P80
RIDE REVIEW I 2026 YAMAHA WR125R
The bike is fitted with a large
2.1-gallon fuel tank, and Yamaha
is claiming over 94 mpg. That's a
range of nearly 200 miles!
The engine is housed in a
semi-double-cradle steel frame,
fitted with KYB suspension at
both the front and rear, tuned for
street comfort and off-road rid-
ing. The front features a 41mm
inverted fork with 8.5 inches
of travel, while the rear uses a
linkage-type KYB shock offering
7.3 inches of travel. Neither the
fork nor the shock is
adjustable, except for
rear spring preload.
Braking is managed
by a 267mm front
disc with a twin-piston
caliper and a 220mm
rear disc with a single-
piston caliper. The front
brake features Bosch
single-channel ABS that
cannot be turned off.
ABS is not fitted to the
rear brake.
WHAT
MAKES IT
TICK
At the core is a 124.7cc four-
stroke, four-valve, single-cylinder
electric-start engine that is
fuel-injected and equipped with
the VAA system. VAA is one of
Yamaha's ways of squeezing
every ounce of power and torque
from this small engine. What is
VAA? It's a single-overhead cam
(SOHC) with two intake cam
lobes, each serving a different
purpose. At lower rpm, the initial
intake cam profile is optimized
for low- to mid-rpm performance;
above 7400 rpm, the ECU acti-
vates an electronic solenoid in
the cylinder head, engaging the
high-rpm intake cam profile.
Pretty advanced technology for a
$3999 motorcycle.
The WR125R is water-cooled
and features an ECU-controlled
fan to prevent overheating during
slow riding for extended periods
or in very hot weather. A 30mm
throttle body handles fueling.
Small-bore single-cylinder en-
gines tend to operate at high rpm,
which often leads to excessive
vibration. Yamaha tackled this
issue by incorporating an engine
counterbalancer.
Along with the six-speed trans-
mission, the WR125R features
a heavy-duty nine-
disc clutch, which
Yamaha knows will
get a lot of use and
abuse on this bike.
The new Yamaha
WR125R is aimed at
the global market,
but we're glad it's
also being offered in
the U.S. Sometimes
that's not the case.
The more bikes
to choose from,
the better.
