Some Moto History

Californian Bobby Moore is the last American to win a world motocross championship. This is the bike that helped him do it.

TAKEN FROM MOTO ISSUE 83, SEPTEMBER 2012

Words by Gez Kane, Photography by Adam Duckworth

By 1993, Bobby Moore must have felt he was always destined to be the bridesmaid and never the bride. After winning the 1985 West Coast 125 Supercross championship, the 17-year-old former minicycle star, remarkably failed to land a factory ride for the following season. So he packed his riding gear and made the move to Europe to chase world championship glory in 1986.

By 1990, the laid-back American had paid his dues and finished runner up in the world 125cc standings in 1990 and 1991 before switching to the 250cc class in 1992 to try to claim that elusive world title. Once more though, it proved close – but no cigar. Donny Schmit – who had beaten Moore into second place in the 1990 125cc championship – had also made the switch to the quarter litre class and once again, he edged Moore off the top spot. It seemed like he was destined never to top the world standings. But, by 1994, Moore had moved back to the 125s with the Rinaldi Chesterfield Yamaha team, after a year out of the top three in 1993. After eight years chasing his GP dream, could this at last be his year?

Looking at one of the two bikes the Rinaldi boys provided for Moore that year – now residing on a private collection – it’s hard to imagine they could have done much better. Certainly, if looks could win world titles, Moore’s Chesterfield liveried YZ125 would have scooped the world crown at round one. It’s seriously gorgeous.

But the bike was much more than just a looker, despite not being the horsepower king that season. Bobby Moore admits that the factory Suzuki of Pedro Tragter and works Hondas of Michael Pichon and Chicco Chiodi were all faster in a straight line, but the Rinaldi-prepared Yamaha was in a league of its own in terms of handling and ridability. The American might have lost out on holeshots, but he could rely on the Yam to pull him out of trouble as the race progressed more often than not. And, by the mid-point of the season, continued development work on the engine had all but erased the power differential between Bobby and his main rivals anyway.

As the season got underway, the overall package of Bobby Moore, his own, dedicated, 125 team mechanics (the team had a completely separate 250 class crew) Pere and Nicola and the factory spec Yam proved more than up to the job. Moore won the first race – the Italian round, comfortably. Even a DNF in the first moto of the fourth round in Spain failed to slow the charge of Moore, Yamaha and Rinaldi as Moore limited his losses by storming to a great win in the second race.

It just seemed it was always going to be Moore’s year at last. With a great team behind him and riding as well as he ever had, Moore sealed the championship victory at the Belgium round – with a round to spare. It was a crushing – and well deserved – victory. It just seems slightly strange that Moore remains the last American to win a world crown.

This is the bike that made it all possible. It’s the final incarnation of the factory 125 – with all the engine updates – and the last bike Bobby Moore rode that season. At first glance, it might not look all that different to a stock ’94 Yam, but look closer and you can see the amount of hard work and detailing that has gone into producing a world championship winner.