QUICKSPIN I 2022 Yamaha YZ125
P94
I
've written a few YZ125 stories.
Some about Yamaha's I've bought
and restored on-the-cheap, some
about new blue bikes I've tested as
an entitled magazine snob. Guess
what? They're all the same. The
YZ125 is awesome. It's not like they
built a bad Yamaha YZ125 in the
past 20 years, am I right?
What we have been missing from
the Yamaha team is some attempt
to modernize the eighth-liter, kick-
start screamer. Now that we're way
out here in 2022 land, it's about
damn time that happens. Fresh off
the heels of their 2022 YZ250 re-
fresh (and what a joyous rebirth of
Yamaha two-stroke sweetness that
thing is), the new YZ125 is here and
ready for its time to shine.
Last updated 15-plus years ago,
today's YZ125 has an all-new motor.
Virtually everything is new inside,
including an updated Keihin throt-
tle-position sensor-equipped carbu-
retor. A new 3D-map-controlled CDI
unit controls spark. A new intake
design and VForce4 carbon reed
valve gateway brings the gusts.
Why all the new motor business?
Well, Yamaha is under fire from
the competition in the upper-rpm
range of the upper-rpm-range class
here. They built their new YZ125
to pull harder and longer than ever
to keep in the front of the pack.
They've always had an excellent
bottom-to-mid feel, but now the
YZ125s of the world are built to pull
longer, too.
BY JESSE ZIEGLER I PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT PALMER
GOOD
V I B E S
ONLY
WE SPIN SOME LAPS ON YAMAHA'S HOT
REVAMPED AND EXCITING YZ125 TWO-STROKER
