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/127692
h ard or rev quite as far. Mi drange power is strong, and the bike works best w hen kept sma ck-d ab in the m iddle. The YZ works just as good in tacky cond itions as it doe s in the dry, and is easily the best- rounded motor of th e bunch. All but the m ost ex peri enced w ill be pleased with the Yamaha engine. HANDLING Th o ug h it r ece ived m o re-r el a xe d frame geome try than it has in the past, the Hond a is still the qu ickest-handling of the four. Though the CR feels as if it has the sho rtes t wheelbase, at 57.1 inches it isn't even close. That "honor" goes to the Su zu ki, whose 56.5-inch wheelbase is by far the shortest. On fast tracks the CR feels a bit twitchy, but oddly enough, we never got the bike to shake its hea d. It just feels like it "wan ts to:' In rough conditi ons, the CR seems to "seesaw" more than the rest, but it nevertheless manages to soa k up th e gna rlies t sections wi th ease. Tight tracks favor the Ho nda, as no bike can cut and thrust as w ell as the red and purple machine. The H o n d a feels ve ry much a t ho m e?n Supercross-st yle courses, as its quick handling and instant power d elivery fill the bill. An aggressi ve riding sty le is required of Honda pilo ts - no lazy riders allowed! On the opposi te end of the spectrum is the Ka wa saki. Thou gh it h andles mu ch quicker th an older vers ions, the newest KX is still the most stable bike in th e 125 class. With the longes t wheelb ase - 57.3 inches - the KX has the longest feel on the track, but still manag es to tu rn as we ll as the rest. No , it won't carve inside a CR, but catching an inside line isn't as much a task as you migh t thin k. Rough tracks are hardly a cha llenge on the KX, as its neu tral manner s allow yo u to wheelie over m ost obstacles, Like the Honda , the Suzuki fee ls short, but d oesn't have the same twi tchy feeling. Why not? Well , tho ug h it ha s the shortest wheelbase>of the flock, the RM has a chopper-like feeling on rough straig h ts. Under acce leration, the rea r end of the RM sq ua ts a nd se nds th e front end skyward , bu t we'll elabora te more on the saggy rear end later . Cor- nering on the 'Zook is a breeze, as it can h ug the inside as well as a Honda , and at the same time swi ng wi de w ith the rest. Once again; th e Yamaha was o ur favorite. At 57.2 inches, the YZ's wheelbase is righ t in the middle of the range, and as expected, it is the bike w ith the most-ne utral handling. Yama ha rid er s w ill feel eq ually a t hom e on fast and tig h t cou rses, as th e YZ go b bles u p ev erything th row n its way with ease. Stable at speed, the w hite and p urple bike can also cut and thrust wi th little effort . Unlike the CR and RM, the YZ d oesn 't become a ha ndful when rider fatigue sets in. We love it! SUSPENSION The Suzuki is the only 125 that comes fitt ed with Showa suspension com po n ents, as th e Honda, Kawasaki and Yama ha are fitted w ith Kaya ba units. And as expec ted, the Suzu ki fealu res the most-different techno logy as well . Showa u nv eiled the Twi n Ch amber fork desi gn last year, and this year's 125 fork comes with the same slip pery inner coating th at last yea r's 250 fork s had. Front-end action on the RM is harsh at first, but on ce th e forks ar e broken in they deliv er a good ride. Initial travel is still a bit harsh, but th e Showas do a great job of absorbing med ium- to large>sized hits. Slap-down landings deliv er an ini tial jolt to the rider's arms, but it takes qui te a blow to bottom the Twin Chamber units. While we wer e sa tisfied w ith the RM's forks, the Showa shock left us dis appointed. Thoug h it did a surprisingly good job of soaking up the bu mps, the shock has an annoying tendency to sag u nd er loads. As mentioned earlier, the >rear end of the RM squats under acceleration . Turning the co m p re ss ion adj usters in to compensate for the sag only mad e the ride harsh. A stiffer rear spring is on ou r Chris tmas w ish list. Asid e fro m the sagging sensation, the RM handles pretty we ll. We were afraid that the sagging rear wou ld pack up and begin to swap, but never enco u n tered such a predicament. With Kayaba sus pension unit s on the res t of the field, one might expec t that "'>l" 0\ 0\ ,..... ~ In "8 III 6 z 19