Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/771894
18 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com Readers Rides The 2003 YZ 125 Woods Edi on BY BILL PATTERSON Ahhhh, the mys cal YZ 125X. It was rumored to be coming out next year but that proved only to be a rumor. This bike was to be a 125 version of the YZ 250X. For those who did not get the memo, Yamaha released the YZ 250X last year as a woods bike answer to the MX version or the YZ 250. It was a mely and bold move from the only Japanese bike company that has remained loyal to two strokes. Trail Rider published a report on this bike in a previous issue. Woods adapta ons of the two-stroke YZ series are nothing new. The YZ is fast, durable and one of the most popular bikes of all me. They are respected by the two-stroke loyal group. The Yamaha YZ 125's and 250's are the longest-running produc on bikes available. Like I said, my story of making a woods bike out of the YZ 125 is nothing new. This one is not vintage or exo c. That being said, I think that it's worthy since it shows what you can do to an older bike on a small budget. One does not have to be a technical genius to pull this off either. The goal was not to rehab a 125 with the latest and greatest combo of exo c parts, as well as engine work to simulate a new works bike. I think that this was done by Dirt Bike magazine in the last six months. I respect their project but this one is the workingman's version of a woods bike. I got into this project haphazardly. The bike was going to be a stepping stone for my nephew. He was consider- ing a TTR 225 but since he's an aggressive kid, we decided to step it up. My ini al intent was to sell him the bike or keep it for a while and upgrade to a 250 two-stroke. Either way, we were going to have a good summer of riding! My go-to bike is a WR 450 but I spent considerable me riding a YZ 250 two-stroke when I was younger and enjoyed it. The simplicity, light weight and power hit remained on my mind. I rode a 125 a few mes. I felt it was more of a yawner from a power perspec ve but liked the way they rode. I was also 20 years old. This would probably be a great bike for an aggressive younger person, as well as fun for an older person who wants to ride a fl ickable bike. A er looking through a number of ads, I discovered that we could indeed fi nd a number of YZ 125's within an hour of my house for $2,000 and under. I planned to spend some money going through the bike anyway so we looked toward the bo om of the spectrum. I found a rela vely clean 2003 for $1,000. A mere $500 more could buy an '05 or later, which can be worth it as well if you want the aluminum frame, six-speed and SSS forks. Those