1st Ride, WR125: We Have A Winner, Folks!

Wow...where do I begin? Riding a new bike is fun and all, but it will never be further from perfect than it is the first time you ride it. I knew this and was not expecting much. Waay too tall, motor probably not jetted correctly, harsh suspension, etc. I figured as long as I could keep the motor from falling on its face and keep the wheels on the ground I'd call it a success.

How about I just say that I had way more fun riding on Saturday and Sunday than I've had in a very long time! I was a little nervous about the WR being so tall but that only resulted in one tip-over at a dead stop. We managed to jet away the horrific bog in the mid that would not let me lift the front end over trail junk, but that only resulted in a most brutal transition. My only biff of the weekend was due to getting nothing but sky when trying to make my way up a very slick rock face on a twisty uphill trail. I'd made it up the day before when it was running a bit tamer, but it was a whole `nother ball of wax after the first jetting change As we sat at the top of the hill making yet another jetting change I heard a bunch of big-bore 4strokes wailing away down below in the same spot. I didn't feel so bad after that

Anyway, the little WR125 is all I hoped it would be...and more! I'm pretty excited to think of how awesome it's going to be once we get the motor tuned to my satisfaction and get the suspension reigned in a little. The bike feels super light, super willing to go anywhere I point it, easy to keep under control and easy to recover from mistakes. I was definitely riding this bike, as opposed to the bike riding me. It's like a really good boyfriend...it always wants to do exactly what I want to do, and it does it really well

Rip around like I'm the 2nd coming of Brad Lackey?
"Sure, no problem, WC, my clutch is right here"
Go faster than prudent on the open stuff?
"Turn the throttle, dear, lots of top end, no waiting."
Want to get back to camp because I've been ripping around all day and I'm spent and can't hold on anymore?
"Relax, WC, snick me into 3rd and point me towards camp. I'll get you there safe and sound with no drama."

Truly a superb machine in every respect. And it's only going to get even more superb-er

Nice and shiny still...




I told you it was tall!


Trying to soften up the suspension...







Is it almost Saturday?


VeryHappyChick

Well, to you, too!

Yup, got lights in my big box of stuff. Figured I'd leave it off til I got the bike a little closer to the ground I don't know if 35mm lower is going to do it for me, but it might be a good addition to the suspension revalve/lowering job. I'll have to look into that. Thanks for the heads-up I've got 2 extra air filters for it already, that should last me awhile.

Yeah, that's the best part...it's only going to get better! It really was a joyous and carefree ride. Just pure fun, no weirdness. I am very hopeful for the future

Thanks, Blazes. I'm really surprised Eric thought to stop and take photos. He never even does that on dualsport rides, much less a real dirt ride. I'm glad he did

Yep, you called it! It was absolutely perfect on Saturday, even though the upper reaches were snowed in. We got to the top of 20, only to be turned around by snow at the intersection with the road. It was only slightly dusty on the exposed ridgetops on Sunday, but stellar in the trees.

A word of advice...don't ride one of these bikes unless you plan on buying one Big 4-strokes are really fun, I love the big fistful of power and what it can do for me, but I really like the instant flickability of this bike. It feels weightless when riding it, and it is going to allow me to go much faster for longer periods of time. It stops on a dime with 1 finger on the lever, and it doesn't feel like I'm trying to rein in a runaway freight train. Getting the 450 to slow down and change direction takes so much more effort for me. Even with the suspension far from perfect for me, I'm going to go out on a limb, here, and say that this is the best handling bike I've ever ridden. It just feels so...positive

Gee, sorry, Norman. I guess I'm just used to putting my ride reports in the ride reports section



WoodsChick

Yep, its a great bike and will only get superb-er Glad you liked it. More you ride it the more the odd motor power spread will make more sense and you will learn to work it and be able to outclimb a lot of bikes. I am always amazed what that bike will scratch it's way up. Good stuff.

Whups! Somehow missed this post. Looks like a fabulous ride. Wish I were rich (or even properly employed would work), so I could join the "tiddler club".

Man see all the stuff I miss in one week...

Nice Ride Woodsie, That suspension is going to take a while to break in I guess.

Great pictures. Have you thought about lowering the linkage a bit?

Yes, I did read that! I'm glad you weren't seriously hurt. I think it's kinda weird that there isn't a nut on the other end, or maybe it should be a pin with a cotter pin or something...

You make some very good points, pvuke My bike never got hot, even though I was literally creeping up stuff just to see if I could get away with it. Incredible tractability, for sure. The bike does seem to have many layers, like an onion. Just when I think it is a lightweight tractor, here comes the rocketship top end. Just when I think it's a fantastic bike for railing the super-tight gnarly trails, here comes the wide open stuff where the bike outshines all others in my garage. I'm really looking forward to getting acquainted with all the various personalities

Yeah, we ran it on some pretty good stuff, as I wanted to see what it could do. I think if it were a 250 or 300 I'd be thinking, "Yeah, it's a pretty good bike" because it would be expected to excell in those situations. The fact that it weighs nothing, has a shrinky-dink motor, stops on a dime, steers almost by intuition and is so easy to ride through/up that stuff...well, it has me thinking that this a magic machine, pure and simple

Join the tiddler club? Dang, girl, you're the president! You're the only one here with a CR85 Let's go ride Kennedy Meadows and I'll ride your KDX (or any other of the many bikes in your stable) while you ride the WR...whaddaya say?

Thought about it? Dude...it's a necessity I'm planning on hammering it up at a track this weekend (maybe...if my knees can take it) in order to get the suspension broken in sooner so I have some concrete info for Les.

Yeah, some folks never go into the 2-stroke forum. I'm like a born-again rider now and I need to knock on a few doors with my WR125 tracts

Good grief...you guys are scaring me! I have new PivotPegz so hopefully that little problem is now a non-issue.

I rode my SV650 to work the last couple of days and, man, that thing feels like a giant GoldWing! I think I'll ride the 610 to work tomorrow. I rode it around when I got home today and it looks like a behemoth next to the 125


WoodsChick