125-200cc 1 Year on a WR 125

I bought a brand new WR 125 about a year ago, so i think its time to write down my experience with the small Husky.

Note: I ll using a 2005 YZ 125 as a reference or a 1993 WR125.

I got the Bike on January 2nd 2014, brand new.
put an hour meter on the bike, apart from that i left it bone stock.

After the first test drive i realised the jetting was not perfect (read it before on cafehusky) so i started to swop jets and adjusting needle clip positions.
... it took me ages... but the bike performed well.

I was really impressed how much power the engine had- no stalling at low rpms, peak power feels ever more than on my YZ but the midrange doesnt hit a s hard.

In Feburary i went to Enduro Track Day in Eindhoven- Netherlands. It was more a MX than a Enduro- but a 40Km Lap only on deep dutch sand will do an enduro...
The WR was not the perfect Bike for higher speed in sand but it was doing well- handled good, just enough power for 6th gear (deep sand will let every bike feel underpowered), no headshake, well balanced!

Till now- no problems, all i was doing right now was changing the main jet several times for better throttle response.

Next time i was on the bike- Eastern, some friends were riding through the forest, stopped at a quarry an we had a good blast up the hills.
1st problem: missing side stand... the main bolt came loose so i lost the aluminium arm. Thats life i thought...
Lucky me i found the biggest part on my way home- so all i needed were the springs, bolt etc.

During spring and summer i put a lot more hours on the bike doing some motocross trainings, went to town for shopping without any big problems apart from a loose kickstart bolt.
I lock tightened the bolt (and a lot more!!!).

I decided to upgrade my linkage with grease nipples- the old WRs all had this so why did they stop that????

In june i went to Romania for enduro riding, i ve been there before so i already knew i needed a different gearing. I ordered a 51 rear sproket, put it on the bike, loaded my stuff on the trailer and started my trip though europe (romania is about 2200Km away from my home).

In Romania i had problems... jetting way out (not on the YZ and 1993 WR!), and the gearing- still to tall to climb up the hills... good thing the engine resists to stall even on very low rpms.

Had to fiddle with the jetting, again, every other day.
I had 3 of my bikes with me- the YZ was a backup bike, the old WR and the new one were the bikes with bigger pertrol tanks so we used them ever day.
I swoped the 2013WR with the old one- my friend said he did not liked the newer WR, throttle response and gearing are not perfect for enduro- i think he s right...

I had a good week, even with the gearing not spot on- so i orderd a 12tooth sproket straight away.

Im September i was booked in for a 2hour enduro race, with 12/51, aluminium handguards, selfmade radiator guards, carbon fibre exhaust guard (i bought it for my YZ 125).

The race went okay, i finished 21 out of 85- not bad for my first race in 4 years.

Since then i was only out a few times with my bike- still had to change the main jet several times, lost my gas tank plug... replaced it with a old style Yamaha part (1999 YZ).

Last time i went out for some Endurocross training i felt the main jet again was not perfect... i wasn t in the mood fiddeling around with the carb again and after a few laps on the mx course i heard the engine pinging... stopped the bike immediately. Bike was dirty but dry- APART from the V Force Reed Block and intake manifold...
These parts have not been tightened up correctly again...

Till now- i m not a fan of the bike, it either enduro oder mx, its been a cheap bike, i m in MX for about 20 years, mainly on yamahas, but sometimes on husky, rarely in suzuki...

I m not sure what to do- the engine has good usable power, i m sure if all bolts been tight- i may dont have to re-jet every other ride.

Anyone who had similiar issues with the intake bolts came loose?

I already thought i might by a Lectron- but would be useless with a Bike wich isnt bolted up correctly.

You have been in MX racing for 20 yrs?

There is a dirt bike racer guy named Ken Roczen. He says just give me the bike. I'll make it work. It's a great, winning\winner attitude. I've had that attitude on motorcycles and life forever... well before I read that this ~20 yr young man said it. Still have it today at age 56 and will again live by it the next 2 days when riding one of my Huskies across the mountains of Cebu.

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Good luck on your riding and trying to get your bike correct. You'll have plenty of replies.. I'm still trying to learn to ride a bike also, same as you... No classes, I just live dirt bikes, each and every day till Kingdom comes.

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Only advice I can give a rider like you is to stay with Japanese brands and save yourself all the heartaches of the EU brands of bikes... Being a lifetime Husqvarna and only Husqvarna dirt bike rider, these bikes are not for everyone. Not sure what the future holds for the KTM Huskies so I own 5 ITL Huskies. My(?) Kingdom will come before they are all junk I do believe.

PS -- Feel fee to post up some pics or videos from the EU riding you are doing .. Thanks for the detailed reporting.

i ve got a few bikes (i think we all have more than just 1 bike), i really love the old 1993 WR- that bike is perfect (apart from the spare part situation), also i ve got a TM - so its not beeing a Japanese only rider...
Also i love 125s, but is it just me have bad luck or did u guys also have similar experiences with your huskys (i ve read tons about carb issues and Lectron conversions)- i feel like the older bikes are the better ones...

