ok well as regulars might know I’ve been on a bit of a mission lately to repair the wear-and-tear from the wheelies & drifting practice so far, as well as protect the bike for future wheelie activity.
It’s been hard on the bike, and highlighted any pre-existing weaknesses, but I also learnt a lot about what I want and need from the bike in order to do this in a not entirely half-assed way.
I love the clipon risers I’ve been rocking most of this year. My “ideal comfort position” was with them not even on full height, about half height. It added maybe 1.5″ each side in height and the same in width. It didn’t mess with the aerodynamics too much, but gives excellent control from the slightly wider stance, but you can still get down in the corners when you need to. Nice.
However, not so good for standup wheelies. Angles all wrong, doable but feels unnatural. We don’t have lots of power to play with so I need to try and optimise my position as far as I can. I needed to try and push weight back so she comes up more easily, so I added a bit more height to the clipons, which helped but was higher than I’d like and the angle was still wrong somehow, and the brake reservoir hit on the screen constantly which is super annoying.
No, back where I started, I finally need to fit the motocross bars.
However, last time I considered this issue I hadn’t just built exactly that thing for somebody else had I? No you had not Other Barry, no you had not.
motox bars successfully fitted to gorgeous blue R125 in France 
YZF-R125 motox bars adapter 
YZF-R125 motox bars adapter 
motox bars successfully fitted to gorgeous blue R125 in France
Episode 4: A New Yoke
So below is the new yoke I prepared like for the bike above. I was hoping that the motox bars would give me plenty of space for the extra rear handbrake lever which has to fit in there somehow too. The main thing I want though is this angled-slightly-upwards stance which should be much better for standup wheelies (which are my main/ultimate goal) – both with pushing my weight back so it’s easier to get up, and being in a more natural position once up, so maybe retain control somewhat.
fuel tank has to come off to give access to the plug for the ignition barrel 
everything off 
this was how much pull through the old clipons used 
yoke off 
drilling out the old security bolts on the ignition barrel 
mounted up on the new one ready to test fit 
they’re on! 
starting to try to fit controls 
coming together 
it all fits \o/ 
stance seems about right for what I wanted 🙂 
It’s all on and working now and I really like the feel of it, though it is somewhat like having to learn to ride a different bike. I guess mostly it’s about positioning my weight which is different – maybe I’m sitting more relaxed so hanging off somewhat into a corner perhaps doesn’t come as naturally.
However – I am prepared to compromise a little on position IF this helps noticeably on the wheelie front. From the testing I’ve done hopping around on the bike while in the stand it feels really good (i think), however, I won’t know for a while, not till I’ve put the new fork on anyway.
So I guess we’ll just have to wait for a bit and see..
Hi
I’m looking to fit similar bars to my yzf r125…who’s make were the risers.
heya, sorry I didn’t see the notification for this comment, hence the slow reply. The risers are just pretty standard ebay ones – e.g. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265235628568
Please note I found that it does affect the steering geometry slightly so cornering hard isn’t quite as easy, but I also did like 3k+ miles on those bars and they were way easier on my back. You will need a longer clutch cable though (try one from an MT125)
Hey… Thanks for the reply.
I’m looking to find a new top yolk so I do not need to drill out and space the original. Thus would be easy if the early bikes had the upside down forks of the Mt. I will maybe try a YB or similar.
Thanks again 👍
the yokes can normally be found on ebay for about £15-20, and getting a spare to work on is a good plan. Look at the pics of the one I made carefully as the casting webs on the back of the yoke will need some little spacers making to spread the load evenly and mount the bolts securely as (if i remember correctly) the nuts wont fit into the gaps between the webs. The position of the holes is vital for that to work.
For the spacers I used short sections (~1cm) of aluminium tube as a compression spacer, then with a large washer (which spanned the webs and pressed down on the spacer) to spread the load evenly. I’ve built two that way now (the blue french R125 in the pics and my own) which collectively must have 10k+ miles on them by now with no issues, so that approach seems pretty good. Use Nylock nuts for the bolts too so they don’t shake loose with vibration.
I may have some better pics of the spacers, drop me an email (info@northcust.co.uk) or pop into the discord server (invite is on the contact menu)
Bear in mind you will need to drill out the security bolts from the back of the ignition barrel, which requires taking the tank off (or at least undoing it and twisting it to the side so you can access where the ignition loom plugs in). I just explained that process in a bit more detail here: https://www.r125forum.com/threads/please-help.20850/#post-349437
Good luck!