CR125 vs. anything else

[CRacer]

Thinking about buying a different bike or keeping my CR or do something or I don't know it is confusing!
I hear alot about how CR125s are weak and YZs would blow by them and everything. It makes me think I'm at a disadvantage riding a CR125. I know I know, 10% rider 90% bike but when that is ALL you hear about your bike and no compliments it makes you wonder.

I need to ride say a YZ125 and see just how much better it really is. Also I was looking for someone who has switched from a CR125 to a different bike like another 125 or 250F and tell me if the CR is truly that weak. Hopefully this will help me make up my mind on if I really need a different bike or I'm just being silly because if ya ask me I think my bike rips!

I would really appreciate ANY replies.

[jay123678]

Me too man, I think my CR125 HAULS. Mines a 2002 what years urs, and what do u have done to it?? I got V Force Reed Cage, FMF Q Spark Arrestor, and a brand new Weisco piston beggining of the season.

[MotoMojo17]

ok nobody be offended by the following post!!

I rode a 2001 YZ250F and a 2001 Cr125 last weekend side by side, and i found the CR to be very very hard to get into the powerband, the low end is almost non existent...if you clutch it a lot and know how to keep it on the powerband it can be fast, but not as fast as other two strokes or a four stroke....the YZF was like the CR in its powerband, only it was like the whole range of rpms was the powerband....power everywhere so it seems like there is no hit or pull, but there IS


bottom line, the cr is not as competitive as a 250f, but i dont know about other two strokes because i havent ridden them....however if you are just playriding and racing for the fun of it, ride on my CR125 ridin brotha!!

[CRacer]

Mine is a '98 model but its pretty sweet! I had the motor completely rebuilt so its pretty much stock, but that is going to change soon. I don't know what everyone said about the '98-'99 models but I've actually heard pretty good things about them, well, motor wise.
Roosterman, may sound stupid, but, how did the power compare to your KX85? Do you really think the CR was just dead slow, like MXA makes it sound.

[Blitz393]

i rode a 96 CR125, i think it was pretty much stock engine wise, except it had some severely bent bars left turns suffered bad from this

it is great, i would ride one, at the very least it had much more bottom end than my 92, but the top end scream just wasn't there this is compared to the 92, which is ALL top end. then i rode a 00 SX125, and while it was set up differently, i quickly adapted and it was very fast. still lacking in top end scream compared to this bike : but the bottom end was there.

i believe your CR is a 98, right? i dont know how many drastic changes happened between 96 and 98 but i know that the 96 was pretty nice.

then, of course, i rode Clay's 02 YZ250F. it would kill any 125 two stroke made. the top end scream (which is where i mostly ride) was CRAZY but at the same time, it was SO torquey, i wonder how it is possible that people on two strokes (namely me, with the utmost in spode-style riding) can pass a thumper in the corners, straights, anything.

just ride one, but i still have to stress that ANY bike can be competitive (to a point) if you can ride it like you are supposed to. (which means on a 125, pegged all the time) i do it on the 92 so you can do it on the 96

if you do end up selling your CR i wouldnt mind looking it over to see if i want it, right now i dont care WHAT the Blue Gods think, i'll ride anything that i dont have to rebuild every month :

Rob

[MotoMojo17]

it actually seemed to have less bottom at low speeds than my KX, i guess its because it has way different gearing so if you slow down in the turns it took FOREVER to speed back up, and i was clutchin the hell out of it!!! it just wouldnt wake up, but once its in the powerband its pretty nice

[MotoMojo17]

well, is the 98 model before they did the different air intake design or w/e? if it is before that, then the bike should be just as fast as any other two smoke 125...because if i am not mistaken, the smaller airbox is what made the cr so slow

[Dell30rb]

I used to own a 2001 CR125, switched recently to an 04 yz250f.

The CR is pretty doggone slow. It was decent, no doubt, but there are jumps that I am clearing now on the 250F that I am sure the CR125 would just not have the ummph to pull.

I rode my 01 CR125 back to back with a friends new, stock 03 CR125, and found the power to be better on my 01. The 03 has a larger carb... it did have much more topend, but lacked bottom/mid.

I have ridden a 99yz125. The bike was pretty clapped out, but i thought it pulled harder than my CR.

