Barker Bros Cycles Mike Leavitt shows the 250F’s how it’s done

On Sunday April 11 Barker Bros Cycles Pro racer Mike Leavitt mounted the TM 125 MX for it’s maiden race. The competition were all 250F machines, most being highly modified.

What happens when you give up half the displacement and race a stone stock TM 125? The answer for the competition was not a good one. The fast little TM has what it takes to compete!

Mike Leavitt on the gas! Photo courtesy of Vintage54.com

At the beginning of the first moto, Mike got a pretty decent start, probably mid-pack. What happened next was amazing! The first turn was a horse-shoe sweeper and Mike kept the little TM 125 pinned! He arrived at the second corner in 3rd place! The first three racers proceeded to pull away from the rest of the pack by a large margin. On the second lap, Mike made the pass into second position and set his sights on first place.

During the next two laps, he narrowed the margin considerably until a small mental bobble caused him to go on an off-track excursion. This allowed the rider in 3rd to catch up and make the pass. Mike finished the first moto with a respectable 3rd place.

Airing out the TM 125. Photo courtesy of Vintage54.com

The start of the second moto was not so good, Mike got to the first turn almost at the back of the pack. Another show of skill and daring through the first turn put him in 4th place by the second corner! He then set his sights on the front of the pack and laid down some amazing laps. By lap three he had moved in second position, which is where the TM125 finished the day.

To answer the question posed at the beginning of the report, can a stock 125cc two-stroke be competitive with modified 250 four-strokes, there is only one answer… YES!

Over the next week Mike will make some adjustments and practice some starts. We will report on race number 2 early next week. Stay tuned!