Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Mi§l:ellaneDU§ The OEMs have started adding some pretty trick stuff to their stock bikes as of late: titanium pegs, Renthal bars, wave rotors, gripper seats, etc . No of a coup le of years ago, most of the trick stuff was limited to the KTMs, but the Big Four have started to get into the act as well. Honda is the o nly of the Japanese brands to have finally do ne away with standard steel bars, and all of the its stock machines now co me with a com fortable pair of Ren thals. Th is way, even if you plan on changing out the bars, you don 't have to do it right away like you pro bably would for the other three bikes. The classic gripper seat is also new, and it's com fortable, except for the fact that it sometimes tends to pants you in the middle of a mota. And, as has become the norm for Honda, the CR tends to look newer longer than most of its competitors, and the ergos are near-perfect - everything seems to be where it should be . Clutch pull is easy, as is standard for 125s, and the new red and new front fender both update the look tremendously. Brakes are typical Honda, too - really good . It's the second year of the updated KX125, and it's still getting better - which is good news for James Stewart and probably bad news fo r any other 125cc rider. No far as frills are concerned, the KX rea liydoe sn't have anything big to talk abou t. No trick pegs or bars o r seat or brakes. What the KX does have, though , is a solid package . It does most things well. The brakes aren 't supertrick, but the new front-brake routing makes for a more positive fee l and better stopping power. The seat is nice and plush withou t being too so ft which may not sound like a big thing until you've been riding these five bikes all day on a rough track . It's not the first to look beat up, but it's not the last. The KTM is probably second to the Honda as far as staying new -looking is concerned, but it's the leader in trick stuff. KTM finally softened its seat some (our tailbones thank KTM for that), and the all-over gripper cover is nice. It comes standard with Renthal FatBars, a Magura Hydraulic clutch , Braking Wave ro tors, trick-look ing orange Renthal grips, etc. It's basicallyas close to a race-ready 125 as is sold today. And sure, it costs $ 100 more than three of the othe rs, but it'll save you hundreds more when you don't have to buy all of this stuff the day you pick up your bike. The brakes work great, the clutch is awesome (although it lacks a bit of feel), and it self-adjusts, and although it takes a couple of laps to get used to, the ergos really aren't bad - just different. Sitting on the Suzuki feels great. The gripper seat is supple but not soft , everything feels right where it is, and the bike looks really good, too. (But don't expect the graphics to last long.) From a stop, the clutch is a little grab by, which has become expected, but it doesn't seem to affect you on the track. The yz 125 has a few neat little doohickeys, such as titanium pegs, a unique gripper seat, quick-ad just clutch lever and more. The pegs are primari ly for weight savings, but the seat act uallyserves a function when you're on the bike. It' s got more grip on the sides than on top, so it doesn't pull your pants down like the Honda tries to sometimes, but it still provides plenty of leg grip. The seat is on the firm side, but the Yamaha seats have a ten dency to get really good (read: supple but supportive) with seat time . Yamaha is the first (but no longer the only) manufacturer to offer the quick-adjust clutch, and it works well . The ergos are improved this year, as the bike has less of the front-end -low feel that it had last year. It's a good base for a race bike. HONDA ''As always, the CR's fit and finish is firstrate. Love the Renthals." ':A.wesome brakes. " "O f all the bikes, the CR felt the smallest and the most cramped." "The CR makes a lot of engine noise. I don't like that." "T he aluminum frame turns your white boots black." "I love the Honda wider seat; gives you knee something to grab ." "Hard to apply numbers on all of the number-plates. "Nice race-ready features - bars, levers, dies..." SUZUKI "W impy graphics. " "The seat shape is much better this year; padding is pe rfect." "Like the Kawasaki, the Suzuki's brakes feel much be tter." "Grabby clutch gets annoyi ng riding in the pits but is unnoticeable on the track." "N ice ergonomics ." KAWASAKI "Roo