Topic: Just watched a youtube video of a MT125R;anyone here ever ride one ?

[grcamna2]

That's a hot little vintage Honda 2 stroke roadracer MT125R ! it's too bad they always stay at the back of the pack  when filming it.

[mark]

Had a MT125 way back when but it wasn't much of a road racer with knobbys on.

[vfourfreak]

I never got to own one, but at age 18 in London with a wad of cash I had to make a choice between a new MT125R or a CB400F. I chose the 400.
In essence the MT was a motocross engine in a road racer frame, with nothing too exotic about it, motor or cycle wise. The TA125 Yamaha had preceeded it by about 2 seasons and was a better bet at the time for success on the track. Even a properly tuned road going AS3 Yam would have seen off the MT. Anyone really serious at the time about racing 125s would in any case have had  a Morbidelli (MBA) in their van as by 1975 aircooled two stroke racers were definitely on the way out.
That said, If I could get one at a knockdown price for my collection, I would have it there.

Kev

[grcamna2]

When I was reading the info(I hope I got that info correct..)online yesterday it said that they had them for sale to the public here in the U.S. in 1977-78' so I imagine somebody could still buy one as a vintage roadracer(I couldn't afford one  )to ride around on the street for fun.
I never raced on a track but it sure looks a Lot safer than trying to survive on the street around here.

[scunny]

I have 2 MT50's. Great little bikes but don't know how good they would have been on the track.

[scottly]

I've got a copy of the August, 1977 issue of Cycle magazine with a review of the MT125R. They ran it against a Yamaha TA 125, and reported "The Honda is superior in every way..."  The motor was nearly identical to the MX 125, and the front halve of the frame was the same, but the rear of the frame was different from the dirt version. The mechanical front disc was from a CB 200, and the rear hub was from an S 90. During testing, it reached "about" 112 MPH. The biggest complaints were the high prices for the bike ($1764 retail), and the high prices for the MT125R specific replacement bits.

[bwaller]

Honda's CR125 & 250 Elsinores were such potent motocrosser's that Honda tried the detuned enduro styled MT's to reach a different audience.

Later came the 125R roadrace version, but from what I remember it wasn't generally very competitive.

[vfourfreak]

Upon preparation, in 1976,  for release in the US, Honda claimed that "The Honda MT125R is a road racing machine that took an active part in Japan road racing during 1973 - 1975"

There are two issues there : the design was already 4 years old, and what they did not make clear was the bike was campaigned in a single make championship in Japan for up and coming riders. So you could also say that it won every race it entered !

At the time this was RSC seeing what else they could do, off the back of the hugely successful Endurance racing campaign. It was a nice bike, but no way competitive. Even a 1974 Morbidelli would leave it standing.

Kev

[scunny]

friend of  mine has a Morbidelli 125. has made some larger bikes look lame in the wet.

[vfourfreak]

friend of  mine has a Morbidelli 125. has made some larger bikes look lame in the wet.

Tell your mate that if his Morbi is in good shape, I have a first born and a mess of pottage to trade if he is interested. If he has a 250 also I'll throw in a king's ransom.

They were sweet bikes, all out of a furniture factory !!

Kev