Archive for December, 2008

See how the 1975 Honda CR125 compares to the other 1975 models in a test shootout, the Honda is pretty much the same as the 1974 bike with a bit of red colour added, the 1975 Kawasaki KX125 looks like the 1974 model, both these bikes still have the 4 inch rear suspension travel BUT the the radical new Suzuki RM125 comes along in 75 with long travel suspension!!! The Yamaha YZ125C introduced mono-shock suspension and a lot of horsepower into the 125 class.

This is a test that really highlights the pre 75 class with the new breed of mx bikes and a new era then follows. I rode my first real mx season on a 1975 RM125S and it was coool – big sand woops no longer held any fear, full throttle and just hit em hard!!! The RM125 tested here is the US version RM125M, the faster RM125S came to Australia.

SHOOTOUT……… As if you didn’t already know, motocross is one of the fastest growing sports in the country. It’s not hard to see why. Few sports combine action, color, speed, and finesse the way motocross does. And few sports equal motocross in ability to captivate young people, both as spectators and participants. Motocross is real for them. They don’t have to be content to just watch, they can actually do it themselves.

The favorite bikes of teenage riders are the 125s. In fact, most 125 motocross races are dominated by high school and junior high school students. And if any “seasoned veteran” of motorcycling still thinks 125s are nothing more than noisy toys and their riders dumb little kids, he should truck his 250 or 360 down to the local motocross practice track and get his doors blown off by 13-year-old Stevie Squid on his 125 Homazukasaki. As a further humiliation, he may very well learn that Stevie isn’t even one of the 125 hotshoes -he usually finishes somewhere in the middle of the pack. Read the rest of this entry »

Motocross Action Magazine did a dirt bike test on the Yamaha MX360 in 74 which makes an interesting read if you own , intend to own/race or restore one of these yellow racers as we do:

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“Used to know this dude that lived out in the middle of a big swamp in south Georgia down amongst the cotton mouths, red ants and chig­gers. He was what we used to call a good ol’ boy—made downright ex­cellent home brew he called “Mother’s Milk” and had this big, mangy dog he just called “Yaller.” Which made sense, because he was. Read the rest of this entry »

Dirk Bike magazine did a review of the 1974 Kawasaki KX125 when it came out and the text of their article is here for interest as it is one of the bikes we are looking to restore.

GREEN MUSCLE Machine

Fastest unfinished package in the Klass

1974 KAWASAKI KX125 SPEED FREAK

Kawasaki really blew it. Seriously blew it. Last year, Kawasaki was impressive. They had Brad Lackey, Jimmy Weinert, Peter Lamppu and Jim Cooke riding for them. It was all paying off. Weinert drowned the Europeans in the mud at the Houston Trans-AMA. Lamppu had third place in the National motocross open class. Wyman Priddy had tenth place. Jimmy took fourth nationally with his 250.

With a little road show and some publicity, Kawasaki could have sold eight jillion motocrossers. But they didn’t, because they didn’t have any. And if they had brought out this bike, this little KX 125 we’ve been testing, back then .. well, they’d be more common than crushed beer cans at the track on Sundays. Because this is a really neat little bike. Read the rest of this entry »