2021 125 Two Stroke Shootout - Motocross Action Magazine

[Music] ah [Music] [Music] so um welcome to glen helen raceway i'm josh moseman assistant editor of motocross action magazine behind me we have the gas gas the tm ktm husqvarna and yamaha yz-125 two-strokes and mx-8 red crew we love two strokes and we know that everybody else does too they're easy and fun to ride for everyone from beginner to pro and they're affordable easy to work on and they have the awesome two-shoot sound that everybody loves let me say wrecking crew we know that some of you might be looking to go to your dealer and buy a 125 two-stroke so in this video we hope that we can help you decipher which one's best for you mxa has been testing 125 two strokes since 1973 but it's been a while since we've lined them all up for a full-on shootout there was a time when 125 twoshocks were on the verge of extinction still the mxa wrecking crew never gave up on them we continued to test and write articles about them and now the tushoka market is booming again we owe a debt of gratitude to yamaha for refusing to drop its two-show motocross bikes when its fellow japanese manufacturers jump ship we owe an even bigger slap on the back to ktm stefan pierre for not just continuing to build two strokes but for advancing the technology in ways that will keep two strokes viable for coming generations the two stroke revival of the past five years isn't just a sales phenomenon but it's also a living breathing growing organism on tracks across america best of all two strokes are now being raised again even by pro riders young and old who have found fun opportunities at local money paying two stroke events we had the blast of testing these five 2021 125 two chokes and after we logged plenty of hours on each bike we cleaned them up the best we could and found some pro riders to throw some style for our video each bike was tested in its stock form using blends all oil mixed with 91 octane pump fuel funnel web filters were used in each bike to keep the dirt out of the intake and phoenix handlebars were used as well across the board without further ado let's dive into it [Music] [Applause] hey [Music] first up the 2021 gas gas mc125 with the retail price of 67999 the gas gas 125 uses the same engine as the ktm husky bikes with ktm's aluminum subframe wp suspension with unique gas gas settings forged aluminum triple clamps maxis tires silver rims silver neck and handlebars an ultra small bar pad textured seat cover new fuel tank and unique red bodywork on the track the gas gas mc125 feels a lot like a ktm but there are three puzzle pieces that set the red machine apart from the orange bike first up the triple clamps the forged triple clamps are more flexible than the cnc machined billet clamps that you find on the ktm and husky bikes causing it to oversteer coming into corners and under steer coming out of corners which means that it isn't as precise as its austrian buddies we elected to slide the forks up in the clamps and torque the top clamp down to 20 newton millimeters and the bottom bolts to 15 to stiffen up the front end feel two the air box cover when the ktm and husky and gas gas engines are exactly the same the only variable among them is airflow and the gas gas air box cover is super closed off third suspension settings the gas gas 125 suspension settings are softer and more tailored to novice and vet riders not 125 pros we like the gas gas 125's plush suspension but aren't huge fans of the triple clamps or air box cover [Music] next up the 2021 husqvarna tc125 the husky tc 125 retails for 74999 dollars and it comes with the same lowered suspension platform that the rest of the 2021 husky lineup got with the same fork internals as the ktm and gas gas including new improved air and oil bypass systems that give the fork better connection to the ground the suspension also has unique valve settings that are softer than the ktms but stiffer than the gas gases the husky air box is unique aesthetically and sounds attractive when you mention that the subframe is made of a carbon composite which is really just plastic but on the track the shape of the air box and the design of its cover suppress the engine's breathing the only other minor difference from the ktm is the husky's smooth magura clutch actuation instead of the pop feel that you get with the ktm's brembo system internally the engine is the same and that's why we harp on the air box so much it's the only physical variance between the two bikes and yes it's noticeable the husky power feels similar to ktm but the surge isn't as intense and it takes a little more skill to get it into the power like with the husky 250 and 454 strokes mxa test riders love the handling of the lowered tc125 the changes bring the rear end of the husky down about an inch and even our taller riders liked it [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] next on the list the 2021 ktm 125 sx retailing for 7 399 the ktm 125 is strong it continues to pull until it hits 37.52 horsepower at 11 200 rpm impressive numbers for a stock 125. although the ktm is actually edged out by the husky slightly at peak on the dyno the larger holes on the ktm air box cover create a noticeable improvement in throttle response and rev speed the vented air box holes aren't as big of a deal on the dyno because airflow in the dyno is limited to fans blowing into the radiators but on the track at speed the ktm processes air quicker and more efficiently than the husky prior to 2021 the wp air forks didn't have shims at the mid valve on their two strokes because wp technicians couldn't create a setting soft enough for the lightweight bikes without deforming shims now with a new lift height setting at the mid valve wp is able to add damping shims which improves the forks on the track the ktm 125 suspension felt great it wasn't overly stiff but the valving held up stronger than the rest soaking up the big heads better than it stablemates the ktm's brothers husky and gas gas were softer which was nice in corners but not as forgiving when landing hard in conclusion after riding with the competition the ktm doesn't feel like a 125 it feels more like a 150 and we love racing it [Applause] [Music] next the 2021 tm-125mx the tm-125 slides into the lineup with a retail price of 8495 dollars making it the most expensive bike in this class a few years ago every mxa test rider complained about the tm's tall handlebars stiff shock spring poorly valved chaoba forks and stink bug stance but ralph schmidt tm racing usa's importer has guided the italian factory to americanize its setup and most test riders love the tm125s rider triangle geometry the italian engine tops out at 35.75 horses which is less than the three austrian bikes at peak but it's actually stronger than the austrian bikes from 10 000 to 10 600 rpm when shifted on the power bubble our more experienced test riders enjoyed the tm125 the only issue with the tm is that it takes big skill to ride in a small window of power our test riders aren't perfect and when they