Back to Basics

[stroker]

The following makes a good read. I've always been preaching this... Nobody puts it betta.

 

Why Race a GP125?

 

This article was originally published in American Roadracing.

 

To excel in racing, you first have to learn the basics. And what could be more basic than a 125cc Grand Prix bike? With a single cylinder pumping out a humble 40 horsepower, and a dry weight of just 160 pounds, 125s would seem the perfect beginner's bikes. But that doesn't mean that more experienced racers can't learn anything from them.

 

"You can learn riding skills on a 125 GP bike that you just can't get from any other machine," affirms Michael Barnes, who has an uncanny knack for hopping on a Honda RS125 and winning national races--indeed, Barnes won a WERA Formula III national the first time he rode one of the diminutive machines.

 

"The main thing that 125s can teach you," continues Barnes, "is how to squeeze every possibly bit of speed out of a motorcycle. It really teaches you how to soak every last bit of aerodynamics, jetting and gearing. gearing is really critical, because you need to be exiting every turn with optimum speed and rpm to get a good drive, or you'll loose precious seconds that just can't be made up on a straight. And since, on a 125, you're drive is almost solely based on your cornering speed--which is, in turn, based on your entrance speed--you will quickly learn how to tie all aspects of speed together.

 

And that helps your overall riding, no matter what machine you compete on.

 

"Consider aerodynamics--something that, except for when blasting down a straight, you wouldn't normally concentrate on when riding a superbike. But you should be. Because a 125 teaches you that, no matter where you are, you have to be constantly aware of how much drag you're generating by sticking your body out in the wind. You have so little horsepower that even radically hanging off mid-turn slows you down. And even minor lapses in how well you're tucked in on a straight can noticeably slow you down."

 

So ask yourself in your next race: Am I hanging off this far for a reason? Does it make my exist faster, or am I only slowing myself down?

 

"Another major skill a 125 teaches you is how to set, carry and leave turns at the maximum possible speed. You can take a 125 farther than any other motorcycle in terms of entrance and cornering speeds.

 

It's a totally different world between a typical four-stroke racer and a 125: On the small bike, you will find that turns can be taken much faster than you ever dreamed possible, and count on braking one to two markers later--or not at all.

 

"Passing has got to be the funnest thing an a 125--you can outbrake other competitors four or five times per turn. And in general, since it is so hard to get away from someone, you must learn to exploit all of your best talents, and fix your weak spots."

 

When it comes to racing 125s, Barnes gives a few general rules to live by: First of all, get around your opponent in any possible way, at any possible time. If you're in back, and the leaders get through some traffic better than you and break you're draft, you're dead meat--these bikes pick up a lot of speed by drafting each other. But don't worry about leading out onto a long straight and getting left behind when the pack drafts around you--these bikes spend so much time on the straights that you have plenty of time to tuck in right behind them and re-draft.

 

As far as setting-up a 125, Barnes has found this extremely simple: "The Honda RS125s that I've ridden have been set pretty well right out of the box, and there aren't a lot of adjustments available, so just get it working well and concentrate on your riding. But one spooky aspect of these is the amount of feel you have: bumps that you'd never noticed will suddenly seem large, but the stock suspensions soak it up really well.

 

There's also the issue of size: Although riders over five feet tall will feel cramped and out of place after their first stint on a 125, they shouldn't be discouraged: "Sure the 125s are small," concedes Barnes, who is 5-fott-8 and 130 pounds, "and they weight somewhere around 160 pounds, but your size doesn't really matter. Look at Moto Liberty's Doug Carmichael: He's got a couple inches and about 30 pounds on me and is just as fast." But larger riders need to be especially conscious of their weight placement. "The 125s are incredibly sensitive to body positioning--even moving your helmet a few inches can change the bike's attitude in a turn.

 

But you should use this to your advantage: If the front end is pushing you just lean back a little bit, get some weight off the front, and it will steer in. If you're coming out of a turn and it's spinning the rear--actually, they don't really spin, it's more like a momentum drift--but you can lean forward a little bit and solve that."

 

Learn to do everything right and you, like Barnes, will find that 125cc racing might just offer the most bangs for you bucks: "Since you're so close to the ground, nothing really bad happens to you in a wreck. And the bikes are so light that they don't rip parts off in a slide; rather, they just seem to skip along the track. This all makes for a very confidence-inspiring mount, and helps keep repair bills, and therefore the cost of racing, to a minimum."

 

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Alas, in the same vein, just in case you're feeling the hunger to ride a GP125, here's your chance to own one. http://www.singaporebikes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180824

[spiderman]

u are a bad bad boy....

[GrimReaper]

Do i smell that a gp125 gonna take part in pasir gudang then sure win the 600 and 1000s already la. I dont wanna play anymore.

[redbeacon]

(tries to control grin on face)

 

[ambasnakeman]

eh, loan me ur gp 125 le......i want to go back to basic intincts

[deckard]

goot info thread....125cc goot!

[redbeacon]

eh, loan me ur gp 125 le......i want to go back to basic intincts

 

I guess we've got the perfect solution for you, uncle Amba:

 

http://i27.tinypic.com/abqfso.jpg

 

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