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/127769
ยท R IN IM R S IO 1996 1M 125 Cross . ID G' P E S N efore every race at your local m otocross, there' s a ritua l we o through, like it or not. It's illing o u t yo u r e n try fo r m . We> after week, it's the same 01' blanks t fill out - name, classification, motorcycle, next of kin... Bu t if you own a TM 125, th is routin e ca n be a li tt le fu n. Here' s your chance to tr ick Mrs . The Local Pro's Mom. "So, I see you' re going to ride the Vintage class today, Jeremy," she says as she scans yo u r entry and takes your money. Little does she know that the TM 125 you wro te down on your en try form has nothing to do with Suzu ki's forerunner . to th e RM se ries - th e Suzu ki TM 125 Challenger, wh ich was last pr oduced in 1975 and was a popular 125cc MXer in 1973 and '74. No, the TM 125 of today has nothing in commo n with th e old Suz uki TM125, except for, perh aps, that tod ay's Italian TM uses similar rad iator shrouds found on last year 's Su zukj RM125. . The TM 125 Cross is by no means vintage. Instead, the Italian-bred motocrosser is as high-tech and as modern as they come and, we'll tell you right now , as compe titive as the latest 125cc machinery coming out of Japan, as well. This is not su rprising, becau se the TM 125 has been aro u nd for a lon g tim e, m ayb e not in th e U.S., but in Europe . The bike has mad e a nam e for itself all over Europe as one o f th e best 125cc enduro bikes to ever zero a check. The TM 125 Enduro has proven its wo rth in terms of reliability and performance. Just ask off-road ve tera ns Drew and Chris fact, the TM company started ou t building shifter-kart motors and currently holds both Wor ld Championship and European Championship titles. Obv iously, TM knows how to build revvy, two stroke engines. It wasn't until a son of the company owner took an interest in motocross that TM s tarted b u ild ing MXers, the firs t be ing an 80cc- powered m achine tha t too k th e s ma ll -bo re cl ass by s to rm . Shortl y thereafter, TM p roduced a 125, which has since gained most of its notoriet y in en d uros but is now trying to expand its popu larit y into m otocr oss, whi ch, from what we can tell, shouldn't be a pr oblem - if people are willing to try something different. The TM 125 Cross is bui lt aro u nd its 123cc, liquid-cooled, case-reed-ind ucted, tw o-stroke, TM-manufactu red motor, while the rest of the bike is surro unded by a grab bag of top-of-the-line aftermarket components. Here's a partial list: The TM is fitted with Mar zocch i Magnum for ks, a n Oh lin s s hock, a Messic o exhaus t pipe and silencer , Reikon aluminum hand lebars, a large 38mrn Keihin carbureto r, Brembo di sc bra kes, KTMm anufacture d radia tors , Te ch nosel graph ics, a Reg ina chain, Excel rim s, PBR sprockets, Pirelli Sandcross tires, a Kokasan igniti on, Domino controls, and m ost of the plast ic is mad e by Acerbis. Some of the p lastic might look familiar to you, as the rear fender and side pa nels are interchangeable w ith the Kawasaki KX125, and the aforementioned radiator sh ro u ds look id enti ca l to last year' s Su zu ki RM 125 . The m ountin g h oles, Smi th, who took home silver and go ld med als, respe ctively, rid ing TM 125s at th e Po lish Six -Days last year. Both Smiths had nothing but good words for the bikes, which were nothing more than MX TM m od els w ith light s and a few other mino r mod ification, bu t the word they used most often was "fast," as did many of the riders who were passed by the TMs down some of the long, pavement sections in Poland. "Every tim e somebody blew by me, su re eno ugh it was one of th ose pi nk TMs," sai d one rider. After ridi ng the 1996 TM 125 Cross for ourse lves, we now un derstand what they wh ere talking about. It's not by an y accide nt that th e TM 125 is fast. After all, most of the engine's d e ve lopment and tech nology is borrowe d from the m an uf actu rers hea vy involvem en t in shifte r-ka rt racing. In th ough, d o not line up with the RM's, and thus are not interchangeable. Th e "m o nobearn," powder -coa ted frame is not built at the TM factory bu t is cons tr uc ted - in accord ance to TM's specifications - by a local frame man ufacturer, located just down the road from the TM factory in Pesaro, Italy. Take a closer look at the hot-pink-colored TM, a nd the tri ck-looking tr ip le cla m ps, hubs and b ra ke ped al, a ll of w hich are beautifull y machined ou t of billet alumi num , w ill immediately grab your attention. The works-looking sandcast magnesium outer en gine cases will dr aw a sta re or two, as well. There are a few other fealur es tha t set the TM apart from the other 125cc MXers arou nd, such as having a hydraulically operated clutch, and a super-rough and reinforced - not to men tion all-black seat cover. (Above) There 's no question about the TM's powerplant. If you don't wi n on the TM, it' s certainly not for lack of power, (Right) The TM 125 Is an attention getter, and It's bright-pink coloring makes it stand out in a crowd. (Below) The price for being different isn't cheap. The '96 TM 125 will set you bac k approximately $6000. 12