Death of the 125 - what will be the last 125 year?

[nikki]

It's obvious that the 250F four-strokes are taking over the 125cc class... I even read that Honda has delayed their production of the '04 CR 125's because no dealers are asking for any and they are going to run another batch of CRF 250's instead. So... when do you think the last 125cc 2-stroke MX bike will be produced by the big 4 (Honda, Yamaha, Kawazuki)?

 

[Okiewan]

06

 

[XRpredator]

Wow Nik, you're not too optimistic, are you? :eek: I'm thinkin' 07, maybe later if the Kawazuki (Suzisaki?) merger doesn't pan out (and it does seem troubled, but that's for another thread)

 

[mdkuder]

I'm hoping that they clean up the emissions and never go away!

 

[nikki]

I actually voted 2005 then realized the 2005's will be out in like 10 months.... and wanted to change to 2006, but whatever. Regardless... I figure Honda and Kawazuki can get their 250F's fine tuned after 2 years (as did Yamaha) and probably pull the plug on the 125's in the next 2-3 years. Plus I'm guessing the sales of the 2004 125's is going to be so low that the overhead costs of R+D and production time and unsold inventory and maintaining an extra low-volume bike model and whatnot are going to start outweighing the profits pretty quickly.

 

[MXFastGuy]

'08 or later.

Nothing like the sound of 40 bikes, ALL 125's going into the first turn...

Too bad we'll never get to experience it again... :-(

 

[nikki]

A great quote from RC out of the newest RacerX (and I might not have it word for word... but you get the point):


"Pretty soon we'll be having the 2-Stroke Nationals instead of the 4-Stroke Nationals"

 

[99CR125OK]

I voted '06. I think it is very telling that Honda has not put much r$d money into their 125 lately, or at least you can't see it if they did.

 

[BEEF706]

06 I think then followed closely bt the demise of the 250 2stroke

 

[bclapham]

the 125 died in my heart when Steve_125 bought a 250f :whiner: :( :|

the 125 just doenst stand a chance, when even a fire breathing, hopped up, bored out 125 doenst even match up to a showroom stock 250f.

it was never a fair fight to begin with, they should have limited the 4-stroke size to maybe 200 or 225cc's.

dont know what to say about the 250 class, a 250 2 stroke is so hard to sell right now, on my gate on sunday there were two 2-stroke 250s and about 35 450f's, i did notice more 2smokers in the higher classes though.

i wouldnt trade my rm144 for any 250f, but i would gladly trade my 250 for a 450f

 

[blackhawk468]

NEVER!!!!!!!!! LONG LIVE THE TWO STROKE!

 

[gwcrim]

The tree huggers can have my two stroke when they pry it from my cold, dead fingers. :flame:

 

[Philip]

I think now that everyone is making one demand for the buck&quarter will slow down. Everyone is looking for that extra power that the baby thumpers have. 06 will be the last.

 

[geir54]

I heard that Honda set there own deadline for 2006 to be all 4 stroke

 

[kdxtodd]

They will be around for another ten years. honda will be first to drop them, then suzuki, kawasaki, yamaha, I think KTM will be the only one still making a 125 by then. a stock ktm right now is faster than a 250f. I still think 125s will sell for a while though. A hopped up 125 is still faster than a 250f, and considering that a 250f is about 600-1000 bucks more than a 125 depending on what brand, people will still want a 125. It will be a very sad day when noone makes a 125, and when noone makes a 250, thats gonna SUCK. I don't think anyone should relish the fact that the 2-stroke is going extinct, riders should still have the choice to ride what they want, but unfortunatly government intervention, environmentalists, and some motorcycle manufactures are going to eliminate that right.
LONG LIVE THE 2-STROKE!!!!!

 

[mxer842]

i think the last class to run the two-strokes will be the 80 and 60 classes, i have a feeling it will be a while before we see some 8year olds on thumpers. for the 125 though, their will always be those hard-core two-strokers so there will be a bunch of them at the races for a while after production stops, with that said, im going to say 08 will be the lasy year.

 

[dirt bike dave]

todd,

While the 125's are not too far behind the 250f in peak power, check the dyno charts and look at the rpm range where a 250f makes 30+ hp.  Compare to a 125 two stroke.  Don't have any charts infront of me, but my guess is a 125 might make 30+ hp over a 1,000 - 1,500 rpm range, while the 250f's are making it over a 3,000-5,000 rpm range.  

There is nothing magic about the 30 hp number, but it illustrates the point that the 250 four strokes make strong power over a much greater rpm range than a 125.

 

[Zenith]

No surprise dealers aren't ordering 04 CR125s if the 03/02 CRs are anything to go by :D!
250fs are no longer allowed ride with the 125s over here and there are clubs in the UK doing the same thing, things are beginning to change (I hope :)).
Haven't both Honda and Yam said publicly that they plan to continue development of the 125 until 2010 at least? I'm sure they know there are plenty of die-hard two strokers around to buy the bikes if they continure making them...

 

[bclapham]

die hard 2-stroke riders will die out very soon if they are turning up to the gate down on several HP each week. can you imagine how fast the 250fs will be in 2010, look how far they have come since th yz400f?????

 

[mxer842]

the other day i rode my friends yz125, you name it this bike had it, ported, cases matched, high compression pistion, dual curve ignition, pipe/silencer, anything that could be carbon fiber was, the whole kit and kaboodle. his list of extras probably topped about 6k. then i took a stock 03 yz250f for a ride and i thought that it had more bottom by far than my friends bike and then through the rest of the curve they were the same. my point is that this is a full blown yz125 race bike with any and everything the aftermarket companies had was thrown its way versus a stock yz250f. my point is that yeah two-strokes have all the potential in the world to leave a four-stroke in its dust, but with the epa cracking down on emissions why would the big five waist millions of r&d dollars on a bike that will be outlawed in a few years anyways? the two-strokes days are numbered, i hate to see them go because i have grown up riding them but four-strokes are going to get all the r&d and continue to leave the 2bangers behind in terms of power.

 

[ochster]

Sounds like the minimum weight, and production based reg's, need to go bye bye. Then offer those of us who are willing to pay, a truly state of the art full on race replica. Naturally this would only be able to be used on a closed course, and maybe even in proffesional competition only.

 

[OnAnySunday]

Aint gonna happen.
There'll be too much pressure to continue making smokers.
I just cant imagine 2 strokes being gone altogether.
If / when it happens it will be a cold dark day for motorcycle sport. :( :whiner: :|

 

[super rat]

Nothing puts a bigger grin on my face than a 125. 450f 250f no thanks.

 

[mx547]

about a year ago, i read that honda had already developed a racing two-stroke that met emission standards. i haven't heard anything lately. maybe it was just an internet rumour?

last week, i asked the parts manager at the local honda shop how many 250f's they have sold and he said only two, that there doesn't seem to be any demand for them here.

 

[mxer842]

i must admit to being a two-stroke man all the way to super rat. i loved flicking the clutch out of corners and hearing the engine wind out right was it in the meat of the powerband, nothing could be more fun. then i swung a leg over a 250f, i was amazed that the bike still had enough torque to loft the front wheel(not on purpose) out of a hairpin corner in 3rd gear, they are faster, plain and simple. who knows what the future holds for the 2bangers, but at the moment the 4strokes have them beat by a longshot.