I'm not a 125cc rider. I am not a 300cc rider. Most you riders seem to always have issues or looking for something for the bike. I ride 250cc bikes.

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There are lots of 125 CARB threads out here. I never follow them as they are not my world... But as I stated above, I'm sure you will get plenty of good \ real advice on what to do to your 125cc Husky.

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That 1993 bike is 21 yrs old ... I'm hoping to get results along that line with by Huskies. As far as I'm concerned, the last ITL 250cc Huskies suit me very well and I'm more concerned with riding them and learning to ride a dirt bike using proper technique that any new designs on SPs' whiteboards.

I havent had any problems with bolts . Ive found jetting to be good - i normally adjust needle or pilot and leave main quite rich

i think my jetting problem was all about the loose intake manifold...
But thats my main problem- i had to re-tight several screws/bolts... hopefully the interna screws are ok.

i now- it sounds negative- but it isnt really- its just my experience after 1 year on a brand new italian husky (and of the last ever been build).

I m not sure if i keep the bike (would sell it for buying a brand ne TM) but if so- i ll will do some major work on it (please note- i ve got a 2 years warranty- i m not allowed to do any engine work/mods)

strip it down over the winter and go over everything. thats good practice on any bike regardless off what year.
and yes, if you are having jetting problems, go lectron! then if you wish to adjust top end you can do it with a screw

JD Jet Kit makes the Mikuni TMX function. Make sure you have gaskets both before/after the reed cage intake from the carburetor.

got the bike back from the dealer, as i had to take the bike up there for a warranty repair of the loose screws on the intake manifold.
Bike is running fine now- engine has got its power back. lets just hope it will be like that forever.

Sweet!!!

maybe its worth everybody double check their bikes for a leaking intake manifold before fiddeling with the carb!

Check spark plugs tight too, the bikes are in a horrid environment off road you cant expect zero maintenance, loose bolts could vibrate loose but only if they wernt torqued up, judging by other storys flywheel nuts loose clutch hubs not tight etc.
These are good bikes generally but like ray-ray said you gotta make it work for you.

I bought my 2014 CR125 about the same time as you. I use it for woods riding only. No real issues so far. But I modified it a bunch for woods riding.

http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/cr125-to-woods-weapon-done-finally.41560/page-2#post-417782

http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/14-cr125-to-woods-weapon.39971/page-8#post-401558

I bought my Husky from Hall's in Springfield, Il. It was worth the drive. They had a lot of experience with racing the ITL Huskies. Before they deliver the bikes the disassemble known problem areas and reassemble using blue Locktite, they also grease all suspension bearings.

The Mikuni carb is junk. The jetting is very sensitive to altitude/temperature changes. Do yourself a favor and get the Lectron from Motorsportz, they set it up specifically for the Husky, it works perfect from the box and doesn't require any fiddling.

Anytime I remove anything I use Locktite during reassembly.

I wouldn't use the side stand anyway, just an accident waiting to happen.

You might also consider a steering damper(Motrsportz) and a 144cc or 165cc(WallyBean) kit.

The little Husky is worth sorting out. Once dialed in they're a great handling trailbike, and fairly durable.

Good luck

In 2011 my son beat the tar out of a new leftover 2009 WR125. Looks like you guys may have joined later than that...

Here's a link to what the bike looked like new and a link to a year review; it may help, they have not changed much.

http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/andys-new-ride-were-getting-close.13762/

http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/a-year-in-the-life-of-a-wr125.21472/

Looks like i ll keep my WR125 for some local cross country championship meetings next year.
since the Dealer fixed the problems with loose bolts i feel the bike is running more consistent (didnt had to change jetting between -1 up to 15 degrees since)
But i ll double check everything before and using some loctite.

If not i would look out for a WR250/300/360 or an TE410 as i love the older Huskys

The links that pahusky posted helped me greatly when I was setting mine up. Very good advice if your going to race yours, or just trail ride as I do.

another season is going to end now- my 125 has about 100hours now.

this year i had some serious engine problems due to pistons without the lubrication holes for the exhaust bridge.
my mistake- i should have known better but i thought vertex pistons should be good quality...

anyway- i had a lot of fun with that bike- did some good results at a 2hours race series- finished a 5th place after broke my rear brake pedal in a deep sand circuit hitting a rock.
I had to replace: rear brake pedal, set of tires, front fender, lower radiator plastic, chain guide, barrel and piston.
So- apart from barrel and piston its not been so expensive.
I also tried a jd jetting kit- thats a waste of money- its so much better just ordering the suzuki needle instead.

for 2016 i will try to get a selfmade 165cc cylinder done and doing some hard enduro racing- but maybe i might use my wr250- we ll see...

do like it better than the old wr125 yet? lol, i like the older ones too

I really like the old 125- the one with chain on right hand side.

Hi Miezie666,

I know this ia very old thread and you have not been on since 2021 - but, just in case you happen to see this: do you have the jetting of your old WR125 1993 still present? I have the same bike and it hesitates when going from mid rpm to opening of exhaust valve at around 8000rpm. From 8000 rpm on it runs great.

Kind regards
Nic