125-200cc '06 WR125 + 12/52 + Lectron. Yes, it is good.

[woodsrider]

Did some mods to my '06 WR125 and finally got a chance to take it for a spin today while all the other suckers were watching the Seahawks game. Wow, what a difference the 12/52 gearing makes compared to the stock 13/50. I should have made this change right away. Works great for the tight single track. Power wise it feels much more like my old KTM 125 SX, which is a good thing. Much more snap on the bottom, rear wheel steering, and insane wheelies.

Also got a chance to tune the Lectron 36mm that I just installed. It was running great on the initial settings, but I thought I would fiddle with it a bit to see if there was more to be had. I ended up going 1/4 turn richer then what I started with and its running great. No off idle bog, ripping middle and top end. Starts insanely easily, idles away like a champ.

Between the new gearing and the Lectron I was a giggling fool. Insane 3rd gear wheelies on demand on your 125 will do that to you.

And I LOVE that these were the only things that I needed to do my tuning. How awesome is that?

Out on the trail at my dirt bike club property. This trail goes between the big stump (old growth cedar) and the two trees to the left. To the right of the stump is a big drop off which follows the trail for 1/4 mile or so of ups and downs. You don't want drop off the side, no way are you riding back up.

We also have a motocross track, but I don't venture out on that too much. I do better when my wheels are mostly on the ground.

Looking back the other direction. We have a pretty sweet setup here. And only 15 mins or so from my house.

I'm very happy with these changes to the bike and I'm really glad I went up to the property to do some testing. Was feeling like hell before I left, but went anyway.

Amazingly, I feel great now. Tired. But great. -Ed

 

[justintendo]

thats the beauty of the lectron..a couple tweaks and its good to go

 

[troy deck]

12/52 man i bet it pulls

 

[woodsrider]

thats the beauty of the lectron..a couple tweaks and its good to go

Yes, it is amazing. I'm no jetting expert so was a bit nervous about the whole dealio. Between the info here on CH and the instructions from Lectron I was able to get it dialed in pretty good. I would not be surprised if there are some more performance gains to be had with further tuning, but I'm thrilled with the way it is running now.

And I'm very interested to see how it runs once the weather here changes in the next few weeks to wet and cold for the next 9 mths, and of course how it does up in the mountains.

 

[woodsrider]

12/52 man i bet it pulls

It pulls like hell! Ha ha...I'm an amazingly slow rider though (ask anyone that's ridden with me), but I do like to get on it when the trail opens up a bit. We have a few spots of overgrown jeep trail on the property that are perfect for railing 2nd > 3rd > 4th gear. To me it seems like all hell and fury. To anyone else watching, it probably looks like an old man putting down the trail.

 

[ajaxauto]

I told you if you like tight and do not need to go faster then 45mph That 12/52 will make you feel like superman. now go look for that section you never could make before and report back how you make it

 

[woodsrider]

Exactly. I had my KTM 125 pretty dialed in and knew what I could do and could not do with it. With the Husky I have been slower to modify it and have not been riding as much, partially because I did not feel it and I were ready for longer gnarlier rides. Now with the lower gearing and Lectron, I feel much more confident of the bikes capabilities.

I'm thinking of one little hill climb that I got turned away from when all of my riding buddies made it. It was no big deal to anyone on the ride, I made a couple of attempts, then used the go around. No one cared. Except me. I was pissed! Mainly at myself for not being a better rider, not being in better shape etc, but also partially blaming my lack of fully sorting the bike for the riding I want to do with it.

Now I'm thinking that little climb would be no problem and I'd like to get back to that place to try it again!

 

[ajaxauto]

Ok want one more thing that will really make you feel like a hero mount up a fatty golden ft tire and for really nasty stuff get a golden sticky rear but that rear tire only last many be a 100 miles but boy what a fun 100 miles

 

[woodsrider]

You must be remotely monitoring my laptop, LOL! The Golden front tire is on my upgrade list. Of course the 165 kit is on the list too, but that will have to wait as funds are tight.

Also on the list is to install my Motosportz stabilizer (need to buy the mounts from Kelly when I get some funds). Haven't felt the need for the stabilizer up to this point. Then during my last ride with the sorted Lectron and the new gearing, I was thinking "Hmm, I think I might like a stabilizer on this thing" since I was riding substantially harder and faster on it with the new mods.

I'm dying to try out that Golden front tire. Besides the performance gains, I love what I'm hearing about long tread life. I've been wanting to ride my dirt bike the 10 miles or so to our club property from my home for some time now, but have not wanted to trash my knobbies on the road sections. Sounds like with the Golden front tire that would not be much of an issue.

