Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

By Kit Palmer Since the first J apanese manufacturers jumped into the 125cc motocross wars 11 years ago with the introduction of the ultrafast , lightweight, hi-tech silver-tanked CRl25 usi ng th ree-pe tal reed valves. Unlike th e KTM 250M X, th e 125 uses a magnesium Dell 'O rto ca rburetor - the 250 has an a lu min um body Bing. The Dell 'O rto is 36mm able ma ch in es from across the Pacific. a nd has a dull , go ld-co lored finish . It wasn 't until recently that EuroIn stead of pulling up on th e choke pean 125cc motocrossers have mad e a kn ob or lever like o n most carbureco me back in th e U.S. T he Italian to rs, th e Dell 'O rt o has a chokelever Cagiva mad e a sho wing last year, but that must be pushed down; th e lever th e KTM 125MX stood out fro m th e is mounted on th e left side of th e carbo rest with its very strong engi ne. In The KTM ha s a multi-plate wet fact. some riders cla imed the 1984 clu tch and a six-speed close-ratio KTM to be the fastest 125 ever to hit transmission. It comes stoc k with a showroom floors. Not o nly was it 11428 Regina chain - most 125s ha ve fast , it handled decentlv and was verv switched over to 11520 chains long light, Now the new 1985 KTM 125MX ago. In theory, th e smaller chain is here. and it features more new pans red uces th e rotating ma ss and lighter than just th e most-obvious upsideweight means mor e horsepower to down fork s. th e rear wh eel. A sma lle r chai n a lso Because it made good power last mea n s using small er a nd ligh ter year. little was done to improve th e sp roc kets, which help reduce overa ll motor in '85. The liquid-cool ed, twoweight (a 11520 Regin a is used o n th e stro ke, single cylinder engine d id end u ro model 125MX C). T he KTM receive minor porting cha nges to aid has a folding alu m in u m shiftlever, low- to mid-range power, a nd a new a nd it comes with 0.423 quarts o f exha us t pipe was built for the same ATF Dextron II tran smi ssion fluid as pu rpo se. The pipe was re-routed for transmission oil. im p ro ved access to th e engine a nd Th e ig n itio n is a Mot opla t CD! carbureto r. using an internal rotor timed a t 1.4m m T he KTM has a cast-alum inum BTDC a nd firing a 370 525 Bosch cyli nder with a Ni kasil cyli nder lin er. spa rk plug. The 54 x 54mm bore and stro ke. Almos t a ll frame a nd suspension 123.6cc actua l displacement and 16:I co m po ne nts are new for 1985. Th e compression ratio remains th e same. ch ro me-mo ly-steel fra me no w has a IL~,!s.a.c!1!I.qt~ r.~ g ~~qL!qi?p.syst~m." • . removable rear \!P;fl'lT(ll; sectio n, like from Honda, the European factories have taken a back seat to the more powerful , better suspended, lighter and more reli - 6 on th e H onda CRs, with 1° less ra ke for fas ter turning. Trail was lessen ed by on ly 0.11 inc hes to help reta in stability in th e str aights. The sections of the frame which deal with th e most stress a re reinforced, and a semidouble downtube allows for a centerport exha us t system . Th e Pro Lever single shock rear sus pe ns io n system has a n a ll-new design. Levers a re cha nged to pro duce a stra ig h ter, less progressive damping cu rve. Needl e bearings a re used a t a ll pivot po ints a nd have grease gun (zerk) fitt ings. The al umin u m swingarm was redesigned to work with th e new linkage system . The White Power shock has a pig. gyback reservoir a nd has ex tern a l - preload. eight com p ression and I J rebound damping adjustments. It comes set 01'1 th e II rh a nd si x th rebound a nd compression damping positions. To reduce th e motorcycle's center of gravity, th e wh ol e shock unit is carried (25m m) lo wer in th e frame; th e bottom mount is now a clevis. Th e 125, and th e rest of KTM MX lin e-up, ha s a n inverted White Power fork, with 40m m stan ch ion tubes a nd 54mm fork sliders. It has ex terna l p reload, com p ression a nd rebound d amping adj us tme n t sett ings a nd produce 11.8 inch es of whee l travel. Sturdier plasti c fork slider protectors come stock thi s year. Gone for '85 IS th e drum front brak e - it is replaced by a float ing di sc with a dual -p iston ca li pe r. T he steel braided brak e hose is mad e in th e U.S., while th e master cyli nder, co ntro l le vers a nd th e whirlpool th rott le asse m bly are made by Magura . T o sat isfy riders with sma ller hands. th e clutch and front brak e.lev- ers are mounted closer to th e handlebars. A double-lead in g-shoe drum brake, activat ed by a steel rod from th e peda l to the ac tua ting arm, handles th e stop ping pow er in th e back. Both front and rear tires are Metzelers: A 4.60 x 18 Perfectcross in th e rear, a nd a standa rd 3·p ly 3.00 x 21 u p front. T he tires are fitt ed on golda nodized rim s laced with stra ig h tpull spokes; both th e rear sp roc ket and brak e drum a re mounted on the righ t side of the hub. New fea tu res incl ude narrower handlebars and fuel tan k (which holds a full 2.5 ga llo ns of ga s), stronger kick stand , la rger number plates on th e sid e pan els, a wider rear fender, a strong lower chain guard a nd a n optional 1.5-in ch·taller seat. Dry weigh t is 190.1 pounds, a nd the suggested retail p rice is $2114. The KTM co mes wi th a very info rmative shop manual written in both German and En gl ish. It has plenty of teardo wn pho tos a nd some exploded di ag rams but covers on ly the 1984 125cc models; how ever, mo st of th e in format ion is still useful, excep t for th e in verted fork. In stead , KTM supplies th e bu yer with a sepa ra te 14· page information bo oklet strictly a bo u t th e White Power 4054 fork . Starting th e KTM is easy - th e kickstarter is easy to use, and th e bik e a lmos t aw ays sta rts on th e fir st o r seco nd kick, hot or co ld. Once it warms up , it ru ns very clea nly a nd th e throttle response is quick. Dropping th e tran smi ssion from neutra l into first a t idl e doesn 't ca use a sh arp jol t o r produce a loud "c1on k" noise. A few laps aro u nd th e tra ck a re all it takes to realize the KTM is still blaz • • J • • ~

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