OK guys, opinions please: replacement for the CR125

[Reckless]

ye I'll do that when the time comes.
If its a bit pecky I thought gearing and a fly wheel weight might cure that like with my CR.
Shit I wonder how a fly wheel weight would go on his 125. Probably still have to clutch alot it in the deep sand and out of slower technical terrain turns. Which is why we want to change bikes.

[Reckless]

Reckless. Try out Dangers 200, in my opinion it may be a bit peaky. so your welcome to have a quick blat on my gasser and see what you think of it. its of torquey and isnt really peaky in my opinion.
WM

Also proves you can tune a 2smoker to do anything, if there is a will to do so. Funny they pushed in the four strokes for green gas emission reasons. Now they are here, all the tracks are in the shit becuase of the noise they emit. Should stuck with 2smokers more power per cc than anything!!

[Danger]

No its not peaky. Smooth, torquey and linear power from bottom to top. Its in the straight taper needle I use in the carb. The stock triple taper needles can make them hard to ride for the less skilled, but the needle change is cheap. And the 200 does not need a flywheel weight. There is nothing more nimble in the tight trees than my 200.

[Reckless]

I did a google search on them last night before you posted this Danger and read exactly the same thing. I might just have to head for the KTM just because of your extensive knowledge of them buddy. I know someone that can do a good job the suspenders.

OH and for purly selfish reasons it might be a great bike to have in the stable for when hes not coming out and the ride suits the KTM more. I might enjoy that !

[Danger]

Yeah the KTM200 would be a better bike for you on many rides Reckless.

[Reckless]

Shit we might be better off havin the 01 CR250 for Ardmore and Harrisville and the 02 KTM for Woodhill and the Mr Motorcycles type rides. 2 x $4k earlier bikes might be better than 1 x $8000 bike. Mind you a new CR450F probably would do it all. But better??? Who knows?

how to justify the above to the Missus! Oh I forgot I'm buying the KTM for Ben???

haha here's me with a budget and I'm contemplating riding 2 MX bikes. As well as having the Z1R and would like another sport bike.

"Champain tastes, beer income"

PS I meant to spell it with the "pain" bit!

[Danger]

Your CR would be better in a lot of Woodhills tracks than a CRF. And the KTM would be better again on some tracks. The CRF might be better on whoops, more stable, but good bike setup brings them close. But guys struggle in the tight on CRF's and many stop for frequent rests.
And I rode the KTM200 at a race meet at Ardmore a couple of years ago, showed up thinking it was just a practice day but it was a race day. Got there late and had no practice, used the first race as my practice. Ended up taking home a trophy for 2nd overall for the day on the 200 in Vets and I wasn't even trying. It was over Xmas and guns like Tony Cooksley were not there or were racing another class I guess. But beat plenty of big bores. Raced there another time on the RM250, it wasn't fully setup and I just went out to do some testing at the time and I didn't do nearly as well. Most people would go better on a smaller bike.
The KTM200 would be alot better than the CR or the CRF in Riverhead and slippery conditions, and remember it has 6 gears.

[B0000M]

does the CR have a aftermarket pipe? that made a hell of a difference to my 125, also low end reeds help a bit too

[clmintie]

It would take a bit of messing around, but I had a '89 KDX200 motor in a '91 KX125 frame. Best damn bike I ever rode.....Wish I hadn't sold it when the kids came along.. I would love to find it and compare it to my new KDX. It was really easy conversion to do, I might do another one day....

[Rupe]

I have a gasgas ec200, it has a 125cc frame (standard) so it's nice and light.
Ohlins rear shock + wp front, hydro clutch, nissen brakes etc. I fanced a ktm, but this came up and was way cheaper, rode it and brought it.

People say that it's hard to get parts, but I haven't found this. Dirt action services in Christchurch ship any little part you can think of the next day. And the prices are the same or cheaper than jap bikes. If you get really stuck get it from the states.

A couple of people say they are peaky, but I not found this to be true. I have rode my mates kdx200 alot, and they are both the same down low. But when the terrain opens up, the gasser is a lot quicker from mid to top end power.

I'm ridding this weekend if you want I'll let you know where so you could have a go for yourselves.

Thats my 2c worth, good luck

[Buddy L]

your boy is 18 right, what does he do? no work still at school.
i say leave him on the 125 and when he can ride it properly and has a job then get another bike, i had my cr125 (02) modle, for 2 years so far the best bike i have ever owned. was getting realy fast and learned alot more (breaking and clutching) on it then i would have on a 4 stroke.

[rijekaz]

your boy is 18 right, what does he do? no work still at school.
i say leave him on the 125 and when he can ride it properly and has a job then get another bike, i had my cr125 (02) modle, for 2 years so far the best bike i have ever owned. was getting realy fast and learned alot more (breaking and clutching) on it then i would have on a 4 stroke.

Don't disagree with you but 125 mx bikes aren't the best for trail riding, especially stock and if that's all he's doing well it kinda makes sense to me to change.

Still you can't beat those 125's for sheer fun value, you can make mods like exhaust and reed which will broaden the powerband although they don't come cheap.

[dammad1]

Hey reckless, theres some good comments on here but here's my two cents:

The KDX's are great bikes but you will find the limits of the standard suspension quickly when you start pushing it hard so some work on this is a must.

The KTM EXC200 is a better bike off the shelf but may be a little harder to find a good one for the right price.

He's 18 so he's not really a kid anymore so he should be able to adapt to a 250 2t mxer with a few mods to tame it down.

But personally I think if you are going to do mainly trail riding rather than mx then you cant go to wrong with one of the european 2t's as thats exactly what they are made for, they dont have the huge hit of the older mxers just smooth tractable power.

[Reckless]

All good constructive valid comments guys.
Thanks for your time! Its not that I didn't know what I was doing. But just wanted to cover all the bases so I didn't think after a purchase, damn I shoulda though of that bike!

Firstly Buddy
I take your point and this is exactly how I thought when I bought the CR125. But from your posts you are quite into MX racing and if this was the case with him, I'd agree with you. Me an my youngest love the MX tracks but he doesn't very much. So the CR125 is probably the worst type of bike for his kind of riding. He's a good rider for his experiance its just the bike is wrong and I can see that he would enjoy riding more on something else.

The 125 has got a bills pipe on and I'm quite good with tuning so is running good. And becuase of its age I've bloody near redone everything, All Linkage bearings, swing arm, chain, sprockets, front forks, piston, rings, brakes, the bloody lot.

I agree with Dammad comments on the KDX. So it looks like becuase KTM have stuck with the 2stroke theme, they therefore get the business. And I wonder with all the major manufacturers getting out of 2smokers if KTM will gain a much larger market share. The Gas gas is probasbly a bit exotic. And at fearless 18, he's always the one that comes back dirtyest with the most damage, so there's that to consider.

So after a group evaluation looks like the KTM gets the vote. I'll polish up the CR this weekend and get it on T/me.

[Buddy L]

had my CR215 on trade me for 1 day and then it was gone.
sold it for 3 grand