Up the speed and the 125X is even pretty
good in 4th gear stuff on firm soil, however
deep, soft sand has it working very hard. It
is at its worst in stop/go tight terrain that
requires finesse to negotiate. Here, it needs
more effort from the rider to go fast –
there’s a greater skill intensity needed, and
the engine and gearbox need working to
maintain a fast average pace, although
you do have the bike’s light weight in your
favour. The other area where a 125 can be
challenging is the open because you are
more or less operating at peak power the
whole time. This means that if your suddenly
encounter a bull hole or the like, you have no
power reserves to call on to suddenly boost
you across. However, seasoned 125 pros
seem to have this thoroughly in hand and
don’t appear to have any issues.
With the right rider and favourable terrain
I have no doubt that Yamaha’s new 125X
could win outright. And so, who is that “right”
rider? Well, obviously a highly skilled and fit
rider of smaller stature will be most likely to
get the best results. However, this machine
is probably going to be most appealing to
younger up and comers and ladies because
of its light weight and slightly smaller size.
Also, the engine is a fantastic motor to learn
the ropes of throttle and clutch control on,
get that right and they’ll be skills which will
useful for a lifetime of riding. I still love
power and capacity, but the new 125X is
impressive, expect to be overtaken by one
in upcoming events.
54 KIWI RIDER