Jumpy XR125L

[kkhalil76]

I bought a Honda XR125L a couple of months ago (6 months used) and I was wondering if there's something wrong with the gears / clutch. When I'm in first or second gear, if I'm not accelerating (i.e. have momentum but hand off throttle) and then turn the throttle, it seems to react with a jerk rather than smoothly (even if I turn the throttle slowly). This is also the case when I go up from 1st to 2nd, as soon as I engage throttle again it's not a smooth transition. I seem to remember the bike I did my CBT on to be smoother, so was wondering if the XR125L is just like that, or if I need to have it checked out.

[hazza]

has it been doing it since you had teh bike?...if it has i wouldnt worry, however is its just something thats come on recently then i would say there was a problem, my bike has always done it though
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3 Honda NC50's(Sold)-->'72 Puch Maxi S (Sold, want it back!)--> '90 Yamaha RXS 100 (Stolen)--> '87 Honda Cub 90(Sold) --> '95 Kawasaki Eliminator (Sold) --> '98 Bandit 600 (Sold) -->'07 SV650S (Current)

[kkhalil76]

It's been doing that since I got it, but since it's a used bike I'm not sure if it's supposed to do that or if the previous owner's messed it up. But if yours is the same I guess that's just how it is. Any other XR125L owners out there experiencing the same?

[hazza]

ahh sorry i neglected to say i dont have an xr i have an rxs, totally different bike, but most of the small capacity bikes i have ridden have done this, a single is never going to be smooth on power delivery
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3 Honda NC50's(Sold)-->'72 Puch Maxi S (Sold, want it back!)--> '90 Yamaha RXS 100 (Stolen)--> '87 Honda Cub 90(Sold) --> '95 Kawasaki Eliminator (Sold) --> '98 Bandit 600 (Sold) -->'07 SV650S (Current)

[kkhalil76]

Good to know, thanks. Maybe I can tap your experience a little further. My chain seems to be getting a little rusty, and tips on how to best maintain it? Any particular products for cleaning, lubing etc? I thought about using a cover (bike ungaraged) but the position of the exhaust would melt any cover I guess, and can't be bothered to wait till it cools down and then go cover it.

[XR125]

kk - this may sound silly, but is your choke completely off?

Also, every week or so get a rag and soak it in petrol and wipe it on your chain - this will clean it then spray it with some chain wax, you can buy chain wax at almost every bike shop.

[kkhalil76]

Choke depends on weather I guess, if it's warm I just start it up and go, if cold I start it in full choke, straight away turn it to half choke and go, then once it's warmed up a bit (and I've stopped at some red light) I switch it to off. At least that's what the dealer told me to do.

Thanks for the info on sorting out the chain.

[XR125]

You drive on half choke? That makes my bike jumpy lol, I warm it up, turn it fully off then go.

I would check the air filter, sounds like its something wrong with that area in the bike.

[kkhalil76]

To be honest I don't feel any difference when driving with half choke or none (still jumpy without any choke). It seems to take a while to warm up when it's cold, and when you're late for work... Will have the air filter checked out.

While we're talking about choke, when it's on, do you still need to keep throttle engaged? I do, otherwise it turns off. Somehow I thought that defeats the purpose of choke.

[Marci]

Hmmm.... bad choke practice mefinx. Choke shouldn't be on whilst riding. If you need to keep choke on then generally it means you're running lean.

You should use choke only to get bike to start, then knock it off before riding. Most bikes stall if choke is left on and you don't have throttle open to keep it rev'd... that's cos at the point in time when that happens, the choke shouldn't be on.... basically.

I open choke to full, fire up bike, keep choke held open until revs start to drop by themselves, then immediately close it and let the bike idle to warm up... All this done without touching the throttle at all. It remains closed for the entire startup procedure.
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FAB-Racing MiniMotoSidecars - Back with a vengeance - F1 Class 2011...
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[kkhalil76]

Marci, thanks for the info, I guess that means my choke doesn't work properly, since bike will turn off (while choke is on) if I'm not revving it, so it never stays running with choke on and throttle off!

