On road and green lane and off road .. KMX OR DT 125 ?

[Polsta]

Hello everyone

posted this in new bikers section but not many replies,thought id try here for those that dont check in there !

im 29years old and not had a bike since a suzuki roadie and then a step through when i was 17 , and i want to get a new bike,and want a 125cc

ive got the cash ready,and ive spent the last 3 or 4 weeks constantly looking around and around to see whats best for me and what i fancy, ive read loads of stuff on the net,looked at loads of bikes on all free ads/ebay/ and all the rest of them

and its came down to either yamaha dtr 125 with power valve (from say 1998-2002)

or a kawasaki kmx as good as i can get for the money

im looking to spend £1000 topps , ideally less but will go to that for the right bike

ive recently sat on both bikes and tried for size, and both felt good, and i like them both

My uses...

im gonna be riding to and from work, and 90% of the time just having say a 10/15 mile range from my house , nipping here and there

and also i want to have light off road use/gren laneing at the weeklends, nothing heavy or jumping, just gravel tracks and mud tracks, and light woodland (not going crazy motocross style in thick mud etc)

My knowledge.... i dont know anything about these bikes, but have 1 or 2 friends who could help with odd bits of work, but my aim is to learn as i go, il look after it an keep it clean,and i wanna spend money on it over time on upgrades, dep exhaust and renthal bars and make the plastics as nice as possible and any and everything else , so also need to know what one is more upgradable and able to make go faster ??

but i dont know anything about engines, so i dont really want a bike thats not gonna be reliable and always need engine work every 5 mins , its gotta be reliable as using it for work

, i found this forum via google ,and thought id join in the fun , and also seek some advice as there seems to be a few dt and kmx owners/posts on here i found via searches

i found one that said the dt is a good reliable bike, and the kmx is more a race off road type bike thta would need more maintenence and messing baout with, is that the case ???? im just trying to decide if there is no real difference and mainly down to looks, or if there are mechanical differences and reliability differences etc

appriciate any help and advice, im itching to buy a bike asap as soon as i find whats best for me and the best bet and better deal


there is a 2002 dt i have in mind that i could possibly buy this weekend !! and i missed a,lovely 98 kmx on ebay the other day (search completed auctions for the one that was purchased for £750)


thanks folks !

[G]

I presume you're on a CBT, no full licence?

Between either bike, the biggest difference will probably actually be the condition the bike you are looking at is in, so I'd look for both, but keep an eye out for ones that are good for the money you have.

Do you want to spend money on it just for the sake of spending money on it?
If you want a faster bike, I'd just get one of those in the first place .

The DT and KMX are fairly level on performance and reliability terms.

[Polsta]

thanks mate !!!

yeah just a cbt leaner at 1st, i just want it for a bit of fun to take lightly off road and nipping about, i dont want a really fast bike that can go crazy fast !

and i dont wanna spend money for the sake of it, but want anice bike to last me years and keep nice and look after, just spend money as and when, ie if its a standard bike i get, il get a nice exhaust system somewhen , replace plastics somewhen if needed to make nice etc, as for my budged im not gonna get an imaculate bike

its either slighly older nice nick ish, or maybe a newer one thats a good base/engine but some things could be improved

as you say i have been chekcing both, constantly , and im just waiting for the right one that pops up that has my name on it

i missed this one,nice bike,cracking price,new mot, would of left me a few hundred quid , and im sick i missed it,but wasnt to be my bike i spose !!

https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160217568187&ssPageName=STRK:MEDW:IT&ih=006

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https://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x13/fronterapics/DSC00023.jpg

On the right,my old dtr.
I got this by putting a wanted advert in my local free ad paper...Dtr wanted,will pay up to 1k
Got a phone call a few days later.
It was allready de-restricted and quite nippy,but i decided to put a full dep exhaust system on it(£220),which was just for looks,theres no more power having the dep than there is with a fully de-restricted standard system.

Used it everyday through all weathers,on the local motorcross track everyday,doing big jumps,through huge puddles,wheelies,just about everything you can do on em i did it.
Other than consumables tyres/chain/ i had no problems at all with it,and i really hammered it everywhere i went racing my m8 on the other dtr in the pic.
Im talking constant redline in every gear,also used it for some long distance trips on dual carriage ways at a constant 70mph for miles (at the redline) and still the thing did not die.

I paid £1k for it on a 2003 reg with tax and test and in my opinion was an absolute bargain.

The other one in the pic i found in the local free ad paper for £600 quid also on an 03 reg,it had a front end dig,but only minor damage.At the time my mate didnt have a bike so i let him buy it,and also give him the new front wheel it needed to get on the road.
We were out together on the road everyday,riding in the same places flat out all the time,and neither bike missed a beat.Both 100% reliable.

So like i said in your other post,id go for the dtr everytime,without a doubt.

