Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Cagiva WMX:l25 The WMX125 Cagiva has more lowend than before and is faster on top. It has a flat seating position and precise handling. Soft Damp linkage system. FrOlit wheels on both bikes have disc brakes, while drum brakes supply the stopping power in the rear. The ,Cagivas we rode came with Pirell'is MT44 and MT32 tires. The biggest change on the WMXI25 is the motor. The engine cases are redesigned to improve life of the crankshaft and bearings, and is more compact. Other changes include new porting, a new exhaust pipe and silencer, and a new 37mm Dell 'Orto carburetor with an oval bore venturi. Suspension is the same as the 250's, but if you compare it to last year's 125, you'll find the Soft Damp .linkages are slig1nly changed for a more progressive damping curve. The front upside down fork also has the Pro-Tech System. The gas ~nk is narrower and reshaped for easier maneuverability. Both the 125 and 250 come stock with Excel gold-annodized rims. The first word that comes to mind when riding the WMX250 is - fast. It's by far one of the fastest production 250cc motocrossers we've ever ridden. Right off the bottom, the Cagiva's motor starts pulling, but the pull is nothing to rave about. Once th~ motor comes on the pipe at mid-range, however, it hits hard and continues'pulling hard at high RPM. The bike is fast and' pipey, making it fun to ride, but it was a bit of a handful on the hard-packed, dry, slick ground we rode on. The Pirelli tires didn't help matters much, either. The dry ground, combined with the Pirelli tires and pipey powerband, made the Cagiva skate around when exiting turns. The six-speed transmission worked extremely well. Even under a heavy load while on the gas, all it took was a light, quick nudge on the shift lever to find the next gear. We did, however, miss a few shifts. Although the course we rode on wasn't extremely rough, we feel that the suspension worked up to par. Both the fork and shock were set up Cagiva WMX250 Engine type Liquid-cooled. two-stroke. reed-valve Bore x stroke .....70 x 64.8mm Displacement .....•..• 249.3cc Compression ratio ...•.... 14: 1 Cerburetor .... 37mm Deli 'Orto Horsepower ....••.••• 42 HP @ 8000 RPM Torque ., ..• 4 Kgm @7250 RPM Starting system .•.. Primary kick Ignition •.••.•.••..•.. Motoplat Lubrication ....•..••.•• Premix Primary driva Straight-cut gear #520 chain Final drive 'Frame Single downtube. split double cradle N/A Rake ~4.6 in. Trail Front suspension ...• Telescopic fork Fork tube diameter .....• 40mrn Front wheel trevel '. NI A Reer suspension Single shock. swingarm Rear wheel travel ........• NI A Front brake 230mm d!sc Rear brake '•. 130mni drum Front tire ....•.. 3.00x21 Pirelli MT44 Rear tire .•••.... 4.25x18 Pirelli Engine type ., ,..... Liquid-cooled. two-stroke. reed-valve 56 X 50.6mm Bore x stroke Displacement ,.. ,.. 124.63cc Compression ratio 15.0: 1 Carburetor : .. 37mm Dell 'Ol1o Horsepower ,.. ,.. ,.33.5 HP @ 11.500 RPM Torque 2.04 Kgm @ 11.000 Starting system Primary kick Ignition ,.. , ,.Motoplet Lubrication Premix Primary drive Streight-cut gear #520 chain Final drive Frame Single downtube. split double credle Rake ,.. ,.. N/A Trail 4.6 in. Front suspenl!ion ., Telescopic fork Fork tube diemeter ,40mm a Ii ttle 'on the stiff side for our preference, but, otherwise, we were quite happy with its performance. Landing off steep jumps was smooth on Ihe Cagiva. Turning the WMX250 was a piece of cake. Keeping the slick ground in mind, the Cagiva.turned quickly and followed where the front wheel was pointed. Every once in a while, we found the Cagiva had the tendency to rise up out of a deeply-grooved turn too quickly, but the problem seemed to go away after spending more. time on the motorcycle. One of the reasons why the Cagiva felt so controllable in the turns, was its seating position. The handlebars have a comfortable bend and the seat and gas tank are very narrow. It feels as though you're riding on top Qf the bike instead of in it. Even though the Cagiva has a drum rear brake design, compared to a disc, the 250 stops quite well. The front disc brake works as weB as the brakes on any motocrosser we've ridden, and the rear brake is very predictable and controllable. We felt that the WMX250 would work even better on a track where traction was plentiful. More traction would make the bike a little easier to ride and make better use of the pipey, powerful motor. The WMXl25 was impressive, too. It still lacks a little punch off the boltom of the powerband but is much improved over the '87 model The 125 hooks up, usually after NI A Single shock swingerm Rear wheel travel N/A Front breke. , ,. , 230mm disc 130mm drum Rear brake , Front tire , 3.00x21 Pirelli MT44 Rear tire, ..... ,....4.25x18 Pirelli MT32 Cleimed dry weight ,.194 Ibs. , 84.4 in. Overall length 32.7 in. Overall width N/A Overall height Wheelbase 56.7 in. Fuel capacity ' 1 .9 gal. 14.0 in. Ground clearence 36.4 in. Seat height Colors White N/A Retail price Front wheel trevel Rear suspension fanning the clutch once or twice, then you're rewarded with trench digging horsepower. The motor revs quickly and has a fairly wide powerband. It definitely works best when the motor is revved 0.!1t. The clutch is strong and smooth enough for quick exits out of turns. Sitting on the WMXI25 is, like on the 250, very comfortable. The 125 is easy to fling around and feels lighter than most 125s we've ridden. It turns quickly and the suspension is first rate. We dialed the rear suspension and were very pleased with how well it handled the smaller, sharp-edged bumps, while maintaining cushion for absorbing hard landings-{)ff jumps. Both brakes were strong, and all the controls and Ie.vers were easy to find and use. In the short time we were able to ride the Cagivas, the only thing we definitely disliked about both the WMX125 and 250 were the kickstarters. On both bikes, the levers were too shoTt and hard to use. At the bottom of the stroke, the levers would hang up with the footpegs and would not return to the. upright position. After the short riding period, we left the Cagiva presentation very iTQpressed. Both the WMXI25 and WMX250 motorcycles we rode were very strong performers in both the motor and suspension departments. The WMXI25 and 250 should be on' the market by late October. The WMX250 Cagiva is one of the fastest production 250s we've ever ridden. The motor feels pipey and suspension is good. MT~2 Claimed dry weight 216 Ibs. 'Overaillength . ' 85.2 in. Overall width ..•....... 32.7 in. Overall height •.•...•.•..• NI A Wheelbase 57.7 in. Fuel capacity 2.2 gal. Ground cleara"ce 14.0 in. Seat height 36.4 in. Colors White Ret8i1 price _ N,I A 31

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