125-200cc Who's still riding a 125?

I am a survivor of the class of '09(wr125), we went through PV springs, adjustments, carburetors, cr ignition, needles, 144 kits and on to Walts 165 kit. Since I also have a TC250 I decided for the time being to leave mine a 125 and see how good I could make it go. I know how much better the 165 kit is supposed to be and some day I am sure I will have one but maybe on another bike. I really enjoy riding an actual 125 and it makes that much more fun if I can pass a bigger bike.
I have been running a 36 PWK with a NOZF needle and have recently went to a NOZE which is richer yet and it is really pulling strong. Seems to work best in the second clip, tried all the way down and it really ripped, but felt it was on the lean side, so went up one. Gives it enough fuel to get the big flywheel spinning, good setup for aggressive single track riding.
Anybody else running a 125?

LOL it's probably down to 2 by now. My son actually misses mine being a 125. He said it that trim it was funnier because it couldn't get away from him on the MX track like it can in WB165 trim.

John, let me fix you up with an HGS pipe and your son will have the best of both worlds.....oh wait it will still get away from him but a little faster.

It's really funny because his 2011 TM 250MX is a real monster and he handles it. He just misses showing a little 125 who's the boss. I think I may just surprise him with one of his own.

Jake is the only "purest" i know still rockin the 125, and as far as I know, he plans on keeping it that way... Then again, I think he weighs a buck-10.

I am with you on the 125 thing . There is nothing wrong with all sizes and the 125 is definately top end king. Whe they really get singing there isnt much better. The 165 would be the king on shitty hills and point to point squirts.

On the pwk . I have 36 pwk as well. I am running an R1469 needle . Its working well but rich down low. What slide are you running.? I had a a 5 in mine and tried the 7 and that has helped - made it more snappy
I have a tip from Ausky on a better needle
Ausky has done a lot of testing with his wr/cr125 and tried all the NOZ range and thinks they were too rich. It interesting that you find richer better . He has found the 99 KX125 needle works really well as it seems to provide leaner bottom end and richer mid/top . ive just bought one to try it out. Mine kept fouling plug at quarter throttle but was lean at 3/4.

I think I'll be back on a straight up 125 at some point. I enjoyed riding my '02 WR125 for a long time, I managed to climb all the hills and get through everything I ride. My '09 WR125 was a "good one" and ran better with the Mikuni than the Keihin. The Keihin didn't really work for me before the 144 kit and then it came into its own.

Keep in mind we are on different sides of the world so "your results may vary"!
I am using a 6.5 slide, It worked better for me than a 7. I think the key to the NOZ needles is get them as deep as possible(top two clips) I recently took a new rider out where was barely putting on gravel trails and it tended to load up some and would need to clean it out occasionally. I normally ride tight rough single track with hills so I need to be hard on the throttle between obstacles so I feel the rich low end helps with that.

If I could only have one bike, I would probably opt for a 144 or 165, but since I have a couple, just love having a true 125, lots of grin factor and get a great sense of accomplishment when I can do everything and sometimes more than the guys on bigger bikes.

I think the needle is key and the jd needle
With the 38mm didn't work that well for me either
Anyone with them should try experimenting with needles
Jet needles seem to me to be one the biggest hp factor

That's what I use too. In fact, it came in the carb I have which came from a 99 KX125. Kawi part for the needle is #N7NW.

OP,

I was running a 125 and was happy with it (even at 200lbs), but I scored a 144 jug and then a 165 jug, so the 125 jug just got sold.
The 144 isn't a big change from the 125, so I still have the rabid small bore and the 165 for anything gnarly or at elevation. Although, I haven't ridden it as a 165 yet, so not really sure what its gonna feel like.

A wet dream.

You guys got it all wrong. Why go big when you could go "awesome"!
Pre 09 125 frame, 85cc motor, 3 speed auto clutch, with metal mulisha death black decals... c'est magnifique!

My 07 wr125 is doing just fine up in the mountains,couldn't be happier,does great in all but the nastiest stuff(more of a challenge) although when the time comes to rebuild the top end it will probably be a 165.

Called the Kawi dealer on this.... 25$ you gotta be kidding me... wonder where else you could find it ?

Damn!
24K aluminum?

I got my entire carb used for $50

My Kawi dealer = Thieving Bastiges...

If it works it will be the cheapest bang for buck you will get .
I bought mine on ebay for $20 . So that sounds ok . I will let you know what its like when I test it .
I did a load of testing today on the 144 .
The needle(R1469) on the second from top slot worked best.
To be honest the needle height was the only thing that really made a noticeable difference
I changed to a from a 170 to 175 main .I may be able to go higher to see if this is any better.
I tried 35 pilot and then 45 to see if this helped weak bottom end and couldnt really tell the difference so going to keep the 45 in . Or try the 40.
The richer pilot just helped it to idle nicely.

I tried changing between the 5 slide and the 7 slide and to be honest I couldnt really notice much difference either...both worked well.

Maybe the 7 is better but hardly noticeable. Need to test back to back on a hill from a slow start maybe.

Spark plug still a nice colour.

I think I need a better pipe for more top end.

For those other two guys out there still riding a 125 I put my new settings to its first real test yesterday and it ran great! Did about 20 miles of pretty tough single track and it pulled really strong. Had to do some big rock sections through creek beds and some sudden steep uphill sections. Since I shattered my femur 3 years ago I no longer try to be the lead dog in the pack but I couldn't help but giggle going up the hills passing the guys on the bigger bikes when they got stuck or looped out.
I will eventually get another 125 and do the 165 kit, but for now I could not be happier with this 125 and I was kind of glad I was on it and not my TC250.