miss the shift points the competition pulled away as for handling our lighter test riders in the 140 to 155 pound range felt that the suspension was harsh while our heavier riders and the 180 to 200 pound range really liked it for them the suspension created a smooth and predictable response in the bumps the tm is 1.76 horses faster than the yz-125 but when you make a mistake by shifting too early or too late the yz-125 makes up its horsepower deficit in short order it takes some patience to learn how to ride properly but we see great potential with the tm [Applause] [Music] next up the 2021 yamaha yz-125 this year's yz-125 comes in at just six thousand five hundred ninety nine dollars but most riders are buying them even cheaper because they're buying them and used no bike in the history of motocross has rolled down the assembly line with so few updates for so many years on one hand it is an indication of how old the yz125 is today but on the other hand it speaks volumes about how great the yz125 was in 2006. on the track the yamaha yz-125 is the easiest bike to ride although it is the lowest in horsepower numbers 1.76 off the tm and 3.61 horsepower off the husky tc-125 the yamaha's power delivery still picks up better at the crack of the throttle on the dyno the yamaha is strongest in torque and horsepower from 6600 rpm to 7 800 rpm by as much as three pound feet of torque and a half of horsepower obviously this isn't really the meat of the power for the 125 but it does make the yz-125 easier to get out of a pinch the real problem for a yz-125 power is that after 7 800 rpm the yz-125 power curve sinks well below the other 125s as for handling we can't complain about the yz-125 the sss forks are superb and the yz-125 is as predictable as they come we just wish that yamaha would invest some r d money into this engine and if they did the buying public would go nuts for it [Applause] shootout season is always a fun and exciting time for the mxa test riders but it's also a challenge 125 two-stroke shootout now this was one that we thoroughly enjoyed now that the highlights of each bikes have been covered let us run through mxa's rankings of the 2021 125 two-strokes [Applause] [Music] [Music] starting off with a tm-125mx we see great potential with this bike its stock engine is stronger than the yamahas and the suspension is stable but oversprung we know the tm125mx isn't going to please everyone but it was never meant to tm is a boutique brand that produces handmade motorcycles at a small fraction of the units when compared to its competition the tm is built for riders who like to go against the grain and like all tm motorcycles it can be custom ordered with a factory tm modified engine personalized spring rates and much much more the tm125 placed 5th in mxa [Music] shootout [Music] next the yamaha yz-125 is ultra fun to ride and its suspension is bulletproof although the wp exact air forks have made up almost all of the ground between them the cayaba sss forks still hold one large advantage over the air forks maintenance you don't need to set the air pressure with a special fork pump each time you ride the yz-125 was in for a challenge when entering any 125 shootout undertaken in the last five years this shootout like every one of mxa's shootouts is scored based on each bike's racing abilities and its stock form the yz-125 hasn't kept up with the austrian bikes in terms of handling power clutch brakes or horsepower it's great if you're only racing against other yamahas but if you're on a race track with ktms huskies and gas gas bikes you'll need to spend a lot of money to modify your yz125 so it can erase that almost four horsepower deficit the yz125 plays fourth for the gas gas we like the plush suspension and we love the way it looks but it suffers slightly in the power department not because it isn't capable of producing class-leading horsepower but because the ktm overseers didn't want it to the gas gas wasn't meant to beat the ktm it was made to steal customers away from the yamaha with a price that's six hundred dollars less than the ktm 175 and only two hundred dollars above the yamaha yz-125 our lap times on the gas gas were anywhere from a half a second to one and a half seconds off the ktm but still faster than the yz-125 and tm-125 the gas gas mc125 finished third place [Music] after husqvarna won our 250 and 450 shootouts for 2021 the white bike came into this 125 shootout with lots of momentum mxa has complained for years that modern motocross bikes were too tall but nobody would listen to us until 2021 when husky answered our call by lowering its bikes by almost an inch at the seat on the track the lower husky tc-125 was a revelation it was easier to turn more accurate at speed and had the uncanny ability to find traction of the five bikes and the 2021 mxa 125 shootout the husqvarna tc125 handled the best but all was not right in the world husqvarna's molded plastic composite air box and subframe doesn't breathe well enough to produce a snappy and responsive throttle character the air box is what cost husky a bike of the year sweep and the 125 250 and 450 shootouts the ktm designers had race wins in mind when they added vent holes to their air box covers while husqvarna's designers went with a stylish but slow approach on their vents every mxa test rider loved the lower chassis of the husky but power reigns supreme in the 125 class no 125 rider likes to give up power when it's time to go racing and that means the husky tc125 scored second place [Applause] wow finally getting into our 125 bike of the year plus the fact that 125s are already lighter and slower their handling has improved much more over other bikes that are faster this just makes the engine and power much more important in the 125 class overall the ktm 125 has the strongest power and overall best acroments for hardcore racing we only wish it had husqvarna's lowered suspension on it [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] um [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] um [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] right [Music] hmm [Music] all right guys so that's it for mxa's 2021 125 two stroke shootout video we got more two stroke videos on our youtube channel you can click the subscribe button there to stay up to date with our latest videos check out motocrossactionmag.com for the latest news reviews race results bike tests and more we got a lot of information about these bikes on our website so that's all for this video thank you guys for tuning in see you guys next time

Channel: motocross action magazine

Views: 151,551

Keywords: race, test, compete, competition, racing, insane, wild, nuts, speed, creative, fast, horsepower, 125, two stroke, 2 stroke, shootout, winner, versus, moto, motocross, dirt, dirt bike, outdoors, sport, comparison, duke, box, fight, aggressive, amazing, incredible, cali, socal, california, gasgas, husqvarna, tm, ktm, yamaha

Id: CxjLfiCBZSU

Length: 21min 46sec (1306 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 14 2021