my ergonomics but fee ls a little on the short side." "The new fro nt-brake routing has much be tter feel and performance." "The seat is nice and soft ~ bo rderline too soft, though." KTM "Seat is still a little too stiff - and narrow for my liking." "Cleans up really well." "The hydraulic clutch lacks some feel but is extremely light, which is nice ." THE PODIUM This year's 125cc motocross shootout revealed a few big surprises, the biggest being the difficultywe had in determining a winner, and the next deciding the three bikes worthy enough to make ou r 2004 Cycle News I25cc MX Shootout Podi um. T he bo ttom line - they're ali worthy. And we're not just saying that, either. We figured we'd have this shootout pretty much wrapped up after the first day (o r at least form a good idea), but it took us three full days of riding at three very different tracks to finally determine this year's winner - the Yamaha. The yz is certainly no stranger to our shootout podium; it's been there many times, and many times on the top ste p. Last year, it got edged out by the Kawasaki, but this year Yamaha made all the right c hange s and moved back past the Kawasaki to be our shootout winner. But it was close. Real close. And not just between the Yamaha and the Kawasaki , but among all of the bikes. It wouldn't be far off the mark to say t hat all of the bikes were at the to p of each of o ur test riders' own personal list at leas t o nce throughout our testing, but the more we rode the bikes , and the more the tracks and track conditions changed, so d id our testers' opinions - the one thing that really never changed, though, was that the Yamaha was a favorite , or at least close to a favorite, at all times. In o ther words, the Yamaha just seemed to work well fo r all of ou r te sters in just about all co nditio ns and on all tracks. T he Kawasaki en ded up a clo se second, as our testers had pretty much the sam e feelings about the KX as they d id the yz - that it's a really good all-around bike and very confidence-inspiring to ride. So why did the Yamaha edge out the Kawasaki? Our testers just didn 't have a definitive answer, just that the Yamaha "fe lt" a little better, though some said that the yz had a slightly more powerful and easier-to-manage mo tor overall. Perhaps the hardest decision we had was deciding which bike should make it onto the final step of our shootout podium. Some said it should be the Honda for its outstanding chassis or the KTM for its unbelievably powerful motor or the Suzu ki for its lively motor and quick handling, but the majority of our testers thought the KTM dese rved to be on the final step. The KTM's strongpoint is on the more open "o utdoor" tracks, where you can take advantage of all of that KTM power and torque, but some of our lesser-skilled riders struggled quite a bit on the KTM on the tighter, supercross-type tracks, so the KTM just didn't get as good an all-around rating as either the Yamaha or Kawasaki. But in its element, the KTM is hard to beat on the track, and we feel it should be rewarded for all of t hose trick aftermarket goodies that come stock on the SX, too. As for the Honda and Suzuki , both are excellent bikes and could very well have made our CN pod ium . After all, we're splitting hairs here, and they couldn't all finish on the po dium . But we m us t admit agai n t hat, at one time , w e d id co ntemplat e do ing just th at - putti ng t he KTM, Suzuki an d Honda all on the third ste p and just call ing it tie, bu t t his is motocross, not ho ckey. eN YAMAHA "Loo ks old while it's still new; doesn't hold up we ll aesthetically to normal use." "Well-thought-out seat cover - smooth o n top, grippy o n the sides." "Exce llent hand grips, they work well and last forever." "Front brake turns a little mushy and vague after a short while." "Titanium footpegs are cool." "The new anodized upper triple clamp looks factory, as do the gold-anodized upper fork tubes. Nice ." T he staff of Cycle News would like to thank all five manufacturers fo r thei r setup he lp, bike maintenance, and putting up with all of our nitp icking and whining. We would also like to thank 100% for supplying our race numbers, and Racetown 395 MX, Gle n Helen Raceway and Starwest MX Park fo r providing us w ith the battlegrounds on which we were able to evaluate these five motorcycles. www.cycienEWs.com C Y CLE NEWS • JANUARY 21,2004 19

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