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12/4/2008
Location
Chardon, OH
US
Edited Date/Time
7/4/2014 8:14am
I'm not trying to beat a dead horse, but maybe I am.
My son just turned 14. He is 5' 7" and weighs 110lbs. He is just too big for his 85. I have built him a supermini (super money) and have a new Yamaha YZ125 coming. The 125 is perfect for young kids to learn how to ride a big bike and are still somewhat inexpensive to maintain. The problem is there just isn't to many options when it comes to racing a 125. It seems like kids have to jump right on to a 250F.
Our local tracks run 250f and 125 together in schoolboy. In the 250 classes it's legal to run a 125, 250 and 250f together. The only class for the 125 at Loretta's is Schoolboy1 and Schoolboy2. Why is it that we are not trying to help develop young riders into the bigger classes. I believe this is still one of the reasons that motocross seems to be dying at the amateur level.
When I raced in the 70s and 80s the 125 class was the most packed class at the track. It was because teenagers were racing it.
My son just turned 14. He is 5' 7" and weighs 110lbs. He is just too big for his 85. I have built him a supermini (super money) and have a new Yamaha YZ125 coming. The 125 is perfect for young kids to learn how to ride a big bike and are still somewhat inexpensive to maintain. The problem is there just isn't to many options when it comes to racing a 125. It seems like kids have to jump right on to a 250F.
Our local tracks run 250f and 125 together in schoolboy. In the 250 classes it's legal to run a 125, 250 and 250f together. The only class for the 125 at Loretta's is Schoolboy1 and Schoolboy2. Why is it that we are not trying to help develop young riders into the bigger classes. I believe this is still one of the reasons that motocross seems to be dying at the amateur level.
When I raced in the 70s and 80s the 125 class was the most packed class at the track. It was because teenagers were racing it.
The Shop
Can't understand when people say that it's waste of time to ride 125..
It's important to ride it if you want to learn riding
The 125cc 2 stroke is the best transitional bike on the planet for kids moving up from the 85cc bikes to the big bikes. They get the feel of a full sized bike and get to ride it with a power delivery that is extremely similar to their entire racing / riding career up to that point.
Instead of putting him on something bigger , heavier , faster and with 4 stroke power.......using the 125 as a transitional bike....you just can't beat it!
The big 4 need to wake up! The 125 class ( Out of any class )......is the most important class in my opinion.
If your son gets a season or 2 on a 125 and learns the appropriate skills to ride a 125 fast (late braking, corner speed and finding maximum grip for keeping the bike moving forward) he will be a much better all-round rider than his peers who jump straight on a 250f.
He will for sure not be able to keep up at first as the 250f is just a bit faster overall than a 125. But he will learn to race hard for an entire moto and in general be technically a much better rider than he would be without a few years on a 125. And if he gets to the front end of the races against 250f's, when the day he makes the transition to a 250f he will be tough to beat.
I agree that a 125 is a great stepping stone, but it also depends on the rider. If you have a bigger strong 15 year old kid, why not put him on a 250f, it is what he is going to have to ride to be competitive in everything but schoolboy.
Lets face it, the industry messed up, it is too big of a jump.
Particularly at the local level, a fast kid on a 125 can be quite competitive with the 250's. Once you get into the upper classes though, the bigger motors have a distinct advantage.
Pit Row
National level factory kids will hardly ever ride a 125, they are already focused on B class which doesn't have a class for the 125's. Jake was 5' 120lbs when he started on the 125's he's now 5'6 145lbs and no also rides a 250f confidently.
But history? Meh....fuck that ~AMA
125's are hands down the best bikes to learn on and are a very important stepping stone when moving up to big bikes. They teach you throttle/braking control, corner speed, and how to effectively use a clutch. You cant just put a kid from an 85 to a 250f.
Worst mistake the manufacturer's ever made was discontinuing 125's...
We went from 85's to 112 super mini to the yz125. My son rode the 125 for a year and a half before we just got the 250f. The 125 has better/bigger suspension which helps confidence when jumping and more power to hit jumps clean. It was the right choice for us for sure and I think improved my son's riding vs what would have happened if we went straight to the 250f. My son does complain that the 250f is to heavy even now but you cant tell when he rides it, although his corners have slowed down so...
As for the classes, schoolboy 1 and 2 will make him a better rider. They are faster but safer kids to race against vs going into the C class.
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