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/128088
The CR 125 Is a sensible, well-built and solid perfonner with an emphasis on handling. described the CR's motor as "deceiv- there was too much of a gap between pull, changing gears is a no-brainer, and the bike simply runs good. The CR's greatest strength is its chassis. All of our testers felt the CR had a solid and predictable feeling on the track, and they all said second and third gears (and even third and fourth, for that matter), and that third gear especially had a hard time picking up where second gear left off, no matter how hard he wrung it out in second. We experimented with different gearing by going up one tooth on the rear sprocket, which seemed to help out in certain areas but not where we were hoping it would. We eventually settled for the stock gearing. Our Novice-level test riders, however, were a little less critical of the CR's motor than our Pro tester, who said he actually liked the CR's motor on faster, more wide-open tracks than he did on tight, stop-and-gotype tracks. "Keeping your momentum up is the key on the Honda," he said. "You gotta keep it revved out.« The not-so-fast guys, however, felt the CR had plenty of power for their needs but did agree about the wide gap between second and third gears. Still, the Novices felt the CR's powerband was easy to manage. Everyone agreed that the CR ran crisp and clean and that throttle response was dead on. Anything else related to the Honda's powertrain is, as usual, awesome. The clutch has excellent feel a~d a light that they simply trusted the way the CR handled. There's no worry about the CR busting out a "weird" swap when you least expect it; instead, the bike inspired confidence. Suspensionwise, the CR required very little in the way of adjustments. Our finicky Pro tester said he liked the CR's forks but felt that they rode a little high in the stroke, and he didn't really like the way they felt over the "little stuff." Raising the fork tubes didn't help and neither did softening up the compression a click or two, so to compensate for the high front-end feeling, our Pro rider liked to run slightly less sag with the rear suspension. He felt that this balanced out the bike better and improved the way it cornered and handled the bumps under heavy braking. He was, however, concerned that by decreasing sag, it would harm how the back end would soak up the bumps while accelerating hard out of the turns, which, in stock condition, he felt was excellent. The stiff setting, as it turned out, hardly affected the way it hooked up out of the turns. Getting the CR in and out of the corners quickly is relatively.painless, though the Honda feels best in the flat, sweeping-type turns. In the deep ruts, the Honda's front end had a tendency to pop out of the groove, but much less so after raising the back end. As always, the CR's brakes are awesome, offering outstanding feel ing," saying the CR feels quick on hard-packed tracks but sluggish on loamy tracks. He felt the CR just didn't pull as hard as he would like it to and lacked torque. He also felt that comers quickly is relatively painless, though the Honda feels best in the flat, sweeping-type turns. In the deep ruts, the Honda's front end had a tendency to pop out of the groove, but much less so after raising the back end. As always, the CR's brakes are awesome, offering outstanding feel and superb power. No complaints here. The CR is also a very comfortable bike, but the seating position is a little low for taller riders. The bike has a spread-out, spacious feeling, too, and more than once we heard comments about the handlebars feeling a little high, though not to the point where it was a problem. Everyone agreed that the Honda was easy to adapt to and to move around on. The bike's narrow and flat layout makes it easy to get on the tank or sit way back to loft the front wheel over the bumps. Living with the Honda is a pleasure. You can ride and ride and ride this bike and it never looks or feels worn out. We've ridden and raced this bike quite a bit and not so much as a single bolt even thought about budging or coming loose. Getting to, cleaning, and reinstalling the air filter is a breeze, which is a good thing because, for some reason, the CR's filter seems to get dirtier quicker than other bikes. Perhaps it's because of the slightly larger air vents in the side panel. On a dusty day, it would be wise to check the CR's filter after every moto - really. Once again, Honda has produced another well-built and competitive 125cc motocrosser that should appeal to a wide range of riders. However if there is one area that could use some improvement, it's in the power department, where more bottom-end and midrange (and maybe going back to a six-speed transmission) would certainly benefit the CR. Still, the Honda is competitive and a joy to live with just the way it is, thanks to its excellent chassis 0[J)(~@BaB@eJGB0[jiJ&3 ~®®lJ fXJ0OLJ0CTI C£wlJ ~0w ENGINE TYPE: .......•.•.• _ Uquid-cooled, single-cylinder. two-stroke DISPLACEMENT: .........•.•..•••.................................125cc BORE/STROKE: 54rnm/54.5mm COMPRESSION RATIO: 8.75:1 INTAKE: Four-petal crankcase reed-valve CARBURETION: .36mm Mikuni TMX flat-slide IGNmON: Solid-State three-D map-type digital ignition w/electronic advance TRANSMISSION: Close-ratio five-speed FINAL DRIVE: '520 Chain 13t/52t SUSPENSION FRONT: .46mm inverted Kayaba cartridge fork w/18-positlon rebound and 20-position compression damping adjustability REAR: Pro-Unk Kayaba single shock w/spring preload, 30-position rebound damping adjustability, and compression damping adjustment separated into low-speed (18 positions) and high-speed (two turns) WHEEL TRAVEL FRONT: .........•••...........................................12.4 in. REAR: 12.6 in. BRAKES FRONT: Single 240mm disc w/twin-piston caliper REAR: ...............••••..•..••......................Single 240mm disc TIRES FRONT: ................................•..•.••.••....... .80/100-21 in. REAR: 100/90-19 in. WHEELBASE: ....•••••••..•..................................... .57.9 in. RAKE: 27.05 degrees TRAIL: , ..•...................................4.57 in. SEAT HEIGHT: ..........•.•......................................36.9 in. GROUND CLEARANCE: _ 13.1 in. 193.0 Ibs. CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT: ...........••••••••.•••••••.•. " FUEL CAPACITY: 2.0 gaUons MSRP: $4999 cue I • n • _ S • JANUARY 24, 2001 33