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Andrea Talozzi – CR250 McGrath Replicas

by JohnNicholas on 08/31/2009

Here are two amazing Honda CR250 machines from our friend Andrea Talozzi. He currently commutes between Italy and California. While in California, Andrea works for Motocross Vacations. He is looking forward to living in the US full time.

Something you might find of great interest is a new project bike that Andrea is working on next. It sounds like one awesome machine! The only thing I want to know is, when can I ride it?

I am Italian but now I live in California because I work with Race So. Cal setting up motocross vacations for Italian racers. In the past I’ve worked for factory Honda in Europe, and now live & work in the US!

Giacomo Del Segato and Andrea Talozza - Spain 2008

My home is in the center of Italy, in Marche region.. this area has the most beautiful & amazing motocross tracks in all of Italy. Next year the first round of the Motocross World Championship will be held in Fermo, but in Marche we have many other motocross track famous in Europe & Worldwide! (Cingoli, San Severino, Esanatoglia, Cavallara)

Marche has an official web-site for racer from Europe & Worldwide… the site is named www.pistedellemarche.com and you can see all track’s in center of Italy, Marche region in Particular.

2008 Team Honda Europe-Martin - Back row from left to right, Michele DeBortoli, Andrea Cervellin, Christian Beggi, Giacomo Del Segato, and Alessando Battig. Front row Andrea Talozzi, Enzo and Samuele.

I am now 23 years old (24 at the 17 september) and when I finished  technician school in 2003, I immediately went to work for the factory Honda Team. I worked at Team Honda for 5 years and wrenched for the fastest Italian racers, including Christian Beggi…  last years red plate holder in 14 of the 16 rounds of MX3 world championship. We tried to win the MX3 world championship for a few years, in 2004 we finished 2nd by 21 points, in 2006 finished 3rd by 86 points and in 2008 finished 2nd by 9 points!

Andrea Talozzi with number 1 Italian rider Roberto Pegoraro.

I’ve also worked in European MX2 championship with the young riders of the Honda junior team Last winter (December) I decided to Team Honda Europe- Martin. In Europe it’s not the same thing as in the USA as far as work is concerned… In Europe the motocross are killed for the FOOTBALL media and  is a not good place where to work.

Ever since I was young, I have loved the US MX & SX world. Last year I met Stephen Heighton of Race So.Cal.com and he offered me an opportunity to work with him. I’m now responsible for marketing and advertising of motocross vacations in Italy.

Working for Race So. Cal MX Vacation is totally different then working in Motocross Grand Prix. Here in the US I’ve found the right conditions, where I work hard everyday but at the end of the day, I feel good. I have met many riders, many people, work at most of the So.Cal tracks , meet factory riders , and prepare fresh & perfectly maintained race bikes everyday!

Andrea's McGrath Replica CR250's. These bikes are clean, but what else would you expect from a Factory mechanic?

I’m happier working in the US than working the MX-GP circuit in Europe. In Cali I’ve meet a lot of guys that all love motocross, thinking the same things and having the same opinions as I do and it’s a great thing for a guy that loves motocross as much as I do.

Now I’m at home in Italy, but I’ve just readied my travel bag for return to CA for next season! Cali is Awesome for motocross, and i think that it’s the true motocross mecca of the world!

Andrea riding his 1996 Honda CR250.

So, regarding my bikes… I’ve been racing for the past 12 years in Italy, I’ve participated in the Marche regional championship and I’ve won the championships a total of 7 times. (twice in 125cc and 5 in 250cc)

I was born with a two stroke bike, but I’ve also raced with a 450 4-stroke, but I think for privateer riders, the two-stroke is a perfect and amazing bike!

The story of my replica Jeremy Bikes was born many years ago: when I was young (circa 5 years old) The first MX magazine I got was a MOTOCROSS ACTION, completely written in English and on the first page there were photos of McGrath with his 125cc PEAK PRO CIRCUIT Honda bike!!…that moment began my love for the mx world and for Jeremy McGrath in particular!

Jeremy represented for me a source of life, I’ve dedicated my entire career as a rider to follow the tips and riding style of McGrath! ..for me he’s a ICON, a GOD on earth! I’ve bought all his stuff during his amazing career (mx gear, helmets, stuff merchandise, poster..)

I’ve meet him only twice in my life and just for a few minutes, in Anaheim #2 2003 and in Pesaro SX in 2002…but these few moments with him were amazing, to have my Idol in front of me and talking with him! Next time I’m in CA I want to try to spend some more time with him, maybe one day to have fun at a Motocross track ;-) …..this is the dream of my life!

1996 Honda CR250 McGrath Replica. Can you believe this machine was completely detsroyed when Andrea bought it?

It’s from 1996 that I wanted to have a CR 250 like Jeremy’s, and I finally found a 1996 CR 250 in 2005, completely destroyed and I’ve completely restored the bike, finishing in 2007. In that same year I found a brand new CR 250 2006 and I did much of the same work as my ’96, making in the original style like the last SX race of Jeremy in ’06 ( Phoenix ’06 when Jeremy finished 4th behind RC, CR and JS!)

The 2006 CR250

My ’96 CR was a 85% restoration, I still need to find new wheels and find brand new 100% graphics to put on. The ’06 CR was a 95% and will be a exact copy of Jeremy’s Bike, I still need to find some little stuff and it’s ready! The difference between the two bikes are mostly in the handling-frame, the CR ’06 is like a BMX bike, light, fast and easy to ride
2006_cr250_1
The 96 CR 250 I think it has the best engine that Honda have ever made!! Really!!  I only need to put on a factory Showa suspension because the standard KYB don’t work well. My ’06 CR 250 have a front factory KITA showa, factory cylinder-head, factory clutch perch, factory brake lines,  all the rest are aftermarket parts (Pro Circuit pipe & silencer, V-force 3, RG3 clamps, talon hubs, TJ factory graphics)

Next my project bike?..CRF ’010 frame with 2001 CR 250 engine! It will be the best bike ever!!!

My project will be more in depth then the classic Service Honda custom built machine. I’ll be installing a fuel injection system made by TM racing on my project machine. The TM bike’s are made in Pesaro at 50 Km to my home, I’ll also be working on creating new CDI, i want to try to have something similar to the JD electronics (the same as Pro Circuit) and create a really new concept of the two stroke.
2006_cr250_2

Many riders talk badly regarding the two stroke engine but only because they don’t know the real fundamentals regarding the life of the engine in general.

With fuel injection the two stroke bike can have the same emissions as a four-stroke, but people don’t understand this fact, but could learn this from engineering books…and a lot of people don’t know this! I’ve studied for a couple of years about my project and I think (and hope) to have a great result.

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