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/126042
only handling flaw discovered in the 125. At t he rear , th e same big Kayab a nitrogen -ch ar ged dam pe rs as fo und on the 25 0 and 3 70 do a super job. T hey are wound with a single pro gressive win d sp ring and ac tually work be tter th an the same shocks do on the bi g b ikes. You simply don 't feel the rear end as it tr avels thro ugh that eigh t inc h arc. Th er e are so me othe r det ail re fin ement s th at contribute to the firs t cla ss overall p ac kage. Port ti ming has bee n changed from the " M" model to in crease torque outpu t in the mid -range, The po intless electronic ignition gave easy starts an d strong spark even at low RPM. To accompany the ne w six-speed transmission, the shift mechanism has actually been made beefier an d more reliable. It is n ow gea r-actuated ra ther than a pin and dowe l design . Very light, pro gressive cl utch feel beli es the fac t th at the clutch was st ren gth en ed With an extra set o f pl ates. Engi ne ca ses and countershaft sp rocket cover are still ca st in m agnes ium. Su zuki does not in clude a ch ain tensioner to handle the two inches of necessary dr ive ch ain slac k (on ly a roll er guide ) but there was no fun ction al probl em. . ;. ~ ~f ~. ;; St yling is now purely functional. Suzuki has gotten away from the kn ickack and doo-dad approach of their re cent p ast an d started building some im pressive looking motocrossers as th ey've followed the architectural pre cept that form follows function. The only possibly gim mic ky item is the slots in the side number panels in ten ded to allow a stream of cool air to reach the shock b odies an d carry th e he at away. They probably aren't real ly necessary but are, at leas t, intended to make the suspe n sion work well longer. The new RM1 25 A is, fr ankly , surprisingly good. It has taken all th e' be st points of Gaston Rahier's Championship m achine (excep t for the thousands of dollars of titanium used to ligh ten his) and brought them to gether in a tidy package for production. Said our r apid 250cc class Expert, " I never thought I'd race 125s again. Now, I don't kn ow . . . " ~pecifications q1J h, I f Y 7~ 01 1/ 7~ DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT Wheelbase ....... ... • . ..... 54.9 in. Ground clearance •. . •. ..•• •• .10.4 in. 190 Ibs . Dry weight Bore . •. • .. . .. •. ••• •..... .. .56mm Stroke .. .••..... • • • • • . • • •. .50mm Piston displacement . . . • • . . •... 123cc Corrected compression ratio . ... . . 7 .6 :1 Carburetor .. .... • • MI KUNI VM32SS Staner syste m Primary kic k Primary reduction . . . . . . ••... . 63 /17 Fina l reduct ion .. . • • • • • : • . ••• • 57 /14 Gea r rat ios. Low . . .. . . • • • . • • •• 2B/12 2nd ••••. ••• •• . • . .. 28 /16 3rd . • .. •. • ••• • •. •24/17 4th 25 /21 5th . .. . .. . . . .. • .. 23/22 Top .•. • . . . •• ••• •• 22 /23 CHASSIS F ront t ravel .. . . . . • . . . • .• . • •7.87 in. Rea r travel . • •••• •. • .• • • . • . .8.35 in. Rake 30 degrees Trail • ••. • . .••.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 .1in . Fro nt tire size • ..• .• • •• • . 3 .00 -21-4PR Rear t ire size .• • . . • . . . •. 4.10-1S-4PR CAPACITIES Fuel tank . ..• • • ••. • . . 6 .0 lit 11.6 gall Fork oil . . ... •. • •... • 223cc (7.5 oz) Transmission oil • • . . • . . BOOcc 11.7 pt) Suggested retaiI (West Coast ) • • • . .$995 The specif icat ions are subject to change without notice. , £ . ~.:... " ~ 15