125-200cc Low end grunt - wr 125 Keihin /144

[rockdancer]

I am still on the fence about whether I want to invest $1000+ in to the WR 125 or change a bike which is easier to ride. I absolutely love it for 50 % of the time but the othe 50% in can be a pain .

Q1 . Will the Keihin PWK give better response out of corners - low end
Rode my 08 125 on a mX track and found it hard to get on to the power out of corners - slooow

Q2 Will 144 kit help to get out of corners faster earler response - or is this carby related.

Q3. Will the Keihin and possibly the 144 kit help a lot on rocky/sliperry hill starts. (I question whether it would make that must difference)

I am getting frustrated with snotty hills when I have to restart and cant get traction or momentum . Especially when slower novice riders can cruise up on their 4 strokes.

Q4 Is it better to increase the rear sprocket size to lower gearing
than smaller front sprocket ie
does a bigger rear sprocket create more front end lift that doing a similar gearing change to the front sprocket
I am running standard gearing and find first can seem to tall and feels like second at times.


PS I have played with carbie jetting and power valve..

Thanks

 

[wallybean]

Rockdancer,

You will be very pleasantly surprised by how much difference the 144 kit will make. To me the keihin is a no brainer it works so well in conjunction with the 144. Large gains on the bottom and mid over the 125. Buy the OEM kit so you have your current cylinder kit as a back-up.

Most of the guys here are running 13x52 gearing.

Walt

 

[fletchman45]

The Husky's also came with a 12 tooth front sprocket with the powervalve/pipe/silencer kit. I run both my 125 and my 144 with the stock rear sprocket and the 12 tooth front. (so does Jay Hall) Seems to work real good. Woods are pretty tight . Seems to still have good top speed to. Now that I have a 144 the 125 is a pain! I practice on the 125 and even being and A rider it is ALOT more difficult to ride then the 144. I myself disagree with everyone on the carb swap. I have NEVER had to fool around with jetting and my 144 runs awesome ALL the time. If the swap carb swap is so great then why does not Jay Hall run it?? Everyone has an opinion this is just mine. I like my Mikuni carb just fine. Also I had talked to Jay about the 52 tooth rear and he said you must add to the chain to do it (wheelbase will be affected) I would try the 144 kit with the stock carb and fmf pipe and the 12 tooth front sprocket and the 2nd silencer husky provided with the update kit (mine passes at the races) I myself found revalving the front fork made the biggest difference (Halls did it) I hated the stock fork and wish I had the old 45 mm non twin chamber Zoke even instead of this fork still. I would buy the kit from Husky because I would think it would work better then the aftermarket big bore kits, and be more reliable. Good luck!

 

[gestion01]

All the mods will help, 144 kit, power valve spring ect... but you will still work a lot harder uphill than a novice on a thumper.

I went down the path of doing everything to my wr125...and would not do it again. It's a great bike stock for 50% of the time, and I would keep it that way or trade to a different machine.

 

[Motosportz]

The Husky's also came with a 12 tooth front sprocket with the powervalve/pipe/silencer kit. I run both my 125 and my 144 with the stock rear sprocket and the 12 tooth front. (so does Jay Hall) Seems to work real good. Woods are pretty tight . Seems to still have good top speed to. Now that I have a 144 the 125 is a pain! I practice on the 125 and even being and A rider it is ALOT more difficult to ride then the 144. I myself disagree with everyone on the carb swap. I have NEVER had to fool around with jetting and my 144 runs awesome ALL the time. If the swap carb swap is so great then why does not Jay Hall run it?? Everyone has an opinion this is just mine. I like my Mikuni carb just fine. Also I had talked to Jay about the 52 tooth rear and he said you must add to the chain to do it (wheelbase will be affected) I would try the 144 kit with the stock carb and fmf pipe and the 12 tooth front sprocket and the 2nd silencer husky provided with the update kit (mine passes at the races) I myself found revalving the front fork made the biggest difference (Halls did it) I hated the stock fork and wish I had the old 45 mm non twin chamber Zoke even instead of this fork still. I would buy the kit from Husky because I would think it would work better then the aftermarket big bore kits, and be more reliable. Good luck!

