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/126768
bike and it will break on your bike, too, if you own a YZ125L. When the pin breaks. the lever won't return by itself, but that shouldn't cause a moto DNF. Theexhaust pipe is tucked in nicely under the fuel tank, out of the way of the rider's knee. The head pipe exits the cylinder between the split (rame downtube and come up the right side of the bike. A short, stubby, steel silencer hides behind the right rear number plate. Yamaha says the silencer should be repacked after every three hours o( riding to maintain peak performance. We let it go a little longer than that, but we know of another reason why the company recommends that interval: the YZ sounds raspy even when new, and gets louder all the time. But knowing that, we can't understand why the silen er isn't ea ier to take apart. Instead of an easy-to-remove C-clip holding in the silencer core, the Yamaha has four pop rivets that must be drilled out. After repacking, the rivets must be replaced. This is a case when an aftermarket aluminum silen er is definitely wonh the investment. Kick starting the YZ is a breeze, even though the lever is short and a little awkward to use. The YZ always starts after three or four jabs, and when the lever reaches the bottom of its ar , it smacks the footpeg without smashing the rider's shin. Thi L model has the best suspension Yamaha' come up with yet for a 125. Last year's model couldn't compare to the Suzuki Full Floater, Kawasaki Uni-Trak and Honda Pro-Link, but thi year it's different. The improvement came (rom linkage modifications and shock detailing. Out of the crate, the YZ is set up for riders weighing 120-130 pounds, but the Mono-X suspension soaks' up the bumps without harsh bottoming even when a 150-pound rider jumps aboard. The rear shock has a remote reservoir with a compression damping adj u tment dial". There are 16 possible settings, and we received the YZ with the shock set at position (click) number four (one is softest, 16 firmest). We immediately bumped the adjustment up a couple more clicks (or our 150-pound pilot, but didn't notice much change. So we turned the setting back to one, took a few laps, then dialed in number 16. To our urprise, there wasn't a dramatic difference between the two extremes. Eventually we settled on position number six. Shock rebound dampi ng is adj us ted by turning a collar on the shock body, and there are 21 settings. The standard seuing is II clicks from the bottom. and we liked that fine (or outdoor tracks. Setting the rebound firmer than that makes it tOO slow to respond, especially on tracks with many Supercross-style jumps ordouble jump. On indoor tracks, the rebound hould be turned down for faster re ponse: the best way to clear a double jump is \0 compress the suspension at the base of the first part and spring off the top, gaining enough air to clear the second mound. Too much rebound damping slows down the "spring" enough to make that difficult. In a field moving to disc front Specifications Engine Type .. liquid cooled, 2-stroke single cylinder. Displacement 123cc. Bore x stroke 56 X 50mm. Compression ratio 9.9:1. Starting system .. Primary kick. Carburetion ... 36mm Mikuni. Lubrication system .... Premix (24:1) Yamalube R. Transmission Primary drive ..... Helical gear. Primary drive ratio ... 3.333:1. Final drive #520 chain. Final drive ratio 4.000:1. Transmission type 6-speed constant mesh. Gear ratios 1st 2.462 2nd 1.857 3rd 1.500 4th 1.250 5th 1.105 6th 1.000 Clutch Wet. multi-plate. Transmission oil 0.80 qt. Chassis Frame type . . .. Double cradle. Rake Trail 27.7°. 4.57 inches. Suspension Front Telescopic fork Rear.. Swingarm. single shock Wheeltravelfront.. 11.81 inches. Wheel travel rear..12.20 inches. Front brake type ... Drum. dual leading shoe. Rear brake type drum. Front tire 90/90-21 4PR Bridgestone Reartire .... 120/80-18 4PR Bridgestone Electrical Ignition system .. CDI Magneto Generator system .. Flywheel magneto Dimensions Length 84.05 inches. Width 33.46 inches. Height 48.43 inches. Seat height 36.61 inches. 57.08 inches. Wheelbase Ground clearance.. 13.78 inches Net weight 207Ibs. Fuel tank capacity 1.98 gal. Suggest retail price $1899 brakes, this Yamaha hasa drum front brake, but it's an excellent brake. Like the rear drum, the front brake is strong and not prone to locking up. It has double leading shoes and responds well to one finger on the lever. Despite the braking power, the rider doesn't have to worry about the front end bucking because the brake is not grabby. The rear brake doesn't lock when the rider doesn't want it to, which means that the back end doesn't kick around over rough, choppy braking bumps. But the rear brake does chat- ter. and the bike makes a loud noise when the rear brake is applied, the type of sound made by a front tire hiuing a fender. The noise is caused by the chain slapping against the hard nylon swingarm slider and knocking against the shock linkage mud flap. But although the racket sounds nasty, it doesn't cause any damage. New this year is Yamaha's Z- poke design. The wheel spokes don't run from rim to hub. with a nipple at the rim end and a head at the other. Instead, the Yamaha spokes have two 17