Ride Report & First Impressions...
I have not provided a ride report yet, so I thought I would post my thoughts. I will also add my first impressions on build quality, ease of service, etc.
Ride Report:
Well, it's winter time here in Michigan with trails covered in snow, ice, and frozen dirt. I typically ride all year long and install a set of Trelleborg studded tires for my winter trail rides. As mentioned above, my CR125 currently has a 19" rear wheel. I decided to put in some Kold Kutter screws in the rear tire until I can get a 18" rear wheel built. The downside of Kold Kutter screws is that they only hold up for several rides when using them on the trails. They quickly get angled from the abrasive frozen ground. Not to mention losing some of them while riding. The little 125 is harder on the screws since the rear gets spinning as you get on the pipe.
Engine:
I'm still tweaking my jetting, but I have several rides on my bike now and can give a decent ride report. First, the engine is surprising powerful for a 125. The little lady can really scream as you open the throttle. As the rpms build, you better hold tight because it accelerates very well. It gets addictive to hear it keep singing while accelerating. The lower rpm range is nice for sweeping singletrack. The bike can chug well and since the throttle response off the bottom is a bit slower (compared to my old 250), I can control wheel spin better... that is better modulation of the first 1/4 turn throttle. I'm looking forward to Spring when I get it in the dirt, but so far I enjoy the power characteristics.
Other tid bits... The bike has a cable clutch, but it is extremely light feel to it while riding. It actually feels as light as the hydraulic clutch on my old GasGas TXT280 trials bike. The bike also has a V-Force 3 Reed valve which is nice. Unfortunately, Husky puts a Mikuni TMX 38mm carb on this bike. While I prefer Keihin PWK carbs, I am slowly learning the Mikuni and it is not so bad as I first thought.
Suspension:
The bike has Marzocchi 45mm forks and Sachs rear shock. My first task was to set up the stock suspension for my rider sag. The front spring rate is 4.2 N/mm and rear spring rate is 5.0 kg/mm. I'm about 165 lbs in street clothes, so I was curious how the stock rates would work. Actually, the rear spring rate was decent and yielded 29mm static sag with 101mm rider sag (good ratio). The front spring rate was a bit on the stiff side and yielded 37mm static sag with 55mm rider sag, but the fork needs to break-in still. Then, I initially set the clickers at the standard settings in front and rear. Overall, the suspension has felt well balanced and the damping very good. I have been able to use just clicker adjustments to fine tune the damping. The real truth will be in the Spring when I ride the harder trails up north in Michigan.
Ergonomics and Handling:
The stock bars have a very low profile feel. There are risers under the bar mounts, but I'm planning to install some ProTaper Woods High bars. I will have to see if I keep the extra risers or not. The bars are probably fine for MX use, but I'm just used to higher bars for trail riding (I like to stand while riding). The handlebars/seat/foot peg relationship is comfortable for me at 6 feet tall. It should be noted that the CR125 sits surprising tall. I have a 34 inseam and I touch on the balls of my feet. My GasGas bike allowed me to flat foot while sitting. On the positive side, there is lots of ground clearance to the skid plate.
The overall handling of the bike is excellent. It responds very well to rider input and can change direction quickly. The bike is extremely light feeling and a pleasure to ride. It has a very stable feel like my previous GasGas bikes. It is definitely not twitchy like my old KTM 200EXC... that thing needed a steering damper to be comfortable.
Build Quality and Ease of Maintenance:
Husky uses a zinc chromate (gold colored) plating on most of their fasteners. While this looks nice, they tend to use a softer material grade on the smaller bolts. I noticed this previously on my SM610 and the CR125 is the same way. So you need to be careful on the M6 bolts not to strip them out. The larger bolts like M8, M10, etc. are all high grade structural bolts. Husky typically calls out much higher torque values compared to what GasGas uses (e.g., on rear axle nut or swing arm axle nut). I have went through the entire bike and retorqued critical bolts then paint dotted them. I'm good to go now!
I also disassembled all bearings to inspect for grease. Both wheels had minimal grease in the bearings and outer seals were dry. I repacked them with Bel-Ray grease. The steering head, swing arm, and rear linkage all had decent grease. Husky uses a thin white lithium grease so I repacked them with Bel-Ray. FYI.. a nice feature that Husky does is add grease fittings (zirk) on the rocker arm. This is handy for maintaining the linkage between yearly teardowns.
Overall, the bike has a very clean layout and easy to work on. Part of this is due to the small 125 engine. For example, the spark plug and carb can be easily accessed with the gas tank on... very handy! The air filter is accessed by a Dzuz fastener on the seat. Oil changes are a breeze since the filler hole is easy to fill on the clutch side (it is not hidden like the GasGas bikes). Finally, all of the fastener heads are common between a couple sizes. Most are 8mm, 10mm, 12mm, and 14mm hex head. There are a few allen head, but most are standard hex heads. Definitely fewer tools needed compared to the GasGas bikes.
Conclusion:
So far, the CR125 is living up to my expectations. I am happy with the engine power on my current trail rides. The bike is extremely light weight feeling and responds well to rider's input. I'm really looking forward to testing it this Spring on Michigan's sandy trails and moderate hill climbs. I have a few trails in mind that can definitely test the little tiddler's power.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed my report!
