Yamaha Motocross Bike Reviews on Cycle Insider (82)
Avg. Rating

I have been riding motorcycles 28 years. This bike is probably the best 4-stroke I have ever ridden or owned. I have had 250 fours and twos. I even had a 2-stroke CR 500. This 450F feels like a 2-stroke on the power. It'll come up off the ground in every gear if you don't lay on it. I love this bike! It's a great replacement to my CR 250R that got stolen a couple years ago. I give it a "thumbs up!"

I never was A thumper fan! This is no thumper, it is pure power! Not great for the woods but with gearing it will work. I would recommend it to any intermediate to advanced rider!!

First off I absolutely LOVE this bike. It has quick acceleration, is extremely lightweight and it is just overall fun to ride. I love how it has a 6-speed transmission, it makes the riding more fun. For a two stroke the power band is real smooth, I was surprised after I rode an older YZ. It has excellent high end torque and it is realitively cheap. HOWEVER...I have had one potentially major issues with the bike but it is preventable. I had to spend several months diagnosing and repairing the bike with my dad and it involved splitting the crankcase. Apparently, about 50% of all 2005 and earlier YZ125's have an issue with how the shift stopper lever is designed. There is a bearing on the end of it that tends to fall apart and pieces can go into the transmission and because the bearing is absent, you cannot shift out of whatever gear you were in. But, fortunately for under 30 bucks I'd estimate you can easily prevent the problem and save yourself $500 if you fix it yourself or easily $1000 if you take it into a shop. All you have to do is buy the redesigned stopper lever from Yamaha and assembly is fairly easy if you have the manual. The actual process involves just removing the side cover, taking out the clutch basket, and swapping out the stopper levers. Dont forget to buy a new gasket. So with the proper tools (including the manual) and a little bit of work you can prevent the only issue I have with this bike. Overall it is a dream to ride and a wonderful step up bike. Buy one if you're looking for a 125.

I've been riding Yamahas for the past 10 years, so I'm loyal. Yamaha has been winning Bike of the Year, for many of their models, and I can see why, based on my experience. They have been fast, fun, and reliable. I just sold my '02 YZ250 and bought an '06 of the same model. I've ridden a bunch of different 4 Strokes, and I still love a 2 stroke! They're lighter and couldn't be easier to work on. I've never had any mechanical problems with any of them. The '06 was the second year of the aluminum frame, and the first year of Yamaha's new SSS suspension which has been named by several magazines as The best stock suspension of any bike, and race ready. I love it! It's WAY better than the '02, which wasn't bad.

I got my first bike at the age of five and rode hand me downs since that age. I had been riding an old 250 up until about 6 months ago when I bought my 07 YZ 250. All I have to say is that it's by far the greatest bike I've ever owned. The quality of the materials along with the ridiculous power makes me smile every time I ride. The only downside to a bike of this caliber, since I do not race, is that it requires the best of everything. Do not buy this bike if you like to cheap out because it is a performance machine. It eats gas too, minor complaint. Other than that, I would tell anyone to buy it.

This bike has excellent handling. The power is top notch. Right off from idling to top end, it pulls like a beast. I've had a 94 CR500, and this will definitely pull much more.

I've had this bike now for about 3 weeks. It hauls out of the corners and gets where it's going real fast. THIS BIKE FLYS! Great on and off the track.

Last time I raced motocross before purchasing this was 1975 on a Suzuki TM100! WHAT A DIFFERENCE! I took this thing out, rode it in the pasture for an hour, loaded it up and headed out for an arena cross race! Whoops! Did not get it out of first gear and it was a hard intro to the new age motocross bikes and tracks!!! It was fun, but I was not ready for the power it developed! Suspension was extremely plush compared to the 4 inches I was getting out of the TM! I have had it for 2 years now and it is very low maintenance and very high on fun! I also have an '06 YZ250F...the F on these things doesn't stand for 4 Stroke...it means pure Fun!

This is the fastest 125 I have ever ridden. It will pull a 250f off the line, no problem. It handles great, is easy to start and talk about light.. My 9 year old, 72 pound cousin can pick my bike up off the ground with little or no problem. Power - there's plenty. There's no need to mod this bike as it's fast out of the box. Yamaha went all out on the 125 this year and it shows.

I wanted a YZ 250 for years, owning a couple Kawasaki's and tons of Honda's and Suzuki's. I finally had to buy this beast when they made it with an aluminum frame. I am so stoked I got this mad machine. I haven't lost 1 race yet, everything from other 2 strokes to 4 strokes. I've beaten 4 wheeler's 3, wheeler's, and snowmobiles on dirt and on ice. I've only had one problem with this bike, that's going through so many tires in a season. I also want to put a baja light on it. They should make it easier to hook up a light system on the 2 strokes. The day only lasts so long.

I bought this bike after stepping up from an 85 and let me tell you, it has a lot of power. Then, that weekend when I raced, I noticed that it could not keep up with the 250f's. that's when I got a shorty silencer and power now. Then it could keep up with them. Then I put reeds, an sst pipe, and a flat topped piston and it completely blew them away! Stock it had decent bottom power end and a great pull from mid to top. By far, the best of the 125s. It could easily keep up with SOME early model 250f's like the RM-Z and KX-F.

