TEN YEARS AGO TODAY! WE RIDE ALEX MARTIN’S 2014 CYCLETRADER YZ250F

THE RIDER: ALEX MARTIN

Alex Martin was destined to race professional motocross. His father, John, was a National Hare Scrambles Champion. John became the owner of the famed Millville motocross track in 1987, which has become a staple of the AMA National circuit. Alex and his younger brother, Jeremy, the new 250 AMA National Champion, literally grew up on the Millville track. The family’s house overlooks the treacherous sand-whoop section that the circuit is known for.

Now 24 years old, Alex has learned the ropes of racing at the highest level. Turning Pro in 2008, Martin has steadily improved his overall ranking each year, and with results have come increased support, first from Chad Sanner’s Eleven10 Mods team and currently from the CycleTrader.com/Rock River Yamaha team. This year, Alex finished eighth in the 250 East Supercross series in what is his second season with the Rock River Yamaha program.

The MXA test riders were amazed by the burst of power from the JGR-tuned YZ250F engine. Martin’s powerplant was aggressive, broad and explosive. The Kayaba forks were stiff, but that’s to be expected due to the speed at which Martin bombs over bumps. Martin’s setup wasn’t quirky, aside from the measures taken to cater to Alex’s short stature.

Alex Martin has had several outstanding accomplishments in his career thus far. He has been a member of the Puerto Rican Motocross des Nations team. His best AMA National moto finish was a third in the second moto at Southwick in 2011. What the results don’t show is Alex’s personality. He is a down-to-earth guy with a nice demeanor. Alex is marketable, which is a trait sponsors look for. We can’t talk about Alex without bringing up the white elephant in the room — his stature. At 5-foot-4 and 135 pounds, Alex isn’t exactly imposing; however, what he lacks in size he more than makes up for in heart. A predator on the track, Martin rides with a raw aggression that sets him apart. There’s a reason Alex has found success in racing, and it all stems from the beating muscle in his chest.

Alex Martin’s Joe Gibbs Racing-tuned engine package is explosive and requires an aggressive riding style to maximize its potential. You can send your engine to JGR and they will build you a race-spec powerplant. The Rock River team benefits from having race-ready plug-and-play engines, along with trackside support.

THE MECHANIC: BILLY HARTLE

In Billy’s words, “I met Alex Martin in 2012 when I started working at Eleven10 Mods. We became good friends rather quickly. Back then, the whole Eleven10 crew lived together, so I’m sure that sped up the process [laughter]. From then on, I have been working with Alex, and it’s always a good time, even through the ups and downs. I think that a good and positive relationship between rider and mechanic is key to having success, and I think we have that. Alex is pretty easygoing and almost always tries to make the best out of any situation. He is a very hard worker, maybe one of the toughest that I’ve worked with.

A lot of people and companies make Alex Martin’s bike possible.

Need example? JGR (engine, footpegs, suspension), Vortex (handlebars), Guts (ribbed seat cover and foam), ARC (levers), ODI (grips), GET (ignition), Dubya (wheels), Roost MX (graphics), Cycra (Powerflow kit and skid plate), Dunlop (Geomax Pro-spec tires), Hammerhead (shifter), FMF (Factory 4.1 RCT exhaust), The Factory Metal Works (axle blocks, chain guide, rear caliper guard), GYTR (sprockets, chain, clutch, engine parts), Works Connection (Pro Launch holeshot device), Renegade (race fuel), XTrig (triple clamps), Streamline (oversize front rotor, brake pads, brake lines), and Matrix Concepts (M64 Elite bike stand).”

Billy Hartle says “Alex isn’t one of the pickier guys I have dealt with, but week to week, regardless if the front end of the bike was touched, he always has to move his controls around. He’s constantly wanting to check his bars and levers, as well as the clickers and sag on his suspension. Other than that, he isn’t too picky.