Most the husky race team is reported to use the PWK on the 125/250. If your Mikuni runs great run it. MANY here GREATLY prefer the PWK as do I. I found it a almost must do on the 125/144. On the 250 the stock carb works well. I personally like it a lot better than the Mikuni and tons more jetting options.

 

[Motosportz]

All the mods will help, 144 kit, power valve spring ect... but you will still work a lot harder uphill than a novice on a thumper.

I went down the path of doing everything to my wr125...and would not do it again. It's a great bike stock for 50% of the time, and I would keep it that way or trade to a different machine.

I had huge issues, bad OEM powervalves, crappy carb etc. Did the PV's, than the carb, then the 144. Would do it all again as this is the single funnest motorcycle i have ever owned. As most of you know I go through bikes pretty quick, I do not see this one leaving my sight any time soon. Love that little chain saw.

 

[gestion01]

The 2010 wr150 is a much more polished product than the 09' wr125 for sure.

 

[rockdancer]

Thanks everyone - keep thoughts coming
I guess its still limited by the capacity even with the 144.
In regard to carby - I thought I had my Mikuni sorted but cooler morning temps and it was bogging . Trouble is the temp will vary so much from morning at 7 am to midday . Changed needle on the track to standard location and was better. Still slow out of corners in the afternoon in hot weather. I t sounds like the Keihin is better.
I will probably change to Keihin - possibly 36mm but I dont like the issues of carbie fitment etc .

I know I would be quicker in most areas on a 250 f but at almost double the price I still think the 125 is a great bike. I had the 06 model but gave up on it probably too early .

FMF - not sure if it will really change it much for the $ - and quality issues?

I will also do the 144 after that and remove it when I upgrade to later model. Bike has only done 20 hrs so I havent really needed to do it. . I guess I just dont like wasting money on bikes ( trying to justifying tit to my wife is the real issue LOL)

I also hate rolling backwards on a hill thinking - is my leg about to be snapped like a twig?
( One particular hill has a tree over it which you have to slow down to duck under so you lose momentum )
Still havent had an answer to the question - [I]is it easer to pull a hill start on the 144 than the 125 - much easier?

Sorry for the rambling on
Cheers Ashley

 

[Norman Foley]

I had huge issues, bad OEM powervalves, crappy carb etc. Did the PV's, than the carb, then the 144. Would do it all again as this is the single funnest motorcycle i have ever owned. As most of you know I go through bikes pretty quick, I do not see this one leaving my sight any time soon. Love that little chain saw.

I have to agree with Kelly. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.... best bike I'd ever owned. I had trouble dialing in the 38 PWK on the 125, but it's perfect on the 144.

Low end grunt. Two things just in the last week..... A friend and I were laying out enduro trail and came to a very eroded, rocky uphill. We stopped at the bottom and took a look at it, as it was an acute right turn. My buddy is a very fast B rider (who if he raced more would be promoted to A). He knows what I can usually do and can't do.... He said I think if you roll back a ways and get a run at it, you'll make it up. I stayed where I was, clicked it into second and rode up the hill no sweat. I had tried this hill few years ago on my '02 WR125 and had a hard time getting up it. The other was taking mileage for the enduro. I was on a road section and stopped at a corner to write the mileage down. I went to pull away and it pulled very slowly, but didn't bog. I forgot to shift into first, but wait a second.... I'm in 6th! This is with an EFM auto clutch and 13/52 gearing.

No 450 for me 50% of the time.... WR144 all the time!

 

[wallybean]

Norman +++1 and what Kelly said all over. If I ran at just one elevation and with little temp change I would still swap for the PWK. If you want a PWK that fits then find and 'AG as' carb that doesn't have a position attachment. There are several years of KTM that used this carb. Unfortunately it has the allen screw top rather than the screw top.

I have an EFM like Norman and it works great with the 144 or in my case the 167. I was riding this weekend on what is normally a very benign trail. A 70 to 80 mph wind event in an old burn had trees stacked like cord wood everywhere. Lots of no run up straight up the bear grass covered hill that is fairly steep and hop a couple of smaller logs and back down to the trail. Took me almost 2 hours to cover about 2 miles. At one point I was mystified why I had so much trouble climbing around one stick pile and when I got back down to the trail I found that some how I had jumped it up into 3rd gear and it still did the job and I am running 13x49 gearing with the 167 and the EFM.