[XR125]

Yea, never drive with choke on.. thats what I was getting at and the way you describe your bike symptons, it sounds like you're driving with half choke on - one morning I done it because I was half asleep and the bike bounced along the road a bit.

Not sure now if it's choke pratice or air filter - but the way you describe it, it does sound like your choke is half on, maybe something wrong there - Don't think it has anything to do with air induction now.

P.s. Tell your dealer hes a twat for telling you to do that.

[kkhalil76]

Thanks guys, will try choke without throttle again just to be sure it's not working and then take it to get checked out

[lanester]

Well I've had my XR125L now for 3 years, and yes it isn't very smooth when you roll off the throttle and then back on to it.

The build quality also seems to be awful and mine is garaged and the swing arm started to corrode after about a year.

The choke on the XR125L and starting performance is laughable. The 1st stage of the choke is literal just for getting the bike going as it will instantly stall otherwise, fair enough. The 2nd stage seems to do nothing but it only enriches the fuel mixture a slight amount by my experience as it will just stall with out a bit of throttle (not a lot needed).

On really cold mornings i have to flick between stage 1 and 2 to keep the engine running.

But once it is warm it runs fine and no choke (stage 3). Although it does seem temperamental to start.

Also on a cleaning note, don't forget the backside of the exhaust can as that corrodes quickly. I've had to replace mine already. cost £70 so wasn't too bad.

HTH any more Q's just ask

[----]

mines like that too with the throttle.unless i turn throttle very very slow,but thats not usually practical....
any chance of a favour from one of you xlr owners???
i could do with a pic of your rear wheel where it bolts to the swing arm,and how the rear brake linkage attaches to the wheel.
got a problem with my rear wheel and a few pics would really help..
really appreciate it...hope u dont mind me posting in here for this...
dave.

[eddclarke]

[----]

[eddclarke]

as far as i know that is a XLR, not an XR125L, but i had a GY125 before and that looks pretty much the same as that, ive still got it in the garage so ill try and get some pics of the back of that and of the honda for you

[----]

thanks...

[kkhalil76]

lanester, the way you describe it is exactly how mine behaves, so it seems that although this is not usual choke behaviour, it's how it works in the case of the XR125. And it's a bit jumpy. Oh well...

[eddclarke]

isnt is called drivetrain lash? ( i think ) on my xr125 if you are going along in first or 2nd and let go of the throttle then roll it back on there is a bit of a jerk

[finpos]

Oooh. It's a trial bike with a CG125 Engine.

The choke behaviour is typical CG125. If you start on full choke, it won't keep running like that. You immediately have to put it onto half-choke. After less than a minute it should be warm enough to run on no choke at all, but, obviously, it depends on how warm/damp the weather is.

With the kind of choke it is, you'll probably find the only difference riding it with the choke on is that you loose top end speed. For the geeks amongst you, it's a genuine choke, not the normal enrichment circuit that everybody else has and that they call a choke.

Nobody seems to have mentioned it here, but I take it you have kept the chain adjusted properly? What you have does, indeed, sound like lash, but it could be either poor adjustmnet or just that it's inherent to the bike design (presumably, it's got long suspension at the back so the chain needs to be a bit slacker than normal)

finpos.

[kkhalil76]

hmm, not sure about chain, only had it for a couple of months and haven't made any adjustments. Will have honda take a look to see if anything needs to be done or if it's just like that.

[finpos]

"heavy duty" (standard fitting for that type of bike) chain + a couple of months without oil (rusty?) = dragging on floor. Get it adjusted. And lubricated.

finpos.

[kkhalil76]

Yes the chain is showing a little rust (I think I mentioned that further up in this thread). I think I'll give honda a visit, get it adjusted if that's needed, and buy some cleaner/lube (or have them do it?).