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/127134
With its peaky, high revving 'and powerful motor, the CR125 is fo'r the serious and aggressive rider. pipe, shift action could be better. Shifting th e ' Honda is ge nerally smooth, until you have to shift it under a heavy load. Even with th e aid of the clutch the tra n ny doesn't alwa ys want to go in to the next gear. H andling on the H onda is first rate. It ~oes wh ere it's pointed and turns WIth p recision wh eth er in a sweep ing berm or a tight inside li ne. There is still a trace of headshake on high speed, bumpy straights, bu t it is tolerable. T he CR is easy to flick around, th anks to its ligh t weight and ' extre me ly com fortable riding position. T he handl ebars ha ve a neutral bend (bu t no t as good as last to hop around and kick. It did work well on whooped-out stra igh ts, and landing from Jumps and other large bu mps. Traditionally, H onda has one of the best set of brakes in th e business, and this. year is no differen t. T he front di sc works excellently a nd has a very positive feel with one -finger opera tion. The rear disc is strong but not grabby. We rare ly killed th e engine by lock ing th e rear wheel, One thing th at should have been changed but was not is the airbox design for servicing th e air filter. T he ai rbox open ing is too narrow for the filt er to fit through without turning it sideways. wh ich usuall y rubs off th e bead of grease on the sealing edge of th e filter wh en ins talling the oilfoam ed element. And wh en the filter is in th e airbox it is very difficult to line up the screw that secures the filt er wi th the threa ded hol e through th e filt er mount. It can take many tries and a lo t of time to fina lly get th e screw in straigh t. , Bu t can the Honda win races? Yes, but it takes an aggressive rider ' to ta ke full advan tageof th e H onda' s po tential. It seems th e Honda was designed m ore towards an adv anced rider with its peak y, high revving and powerful motor.The CR is full race and nothing else. Although the '88 CRl25 is sold out from th e fa ct ory, there a re still limited su pp lies ava ilable according to several deal ers we contacted. • year 's) and the grips and control ' , levers have excellent feel. A slim gas tank a nd co mforta ble seat helps rider's maneuv erab il ity, as well. The Honda 's suspension wa s initially harsh , but aft er a few rides .. (break in period) and th e u sual dialing in and adjus ting, overa ll actio n was comme nda ble. The cartridge Showa fork has smooth action throughout its rang e of travel with no har sh spots. The rear end isn' t quite as smooth though , especia lly over sharp-edge d ,bumps like thos e found exiting corners wh ere the rear end on the H onda has a tendency Handling is excellent; the Honda goes where it's pointed and turns with precision. Clutch pull is very light and i~ easily done with one finger. After many hours of riding the Honda's engine hasn't given us any signs of trouble . The exhaust valve has been recalibrated to open earlier. Honda CR125RJ Engine type •.•• . . Liquid-cooled. two-stroke. single Bore x stroke . •. 54.0 x 54.5mm Displacement .. . .. . •. . 124.8cc Compression ratio . ... .. . •8 .8:1 Carburetor ....•.. 34mm Keih in Starting system . . . . Primary kick Ignition . . . . . . . . . . . . . .• .. . COl Lubrication Premix Straig ht-cut Primary dr ive gear Final drive .. . . .. •.. #520 chain Frame High-t ensile steel. double cradle Rake N /A Trail .. .• .. ... ..... : N /A Front suspension . ... . . •Showa cartridge telescopic fork. 14-way compression damping adjustments Fork tube diameter . .•.• . 43mm Front wheel travel .. . . •. 12.0 in. Rear suspension Kayaba single shock 22-way rebound and ' 16-way compression damping adjustments. swingarm Rear wheel travel 12.2 in. Front brake •• .• . . . . . . . . . . Disc Rear brake ... • •. • • . . . .. •. Disc Front tire ....... '. ... . 80/100-21 . Dunlop Rear tire 110 /100-18 , Dunlop Claimed dry weight . .. , 9 2 .9 Ibs 1 Whee lbase •.. • •. . .. . . . 57.1 in. Overall length NI A NI A . Overall w idth Overall height . .. .. • . .. .. . N I A Ground clearance 14.0 in. Fuel capacity ' .' . . 1 .7 gal. Seat height 36.4 in. Colors .....•..... • . . •. . . . Red Retail price .. _.. •. . . .. •$2598 21