“One thing about Alex is that he lacks a little bit in the leg department. Something unique to our bike is that we run an adjustable subframe and slightly taller footpegs. The guys over at JGR have developed solutions to compensate for Alex’s height. It’s really cool that they can do those things for us, and it helps Alex a lot by allowing him to really dial in his setup. All in all, the 2014 Yamaha YZ250F is a great bike, and we are looking for some really good results this outdoor season.”

Streamline supplied the oversize front rotor, brake pads and  brake lines)

THE TEAM: ROCK RIVER RACING

It’s not uncommon for a motorcycle dealership mogul to get the racing bug. There’s a laundry list of dealerships that have followed the racing marketing strategy to boost notoriety, though few have attained championship success. Chaparral Motorsports and Pro Circuit helped write the history books, thanks to their unflinching commitment to racing. Rock River Power Sports owner Mike Duclos has aspirations of summiting the Mt. Everest of motocross—winning an AMA number-one plate. Win on Saturday; sell on Monday.

With the adjustable offset Xtrig clamp, Martin prefers to run 20mm offset outdoors (stock is 22mm). Another useful feature of the Xtrig clamp is the plethora of bar-mount positions with the option of fixed- or rubber-mounted bars. Alex runs rubber-mounted bar clamps. Notice how the gas tank vent has been re-routed underneath the air filter cover. Very cool.

Duclos has a strong support team, beginning with MX Sports’ 2011 Team Manager of the Year, Christina Denney. In a short period of time, the Rock River Yamaha team has been able to secure a major sponsor (CycleTrader.com), and the funding needed to land several top riders. Their 2014 lineup is Ben Lamay, Kyle Chisholm (Supercross only), Greg Gehrer (injured during the Supercross series) and Alex Martin. Although the team hasn’t reached the podium, they have a solid program that has grown by leaps and bounds since entering the high-stakes game of pro racing in 2009.

JGR takes care of the suspension setup. Thanks to a suspension simulator, JGR can make advancements in the shop as well as on the track. Martin’s shock setup is rather stiff, with very good resistance to bottoming. The rear end tracked well across acceleration bumps and settled decently into corners.

The CycleTrader.com/Rock River team is one of four teams that receive support from Yamaha. Joe Gibbs Racing is the blue crew’s A-level squad, followed by Star Racing, Valli Motorsports and Rock River. Thanks to their commitment to Yamaha, Rock River is given free bikes and discounted parts. Alex Martin’s bike is peppered with GYTR accessories and other performance items, thanks to a collaborative effort between Yamaha and several aftermarket companies. It’s great that the Rock River program is getting rewarded for its efforts.

TEST RIDE: THE MAIDEN VOYAGE

Getting to test Alex Martin’s CycleTrader.com Rock River Yamaha YZ250F had been in the works for months. MXA initially proposed the idea during the Supercross series with the caveat that we were most interested in testing Martin’s outdoor setup. The logistics proved challenging, with the team located in Georgia and MXA in SoCal, but eventually we both cleared a window.

The adjustable subframe, allows the seat height to be adjusted both ways in a short time.

We feel compelled to address the stipulations placed on the test by both parties. There were three rules we couldn’t break during our time on Martin’s YZ250F.

(1) Rock River didn’t want any big MXA test riders to ride the bike. Alex Martin tips the scales at 135 pounds soaking wet. Denney wanted to make sure that the MXA testers weren’t heavier than Martin, because she feared that it would jeopardize suspension performance and skew our opinion. We benched the mesomorphs and sent our lightweight riders to the test.

(2) MXA didn’t want Alex’s practice bike or some gussied-up stock YZ250F in team graphics. We wanted the real deal.

(3) Given that JGR rebuilds Martin’s engine after every three Nationals, there was an imaginary clock ticking down until the powerplant needed servicing. Granting MXA a test of the bike would shorten the engine’s life span by one full race — if we spent all day pounding out laps. We agreed to an engine time limit that was sufficient for our purposes.

Alex Martin’s CycleTrader.com 2014 Yamaha YZ250F as it appeared in the September 2014 issue of MXA.

As for our impression of Alex’s bike? They are in the photo captions.