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2010 Yamaha YZ125 Riding Impression – Dirt Rider Magazine

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Monday, May 3, 2010

It’s amazing that such a little bike can make such a big impact. You can’t tell but Joe is smiling./></a> <p class="wp-caption-text">It’s amazing that such a little bike can make such a big impact. You can’t tell but Joe is smiling.</p> </div> <p>Our 2010 Yamaha YZ125 test bike has been put through the paces and this is our first test report. Enjoy.The 2010 YZ125 is quickly following in the tire prints of the last four YZ125 motocross bikes we’ve tested at Dirt Rider Magazine. The path goes like this: We get the bike from Yamaha, we ride it for photos and then we fight over who gets to race test it. I, smartly, won the race test spat and I’ve been riding and racing the bike at every track I can drive to since. I’ve skipped work. I’ve ignored deadlines. I’ve invited fellow 125 lovers to come along for the ride and we’ve had the best time ever in recorded motocross history. And that is a scientific fact.Since the 2010 YZ125 is mechanically unchanged this year there isn’t much to reveal on the performance side of things. But I can tell you a few moto enhancements and side effects it can bring to your races. This is coming from a guy that has been away from them for a while. Generally, I ride and race 250F’s and 450s like the rest of misguided, misled America (It’s the media’s fault! Conspiracy!).<strong>First:</strong> The Yamaha YZ125 is surprisingly fast out of corners. It has torque, but that’s not what is fast. What’s fast is finding that sweet spot in the transmission, manipulating the rpm with the throttle and a touch of clutch and keeping the motor in the money. Do this and you’ll literally gobble 250F’s up like a hungry-hippo munches marbles. Dial in the tricky next shift in the straight after the turn and you’ll really be making people angry.<strong>Second:</strong> the Yamaha YZ125 gets no respect. It’s true. People get angry when you pass them on a 125. Most guys in my class know when they’re out-gunned and kind of get out of the way or, at least resist the wide line that sends you to the dirt in a race. I do, anyway… and I get passed a lot. But the same respect is not given to a 125 pilot. While you’re having the time of your life on your little dirt bike the behemoths of moto can and will start to come into your personal space. I’ve seen the sweetest old guys turn into 125-haters in seconds. Even during open practice days the 125 attracts more brake checks and elbows than any bike I’ve tested in the last five years. It’s odd, but still fun to pass guys that are angry.<strong>Third:</strong> The Yamaha YZ125 gets mad respect. This, too, is true. Nothing will give your ego a bump as well as make you shine in the eyes of your peers like a day railing a 125. Few bikes get more attention at the track and you’ll see more than one rubbernecker whiplash into a tornado trying to see where that strange noise is coming from. You should have seen Brett Metcalf look at our new YZ125 in the back of my truck as I cruised by Boyz n the Hood style. It was like he found his lost puppy. They make people that happy.<strong>Fourth:</strong> No matter what, you have to shift. This is probably the first thing people forget to do when they come back to the 125. Your left leg is going to get tired. Especially your shin and the muscles that live there. Shifting up is the sun to a 125’s photosynthesis. Do it and the bike will keep blooming. Forget and it will wither. You don’t have to fear the speed that is produced from precise shifts and aggressive throttling because it’s manageable and fun. But you do have to remember to shift.<strong>Fifth:</strong> The suspension is really good. Yamaha two strokes are not of the new-school, hyper aggressive, quick-steering world of four-strokes. They’re light-steering enough in their two-stroke nature, sure. But the geometry does feel more relaxed than a 2010 Yamaha YZ450F or CRF450R or any of the last few KTM’s when you go to enter a corner. You can start to steer with the rear on this little sucker and it’s probably best to stay out of the slower diving-to-the-inside lines so keep it high and let her eat. High-speed stability is good on the YZ125 and bump compliance is great. It’s funny how this bike floats over acceleration chop. It’s almost like someone is carrying it over the chop. <div><a href=It’s amazing that such a little bike can make such a big impact. You can’t tell but Joe is smiling./></a> <p class="wp-caption-text">It’s amazing that such a little bike can make such a big impact. You can’t tell but Joe is smiling.</p> </div> <p><strong>Sixth:</strong> Find two stroke lines. They’re out there. The tracks remember you and want you back. So go out to the loose dirt and start making the track shorter by going across those four-stroke berms.Here’s where I’ve tested the bike in the first two weeks. Let’s check these suckers off. Here goes: Glen Helen Raceway’s MTA Two Stroke World Championship (<a href="" rel="nofollow" onclick="javascript:window.open(www.glenhelen.com), check! Milestone MX Park’s Main track (www.milestonemx.com), check! Saturday REM Motocross at Glen Helen’s REM track, check! Pala Raceway’s main track (www.palaraceway.com), check! Flat rear tire, check!I’ve enjoyed as diverse a selection of tracks, events and riding hooligans/friends I could hope for in evaluating this new Yamaha. And what my exceptional test riding formula has found out is the 2010 Yamaha YZ125 is identical to the 2009 Yamaha YZ125 except for two stickers, one on each side of the radiator shroud. I’ve also run into a lot of new friends that want to borrow the bike.In conclusion, the 2010 YZ125 is a bike that can hang with any bike in any class at any track. I have friends that drive all the way from Montana to the World Vet Championships at Glen Helen with nothing but a 125 and they do just fine. They won’t likely holeshot a race against bigger bores, cams and valves—although that happens, too—but they’ll be chugging along nicely in the end so don’t sweat it. For sure these salty dogs of the small-bore clan are better at passing. For sure they’re better at carrying momentum. For sure they’re having more fun.That’s really it. The Yamaha YZ125 is ridiculously fun. And unless you’re so far under or over the hill to appreciate the clutch-and-scream mentality that makes riding these minute-motored machines a sheer joy, there’s no reason not to choose a YZinger as a full-time motocross mount.Of course, if you’re hitting close to 2-hundo on the scale you’re probably not in the ideal demographic for this bike. But if you’re anywhere between 120-190 pounds, get on and ride. Heavier and you’ll really want some spring rate upgrades and a bigger rear sprocket to assist your get-up and go. Or, you could get on the program and drop a few pounds. Yes, the Yamaha YZ125 might be the weight-loss revolution of the century, too.So, if you’re wondering why you’d even consider buying a 125, use the people bugging me to borrow ours as an example. Here’s what I ask them. Why are you bugging me now when you sold your 125 for a 450 long ago? Could it be the desire to feel like a kid again? Could it be the leftover two-stroke oil collecting dust in your garage? Could it be the fact that the YZ125 is totally awesome?Yes to all of the above. But mostly because the Yamaha YZ125 is awesome.More in print: Soon you’ll be reading more about the YZ125 in the pages of Dirt Rider Magazine. Like, oh…which exhaust system is best from our exhaust buyers guide. Stay tuned.
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