The kmx i had was a bit rough when i bought it,and needed a top end rebuild really soon after buying it.
After doing that i had no problems with that bike either,but it just didnt feel like it could cope with the stuff i did on my dtr.

Oh and btw , all the jumping e.t.c. i did on the dtr,with no problems at all and i weigh nearly 17 stone. Honestly mate you will not be dissapointed with a dtr.

https://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x13/fronterapics/DSC00042.jpg

https://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x13/fronterapics/DSC00012.jpg

https://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x13/fronterapics/mydtrnew.jpg

https://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x13/fronterapics/n-s-faraway.jpg

This was my mates old dtr J reg i think,and even though it looked a bit rough,and had a REALLY hard life,it also never missed a beat.

https://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/dodgydav32000/th_dtrvid2.jpg

...
Enjoy whatever bike you decide on

[G]

Even something like a DRZ400 is far from a 'fast' bike.

Getting exhaust and obviously plastics, etc is mostly going to be a case of prettying up your bike; which if you intend to take it green laning may not be an ideal choice! As far as pound per hp, going for shiny exhausts on a 125 is always going to be very bad value, however if you want it just to have a shiny exhaust, fair enough.

[Polsta]

thaks for that post justmetoo !!

very helpful !!!

see im about 18 stone so a big lad, i will maintain it but alos want a bike that can take a lot and whatever i throw at it , wont be doing big jumps etc, well not till i know what im doing and find somewhere to do them

as youve had both, i really appriciate the views ,check your im inbox ...


G- im not too fussed about shiney , will only be light off road anyway,nothing major, bt i want abike that i like to look at , rather than one that looks a bit haggered !

[ghettostan]

hey i have a dtr125 with the YPV... heres a pic to inspire you...
https://i27.tinypic.com/2b426b.jpg
https://i25.tinypic.com/313qh6o.jpg

i actualy did abit of offroading on saturday in worksop for the first time and only then i realised how bouncy my suspensions were
fell off a few times but only becuase i couldnt reach the ground lol

all i can say is that the dtr's are great on both road and offroad. and should easily cope with the 10/15 miles. only thing is that my bike only does around 75/80miles off a full tank.

engine wise i havnt a clue, but mine is sound. ever since i bought it anyway. just make you you put the correct oil in there.

good luck !

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[Polsta]

[Gazdaman]

Stands for Yamaha Power Valve System. (usually YPVS).

It effectively changes where the powerband is as the revs move. So you have a better effective spread of power.

Gaz

[Polsta]

ah the power valve got ya

is it easy to ajust then ? for someone whos a novice ?

is a dt with power valve better than a kmx with kipps ? or are they about the same ?

[G]

They are similar and you shouldn't need to adjust either.
As the rpm rises, it opens up a restriction on the exhaust port; while this is closed, it makes the exhaust 'work better' at lower rpm.

On fancy KTM competition enduro bikes you can adjust them, but it's not something you need to worry about on a trail 125.

So, I wouldn't worry about it.

[Polsta]

ah ok,thanks

just wondered, as ive seen people selling them saying "power valvue opened to xx amount"

and people talking about ajusting them

so if i got a dt that was fully standard, whats the de restricting pricess like ? , im quite heavy at around 18 stone, so i think im gonna have to de restrict it to make it shift that bit quicker with my weight on it ? !

[----]

Have a look HERE m8
All will be explained.

That site has everything about the dtr,and a forum there aswell,although the forum is a little quiet.

[prawny1]

For about a grand you will get either a scruffy late year dt that will likely have a power valve servo and be deristricted (if not fully) or a tidy early dt which will be derestricted but no servo, (not many people bothered sourcing the servo and just pegged the valve open)

Its a rare thing to see any 125 learner bike still restricted,

The earlier bikes (pre 96)are easier to derestrict, but the powrvalve servos are getting harder to come by, the best bet would be to source one from an imported (early) tzr125rr and fit shorter cables then cut the restictors out off the exhaust and jet it the same as a non restricted/eurospec bike your local dealer should be abled to get the sizes easy enough there might be a restrictor plate on the reed block but can't remember.

The later bikes have the benefit of better lights due to a proper generator rather than single coils for light, battery, and ignition but some models have several restrictor and can be hard work to get rid off them all, i think the later bikes even have catalyst in the expantion chamber meaning a new exhaust is needed for any real power gain.

kmx's are pretty good but the kips valves are more expensive to repair when they go wrong, compared to the ypvs afaik derestricting the kwack is done by reshimming the kips valve and rejjetting (as well as removing restrictor in the exhaust.

The dtr engine is used by loads of people, including ktm and derbi (even there latest models)I think there a husky learner that uses it to, the good thing about these variaties is that you just need to fit the fuse for the power valve servo and rejet them for full power.

[ghettostan]

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