This bike is sick! It friggin moves. It will easily do 75 stock and w/ all the parts I have on it, now it probably does like 85-90! I love this bike. I would definitely recommend it to anyone with at leats 2 years of experience who wants a fast bike that will keep up with the four strokes.

This bike is awesome! I've had it for about 7 months and I love it. The guy at the dealership almost talked me into the 85 but I'm very happy that I chose the 125 instead. This bike is super fast and keeps right up with the four-strokes. It was reviewed to be the best 125 ever built! I'm very glad I have one. I would recommend this bike to anyone that is looking for a very fast and comfortable bike.

This is a great bike. Runs great! Ratio needs to be changed to 30 : 1. The reason for the comfort 4 was rear shock needs to be lowered just a little bit. Besides that, no other bike can even come close except the ktm. But I still beat it. Needs new pipe because it has slow bottom end power. Fastest 85 ever.

Great bike on and off the track. Very reliable and easy to handle. Smooth power throughout the whole rpm range with perfect 2 stroke crisp sound. Can keep up with 250f's with the right rider. Overall, wonderful bike and if you want a great 125 I encourage you to buy this bike you'll love it.

I got this bike in June 2006 and it's great. I ride it almost every day. It works well in any condition, there is no loss in power in any gear. This bike just blows every bike away. If you're looking to win a lot of races or just screw around, this bike is the one for you. Yamaha bikes have been rated number one for a long time. If you get a bike no matter what size, get a Yamaha.

The Yz250f is the best bike I've had and the best overall value. I just wish it was lighter but besides that it's the best and the fastest. If you're going to get a four stroke, get a Yamaha.

The 125's don't get any better than this bike right here two stroke wise. This bike is awesome all over the track jumps, turns, whoops it all. I won't ever buy a different type of 125's besides a yamaha 125.

I got my yz 85 and I was like wow what a powerful bike!!. I had driven my friends kx85 and after driving the yz85 I was disapointed in the kx85. The only reason that I gave the comfort a four was because when you hit the powerband on the bike it is so fast that it is hard to hold on and when you are going hard on the track moving forward and back from good brakes and incredible accelleration it gets uncomfortable from the power. Overall it is one of the best if not the best 85 motocrosser. The only thing near as good as it is the ktm 85.

I had a PW80 before this and I love this 85 a hundred thousand times better!!! I love my 85! Thanks, Yamaha! The suspension is great, the power band is sick! It's not too big and it's not too small; it's perfect!!!

This bike has the strongest motor in the class (Honda lovers take a seat) hands down, but it definitely takes some getting used to. Especially if coming off a 125. It hits so hard in the middle that I thought that it was a YZ450. That being said it took me a while to figure out how to get this bike to turn I cased a double that I would normally have done on my 125 because I couldn't hit my normal line. The suspension is really good and this is probably the least likely bike in the class to break down.

I bought this bike in August of 2005 and have put in a fair amount of miles. Overall, I like the bike. The aluminum frame has done wonders for the way the bike feels on long rides. I find myself less tired at the end of the trail than some of the older guys (Randy Rape Sr.). Just kiddin', Dad. The suspension is a little touchy on rough corners but still very predictable once you get used to it. The factory chain stretched extremely fast, and it needed a little carb tweaking to get it dialed in right. It really shines when you roll on the throttle after a corner, which really makes up for the quirky suspension. In the end it's a great bike for someone to win a few races on or just play around on the weekends, but either way Yamaha has stepped up the bar once again with the 2005 YZ 125.

I was worried that this bike would not pull me good because I weigh 200 lbs. Was I in for a surprise after I got it broke in and opened it up good. This bike will pull a power wheelie with me in first, second, and third! I think I got a good deal; it was a new leftover 2005. I recommend this bike to anyone that wants a 2-stroke bike. Oh, and yes, you can lug this bike around a little without the plug fowling out.

I have raced this bike all season and it flat out rips. This bike has unbelievable power off the line. I pulled countless hole shots. The bike's suspension works wonderful. It also handles awesome. I could rail through the corners and felt comfortable the entire time. I had the forks at 12 clicks out from full hard on the compression and the same with the rebound. I had fork oil level at 130mm and used the stock springs. With the shock I had HS compression at 10 clicks from full hard and I also had the LS compression 8 clicks from full hard. I had the rebound 11 clicks from full hard. I used a Renton Titanium spring and what a difference. It resisted bottoming much better with the Renton spring. The only problem I had with the bike was the Titanium valves. If you ride a lot definitely consider stainless valves. The stock titanium ones wore out a little quickly, although they do outperform the stainless ones.

I have owned this sick bike for about a week now and I can't get enough of it. This bike can haul but there is one setback, though. I had to re-jet mine when I got it because it was failing plugs, a minor worry. For the most part this is a great and reliable bike. {ps... yamahas kicks butt!}