01 Cr125

[BILLY]

just picked up a leftover 01 cr-125. cant ride it yet due to snow covering up here in northern nj. i have been riding and purchasing yz125's since 99 to the present. i must say that they have been great. however, i have never owned nor ridden a cr125 and wanted to try one as a back up bike but i keep hearing stories of this so called, "lack of motor." i havent ridden the bike yet, but come on, how slow could it be? i have checked the archives and i see a lot of potential upgrades to help the cr engine but most of it is for the 2002 model. my question is would they apply and help the 01 as well? as for the reed cage, reeds and manifold mod from an 00 yz125, would this work on an 01 too? any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. i hope it will be as good or close to my 02 yz125. this is my 1st aluminum frame bike and i must say it is a nice change of scenery from my trusty blues bikes. thanks again:eek:

 

[Pit_Monkey]

hey i dont know if you are a subscriber to dirt rider mag but htey did a whole thing about mods that work and dont work for the 2001 cr 125 as well as every other 2001 125 and 250 cc bike. i believe its the march or 2001 issue. they followed it up in the april of 2001 issue by testing the pro circuit cr 125 and telling what mods they did with a corrosponding price list.
btw can i ask what you paid for the bike, and where you bought it. thanks

 

[Jay-R]

This is what I have learned from the CR gurus here on DRN.

Most of the performance tricks discussed on the 02 are also applicable to the 01 model. The intake boot and manifold are the main differences on the 01 and 02.

The first thing that you will notice about the CR is the motor has an awful rattle. For some reason, Honda uses a loose factory piston and a high compression head. It is a good idea to change to an aftermarket piston to eliminate this rattle. When this is done, the compression is increased, so either run race gas or use two head gaskets. For more low end, switch to a piston for a Husqvarna 125. Here is the setup I am running on my 2001 CR 125.

Vertex piston for a Husqvarna 125
7mm powervavle spacer
Cometic high compression gasket set (thinner base gasket)
V force reed cage
factory silencer shortened by 50mm

I run 50/50 mix of 110 and 93 octane. My has a wider spread of power than stock. More toward low end though. I believe that I can use two head gaskets to pull more toward top end.

The factory pipe on the CR makes as much power as any aftermarket one. The shortened silencer is no louder than before and adds more bottom end.

The CR is a good bike and remains tight and looking new for quite some time.