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/127180
requires only one wrench to loosen the rear axl e for chain adjustment, giv ing it a big advan tage for fast service between motos . Each machine has push-type adjusters , and Kawasaki's was th e only difficult one to adj ust since it's hard to get a wrench on the adjuster bolt. Contingency programs Now that the se bikes are so sim ilar in performance, deal er support a nd th e contingen cy p rograms offered by th e manufacturers are probably th e two most im portant facto rs in determining which 125 is best for you. All four manufacturers offer simi lar contingency programs wh ich give gift certificates, redeemable at dealers for com pany products, to ama teur riders co mpeting in selected events or series. All but Yamaha also offer cash payouts, up to $5000 for a supercross and $2500 for a National win, to privat eer pros who fin ish well at those events , as well as severa l other major races featuring Pro classes. Amateur Yamaha riders ar e more lik ely to receive YZ Bucks contingen cy money since several events pa y o u t all the wa y down to 10th pl ace. Suzuki and Kawasaki give certi ficates to the top five finis hers in selec ted events, excep t th e AMA Amateur National s where Suzuki pays down to IOth place. H onda o n ly covers th e top three finishers at their selected amateu r events, but offers an exte ns ive CR Support prog ram thro ugh local dealers. Amateur riders can also co unt o n technical assista nce at the big even ts from each of the four manufacturers since they all usually send at least on e technician and box van full of parts to such races. Pit talk After extensive testi ng and many hours pl a ying around on all four mach ines, we couldn 't help b ut arrive at our own personal conclusions and opinions on each machine. H ere's what we though t. Rider: Nate Rauba Classification: Novice . Weight: 1 55 Ibs. Height: 5'6" I'm sure that I co uld take any one of th ese four machines to the track a nd do well , it's just that one is easier for me to ride than th e rest. And the o ne I would most likely ta ke to the track wo u ld be the Kawasaki. Although it's not th e fastest , it has the best feel, both in th e po wer and handl ing departmen ts. The smooth , broad powerband makes it easies t for me to ride, so I co u ld co ncen trate more o n raci ng th an keeping it in th e right par t of th e powerband. Plus th e smoo th power delivery won't tire me ou t as quickl y. T he excelle nt suspension allows you to full y use all that good power, and it pampers yo ur body. Plus it is so stable in th e air you don 't have to worry about th e big jumps. But it would be hard to leave th e .Honda at home. The aweso me midrange punch makes it th e fastest of th e four, but it also makes it a li ttl e more difficult to ri de. PI u s th e suspension is a little too stiff. If I had th e stamina and skill of a factory Honda rider th o u gh , the CRl25 would be my choice. Since I' ve ridde n Suzukis for years , I can always count on making the RMl25 work. It 's just tha t wi th the '89 Suzuki I'll have to work harder to co mpensa te for th e lack of top end. Actually the poor top end of th e Suzuki can work to the advantage of a rid er who isn 't in top con dition , such as myself. Since the low end and midrange is so good, it 's easy to sti ll get aro u nd the track quickl y by short-shifting th e Suzoo k when you don't have the energy to hang on. Give n tim e, I co uld reall y co me to grips with th e Yama ha, but I mu st ad m i t tha t I' ve spent th e lea st amount of time in th e saddle of th e YZI25 and cou ld never reall y get accustomed to its layou t to go fast. But from my experie nces with th e Yam aha, I ca n tell it's a winner als o wi th its good ra nge of power and improved suspension. 0') 00 0') .-I . Rider: Kit Palmer Classification: Intermediate Weight: 157 Ibs . Height: 6'1" And performance iswhat you gainas the power ofthe FZR600 ischanneled through sixgearsanda rolling chassis ofthe race-proven Deltabox design. Afull30-percent stiffer than a steel-tube frame of equal weight, Deltabox turns theGenesis engines low center ofgravity into the • quick, precise handling that demanding riders require. Finally, huge front floating discs anda si~e rear provide abundant braking force and superior stopping. And so if you thinkthe FZR600 sounds hot, wait until you hearabout the no-moneydowrr financing at your Yamaha dealer. Now you've been warned. Sowhatareyou gonna do about it? YAMAHA \\e make the difference- All four of these mo torcycles are capable of winnin ~ races, so choosing which one I hke best basically co mes down to which one I enjoy riding th e most and have the most fun o n. Looking at it in th at perspective, my decisi on is simp le - the Kawasaki. I lik e the way th e mo tor works and th e stability of th e sus pens io n. Although it doesn 't have quite as . much power on to p as the Honda, I feel it makes up for it with a su persmooth and broad pow erband. The power co mes on h ard but is n ' t explosive or hard to keep on th e pipe. Throttle respon se is snappy. Suspension-wi se, th e KX is so sta b le th at yo u ca n reall y tak e advantage of th e motor. T he back end stays close to th e grou nd and is very pr edictable and "the front end works well and adds to . the bik e's overall even balance. Elsewhere, the KX has stro ng and powerful brakes, but you have to get used to its grabby tendencies in the rear. It corne rs well and its overa ll layou t is comfortable. There just isn 't anything th e KX doesn't do well. My next choice is th e Yamaha. Its -mo tor is similar to the Kawasaki 's - powerful, yet manageable'- and the suspension is good. O vera ll layo ut .is much better than in the past, but we did replace the ha ndlebars for a different bend, which reall y helped the yz. Altho u g h the H onda ha s the pow er and the clea n handlin g and detail over th e other three, its suspen sion keep s it fro m being my favorite. In stock co ndi tion , th e Honda is too busy and ho ps around too much. You have to work to make th e Honda go fast, but it does go fast ! Somewhere between th e Yamaha and the Honda lies th e Su zuki. Its suspension is top-ra te, handling is very good, but it could use some more power, mostly on top. If I consisten tly raced on tight and rough tracks, where I could take advantage of the RM 's low-end power and plush suspension, the Suzuki would be my choice. But for now , I'll be fighting Nate over the KX. • 35