The really useful magazine - now part of Motor Cycle Monthly

Road Test: YamahaYZF-R125

If you’re looking for two-stroke thrills you can still buy the Cagiva Mito and Aprilia RS125 but not every 17-year-old can afford to run one. Once you’ve taken into account the cost of decent quality synthetic two-stroke at around £10 a litre and the fuel economy of a peaky stroker that is constantly caned it starts getting expensive. Then of course you’ve got their unreliable nature, thrash anything to within an inch of its life and you’re likely to have the odd mechanical failure. With a bike that thrives on revs you’ll be in the red zone for 90% of your time on board so you can expect to get dirty hands.

For all their faults you’ve still got to love a two-stroke and the introduction of sensible looking small capacity four-stroke replacements was never really going to inspire our youngsters to ride. The majority of learner legal bikes on offer to begin with were nothing more than glorified commuters and most scooters had more street cred. Gone were most of those high revving, narrow-power-banded beauties that many of our readers grew up on and in came over sanitized, slow and uninspiring machines, well they did until Yamaha released the YZF-R125, a learner legal sports motorcycle with more style and finesse than your average grumpy teenager deserves.

Most 125cc bikes look slightly weedy, any casual observer can see them for what they are – underpowered, heavily restricted bikes developed to keep road safety lobbies and tree huggers happy. The Yamaha is different though, yes it may still have a relatively low powered motor but if you can’t actually go fast it’s still worth looking like you can.

The YZF is drop dead gorgeous, it mimics the R6 perfectly both in looks and physical size. See this baby from a distance and your first reaction is that it is a ‘proper’ sports bike, ride it and you’ll get an appreciative nod from most oncoming bikers, something learners aren’t used to receiving. Anyone sporting ‘L’ plates is often looked upon as some kind of ASBO waiting to happen, as opposed to a future lifelong biker. Spend a pound short of four grand on your first bike at 17 years old though and you’re either well off or really into bikes.

The YZF looks like it might be a tad uncomfortable to ride but Yamaha have helped matters by clipping the ’bars to the top of the yokes which eases the riding position to easily bearable levels, in fact I’d go as far as to say it is fairly comfortable and roomy. The bike feels solid and all the controls are well set out just like its bigger siblings from the Yamaha line-up.

There’s no mistaking this bike’s sporting prowess either, it may not be particularly fast when compared to a stroker but with my chin resting on the tank I managed to notch up 80mph on the nifty digital dash (the display also features a trip and fuel gauge). Straightline speed isn’t really what this bike is all about but Yamaha haven’t developed that exquisite lightweight, full sized Deltabox chassis for nothing, nor have they fitted the cast swinging arm, 33mm diameter forks with 292mm disc and twin pot calipers, or the lightweight 10-spoke alloys, shod with 17 inches of the finest rubber you can buy (without it arriving discreetly wrapped in plain brown wrapping paper). The bike also boasts the largest rear tyre in the class at 130/70-17. This bike is built to be ridden and any youngsters lucky enough to own one for their first bike are in for a real treat. The YZF has sublime handling; in fact for the actual top speed of the bike it’s probably a bit too well sorted because it’s impossible to upset it, you can chuck it into corners as hard as you like and it won’t be fazed, so little Johnny can practice his Rossi technique to his heart’s content.

To get the most fun from a 125cc four-stroke you need a good section of roundabouts linked by quiet dual carriageway, spend an hour or two happily making a circuit and perfecting your technique and your riding will improve immensely. That’s the great thing about spending more than is strictly necessary on a 125. You are getting the best blend of style, performance and equipment all in one neat package. Learn to ride on the best and you should iron out any riding flaws without being able to blame the bike. Hopefully by the time you gain a full licence your skills will be top notch and you won’t become another sad Government statistic.

The Yam’s engine is worth mentioning, it was the firm’s first attempt at a liquid-cooled, four-stroke single cylinder SOHC and they’ve built it well. The engine has a four valve cylinder head, which according to the press bumph “Delivers high levels of intake and exhaust efficiency for ultra-responsive performance.” Well I don’t know about all that but I can tell you the engine feels crisp and responsive, the fuel injection is spot on and the bike picks up better than any other geared 125cc four-stroke I’ve ridden so far. No it’s not as exciting as a two-stroke and it’s never likely to be unless bike manufacturers start going down the Peugeot route of fitting superchargers, a la the Jetforce Compressor (which by the way do work very well and liven things up immensely) but the Yamaha does perform well and is lively if you keep the revs up.

My time with the Yamaha wasn’t as long as I’d have liked it to have been, it may only be a 125cc learner legal bike but I still enjoy riding smaller capacity bikes from time to time. It only takes the right mood, some decent tight roads and a capable bike and you can have as much fun on a 125 as you can on an R1. Power and speed may be a recipe for adrenaline in the right hands but there is still fun to be had without needing to double the speed limit, this little Yamaha is the perfect tool to deliver that teenage kick.