Fire up my dirt bike in my driveway and ride the 15 mins to my club property, rip around the property for a couple of hours, then ride home without bothering with loading the bike up in the pickup, that sounds good to me. I've already got a license plate for the bike so I'm good to go for the short road sections.

It's all coming together people!

 

[woodsrider]

Rode my WR125 two days in a row this weekend, been a long time since I did that. Both short rides ripping around my buddies property, but holy cow, the more I ride this bike, the more I love it. It was in the low 60's and raining Sat, low 70's and sunny Sunday. Not a huge difference, but the Lectron was perfect, bike ran great both days. Lectron is doing its job.

And I've been amazed at how well my '06 WR125 lugs down low. Hit some pretty gnarly climbs with it, and just when I'm thinking the thing is about to flame out and I'm going to need to start feathering the hell out of the clutch, it just keeps chugging along. My '06 KTM 125 SX that I had setup nicely for offroad (gearing, jetting, etc) definitely would not chug along like my WR does, no way. I'm having to retrain my brain to keep off the clutch. I used to cover it all the time with my KTM, now I'm finding I have to feather the clutch less and less. I'm loving it.

My WR still does not have the snap right off the bottom that my KTM 125 SX did, but its a trade off I am happy to have.

Anyway, just thought I would report back as these two rides confirmed the Lectron and the 12/52 gearing were great choices for my type of trail riding.

 

[woodsrider]

I also rode my buddies nicely setup KTM 250 XC smoker yesterday. Holy cow, I forgot how much power a 2 st 250 can make, especially right off idle. Almost yanked my arms out of the sockets when I hit an open stretch of trail and cranked the throttle WIDE open. Freaking bike jumped and almost got away from me. Ha ha...

I did notice how much slower handling the bike "felt" to me which confirmed that the 125 based bikes are the gnarly single track bikes for me. I know people can rip in the gnar with 250 smokers and even the larger 4 strokes, but I'm not one of them. So that was an unexpected bonus to be able to try out a nicely setup newer KTM 250 smoker as I've been kind of wondering if a do it all 250 smoker wouldn't be a better bike for me.

 

[Al H]

Good stuff Woodsrider. Your rear steering? Not everyone rear steers so if you can master smooth rear steering through tight singles you'll have an edge. Get plenty of practice at that club property.

 

[woodsrider]

Right on Al. I'm pretty much a C level trail rider and pretty dang slow. My rear wheel steering is mainly for my own entertainment, I like to feel like I'm getting on it, plus it helps me navigate the turns and bends. I get a kick out of wicking it up, sliding it around, lofting the front end and carrying a wheelie for a bit, especially if I'm riding the rear wheel over some bumps like the pros do. Don't often get it all put together just right, but when I do, its so much fun, especially on the 125. Not sure its the fastest way down the trail, but it sure is fun.

Besides fitness, what I really need to work on is becoming a stand up rider. Right now, after years of being a sit down rider, I'm determined to build up my strength and technique so standing becomes natural vs sitting. I believe the sitting is the primary reason I am so slow.

Not to mention at 6'6", even with tall bars, seat, pegs, etc, my legs are folded up like pretzels when I'm sitting. Transitioning between standing and sitting takes a huge amount of energy for me. I've learned over the years to seat bounce over bumps to get standing, but its all wasted energy. I can instantly feel how much easier it is to ride as soon as I'm standing, but I find it very tiring to stand for too long, and I don't yet have the control I'd like with throttle, clutch and brakes.

Anyway, thanks for the encouragement. -Ed

 

[woodsrider]

And I should mention, my buddy who I traded bikes with who owns the KTM 250 XC asked me if he could try my 125 so we traded bikes for a bit. After a few minutes on his 250 I was getting wore out so I went back to the parking area to chill. He's pretty fast, knows a lot about bikes (one of his kids went to the ISDE as teenager). I was very curious what he would think of the 125.

I could hear him on my 125 flat out ripping, could hear him doing some climbs. He came back with a big smile on his face, he said he really liked it. I could see the wheels turning in his head. Ha ha...

 

[Al H]

Going by what you are saying I'd tend to think your not going as slow as you might think, maybe not fast but not particularly slow. The main purpose of all this is fun and it sounds like your achieving this.

6.6" aye? Would be me like on a small wheel 80! I getchya!

Don't be too fussed about standing in the tight stuff. Shift all your weight forward, sit on the tank, inside leg forward. Then you can make the most of your rear steering. Repetition, keep doing that same loop over and over again and again. Early fatigue can come down to not being one with the bike. I haven't tried them but have you considered those pucks they fit to the side of your bike?

http://www.chronicmx.com/product-review-steg-pegz/

 

[woodsrider]

Thanks for the tips Al. And I've heard of those pucks, very interesting.

 

[shrubitup]

The main purpose of all this is fun and it sounds like your achieving this.

That's right!