2002 1 25cc Motocross Bikes
Honda CR 1 25R vs. Kawasaki KX 1 25 vs. KTM 1 25 SX vs.
Suzuki RM125 vs. Yamaha YZ125
teach good habits by rewarding
aggression and proper gear selection
and throttle settings. A few of our editors are getting to be a little over the
hill (not unlike a large percentage of
our readership), and we benefit from
the occasional prompting to "ride it
like you stole it." (Said lessons took
place primarily at Southern California's Glen Helen Raceway, where we
spent several days pounding laps in
the summer heat, making the
shootout not only technique primer,
but also a training session.)
During our testing, we ascertained
that the newest batch of 125s is the
most powerful and rideable ever,
enough so that you'll surely be
impressed if you haven't been on a
tiddler in a few years (a couple of
these bikes even surprised us, and we
ride them every season). They're fast,
they're fun, and they don't tire out the
rider, and if the track is tight enough
and has a short enough start straight,
they can actually represent an advantage. That's why more and more
often these days, 125s can be spied
venturing outside the realms of the
tiddler division and into heads-up
competition with motorcycles twice
their size and more. And yes, Pops,
they're even turning up in the Vet
class.
CIII
By THE CYCLE NEWS STAFF
PHOTOS BY BLAKE CONNER
D
o yourself a favor and ride a
125cc motocrosser in the near
future. That's right, you - the big guy,
a bit long in the tooth, the one who
hasn't even seriously considered getting on an eighth-liter machine in
many a year. We know, we know, tiddlers are supposed to be for young
punks and guys not yet big enough to
ride a "real" motorcycle like a 250,
let alone a macho machine like an
open-class four-stroke. We're not
talking to those grommets at the
moment, however - that would be
preaching to the choir. You see, these
guys already know something you
grizzled, manly types have been
missing out on: Today's 125cc MXers
are big fun, great practice, and - most
importantly - quite competitive.
This is something we were reminded of over the past couple of weeks.
Intent upon completing a 2002
shootout early, but aware that some
of our testers were a tad rusty (having spent more time of late covering
races than participating in them), we
opted to compare the small bikes
first. It only made sense, as the 125s
are easier to flick around than bigger
steeds, though at the same time they
20
AUGUST 29, 2001
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