kimbodini

Member
Jul 16, 2013
5
0
So I am having trouble finding the answer I am looking for. I quit racing back in 2001 when I got married and ended up selling my bike. For years I have regretted my decision and finally pulled the trigger last week and bought a 2013 yz 125. I just bought what I had always rode and was comfortable with. Little did I know that there is no longer a 125 and 250 class. I assumed I would be able to race in the 30 plus 125 class. Now I am reading all these changes about how the 250 2 strokes are racing with the 250 4 strokes and I thought that is what category I would be in. Which class will I be in? I really feel like I just wasted a lot of money and will have to sell and buy a 250f or 450f. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks
 

kimbodini

Member
Jul 16, 2013
5
0
Well I am the most concerned with having a class to race in. I really cant afford to buy another. I know I will have a lot of fun with this bike and I have already had it out on a track trying to get comfortable again.
 

2strokerfun

Member
May 19, 2006
1,500
1
You only bought the wrong bike if you have hopes of winning regularly against the faster 250Fs. Having said that, a really good rider on a 125 can still beat a field of lesser riders on 250Fs. Heard a local tale few years ago of Guy Cooper on a Honda 150r waxing a field of bigger bikes. Didn't see it, but I believe he could have done it. Makes for a good story, anyway. Have fun, enjoy your bike. If you compete for a while and decide you need another bike, sell it and get another. You won't be the first.
 

Rich Rohrich

Moderator / BioHazard
LIFETIME SPONSOR
Jul 27, 1999
22,838
16,902
Chicago
High Lord Gomer said:
There is NO WAY that a little bike could beat a big bike!!


Gomer is right!!

I just imagined AJ (the world famous AF500 builder) on a 10 horsepower TTR 125 passing Gomer on his CR250. YEP, that must have been a dream. :)
 

High Lord Gomer

Poked with Sticks
Sep 26, 1999
11,790
34
Rich Rohrich said:
Gomer is right!!

I just imagined AJ (the world famous AF500 builder) on a 10 horsepower TTR 125 passing Gomer on his CR250. YEP, that must have been a dream. :)
AHA! I *KNEW* he was cheating. A stock TTR is only supposed to make 9HP.
 
Apr 30, 2007
657
0
2strokerfun said:
You only bought the wrong bike if you have hopes of winning regularly against the faster 250Fs. Having said that, a really good rider on a 125 can still beat a field of lesser riders on 250Fs. Heard a local tale few years ago of Guy Cooper on a Honda 150r waxing a field of bigger bikes. Didn't see it, but I believe he could have done it. Makes for a good story, anyway. Have fun, enjoy your bike. If you compete for a while and decide you need another bike, sell it and get another. You won't be the first.

Just sayin'. I still own my CRF150RB, and I regularly smoked 250Fs, and 2-stroke 125s. I am not a great or even good rider, but the 150Rs are deadly on tight tracks. :nod:
 

Ol'89r

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Jan 27, 2000
6,961
45
The YZ125 is a great little bike. My grandson Max wins on his in the 250 class all the time. He even holeshots the 450's and leads them for a lap or two. If it's fun and easy to ride, it's the right bike for you.
 

kimbodini

Member
Jul 16, 2013
5
0
Thanks for all the responses. I was thinking to sell and buy a 4 stroke but I have decided to keep the YZ and see how I can do.
 

sbest

Member
Mar 12, 2013
19
0
If you are not made of money, you are on the right bike!
The 250F and 450F bikes SUCK $$$ when it comes to repairs.
A major rebuild, crank, cylinder plating, piston and all (you doing the work) is $1000 at most on a 2 stroke, more than double that on the new 4 strokes. Plus the complication. It is a 2-6 hr job on a 2 stroke, 6-16 hr job on a 4 stroke.

These are not your Daddy's old 4 stroke. Their oil change frequency is 10 hrs or every race of $$$ synthetic. That is more oil than the 2 stroke burns! The piston replacement frequency is the same but all the parts are 150% more $$$. And the major overhaul frequency (gearbox, clutch, crank, cam, valves, camchain) is more often on the 4 stroke and costs 200-400% more!

Now forget the costs, what are you racing for? Racing to win? Get a job that can make money no object.
Racing for the fun of it? To improve your skills? To learn to ride and ride well?
If so a lighter bike is better for control. The 10-30 lbs less that a 2 stroke bike weighs and lower center of gravity are very important for control. Think about racing with a 20 lbs microwave oven strapped to your bike. Crazy. Give me a lighter bike anyday.

The traction of a 2 stroke is awesome and if you can handle it a good rider can do awesome things with a 250F or 450F but most don't. They learn sloppy corner habits and full tilt on the straights. Nothing teaches you to ride like a hot little 125. Light and powerful if you do your part to keep it in the right gear. I own a 450, and a KTM300. My 125 is still my favourite bike. Remember, it's 90% rider on any given day anyway.

You've got the right bike.

Steve
 
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