Member Feature: Kyle Larsen

We catch up with Kyle Larsen, who is part of the MX Locker community to talk about his dirt bike builds, parts reviews and how to videos.

Q: Hey Kyle! Thanks for joining us today. Before we kick off this interview, want to introduce yourself? 

A: Yeah! I’m Kyle Larsen and I am from Portland, Oregon. Happy to say I do not live in the city. It is a bit chaotic over there, but I do live near it. I just turned 19 this last June, and graduated from high school in 2020. I am currently in college for aviation pursuing one of my all time passions. I got into riding dirt bikes about 6 years ago when I had an injury put me out of field sports for a while. While I was sidelined for a bit, I decided to buy a dirt bike. 

Q: We came across that insane RM build you did - want to tell us more about the history of your bike building and inspiration? 

A: So I decided to get into building dirt bikes after my first bike flew up and I couldn’t afford to pay the dealership to rebuild the engine for me. They wanted around $2,000 to do a full rebuild, and with me being around 15 at the time - there was no way I could afford that! I decided to teach myself how to rebuild a dirt bike engine, and learned a ton from it. From there, one of the unique things I found was I really was fascinated by the design of bikes and building bikes that were unique to me. When you go to all the local motocross tracks you mainly see all stock bikes - which is fine - to each their own. However, I love the idea of riding something that is unique, one of a kind, and that’s what got me hooked on doing all these unique dirt bike builds. Unfortunately, out of all the dirt bikes I buy and build, I can’t afford to keep them all. I end up selling a lot of my unique dirt bike builds I do, and tons of people are interested in buying them off me because they are so unique and each have their own unique story to them. However, to make these in the way I want to build them, I spend a lot of money in parts and coatings so the finished cost of a build is usually high. 

Q: Building these dirt bikes is an art, and you definitely have a unique touch. What do you try to focus on your builds and talk more about your process? 

A: When I plan these bikes I try to keep to a specific color scheme for looks and design. As far as performance, I build the dirt bike based on what it’s meant for. For example, my last Honda CR125 build, I modified the engine to absolutely rip for a 125cc dirt bike and it did! You also need specific suspension setup for the rider and wheels that can hold up to the impact and abuse motocross puts on these bikes. First step I do in my build is pick a color scheme, which usually involves black or grey, to make the main color stand out. My goal is to make the bike beautiful and flow well with the colors I choose. 

Q: For those looking to get into bike builds. When you’re scouting for a project bike to build, what do you mainly look for? 

A: When looking for a dirt bike to buy or build, it really depends on your budget. If you're planning to do a complete rebuild on the bike, then go buy an older dirt bike that you can do a complete transformation on. You can usually find a cheap dirt bike for sale, and you can do a crazy transformation on them. If you don’t have a big budget, then it is better to buy a well taken care of bike and do little modifications to it that fit in your budget. My personal favorite thing to do is to buy a falling apart dirt bike, and transform it into something completely new. 

Q: We saw Carson Brown ripping your Honda CR125 build? How did he like it? 

A: I actually reached out to Carson Brown to get his exact words on the build, so this is his thoughts! “Here’s some insight on the 125 🤘 Man it was super fun, you never know what to expect when showing up to ride someone else’s build, but it didn’t disappoint. You could tell every part on the bike was really thought out and had a purpose to make the bike better than it’s stock form. It was nice to be able to ride a track that I’m familiar with so that I could get a real feel for the bike. I had also been riding stock CR125’s a lot so it was nice to get a good feel for all the mods on the bike. Right when I got on it I could tell that it was revving to the moon which is always a good thing for my style of riding. It was fun to get to ride a 125 dirt bike that someone did not modify to just have the bottom end. From bottom to top it ran smooth and clean. Sometimes when these 125’s get modded they feel like the motors are going to get too hot and melt, but this one ran cool all day without a worry. The triple clamps and suspension were set up to give the bike a good planted feel. The bike felt really controllable through the corners but also stiff enough to seat bounce through rhythm sections. With these 125’s it can be a struggle to get them to feel planted since you have to be so high in the RPM’s all the time. Overall the bike was super fun to ride and I’m glad I got the chance to put this beautiful bike to the test.

Q: What’s next for you on your list? 

A: The plan right now is a Honda CR250 Supermoto build. I have a beat up 2004 Honda CR250 dirt bike that already has a light and aftermarket stator to power the light, which is an expensive upgrade. So right now that is the plan and it should turn into an absolutely awesome bike when it’s done! 

Q: Any tips for those looking to get into tearing down bikes and doing unique builds? 

A: If you are new to bike building, my recommendation is to bag and label all the parts you take off - even if you have done it before. Bagging the parts makes sure that you don’t lose any pieces and also labeling tells you where they are from on the bike. Think of all the little bolts there are on these dirt bikes and how easily they can be put in the wrong spot or lost without labeling them. And as far as being unique I’d say just go for something you don’t normally see! Don’t make a regular red Honda or a yellow Suzuki. Switch it up a little and the sky's the limit to what you can do!