125-200cc wr144 vs cr 165

I am coming off an 09 wr 300 and think that I am going with a smaller bike. I have found a wr 144 and a cr 165 that I am trying to choose from. I only ride woods and it is pretty hilly here in TN. Any comments about the differences would be appreciated to help with the decision.

Thanks

My WR 144 ended up a fantastic bike ! did just about every thing I asked from it, tried the cr and ktm ignition but due to a very long wet year prefered the WR heavy flywheel
Have recently started started another build and have gone the 165 route but again with the WR although the later flywheel is lighter than the previous offerings! So far there is no comparison the 165 eats the 144 and mine really does run strong, I have been chopping up and trying various pipes for the 165 and cannot believe how different pipes totally change the way these 165s will run you can have a bottom / mid setup, a mid and up setup, or a absolute screaming top end motor (dont like it personally) the choice is yours, so for what my opinion is worth get the 165 you will love it and I really cant thank Walt enough for coming up with concept and all the hard work he must of put into them

Another question is the suspension, can I make the cr suspension plush enough for woods riding?

What year CR? I have the closed chamber zokes on mine, and they seem to work great!

Me and my 14yo daughter race hare scrambles on CR144's and love them. I've raced in some pretty hilly areas down in SW VA with no problems. I came off of a WR300 and have no regrets. With a CR165, I can only imagine that would be as close to motorcycle heaven as one could get.

Any competent builder can make them super plush.
My 45mm Zokes on my 125 are super plush.

WB165
<100Kg
165 CC

normally this place was clutch abuse in the 125 cc form
this is now 1st gear shift (no clutch use) to 2nd gear shift (no clutch use) to 3rd gear

besides this its surprisingly how much this little one lugs
your let it idle and just be gentle with the throttle and it crawls like a mountain goat over the obstacles

effectively on a trail I think you will be a winner above all bigger displacement bikes you would try (especially when you throw endurance in the equation)

its got power but it doesn't deliver it brutally so its much less wearing you out as a 250 or bigger would do.


Robert-Jan

The cr is a 2011, the wr is a 2012

Mine is a 2002 and the motor is pretty much the same (seems that the gear box is wider though)

Robert-Jan

I had them in all trims starting with the stock CR125. Then a Walt HiComp 144 witch was fun and a big jump over the 125. The WB165 takes it up another level and like the rest said the 165 has awesome power that can lug or scream. My CR WB165 has a Rekluse EXP, 200 FMF pipe, and a SmartCarb and it's a package that really can do it all.

Generally a good OFFROAD Suspension guy can make a CR suspension plush. BUT, typically a open chamber fork is plusher than a closed chamber fork. Easier to maintain also. A 144cc is good but a 165cc needs less shifting.