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/128090
2001 Kawasaki KX125 Kawasaki has had a hard time putting what it has learned on the racetrack in to their production motocrossers, at least when it comes to the KX125 and its anemic motor. In all fairness, the KX125 has, over the recent years, been a pretty good bike, but it has lacked useable horsepower, and, unfortunately for Kawasaki, there's zero tolerance for that sort of thing in the 125cc class (or in magazine tests, for that matter). But that has all changed for 2001. of late; in fact, Kawasaki has a nice, albeit little known, streak going right now - the company has won at least one 125cc Supercross and/or National Championship every year for the past six years (seven number-one plates in all). Four of those 125cc titles have come at the hands of Ricky Carmichael - one "indoors" and three "outdoors." (The other three titles belong to Shae Bentley, Nathan Ramsey and Mickael Pichon, all three coming in Supercross.) By KIT PALMER PHOTOS BY BLAKE CONNER awasaki's record in the 125cc class is pretty good. Probably better than you think. In Supercross and National Motocross combined, 'only one manufacturer has more championship titles than Kawasaki Suzuki. Suzuki has 16, and both Honda and Kawasaki have 15. (Yamaha has nine.) Much of Kawasaki's success, however, has come as K 30 FEBRAURY 7,2001 • cue I e n e _ so Kawasaki breathed new life Into the KX125's motor. Here, Jeff Emig wrings out our '01 test bike at Competition Park In San Jacinto, California. But, as strange as it may sound, while Kawasaki has been winning 125cc titles year after year, winning magazine shootouts has proven to be a far more difficult task for the manufacturer. (We can't remember the last time the KX won one of our 125cc shootouts.) For some strange reason, Kawasaki has definitely put a shootout contender on the plate, finally giving the KX 125 what it really needed - power. The KX now breathes fire and caught at least one of our Pro-level testers off guard. He had just spent the last few weeks riding and racing his more familiar 125cc mount when he went out and rode our bone-stock and barely broken-in KX test bike at Elsinore Raceway for the first time. He was out there on the track for a long, long time and finally came in sporting a big grin and a somewhat bemused look on his face. "This thing is fast," he said. You could easily tell that he wasn't expecting the KX to roost like it did. And he wasn't the only one. Our other regular Pro tester was just as impressed with the KX's motor, as was former 125cc National Motocross Champion Jeff Emig, who hadn't ridden a 125 in a long while and asked to take a spin on our bike, just for kicks. (We said yes, but only if he'd do some photo modeling for us, of course. Deal made.) It was nearly a full tank of gas later when we saw "Jeffro" again, and even he said that he wouldn't do a whole lot to the motor if it were his bike. As you can tell, the fast guys liked the KX's new motor very much, but our lesser-skilled Novice riders weren't quite as enthusiastic about the fire-breathing Kawasaki. Yes, they like the KX's sheer horsepower but thought the motor, as a whole, was a little pipey and unforgiving, since most of the KX's power is found from midrange on up. You might say the KX has a somewhat on-off motor - 'V' there's not much off the bottom but plenty on top, where it needs to be ridden. It's also a quick revver with a rather narrow - but linear - powerband.