[CRacer]

Yeah mine is a '98 model. I read that the motor in the '98 was similar to that of the '96-97 models but the major difference was that in '98 honda switched to the aluminum frame for the CR125. I know that in '00 honda completely redesigned the top end and I'm fairly sure that this is why the CR has such a bad reputation. Ever since the '00 honda couldn't get the bike right. I'm getting this off of Eric Gorr's website so I think its true.

Anyways, its such a clean nice bike that I think I'll end up keeping it for the rest of the season. I was just trying to make sure that I wouldn't get on a YZ125 and be amazed, now I'm fairly sure they are pretty equal with equal riders.

[Dell30rb]

They are somewhat equal. I rode a 98 CR250 once though, that was in mint shape... the owner keeps really good care of it. You could really feel how stiff that frame was. I was used to the frame on my 01, it was a little stiff but not bad at all. On the 98 I about knocked my teeth out on every little bump. It was super stiff, there was no way i could ride that thing!

Also, after getting used to my yz, I hopped on the old 01 cr125 and went for a spin... I can tell the frame is too stiff there too. Not bad, but definately stiffer. From a hop on my friend's 03 CR125, the bike felt great. It felt really light and flickable, and the ride was crisp and controlled. It was still noticeably stiffer than a steel frame, however it did not feel bad at all. The motor is a dog though. It is really difficult to get any power out of that thing.

A well modded 03 CR125 would be a nice bike. It handles better than the rest of the 125's. However, it needs some help in the motor department. Grab a v-force and get it jetted, and it will at least be competitive.

[redmxrider17]

if you could i would get a crf250r , but i know they are expensive but probably well worth the biuy

[CRacer]

Yeah, dell, I know that frame on those '98s are stiff. I can definitely tell, on little bumps sometimes I can just barely hang on, but man I think that bike feels great in the whoops. Vibration is something else that has been popping up, I can feel alot of that as well. The more and more I get used to riding a 125 MXer the more things I complain about on my bike, how stiff it is, vibration, and handling are of some of my concerns. But I'm willing to just deal with it and be as competitive as I can be on it.

[hondageek]

I was riding CR125's for a few years, I love them. Just because the power is in a smaller rpm range, doesn't mean it isn't there, you just have to know how to make it work. I raced the open class as the only 125 and never had any trouble finishing well and even got a few holeshots on my CR. I wouldn't have any problem with buying another one.

[cr125rider04]

I have a 04 CR125 with a UNI airfilter on it, i like it alot when i first got on it i notice it didnt have alot of low end and i noticed it alot when i was trying to go up this hill in 1st gear and it almost bogged completely out but now i love it i just keep the revs high and it will go anywhere. This is my first dirtbike and i couldn't be happier with it.

[jay123678]

The reed cage i installed helped soo much, i mean its not completly how i want the bike to perform, but for $130 u cant beat it. Cheaper than a pipe, and still does a noticable difference all around.

[kdx200rider6789]

well it depends on wat year it is the old CR's had tons of poer but the guys at honda pull the guts out of there new CR's

[b dawg 311]

The 98 and 99 motors are awesome motors. They have pretty decent bottom end power, more then mine actually. My really good friend has a 98 and its stock beside the full fmf exhaust and that thing is the ultimate wheelie monster and has plenty of power. If anything i'd just stick with what ya got and fix it the way you want it not to what someone else wants, because thats what your going to get when you buy another bike. Sorry if this doesnt help much.

Brandon

[CRacer]

Thanks everybody, and thanks b dawg that helped alot. I knew my bike ripped! I've actually came pretty close to pulling a holeshot against a gate full of newer 125s and a couple of 250Fs. Its not that any CR125 is slow, they all rip, its just they are slow compared to say, a 250F. I think I've got it all figured out!

[Dell30rb]

I actually holeshot both moto 1 and moto 2 at the Rolling hills mx track on my 125. I have always been good at starts, and I think that was the deciding factor, however it let me know that my bike was capable!

[mxrncolo]

I've just picked up a new 2003 Cr125 a month or so ago . I can vouch for the fact that you can throw it all over the place - but I'm still trying to get the suspension right. The power IS there if you know where to find it, but keeping it on the pipe can be very difficult. I test-rode a new YZ250f the same weekend I bought the CR, but for some bizarre reason preferred the CR over the 250f (go figure). BUT, what kinda of reed cage is it that you have that worked so well (because I'm thinking this thing's kinda tempermental)?
Also, anyone riding at 5000' and more elevation - if so how do you have it jetted?
Thx in advance.