Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125873
wants to handle. T he front forks are the only thing, you know, they are the only t hing, They 're kind of stiff. CN: Joe kept trying to make a point that the first ha lf of the tr avel was supposed to be pretty soft and the second half was supposed to be stiff. DO: I don 't think that's right. CN: Do you think it's in the oil, springs, or what ? Do you thin k playing with some different weight o ils will cure it? DO: That could help, plus, it could be just new and stiff. You know, most good fo r ks are just free and mushy. Like, say, Maico forks or Betors, but these were just real stiff. CN: I noti ced when you were playing with them with the front brake on, the first half did seem mushy and after that it just wanted to stop. DO : They just quit. It may be too much oil. CN: How about the back? DO : It's real soft . The back's awful good. I don 't kno w if th ey'll ho ld up for any len gth of time. say 15 o r 20 minutes . But they're OK fo r a 130 to 140 pounder. CN : Does it want to fishtail on the whoopdies, or what? DO: No. it never does get sideways. It just stays in a real tr ackable st raight line. Like an Elsinore. CN: OK. Kinda changing the subject, but still on suspension, you mentioned earlier that the rear brake was a bit grab by. DO : 1 think it 's for the better, just different from what I'm used to riding. Like my 250 is kinda grabby. And a YZ, and a Suzuki they're a little bit grabby . But the 125 Elsinore is not zrabby if you can get used to it. It's just so meth ing yo,! have to get used to. CN: One thing I noticed when I accidentally tapped the brake too hard, it doesn't hop, it just slides, and it slides in a straight line. Some of the other bikes I've ridden . if you lock the back . brake on th em , they hop an d m ove around all over the p lace. DO: Yea, this one does n 't do that. It just goes straight. , CN: What about the front brake? DO: It works good. I like it. A lot of brakes either lock up or don't work at all, you can feel this. On the rear brake, for those who don 't Ii ke to uchy brakes, you can do some filing somehow or some crosshatching or something. CN: OK, carburetion . Is it clean , were there an y nat spots you noticed? DO : Just pulls from zero and goes to many zeros. It leaked a little bit . (Danny was referring to some grunge that co llec t ed around the carburetor cover that was caused by leaving the fuel valve on. ) If you leave the gas on after it's hot. say for 15 or 20 minutes and try to start it, it will load up a little bit: CN: Cornering. There weren't any smooth co rner s out there, but did it feel like it would slide all right? DO: Everyt hing was rutted. Yea, it will slide if yo u wa nt to . Berms ar e th e real neat th ing. That's the mos t co nfident I've ever been coming into a benne Coming in, yo u can just lay it over an d hit it and square it and come o ut just t ight ass, you can just pull right out of it . CN: Yea, I know. I saw you doi ng it. OK, yo u said something earlier about pegs? DO : They just don't fold as m uch as I think they should. CN : What all would you change if someone dropped one in your garage tonight? ' DO: I would change the grips, and I'd have to do something with that fron tend. The shocks, I'd probably leave those alo ne. I migh t forward mount them or something like that. Maybe ma ke the pegs fold a little bit more. I like the pipe that's on it. CN: What' about the seat tank? You know, to move around on? DO: No pro b lem . The tank's a little bit fI1 ill IlGI -- 2= IiGI g ;... g r- ""'" Cl 0 C'J ..... '" ::: 0.0 ::: < Overall Length 79 .5 in. Overall Widt h ' 34.5 in. 44. t in. Overall Height Wheelbase 52.8 in. Dry Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 Ibs. Fuel Tank Capacit y 1.7 U.s. gal. Engine: Type Single Cylinder. Rotary Disc 56.0 x 50 .6mm Displacement 124.8cc 17.62 cu . in.) Compression Ratio 8 .0:1 Max. Horsepower 22PS@ 9.750 RPM Max. Torq ue 1.75 kg-m@ 9,000 RPM Carburetor Mikuni VM26SC Bore and Stroke Lub ricat io n Syste m Sta n ing System Pre Mix Prim ary Kick Ignition System Magneto COl Ignition Timing 20 degree at 6.000 RPM NG K B-9EV Spark Plug Transm ission : Type Constant Mesh, Retorn Shift Clutch Wet, Multi-disc - Gear Rat io s: 1st 2 .27 (25111) 2nd 1.69 122/ 13) 3rd 1.33 120/1 5) 4th 1.14 124121) 5th 1.00 11 8/1 81 6th 0.89 (17119) Primary Reduct ion Ratio 3.14 169/ 22) Final ReduetiorrRatio •. .... . .4.61 (60/1 31 Overall Drive Ratio 12.95 Frame : Type Tabular , Single Down Tube 50 degrees Steeri ng Angle Castor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 degrees Trail : 129 .3mm (5.09 in.) T ire Size : The Rcnary valve bulge on the right. hand side is visually objectionable only. Although all three riders voiced some concern on fi rst sight, the bulge never c:ausild:a!'ly prol1lem wHil!! tiding. Front Rear 3.00-21 4PR 4.10 -18 4PR Suspension : Telescopic Fork F ront Rear Swingarm Suspension Stro ke : Front . . .. . . . . . ...... . • ... .. .6.3 in. Rear Brake: Fro'nt Rear Good overall looks won't hurt KX 125 sales. 93 .54 in. 120x28mm 14.72xl.l in. 130 x28mm 15.12x1.1 in. - Nader labeled front brake was the perfecticm on the end of less tha perfect forks. -.. 25