Walt

 

[rockdancer]

What about stopping on the side of a rocky/slippery hill and restarting ?

 

[gestion01]

What about stopping on the side of a rocky/slippery hill and restarting ?

It will be much, much better with the 144 than the 125, but never as good as a stock bigger bike in these conditions IMO.

What Husky needs in this frame is a ktm ''like'' 200 engine. That would be an amazing ride. Super handling, light but powers almost like a 250 2t, and will last 200 hrs of hard racing without a rebuild.

enough day dreaming... good luck!

 

[rockdancer]

I think you are right - whats wrong with the KTM 200 ? the handling?
Any regrets about selling the 144?

 

[Norman Foley]

I think you are right - whats wrong with the KTM 200 ? the handling?
Any regrets about selling the 144?

I've ridden a bunch of KTM200's stock and massaged. My reaction has always been.... I might as well ride my '00 WR250! To me it feels like a pipey 250, not a 125 on steroids. 144 feels like a 125 on steroids, but that's just me. Stopping in the middle of that rocky hill... better have a 300. Another buddy stopped half way up the hill in my earlier post to put up an arrow on his KTM 200 and ended up turning around and taking another shot up.

 

[gestion01]

I think you are right - whats wrong with the KTM 200 ? the handling?
Any regrets about selling the 144?

Yeah, the handling is not as good as a wr125 on the ktm 200. Maybe the later versions are better, my old 200 was an amazing engine in a crappy handling chassis.

No regrets on selling the 144. I should of done it earlier. The TC250 is now dialed in, great bike. Cheater bike for uphills

 

[NWRider]

I have no desire for a Husky 200 now that I have a 144. It has plenty of power. It is snappy and still revs free like a 125. All I did to it was add a JD jetted PWK, make a power valve adjustment, and it also has a Fatty pipe.

For getting started on a rocky uphill I actually prefer the WR 125/150 over a big bike. The small bore has all the tractible power needed in that situation. Just let it out as needed with the clutch and throttle. With a bigger bike I always just have a harder time keeping the front end down. The only hills I find harder on a small bike are long steep ricky uphills when I want to hold third gear or higher. The 144 seems to make these a lot easier though but it is still no 250.

The PWK does make a big difference. My old 06 125 was very hard to ride in the woods stock. It would chug real well with a PWK. I never even tried the stock carb on my new 150.

I would not run the 12t front sprocket. I ran 12/50 for a while on my 125. It was OK in the summer when there is little wheel spin and it was perfect with a tall trials tire on the back. Otherwise it was hard to ever be in the right gear. I liked 13/52 (12/49 also works) much better. On my 150 it came with a 12t on the front and it was way too low. The stock 13/50 actually works real well. I might try 13/51 later.

 

[rockdancer]

I guess I do dneed to work on technique as well -I used to flip the 450 so i know what you mean
but you are right about second and third gear hills an losing out to bigger bikes due to less torque
cheers - did you fix your fuel ? problem NWRider?

 

[NWRider]

Yes the problem is gone. I suspect it was the loose cylinder bolts but can not be sure since I went through the entire bike.

 

[rockdancer]

I am not sure why the 13 /52 is better than 12 /50 arent they the same?
I had 12/50 and didnt really like it that much either
But its the easiest way of changing gearing - also cheapest
Do you really need to lengthen chain with a 52 rear?

 

[Norman Foley]

I am not sure why the 13 /52 is better than 12 /50 arent they the same?
I had 12/50 and didnt really like it that much either
But its the easiest way of changing gearing - also cheapest
Do you really need to lengthen chain with a 52 rear?

13/52 has less wear on the chain set than 12/50. That little 12 has to turn the chain tighter. I put a 52 on my '09 WR125 for 13/52 gearing with the stock chain. I had to pull the axle right up foward and it didn't affect the stability of the bike. I ride tight woods, so I like my wheelbase short.