that year, my second bike I got later in the year ran great with just the carb mod. Great bikes, today if I kept the stock 38 mm forks I think I'd use 82 fork legs as the wall thickness I believe was thicker than the 83's. Both my 83's had slightly bent fork tubes at the end of the year. I found my original race bike from the year before (82) but I really wish I could have found my second 83 YZ. Love that bike.
Dick Trickle 8/8/2015 3:14am
8/8/2015 3:14am Edited Date/Time 8/8/2015 3:36am
evomx244 wrote:
I remember doing the wrench report carb and 82 pipe mods. I ended up taking the 82 pipe off as it was a lot harder to...
I remember doing the wrench report carb and 82 pipe mods. I ended up taking the 82 pipe off as it was a lot harder to ride as I recall. I had 2 bikes that year, my second bike I got later in the year ran great with just the carb mod. Great bikes, today if I kept the stock 38 mm forks I think I'd use 82 fork legs as the wall thickness I believe was thicker than the 83's. Both my 83's had slightly bent fork tubes at the end of the year. I found my original race bike from the year before (82) but I really wish I could have found my second 83 YZ. Love that bike.
Cool story. I bent the forks on my G regularly, never got on with my J and never had a problem with the K.
Here are a few more pics of Lechien with the OW.... and also the Euro factory OW125. I know Gibson had one, and Marc Velkeneers also had one..






Dick Trickle 8/8/2015 3:16am
8/8/2015 3:16am
Here's a great 125 World Championship vid from 83.. too bad its not in English, but i can hear Gibsons name a lot and there are a heap of K's in there...
https://youtu.be/4omNZome2_c
Paul333
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Paul333 8/8/2015 4:20am
8/8/2015 4:20am Edited Date/Time 8/8/2015 4:22am
One of the best Lechien Yamaha photos I have saved.

photo IMG_7899.jpg
1

Pit Row

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Dick Trickle 8/8/2015 4:30am
8/8/2015 4:30am
Paul, thats pulling a rabbit out of hat.. i have never seen that pic before. Excellent photo and thanks for sharing..
CamP
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CamP 8/8/2015 8:46am
8/8/2015 8:46am Edited Date/Time 8/8/2015 8:55am
One of our local vintage racers, Russ Murphy, races an '83 YZ125 and he really flies on it. He's got a Jemco pipe on it. I don't know what else is done to it but it's a very fast 125.
notme
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notme 8/8/2015 9:38am
8/8/2015 9:38am
This is a great thread, awesome build by the OP! I never would have thought that this bike would be popular to own today, nice to have more variety around then a field of cr's.
barkhard696
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barkhard696 8/8/2015 1:57pm
8/8/2015 1:57pm Edited Date/Time 8/8/2015 1:58pm
Dick, CEET Racing is owned by a very nice Vintage enthusiast who also owns Vintage Suzuki. Back a few years ago I got a number of parts from him for my '82 RM250 -- and he was great.

Anyway, I know Vintage Suzuki makes some really good reproduction plastic for RMs -- I've got some on my '82 RM250-- maybe you would want to try CEET to see if they had something left or more likely, would be interested in making something for the white plastic you are looking for? It couldn't hurt to ask!
barkhard696
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barkhard696 8/8/2015 2:02pm
8/8/2015 2:02pm
> I never would have thought that this bike would be popular to own today, nice to have more variety around then a field of cr's.

NotMe, find a guy who likes Vintage who doesn't like the '83 YZs -- and you'll be talking to a fellow who doesn't like Christmas or puppies, either! The '83 Yamahas were sleek racing machines .. And no clutch cover rot, too :-)
Benchracer17 8/8/2015 5:25pm
8/8/2015 5:25pm
Dick Trickle wrote:
Here's a great 125 World Championship vid from 83.. too bad its not in English, but i can hear Gibsons name a lot and there are...
Here's a great 125 World Championship vid from 83.. too bad its not in English, but i can hear Gibsons name a lot and there are a heap of K's in there...
https://youtu.be/4omNZome2_c
here is the full raceSmile Beautiful build, manSmile

just listen to these 125s pinned - especially Jim Gibson's YZ125 sounds so crisp.


1983 Dutch 125 Motocross GP by Brent449
jcm3
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jcm3 8/8/2015 10:28pm
8/8/2015 10:28pm
Paul333 wrote:
One of the best Lechien Yamaha photos I have saved.
One of the best Lechien Yamaha photos I have saved.

photo IMG_7899.jpg
That's my favorite Lechien pic. I remember seeing it in an MX mag when it came out, and a few times have looked for it online to no avail. Great pic, thanks!

Oldnslo
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Oldnslo 8/9/2015 3:02am
8/9/2015 3:02am
Great job ! Very cool Yamaha and tribute....
billyslad
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billyslad 8/9/2015 3:08am
8/9/2015 3:08am
interesting watching the video that it wasnt packed with KX 125 with discs at the front
Dick Trickle 8/9/2015 2:10pm
8/9/2015 2:10pm
billyslad wrote:
interesting watching the video that it wasnt packed with KX 125 with discs at the front
interesting watching the video that it wasnt packed with KX 125 with discs at the front
I doubt if you had to touch the front brake at that track. Not sure if the KX's were rare in 83 as i dont remember seeing many back then. The Suzuki was supposed to be the lemon of the bunch for 83 and i think the Bomber was struggling on his, but in the video above, Geboers kills it on his RM. Thanks for sharing all the pics and vids.. keep them coming.
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MaxPower 8/10/2015 5:28am
8/10/2015 5:28am
billyslad wrote:
interesting watching the video that it wasnt packed with KX 125 with discs at the front
interesting watching the video that it wasnt packed with KX 125 with discs at the front
What tracks were you at in 83 and saw green bikes at the front of the pack?
barkhard696
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barkhard696 8/10/2015 10:25am
8/10/2015 10:25am
Max I think that was a tongue-in-cheek type comment since the '83 KX125 has for awhile been disallowed in its year class in AHRMA (front disk brake)

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