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
been redesigned , so p revious sprockets will no longer fit on the new YZ. Yama ha chose not to tamper with the YZ's frame specs. You would think that w ith all these changes, the '99 YZ would have a compl et el y di ff e ren t p erso n a lit y on the track, but this simply isn' t the case at all. You can feel differen ces here and there between the '98 a nd '99 but nothin g too dramatic; this is, for all intents an d purposes, no t a bad thin g. Mot orwise, the '9 9 YZ 125 still runs ver y, very stro ng. The bike pulls harder 1999 Yamaha YZ125 Specifications Engine Uquid-cooled. two-stroke, reed-valve. single Displacement 124cc Bore & stroke 54mm x 54 .5mm Compression ratio 8.7-10.4 1: 1 Carburetor M ikuni TM X36SS / 1 Ig n it io n sys tem COI Clutch Wet. multi-disc T ra nsmission . .Constant mesh 6-speed Prim a ry reduction .Spur gear Secondary red uctio n Chain drive Cha s s is type Semi double cradle Suspension Front Telescopic. inverted fork Rear Swingarm link suspension Wheel t ra vel Front 11.81 inches Re ar 12.4 inches B rakes Front .s ingle disc (245mml Rear .single disc (240mml Tires Front 80/100-21 Rear 100/90-19 O /A le ng t h 84 in. O /A width 32 .6 in. 0 / A height 51.7 in. Wheelbase 56 .9 in. . Ground clearance 15.7 in. Claimed dry weight 196 Ibs. MSRP $4799 Overall , the '99 Yr s su spensi on and handling feel mu ch like last year's but wi th perhaps a bit more hi gh-spe ed stabili ty. in th e midd le of th e p ow erband a nd con tinues to pull a little harder on top than it used to. Without questi on , the '99 YZ ha s mor e overrev than before. The on e area th at perhaps lost ou t on the de al was bott om end, but not by mu ch. We found ou rse lves fann in g the clutch ex iti ng ti ght , loam y turns a little bit mor e than we rem ember ed wi th the '98. But this was just a sma ll price to pay for a d efinit e increase in midran ge and topend po wer. Since most of our riding on the '99 has so far been on semitight tracks, we changed the final gearing slight!y, going to a la rge r, 49-tooth rea r sprocket, which is one tooth more than stock. The stock gearing, however, should work out well on fast, hard-packed tracks with longer straights. Our bike has always see med to ru n a little rich way off th e bott om, but we have yet to rid e the bi ke w hen it wa sn't und er 100 d egr ees and hum id outside, w hic h m ost likel y a tt r ib u tes to t hi s min or problem . We fiddled with the car bure tor' s a ir s cre w a nd m ana g ed to adjust ou t most of the slight hesitati on . In coo ler, leaner weather , th e Yamaha shou ld carbu ra te just fine . O the rwise, the '99 YZ run s crispy-clea n. All of the cha nges to th e '99 YZ's cha ssis did not harm the mot orcycle in any way . It 's st ill just as s ta ble and co ntrollable as ever dow n fas t, whoo ped-o u t s tr a ig h ts, a nd ge tti n g e it he r en d t o bo tto m see ms n e xt to impossib le. Like la st ye ar's YZ, the su spens ion fee ls very plu sh, ye t it is more t han capable of handling the big hit s. That' s a combination so me of the other manufacture s jus t h a v en 't fi gured o u t ye t Yama ha has it dialed with the YZ125. Yet aga in, the new YZ handles just as good as last yea r's, which comes as no surp r ise sin ce Yam a h a di d n ot me ss wi th the fram e or its geo me try. This bike corners as well as ever a nd wi th th e s a m e precisio n th a t we've come to expect. Over jumps and in th e air , the YZ doesn't d o anythi ng surprising or unpredicta ble - it's a definite confidence-builder. When we first learn ed of all the chang e s Yamaha made to the ' 99 YZ125, w e were concerned that perhaps they had messed with a good thing, bu t we are no longer worried . We loved the '98 YZ125 and we love the '99. Despite all of the changes on p aper, the '99 YZ is really prett y much the same bike on th e tr a ck but with h arde r acceleration fro m the middle of the powerban d on u p. If ther e is one area we migh t not like as much as the '98, it is th e s lig h t (a n d w e mean slight) loss of bott omend . Everywhere else, the '99 feels like the '98, if not a litt!e bette r. And that' s a good, good thing. N ow, if Yamaha co u ld jus t d o so me thing abo u t that blue fro n t number plate , l~ 45