Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eRIDING IMPRESSIONS e - 1992 Honda,Kawasaki, KIM,Suzuki and Yamaha 125a: MIers O"l O"l l-< ~ ..0 S ~ > o Z Photos by Kinney Jones ven though the National MX and Su pe rcross racing season has ended. this time of year is perhaps the most exciting of all. It 's the time when all the manufacturers release their new line of motocrossers, which forces many of us into hanging a " For Sale" sign on our thoroughly used and no longer current models. After the money is collected, however, there's always that tough decision of which brand to buy. It gets tougher every year since the performance of each machine is nearly equal, and often only individual riding style or a qua lity dea ler can make the difference. Unfortunately, buying a new rnotocrosser isn't like buying a new car. Ask for a test ride and you'll probably get laughed out of town. That's where we come in . If yo u're in the market for a brand new 125cc MXer , th en hopefully our impressions just might make yo u r decision-making a little easier. We gathered five of th e major manufacturer's 1992 125cc MXers a nd took som e hot laps on each one of them. Before we offer our riding impressions, we'll discuss som e o f th e sig ni fica nt technical changes of each bike. E 6 W h a t's new? KTMSX Perhaps the most changed of all the l25cc MXers is the KTM, now designated the Sx. A lot of attention was given to the SX's suspension, which features a significantly changed Dual Taper 4057 White Power Multi-Adjuster inv erted cartridge fork , mounted to lighter and more rigid triple damps. The fork has all-new valving specs and also uses new , low -friction bushings to reduce fork stiction. In the back, the White Power shock also features many internal changes. such as low-friction bushings. longerlasting piston material and what KTM claims to be more consistent damping action. To improve stability, the KTM was fitted with a slightly longer swingarm, and the lower shock linkages ha ve new ratios a nd better seal s to p ro tect the bearings. T he KT M' s di sc bra kes also recieved so me fine tuning; both fro nt a nd rea r di sc rotors pave less slo ts to help lengthen pad li fe. Other chasis cha nges include new style Magura d utch a nd fro nt brake lever s, higher -m oun ted hand lebars , different sea t sha pe and softer padding, wider foo tpegs, a nd Excel -constru cted rim s wit h Dunlop 701 tires. T he mainframe is cons tructed of Chornem ol v, a nd the rear su b-frame alumi n u m alloy. The liquid-cool ed, case-reed induction, two- stroke 124.8cc m ot or is relati vely unch anged. It still features a Mah le Nikasi l-coa ted cyl inder, a n exha ust power-valve, six-speed trans- mission . with a 37mm flat slide Dell'Orto carburetor. It did get an all-new exhaust pipe, designed to give the motor a little more torque off the bottom. The dutch has been beefed up with new reinforced sintered dutch plates. The clutch actuating system was slightly modified to improve dutch action. And, to simplify maintenance. th e dutch case has a new separate cover Ipr quick and easy access. The KTM has a claimed dry weight of 200.9 pounds. Ya mah a Y Z It's no surprise that Yamaha put in a little overtime trying to squeeze more horsepower out of the YZ's motor. Last year , the Yamaha was the long shot of the group when it came to getting the hol eshot. In hopes of churning more horsepower out of the liquid-cooled, casereed valve induction, two-stroke 124cc motor, Yamaha broke out th e grinder and reshaped th e cylinder's transfer and exhaust ports, flattened out the roof of th e cylinder head, redesigned the ignition system and changed th e exhaust pipe. The rest of the motor was unchanged, including the 35mm Mikuni cresent-shaped slid e carburetor a nd six-speed transmission. In the suspension department, there are few changes: The inv erted Kayalia fork has slig h tly more travel, as does the rea r suspension, and th e di stance betw een th e fork tubes is 5mm wide r to improve straigh t-line a nd cornering stability. T he on ly other change to the rea r suspensi on is t h e additio n of a tem pera tu re-com pen sa tin g mechanism inside th e Kayab a-rnade shock bod y to help minim ize shock fade. Other new features include wider foo tpegs, a lar ger-diameter front a xle and a space age- loo king integrated front fender/number pl at e. The Yam aha co mes with Dunlop K490 (fro nt) a nd K696 tir es. It ha s a claimed dry weight o f 201 pounds. Kawasaki KX Like th e KTM , the Kaw asaki features a number o f sign ifica nt cha nges,

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