125-200cc WB165 performance comparison

I bought my bike back off a guy a year and a half after I sold it - go for it .. ( I sold to him for 4400 and got it back for 2200 and it was still on the same rear tyre LOL)


Second thoughts - if the prices are low my first choice would be get a new Cr 144 and keep the WR for the trails

Yeah, do it, don't give him back though.
Roy might not roll face up again.

Hello john01,
I'm new to the forum and live in Brazil.
I have a WR125 and am wanting to put the big bore 160cc kit on my bike. Do I need to make some adjustment in the rest of the engine, valves, etc., to endure this power increase? The kit is this http://www.motomcdelar.com/en/home/206-cylinder-kit.html
I await return.

Leonardo I haven't seen that kit before as the one I and many others have is a WB (Walt Smith - member here) kit. All we had to do was simply un-bolt the existing top end and bolt the new WB on. The one you show looks like it would be the same deal. If so it's very simple and should be tons of fun. Hey I think they tried to copy our WB165 kits . See what you started Walt.

That is a 144 kit. Still will yield you good gains over the 125. I have no idea what that equates to in dollars. The only real problem that I see is that they are not including power valves or a head. You will have to re-cut your 125 valves to fit and re-machine your head accordingly. Once you do that you won't be able to use your 125 cylinder without replacing those. JFYI.

Looks like the copy isn't as good as complete or as simple as the original .

Ive been putting a ton of hours on my bone stock 04 125 at the tracks, some useless comments.. on hardpack and intermediate soils the bike is plenty fast enough. In the sand, or very technical tracks, im constantly having moments where the throttle is at the stops grabbing gears seat bouncing and milking it for all its worth and still find my self coming up short unless i do everything absolutely perfect.

Its rewarding and awesome fun, however can be frustrating at times when some sections are simply not possible at my ability wjth its power. I think a 165 will cure those issues but im torn. I have this bike to help force me to become a better rider, carry momentum, line choices, clutch work, etc etc im afraid it might take away some of that as well as some of the magic of just hammering a 125 for all its worth. That rewarding feeling.

Thougts?!

Tweak the 125 and work on skills more

For mx a 125 is a lot of fun.

Haven't ridden too many bikes but compared to a ktm 250sxf the 165's are a way better woods motor. I'm sure I could say the same for any 250f.

If I could do it again, I would start out with a wr 125, instead of a cr.

I love the power delivery on the cr 165, and for sure a wr wouldn't be as lively. But I feel having the suspension/rear 18"/fww would make up for it.

Even with a re-valve I still feel like I'm getting beaten up in the woods.

Iv'e been riding a TE 250 r - its a great bike but on hills - especially loose or rutted hills the 165 is much better option
Ive struggled on a few hills on the 250 which would have been easy - it seems to spin up easier -


After having WR then going CR and back to WR - Id definitely go for WR for woods riding

It does seem theres no comparison on bang for the buck the 165 is the way to go. ~700$ gets you 40 extra cubes. Conpared to a full exhaust, porting, ignitions, carbs etc its a steal with the difference it makes. Im talking myself into a 165 set up quickly lol.

The WB165 still has the fun factor of a 125 but has the extra power that for me made riding MX safer. Coming up short for an old guy like me is no fun and the 165 really helped on that. It also allowed me to ride more in the 3/4 power curve where I have more control. If a young gun can handle the full power of a WB165 on a MX track they will be flying. My WB165 in the woods with the Rekluse was just plain cheating and I loved it. Now my 14 year old grandson has the bike and just smiles every time he gets off it.

Believe me coming up short isnt fun for me either, feel like im killing myself as well as the bike for no reason! Poor bike!