It gave plenty of comfort but didn’t seem
to bottom out, and soaked up small bumps
like tree roots effortlessly.
This bike also gives a lot of confidence in
corners. With it being so light, it was easy to
save or get back upright again, and power
wasn’t required to do it like on some bigger
bikes. However, this lightness also has its
trade off, as it could cause the bike to
become unsettled quite easily, with a small
root in a corner sometimes being enough to
cause a deflection. Also another factor that
helped with the cornering was the
comfortable seating position. The bars are
a bit lower than I’m used too, but this allows
you to get right over the front and weight
the front wheel. They feel good when when
you’re riding hard, but found they are a little
bit low for more trail riding kind of
conditions, when there are longer periods
spent standing. Although the tank and
shrouds have missed out on the updates
that the four-stroke range has received to
make them thinner, I still found them to
be comfortable and gave plenty of grip
through my knees.
So, whilst I did have to change gear a lot,
as I was expecting, I was really only left with
a smile on my face at the end of the test.
Whilst I enjoyed playing around on the 125X,
I found riding it at a similar pace to my own
bike was significantly harder and more
tiring, but I’m not your typical 125 rider. I
think Yamaha has produced a bike that,
while being very similar to the MX 125, is very
capable in the trees and can handle itself
very well in a cross country setting too –
making it a more versatile bike than its
motocross brother. Yamaha’s YZ125X
provides the perfect stepping stone for
moving from a small bike to the full size
range as well as being more than adequate
for any ability above that.
KIWI RIDER 57