00:07hey everyone welcome back to another onboard review on the cycle world's youtube channel
00:11today we have yamaha's new 2026 wr125r this bike is new to the american market it uses 125 cc
00:20liquid cooled single overhead cam engine with yamaha's variable valve actuation does two
00:25different intake cam profiles one that handles low to mid-range torque the other one handles top
00:30end power as our technical editor kevin cameron explains it it'll have harley davidson-like
00:35characteristics on the low end and high revving sport bike characteristics on the top end i'm
00:40excited to see if this engine is more exciting than honda's engine and the xr150l let's find out
00:47so this 125 cc single cylinder liquid cooled vva engine by yamaha is pretty sporty
00:55for a 125 cc sort of recreational dual sport engine it's got good low to mid-range torque for just
01:01putting along on these fire roads but then when you need to gain a little bit of speed to get
01:05up a
01:06hill climb or something like that just keep the throttle wicked and this thing uh it has good
01:12top end power as the engine spins up that uh 7400 rpm is when the uh the variable valve actuation
01:20switches from one intake cam to the other so one handles low to mid-range torque producing
01:27characteristics similar to a harley as our technical editor kevin cameron explains it and the
01:32other intake cam that handles top end power delivers characteristics similar to a sport bike engine
01:38high revving top end power and so that allows this bike to although it's a small displacement engine that
01:45allows this bike to deliver good usable torque down low and still be usable on faster fire roads and
01:52open highway for getting up to speed and having the legs to you know carry well over 50 miles per
01:59hour suspension and chassis it's got a steel chassis with kyb supplied suspension it's a 41 millimeter
02:05fork non-adjustable with eight and a half inches of travel and the kyb link type shock offers 7.3
02:11inches
02:11to travel they're tuned more on the sporty side i was actually surprised when i first got on it that
02:17this bike is not real soft and wallowy like some of the competition in this class you know this bike
02:22with you know a 34 inch seat height 21 inch front wheel 18 inch rear wheel tall long travel suspension
02:28it has big bike feel and dimension just with that small engine so i like that that makes this bike
02:36capable whether it's you know adequate suspension travel for tackling some of these bumps and rocks off-road
02:42ground clearance for tackling bumps and rocks off-road and also just has good road holding ability
02:47when we're on the pavement as we'll do a little bit later the brakes are good they're not overly
02:51sensitive you have disc brakes from back not adjustable abs up front and uh at this more casual pace that
02:57abs
02:57goes completely unnoticed if you overcook a corner and you start grabbing that front lever a little too hard
03:02you will notice some back pressure on the lever
03:06but overall it kind of feels like i'm riding a a klx 300 at altitude where it's just struggling for
03:14power that's kind of what this feels like third gear there fell a little bit flat on its face
03:20you do have to work the shifter a little bit six-speed transmission cable actuated clutch with a
03:25traditional throttle cable these dunlop d605 tires are working well obviously it's not a super aggressive
03:32knobby but they work good on this fire road stuff and have good grip and durability on the pavement
03:39ergonomics are comfortable you know this being what feels like you know full-size or nearly full-size
03:43dual sport ergonomics it has tons of room to move around with a flat moto style seat you have plenty
03:51of room to move front and back it has passenger accommodation fuel tank just over two gallons
03:59claimed wet weight just over 300 pounds price four thousand dollars it's available right now in two
04:05colorways black or blue another unique feature is bluetooth connectivity riders can uh through the
04:10yamaha connect app you can hook up your smartphone receive calls emails don't know why you'd want to
04:16email out here on your bike calls make sense you also can track you know mileage service intervals
04:22stuff like that that's pretty important i think that's cool and this is just you know an entry level
04:28dual sport but it's not just for entry level riders this is really a dual sport for anyone this engine
04:34is
04:34counterbalanced vibrations are very minimal suspension feels good it's not bottoming out it has good
04:40hold up so i feel like you can charge into these things and you don't blow through the stroke or
04:46hydro lock the fork it's uh it's really well sprung and well balanced for its intended use i think the
04:52suspension setting is going to suit a wide range of weight sizes and uh it's going to be comfortable
04:58but supportive you know you're going to feel comfortable on your morning commute but then you can come out
05:02here and hit some of these more aggressive fire roads and trails and uh you're not going to be bottoming
05:07out your suspension and blown through the stroke that's definitely been the biggest surprise is
05:11just how well sprung this is for off-road riding
