Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

1997 TM 125 Cross dIe (from a 1368M to a 1369M) with the clip in the second position, and the airscrew turned 1-3/4 out. These changes did I'i,chen up the Honda off the bottom, but the faster riders didn't have a problem keeping the revs above this rich spot. The Yamaha required no jetting changes. The Suzuki isn't far off the pace, either. It's definitely fast, right up there with the Honda and Yamaha, but just didn't excite everyone like the CR and YZ's motors did. O'Mara said of the RM's powerplant, "A lot of midrange but does sign off before the Yamaha and Honda." Ward liked it, too, saying, "The motor feels good!" . All the other riders agreed the RM makes awesome midrange power and, as a whole, was just as good as the YZ and CR but required a bit more work. You had to be a bit more precise as to when you shifted the RM to take advantage of its strong midrange; just holding it wide open and hanging on won't work with,!he RM. Mistakes are slightly more costly on the Suzuki, too This brings us to the Kawasaki. Its motor did not wow anyone, especially the pro riders, most claiming it made decent power off the bottom, came on strong in the middle, but fell on its face on top. "Very mild," O'Mara said of the IOC's motor. "It kind of has a lazy feel." Ward was even less impressed. "This (the motor) is what kills the IOC," he said. "It just tops out and you go nowhere; it feels fast but you're really going nowhere." One of our novice riders commented: "More top-end would have really swayed my opinion. Midrange is where the meat is." Even our beginner rider said, "Not enough zap. Where I was riding it (in the powerband) I foun.d myself having to fan the dutch a lot compared to the other bikes, and I didn't need the extra work (of having to work the dutch)." Despite being a little down on the KX's motor, everyone pretty much agreed that they could still could get around the tracks pretty good on the Kawasaki, but a bit more bottom-end and top-end would have made it easier. One thing the IOC does extremely well is track out of the turr>s. It hooks up nicely. We performed numerous head-to- . head start runs on all five bikes, which pretty much revealed what we already knew. The TM always seemed to reach the' first turn first, and if it didn't, it wasn't far behind. At one time or another, each bike won at least one drag race to the first turn. Somewhat surprising was the KX, as it hung in there a lot of the times, and the Suzuki won a number of drags, too. But the Hon.da, Yamaha and TM were the bikes you wanted to be on if you wanted to improve your chance of getting holeshots. Every start, no matter what skill-level rider was on the bike, The 1997 TM 125 Cross rewards aggressive riding styles, and punishes those who ride it any differently. LiM pric• ... "....... , , ,$6,250 Diopla......nt " .. ,123.5cc Engln. type , .Uquid-cooled, single-cylinder two·stroke wi power valve Bora • Itroke , , .. ,54 x54.4mm c:ompr...ion ratio , .. ,16.7:1(corrected) Carf»uralion ,.... . .. Keihin 38mm ignition ,.......... , .... COl Tranaml.olon , .. , . . .. . . , . , ,6·speed Fuel capecity " 2.4 gal. WhaaIbasa .. , , , , .NIA Seat height N/A Front tire , ,Dunlop K737, 80/100·21 Ilaa'tlre , Dunlop K737, 100/90-19 Front .... p.n Marzocchi 50mm Adjustable conventional fOf!< w/12 inches of wheel travel Ilaar.uopanalon .... " ,OhUns adjustable shock w/13 inches of wheel travel Front b 260mm disc wi dual·piston caliper Ilaa, brake ' .. 220mm disc wi Single-piston caliper ClaImed dry waltht , 198 lb. any of these bikes. All of them are capable of holeshots - some just more so than others. TRANSMISSION We heard no real complaints here. All the bikes shifted well, but by far the most improved is the Yamaha's tranny. It has gone from worst to first, or thereabouts, almost overnight. "Excellent," Ward said of the YZ's transmission. "It works great on the heavy loads; I can wind it out and not even have to use the dutch to shift. It steps right into gears with ease." A couple or riders made it a point to praise the CR's gearbox. "Typical Honda," said one rider. "Smooth." And another said, "Excellent. The CR always shifted, no matter the conditions." The RM's transmission is as good as ever, and the changes Kawasaki made to the IOC's gearbox seemed to have slightly elevated the performance. The TM shifted with ease, as well, but it's just a little bit more notchy than the other contenders. Overall, missed shifts were ver:t uncommon on all of the bikes. CLUTCH Again, not too much to report. All the 1255 have light clutch pull and good feel. This wasn't the case a few years ago when each bike had its own clutch identity. Now, they all work about the samevery good. The oddball of the bunch, of course, is the TM with the only hydraulically operated clutch of the group. It has perhaps the lightest-feeling operation of the bunch, and, as mentioned, has excellent feel, especially off the line. SUSPENSION Forks these three machines were always near the front. A couple of riders noted how they especially liked the feel of the TM's hydraulic clutch off the line. You have to scream the TM's engine out of the gate to keep it from bogging in the loam, and the clutch allows you to do this; you can easily control the front wheel from climbing too much and from keeping the back wheel from spinning out to the sides. But still, rider technique is still the primary fador in getting good starts on When it came to the suspension department, opinions varied widely, but the general consensus was that all five bikes do a good job soaking up the hits. Throughout our testing, though, the CR's forks seemed to recei ve the most acclamation. Frankly, this surprised us A closer look at the '97 TM 125 Cross L ike all of TM's bikes, the 125 Cross is a showcase of bilIet beauty and high-quality parts. 111e hubs, triple clamps handlebar clamps and the rear brake pedal are all carve

• Cover