I use my '89 Yam TZR 125 every day as a means of getting to work. It has done 35,000 miles, 7000 of which have been done by myself. It is fully de-restricted (servo power valve connected) and can top 100mph on a good day It has needed very little work apart from a new clutch, chain and sprockets (General Wear and Tear). They are easy to maintain and while yamaha genuine parts are quite pricey, you are guaranteed good quality and robustness when you buy them, in my opinion you HAVE to use the genuine parts, don't trust pattern products as they are always of lesser quality. It is in the same class as a Cagiva Mito, Aprilia RS125, Honda NSR125R and a Suzuki RG125. It out performs the latter japanese bikes but lags behind the italian models. However the italian bikes suffer from reliability problems, parts availability troubles and they cost more too. I ride it very hard and it seems to just go on and on. The engine is very durable and despite its high mileage still performs well. Mind you the racey little two-strokes are mostly happy being thrashed so don't be afraid, you will notice if you ride one that they are terrible at low revs, they misfire like crazy. It returns a reasonable 60mpg, bear in mind i have replaced the standard air box with a K&N filter and upped the fueling. Handling is good and it grips well as long as you use good tyres, its amazing the difference good rubber can make to the bikes charcteristics, i recommend metzeler or pirelli. I would definitely recommend the bike to anyone, but if you can afford it, go for the later '91 version with electric start and rear disc brake. Also be careful with the de-restricted ones like mine. It makes 24+ HP and you are only allowed 15 HP unless you have passed you're bike test.
Buying One An '89 model like mine can be bought for around £600 with 12 months tax& Mot. I paid 400 but it had neither tax or Mot. Avoid salvage bikes or crashed ones as they are nearly always bad news. If available from a dealer it is sometimes worth paying the extra forecourt price if the dealer is genuine and hey, he may even offer 6months warranty! If you go to buy one and on cold startup it smokes like crazy don't be shocked it is normal for a two stroke to do this. Most people think that it is the sign of a worn engine, this is not the case for two-strokes. Remember the oil goes into the cylinder with the fuel/air misture and some of it is burnt in the combustion process causing blue smoke. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT 125 BIKES FEEL FREE TO ASK AS I HAVE WORKED ON MANY IN MY TIME AND COULD BE OF SOME HELP
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Superb review. It's a good narrative about living with the bike and you also provide some useful tips. Some say they want more info but that can be found from Yamha themselves. I was going to rate this as a 4 out of 5 but the fact you have offered to provide extra help in your own time show's you have gone beyond what this community expects, thank you.
tzrexpert 20.11.2002 21:13
IT covers everything you need to know about TZR 125's in my opinion. Anyone who thinks i should elaborate please say.
125nutter 13.11.2002 14:58
The op aint bad but is a little short of proper information.
Advantages: Reliability, Relatively good acceleration, basic maintainance. Disadvantages: Bit smokey due to the 2 stroke engine, Parts a little on the expensive side.
Gimblebrox 23.10.2000 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Yamaha - TZR 125
Advantages: Reliability, Relatively good acceleration, basic maintainance. Disadvantages: Bit smokey due to the 2 stroke engine, Parts a little on the expensive side.
Gimblebrox 23.10.2000 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Yamaha - TZR 125
exceptional by (10%):
very helpful by (20%):
helpful by (40%):
somewhat helpful by (30%):