05:18whoo this bike is easy to steer just kind of pick your line bounce on the pegs
05:25it's a light motorcycle at least relative to a dual sport but it's really narrow although this bike is
05:30liquid cooled stays pretty thin through the radiator shrouds through the center of the bike it's got a pretty
05:35slim profile and it changes direction very easily but it's still stable you know with this uh 21 inch
05:41front wheel and long travel suspension it changes direction side to side very easily a little bit of
05:46handlebar input weight the pegs a little bit and you're on the side of the tire no problem but as
05:52you
05:52start going faster your the straight line stability is still good you know this is a dirt bike essentially
05:58it's got good stability it's just such a playful bike it's got you know close to full size dimensions but
06:05with this small engine it's kind of 125 two stroke ish in the sense that it's got a capable chassis
06:11but
06:12it's you know playful fun unintimidating power
06:17the ergonomics are spacious and comfortable at a five foot seven i feel very comfortable standing up
06:22off-road the reach to the handlebars isn't too low it's pretty spot on and then also sitting down
06:27it's very comfortable the seat's comfortable i mean it's still a dirt bike seat but it's you know it's
06:32pretty slim profile flat easy to move front and back on whether it's manipulating the bike or trying
06:37to find comfort it's got passenger accommodation so you can throw someone you know on the back i mean
06:43it's what you'd expect out of a lightweight dual sport affordable accessible easy to ride still has
06:49good performance neutral ergonomics it's a this is a nice package this is definitely a better chassis than the
06:58honda in the sense that the suspension has more travel and the chassis just overall has more
07:03capabilities off-road whether it's the suspension travel the ground clearance the bigger ergonomics
07:08this is kind of a new take on the lightweight dual sport in the sense that it's lightweight power
07:12but wrapped in a full-size chassis or a near full-size chassis 50 miles per hour a little over
07:1750 miles per
07:18hour you can feel some vibration there's noticeable engine vibration as the engine spins a little bit higher
07:23now that we're on a highway going you know 45 to 50 plus miles per hour that vibration is a
07:29little bit
07:30noticeable through the foot pegs and handlebar but it's minimal this bike has such little vibration
07:35because it's counterbalanced at times because it's so quiet and i've been wearing earplugs
07:40i'm not even sure if it's on until i blip the throttle i would say the vibrations are not intolerable
07:46by any means if anything they communicate to the rider where they are in the rpm range without
07:50having to look down at that tachometer so right now we're at about just under 7 000 rpm we're right
07:57in that transition point of variable valve actuation where it'll hit 74 rpm and switch from one cam profile
08:04designed for low to mid-range torque switch over to the cam profile that's designed for top end horsepower
08:10the fork feels good loading the front with the brake coming into that corner the ergonomics are
08:15comfortable i don't feel cramped on this bike my knees are bent in a very comfortable way very much just
08:20kind of a neutral dirt bike dual sport rider triangle and at this speed the engine's nice and relaxed
08:28it's fun cruising through these canyons one side of the tire to the other we're fifth gear right there
08:37about 40 miles per hour just for reference let's see 50 miles per hour you're gonna be at about 8
08:43000 rpm
08:44in six gear full throttle and six gear on this uphill 47 miles per hour right around 7 000 rpm
08:52doing it just
08:53fine it's not gonna get you anywhere on the highway quickly but this thing is easily capable of just
08:58cruising down the highway not only is the engine capable of it but this ergonomics and chassis package
09:05makes it comfortable for putting in some highway miles upright neutral engine vibration is pretty minimal
09:13especially considering we're you know bringing out 125 cc single this is uh it's really just a well
09:23balanced lightweight dual sport with an exceptional chassis and suspension package for the class definitely
09:29carve up some corners for sure on your back roads commute to work ride through the city that's what
09:35this bike's gonna be great at it's comfortable it's upright it's affordable gonna be a bike you can buy
09:40put it in your garage get a bunch of use out of it and it's not gonna break the bank
09:44so that's gonna
09:45wrap up this onboard review of the 2026 yamaha wr 125r of course if you enjoyed the video hit the
09:52like
09:52button subscribe let me know in the comments down below what you think of this bike and it's competition
09:57this one delivers a different experience it delivers that lightweight engine package but this one has a full
10:03full-size or near full-size chassis and that's why i think riders that just want lightweight power
10:10but don't want a small chassis the wr 125r is going to be a a great option for you so
10:17thanks for watching
10:17we'll see you in the next video
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