Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

X GRIDING IMPRESSIONS 1992Honda,Kawasaki,KTM,Suzuki and Yamaha 125(( Mers ing. It lacks the prize-fi gh ter -l ik e p u nch found among the rest of the fleet, a nd seems a little flat on top. It does, however, have a sol id pull in th e midrange, but it generally requires some clutch work to get th ere. The YZ felt co m fortable, especially in th e location o f its co n tro ls. Not as good as th e Kawasaki 's, but fin e for a five-foot, IO-inch rider. What's left is the Honda, my perso na l favorite out of the quintet. The mi ghty CR has th e best engine , producing o ne hell of a wall op o ff th e bottom that ex tends all th e way until th e machine signs off on top, which is mu ch lat er than its com pe titio n. You ca n definitely feel th e influence that Tea m Pea k/Pro Circuit Honda team and 125cc Supercross Ch ampions j erem y McGrath and Brian Swink had o n the '92 ma chines. The engines are now eq ually good for both outdoor and supercross com pe tition. T he suspens ion is als o top notch . Wha tever th e tra ck threw in its wa y, th e CR soa ked up wi th relative ease. The brakes also impress me a nd in ' my mind are su perio r to the sto p ping un its o n the o the r bikes. T he CR a lso fit s me well . I lik ed its narrow feelin g, which mak es it easier to throw arou nd or ma ke quick weigh t shi fts o n. Ken Faugh t m ~ ~ There was no complex, scientific a na lysis used to come .u p wi th our cho ice of the best 125. Our objective was to ride each machine, back-toback, on th e same tra ck under identica l co nd i tio n s, then co me up with a personal impression on eac h o ne. No round-table d iscussion with th e usual argui ng abo u t th e good a nd bad points o f eac h bik e, a bou t which machine is first , or las t. just our own th oughts. What did I think? The Honda CRI 25 is th e best of th e bunch , the on e I wo u ld wa nt to be aboard at the startin g lin e. It has a n extreme ly wid e powerband, a nd a good power punch at each level. There's p lenty o f lo w a nd mi drange power for blasting o ut of turns, or for just getting around wh en one gets tir ed and can't ride ag gressively. Yet th e power keeps o n pullin g righ t up through th e higher revs [or the lon g stra ig h ts a nd wh en you keep th e throttle pinned. Little effort is requ ired io use th e cl u tch, and the tra nsm ission shifts smooth ly. T he new front forks are responsive to th e small bumps yet soa k up th e hard landings without bottomi ng, and th e triple-ta per design seems to allow enough fork flex to provide a more com forta ble rid e. The rear end works eq ua lly as well as the front. Handling th e little CR was a br eeze. It turns quickly with its short wh eel base, which makes it feel rea lly small Suzu ki made extensive changes to the RM, including an all-new frame that features a sq uar ed-tu bed backbo ne, a sho rter intake trac t and a reshaped exhaust • pipe. 10 Engine type . .. Liquid-cooled, casereed, two-stroke, single Bore x stroke 54x54.5mm Displa cement I 24cc Compression ratio 9.1-11.2:1 Carburetor 35mm Miku ni Starting system Primary kick Ignition Suzuki PEl Lubrication Premix Primary drive 64/ 19 Final drive 49/12 Frame High-tensile steel, semi double cradle Front suspension Showa telescopic inverted fork Front wheel tra vel 12.2 in. Rear suspension Full Floater Showa singl e shock, swingarm Rear wheel travel 12.8 in. Fron t brake Single disc Rear brake Single disc Front tire 80/IOOx21 Dunlop Rear tire 90/ IOOx I9 Dun lop Claimed dry weigh t ..... .. . • 194 Ibs Overall length 84.3 in. Overall width 33.3 in. Overall height 49.2 in. Wheelbase. . . . . .. 45.1 in. Fuel capacity 2.1 gal. Ground clearance 14.2 in. Seat heigh t 37.8 in. Colors Yellow w/white . Retail price $3499 a nd compact. The CR lelt very stable on all parts of th e tra ck a nd I noticed no headshake. Honda has a lways had so me of the best brakes in the business, and the new front system stops th e CR very quickl y. But th e brake has a progressive feel and isn't grabby. But if Kit gra bbed the Honda, I wouldn 't be d isappoint ed ta ki n g Suzuki's RMI 25 to the gate. For the past few years, the RM125 has been extremely easy to ride, th a n ks to strong low end and mi dra nge power, but lacked a p u nch on the top end. Not anymore. Suzuki's combination of a shorter intake tract and redesigned An aw esom e motor surro unded by average suspension and fla wless detailing ma ke the Honda tough to bea t, both on and off the tra ck. Honda CRl25R Engine type .. . Liquid-cooled, casereed, two-strok e, single Bore x stroke 54.0x54.5mm Displa cement 124cc Compression ratio : .. 