WORDS: Jock McLauchlan
PHOTOS: Geoff Osborne
POCKET
ROCKET
YAMAHA
YZ125
You might have seen a very quickly ridden YZ125 at
XC events – this is Richard Sutton’s GYTR YZ125...
think it’s fair to say the Yamaha two-
stroke range is getting long in the
tooth. It’s been around more or less
in the same guise for many, many
years. Thankfully, Yamaha has thrown
their adult-sized two-stroke editions a life
line in recent years with some updates
like a larger front disc and the choice of
GYTR parts. The suspension components
have been iteratively kept up with modern
technology too.
All of this was running through my mind
prior to riding Richard Sutton’s race bike.
His Yamaha YZ125W has a GYTR exhaust,
a larger IMS fuel tank, some personalising
42 KIWI RIDER
and frankly not much else... so, to be
brutally honest honest, I wasn’t expecting
much. I mean, it’s an old design right? And
there’s the fact that I’m a big bloke... and
not much of a 125cc fan anyway.
Well, to say that I was pleasantly surprised
is a massive understatement. This bike
really rips! It feels fast, very light, and
thoroughly modern, and is generally a
joyful blast to ride. It’s a machine you
underestimate at your peril on race day.
The power is strong up top but amazingly
torquey too for a 125, and pretty damn
easy to ride in general.
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