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/127960
(Abo ve) A new inta ke assembly w ith more sensitive reeds smoothes out the KTM 's hit. (Below) New valving in the second generation WP PDS shock greatly imp roves rear suspension perf ormance. A p lusher ri m. ha s bee n achieved. (Below left) KTM downsized last year's overly sensitive Brembo rear brake system. (Below right) Bigger 50mm WP Extreme forks p ro v ide better stabili ty . 1999 KTM 125 SX Specifications Displacement Bore x st ro ke Carburetor Transmission Final drive Ig ni tio n Mainframe Subframe Fo rk Wheel travel Front Rear 124.8cc 54.24 x 54mm Keihin PWK39m m 6·speed 13:50 Kokusan Chrome -moly . . .A1uminum WP Extreme SOmm Shock W P·PDS 11.02 in. 12.6 in. Tires Front Bridgestone 80/ 100-21 in. Rear Bridgestone 100/90-19 in. Wheel s Excel Brakes Front Disc/ 260mm Rear Disc/ 220mm Wheelbase 57.56 in. Seat height 36.44 in. Ground clearance 14.96 in. Claimed dry weight 199.8 Ibs . Fuel Capacity 1.99 ga l. MSRP $4998 get mixed reviews; the Pros will perhaps feel that KTM took a st ep ba ckward because the bik e isn 't as explosive anymore and maybe isn 't quite 'as fast on top, but ev eryone e lse will probably appla ud the d irection KTM wen t with the 125's m otor. That's because the '99 KTM 125 SX is far easier to ride and less demanding of the rider's cardiovascular system an d forearms, which could also be attributed to new forks - but we 'll get into that later. The SX is s till plenty fast , but th e engineers managed to take the edge off that s ha rp hit. The powerb and is smoother and broader, so now vou can ride this bike as fast - if not faster - than befo re and, more importantly, longer. An other a rea that p rem aturely wore riders o ut o n the '98 KTM 125 SX was the rear sus pe nsion. KTM's first effo rt wi th the PDS non lin kage re ar -suspens io n system w a s co m me nda b le , bu t poor damping characteristics res ulted in a jolting ride th at , co mbined with the ha rd -hitting m ot or, reall y kn ocked the wind out of the riders' sails on a hardpacked track ....-ith a lot of sq uare-edged holes and bu mps. KTM kep t telli ng us to give the shock more time to break in. and, w ell , we're still breaking in the shock on the ' 98s and the ride is still harsh. But not anymore. KTM co mplete ly revalved and redesigned the intern als of the new, second-gene ration WP PDS shock, and the net result is a shock that now actually absorbs and is far mo re sensitive to the smaller hits and holes. Overall, the back end is much, much improved over last year's ('9 ) model, Same with the forks. KTM upgraded the 125 SX's front suspension system by going to the larger, 50mm WP Ext reme fo r ks tha t a re already fou nd on the bigger 250cc and Open-class KTM mod els. The WPs have better d amping action a nd prov id e a more stable feel - especially through the ru ts - tha n the prev ious 45mm Mar zocchi Magnum forks. Pr ett y m uch the on ly o ther real di fferen ce that yo u can feel on the track is the rear bra ke . Las t ye ar's rear bin der was too touc hy and gra bby, bu t a sma ller Brem bo ca lipe r on the '99 SX re nd ers a better feel and a reducti on in w heel lockup, all wit ho u t really los ing a ny overa ll braking power, since there was more than enough of that in th e first place. Eve rything else about the '99 KTM feel s pretty mu ch the same as it did , which is a good thing, All of th e cont rols work we ll a nd have good feel; the bike still has a nice, comfortable layout; and we have no reason to believe the KTM is going to fall apart an ytime soon - in other words, it's well -built. KTM hit upon only the areas it needed to - the motor, shock, and forks - a nd mad e improvements to them . Experts and pros, however , might not like what t h e y did to the motor. T hey're jus t going to have to shave off a little mo re metal in the cyli nder tha n la st yea r's bike, but ev eryo ne else won' t hav e to do a thing to the '99 SX. Just buy it and ride it. Unless KTM di gs a little dee per into t heir p ock e t s a n d emp loy a Ricky Ca rmic hael-ca liber rid er, you probably won't see the SX on a Na tional podium next ye ar, but tha t w on't be the bike' s fault. The SX is trul y a mach ine worth chec king o ut w hen yo u go l25cc sho pping. l~ 43