9.1:I Carburetor Keihin 36mm Starting system Prim ary kick Ignition COl Lubrication Premi x Prima ry drive N/ A Final drive 51113 Frame High -tensile steel, semi double cradl e, removabl e sub-frame Front suspension Showa telescopic inverted fork Front wheel travel 12.2 in. Rear suspension Pro-Link Kayaba single shock, swingarm Rear wheel travel 12.6 in. Fron t brake disc Rear brake di sc Front tire Bridgeston e 51M Rear tire Bridgestone 59M Claimed dry weight 191.81bs Overall length 83.8 in. Overall width 32.5 in. Overall heigh t 49.5 in. Wheelbase 56.8 in. Fuel cap acity ' 2.0 ga l. Ground clearance 14.5 in. Seat heig ht. 38.6 in. Colors Red w/white Retail price $3599 exha us t pipe gives th e RM a bett er burst of power all around. Alt hough th ere's more top- end power , it still doesn't have the p un ch to top the Honda. The RM has even stro nger low-end tractability, making it one of th e most effortl ess 125s to ride. The RM also falls a litt le short of th e Honda in the braki ng department, bu t- it hand les just as well and has superior su spens ion. Bo th en ds are more responsive to the b u mps, large or sm all. I can' t decid e wh ether I'd pi ck th e Kawasaki or KTM next. Kawasaki 's KXI2 5 felt like it was th~ biggest ma chine o f th e bunch , primarily since it had th e wid est seat. Even th ough it's wid e, it gave me so me thing to grip with m y knees, and that makes it feel more stable. It has a good motor with a broad powerband, but the engine lacks a punch. T he motor isn' t slow, bu t it feels that way since there is no burst of power. In stead, there is just a steady pull from th e lo w-end throug h the midrange tha t ta pers off as the revs get higher. It works well w he n short sh ifted, which is easy to do th a n ks to a smooth transmission. The KX I25's suspens io n is also quite supple, and overa ll handling is excelle n t. Ho wever, it does have a considerable a mount of headshake. The KTM has a motor nearly equal to the CR 's. It pulls just as hard from the midrange a nd ab ove, but lacks lowend grunt for pulling out of the tight turns. A quick swipe of the clutch lever , which has th e ha rdes t pu ll o f the five machines, is required to bring the KTM back on th e pipe. Su spension action at both ends is slightl y stiffer than the japanese brands, but the Dutch -made White Power units ar en 't far off th e mark. KT M's o nly real flaw . is the transmission. It takes a lot of effort to grab the next ta llest gear, a nd shifting under power is nea rl y impossible. One other thing I don 't like about the KT M is th e rear brak e pedal. I have a relativel y small foot a nd had trouble finding the ped al , even with th e cleated footrest adjus ted all th e wa y back on th e pedal shaf t. . That leav es th e Yamaha YZ125. Althou gh it has th e best suspensio n, su pe rio r stability a nd grea t handling, those attri b u tes ca n' t o verco me its mot o r. T here is no sp read of po wer, it's a ll con centrated in the m idr ange. Th e YZ makes decent midrange power, but it 's a lot of wo rk keep ing it there. Let the revs drop off a nd th e motor fall s flat , requiring quick shift wo rk. Rev th e YZ h ig her a nd the po wer quick ly tapers off, I had to co ncentrate too hard o n tappi ng the midrange power to have fu n o n the Yamaha. For me, it all co mes do wn to fun a nd I enjoyed rid in g a ll th ese bi kes. But I had th e most fun o n th e Honda. Nate Rau ba There it is, o u r impression o f th e 1992 125cc MXer s. Obvi ously, we unanimously liked th e Honda the best with th e KTM, Kawasaki and Suzuki pretty much tied for runner-up honors. If the Yamaha had just a littl e bit more power o ff the bottom end and on the top end , it cou ld easily su rpass the Kawasaki, KTM and Suzuki for sole posi tio n of second p lace. Perhaps a n afte rma rket ex haust pipe is all it needs. Bu t for no w, the Hon da is still the crea m of the crop. Cl'I W hi le Cycle News believes th e foregoing test reliable, it is th e opinion of the reviewer(s) on ly and should no t be relied upon in determining the performance or safety of the vehicles. T he reader should ma ke his o r her own investigation . .. Editor.

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