DIRT AX SPECIAL and Project 91 with Ben Milot and Carl Vaillancourt
Welcome to the 7th issue of DIRT magazine. Arenacross is not for the faint of heart. Short track, fast riders and aggresive races filled with bar bagning action that will leave you on the edge of your seat the whole night. If you like action packed races and exhaust fumes, Arenacross will quench your thirst for adrenaline. In this issue meet some of the best AX riders on the tour. Thanks to our friend and collab Jack Jaxson for the East coast AX photos and interviews. I would like to thanks Tod Hammock at Cycle city promotion for his help in the past years at the Kicker Arenacross in New England. Be sure to check out the special segment of the Project 91. Where Canadian FMX star Ben Milot rebuilt the original Carl Vaillancourts Honda CR 125 from 1991.
Welcome to the 7th issue of DIRT magazine.
Arenacross is not for the faint of heart. Short track, fast riders and aggresive races filled with bar bagning action that will leave you on the edge of your seat the whole night.
If you like action packed races and exhaust fumes, Arenacross will quench your thirst for adrenaline.
In this issue meet some of the best AX riders on the tour.
Thanks to our friend and collab Jack Jaxson for the East coast AX photos and interviews.
I would like to thanks Tod Hammock at Cycle city promotion for his help in the past years at the Kicker Arenacross in New England.
Be sure to check out the special segment of the Project 91. Where Canadian FMX star Ben Milot rebuilt the original Carl Vaillancourts Honda CR 125 from 1991.
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The CR 125 19<strong>91</strong><br />
<strong>Ben</strong> <strong>Milot</strong> had been thinking of the project for a while now. With <strong>Carl</strong> <strong>Vaillancourt</strong>’s<br />
approval, he could finally move forward. The next step was to find a bike.<br />
<strong>Milot</strong> knew very well it would be almost impossible to find the original one, so he<br />
started searching for a similar CR 125 19<strong>91</strong>, looking on all motocross sale sites <strong>and</strong><br />
reaching out on social media.<br />
“I found two or three Honda CR 125 19<strong>91</strong>, but there was a specific one in Valleyfield<br />
that caught my attention, because it had a Mugen cylinder, just like the one<br />
driven by <strong>Carl</strong> back in the days. The chances were slim that more than one of that<br />
model would have that kind of performance kit. I couldn’t believe I might have<br />
found <strong>Carl</strong>’s bike! To be totally sure, I sent the owner a few pictures <strong>and</strong> he confirmed<br />
it was the original one! It was in terrible shape but despite its condition, I<br />
had to buy it!<br />
To restore the moto was going to be a colossal task. It needed a lot of work <strong>and</strong> it<br />
required a team of professionals to put it back on the track.<br />
The restoration process<br />
The first name that came to <strong>Ben</strong> <strong>Milot</strong>’s mind to restore the dirt bike was Pierre-<br />
Luc Ratelle, sales director at moto Ducharme. The dealership being a distributor<br />
of Honda products, Pier-Luc <strong>and</strong> his team were used to working <strong>with</strong> bikes like<br />
the Honda CR 125.<br />
“It was easy to convince Pier-Luc, because he was also a fan of <strong>Carl</strong> <strong>Vaillancourt</strong>.<br />
He immediately said yes! It’s an audacious <strong>and</strong> unique project <strong>and</strong> he was happy<br />
to be part of it. However, because of the terrible condition the motocross was in,<br />
he knew it was a big job <strong>and</strong> that it involved a lot of work!”<br />
Since <strong>Milot</strong> was in China, he had the bike delivered to the dealer <strong>and</strong> sent a picture<br />
of what it looked like when it was on the track. It was the only thing the mechanics<br />
could rely on to restore the CR 125. They dismantled the moto piece by<br />
piece <strong>and</strong> started over, putting it back together, hoping it would start again. Because<br />
of the terrible shape it was in, only a few parts could be salvaged <strong>and</strong> most<br />
had to be replaced: chain, tires, h<strong>and</strong>lebar, pistons, etc. The biggest challenge was<br />
to find parts, as many were discontinued <strong>and</strong> unavailable on the market, especially<br />
engine parts. A lot of them had to be custom made to ensure the moto would<br />
be functional <strong>and</strong> faithful to the original. The rest of the parts where provided by<br />
Importation Thibeault. In total, 3000$ were spent for parts <strong>and</strong> 2000$ in labor by<br />
the different partners to put the old bike back together.<br />
“Since we wanted the bike to be identical to <strong>Carl</strong>’s original one, we really tried to<br />
respect the mechanics <strong>and</strong> aesthetics as much as we could. We painted it white<br />
<strong>and</strong> had a custom made graphic designed <strong>with</strong> <strong>Carl</strong>’s sponsors logos. Jesse Leduc<br />
Now at 75 MX Graphics did a fantastic job. The bike is identical! “
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