The ‘What we ride’ series dug into the guts of the personal bikes of Offroadmotorcycles.ca’s contributors. It also inspired a bunch of letters from readers who’d like to show off their own favourite bike. These are not necessarily the motorcycles they currently ride, or even own anymore, but the bikes they simply loved the most for whatever reason.

I’ll start the ‘Thinking Back’ series with my own favourite bike, an enduro-ized ‘Rodney Smith Replica’ 2003 RM125. But a bit of background is necessary to fully understand how my love affair with this particular motorcycle started.

When I was a kid I wanted to be a motocross racer. Period. The other stuff was fun, and growing up surrounded by enduro riders I gravitated toward the woods and trail bikes. But when my riding buddies and I play rode it was often on motocross tracks, where I struggled to keep up on various XR Hondas and Kawasaki KDXs. Invariably we’d swap bikes and I’d be amazed how much easier it was to go fast on a ‘real’ motocross bike.

I bought a used ’85 RM125 for motocross and loved it. The suspension was great, the motor ran strong at a zillion rpm and I even won a few motocross trophies with the thing. What surprised me was how well it worked in the woods, as long as I rode aggressively. Rodney Smith had been racing RM 125s at the Six Days for Suzuki, so he became one of my heroes. Reliability wasn’t the old RM’s strong point though, and a couple hare scramble attempts ended in DNFs.

I went through a few other bikes, but how great Screaming Yellow Zonker One went through the trees (when it ran…) stayed in my mind. Ten-years later I was fighting to make another enduro-bike more moto-friendly, because even though I wasn’t racing my usual trail rides consisted of a mix of singletrack, wide-open top gear sections and motocross. On the advice of an ISDE vet I bit the bullet and bought a shiny new leftover 2003 RM125, which I affectionately named ‘Screaming Yellow Enduro Zonker Two.’

At this time I had started working in the motorcycle media, so I had the connections to call Rodney Smith. He was enthusiastic about advice to set up the 125 for enduro. “Never ever use a flywheel weight on a 125!” was his first rule. “Don’t mess with the moto suspension, gear it down a tooth and stick an o-ring chain on it. Then just learn how to ride it.” I followed his recipe and built the bike up into a motorcycle that made me faster than I was or have been since, in the woods or on a motocross track. I’m still a pylon, so I realize that’s not saying much, but the bottom line is I never should have sold SYEZ#2.

Since those days I have ridden many test bikes that are better than my old ‘Zonker, but daydreaming about how fast I felt riding my Rodney-Replica RM125 always makes me smile!

Cool Stuff: One Industries Makita/Suzuki graphics

Quiet stuff: FMF Q-series spark arrestor muffler, stock pipe

Engine: Stock

Enduro stuff: DID O-ring chain, Cycra handguards, Works Connection radiator guards and skid plate, UFO enduro-legal lighting with Baja Designs 12V rechargeable battery, Suzuki dual-sport electrical switches and homemade quick release wiring connector, Trail-tech computer

Bouncy stuff: Suspension serviced by Cycle Improvements/MX Tech, stock spring rates and motocross valving

Have you got a cool story you’d like to share about the dirt bike you loved the most? Click on the ‘Contact’ box and write ‘Thinking back’ in the title line. We’ll email you to explain how you can send in few photos and paragraphs about your all-time favourite bike!