Ec 144
 

ok so I'm poking around looking at getting something smaller than my 300. Obviously a 200 of one sort or another is at the top of the list. I stumbled onto the husky website and they have a wr 125 for 09 .... hmmm. So thats got me thinking about 125's for the woods. Thats gas gas and husky. 125's being a risky venture, I could always test the waters with a used gasser. maybe if I want some more juice you could 144 it?? that wr is a nice looking bike though.

http://ericgorr.com/supermini144BigBore125service.html

Gas Gas listed under Yamaha.

As far as i hear you cant beat the WR125 for a woods bike. Thats all Husky owners but i like to think its true. I only found one good woods 125 other than that and it was a 99 RM125.

I had my mc 125 bored to 144 last winter. After a little hip cup got sorted out it works great. I mx'ed it all summer with no issues. You can come out of a corner and just roll on the throttle. Now that fall is hear we have been dong some woods riding and it works great there to. It lugs really well and has lot's of bottom. In my opinion it brings it really close to my brothers 200. Only more flickable. I still need to sort the jetting a little bit for woods riding but it works well. The only real reason I went with the 144 in the first place was the fact that the intake boot cracked at a sand race so I had to replate the cylinder anyway. The cost was the same either way.It does require that you clearence your cases though. In hind sight should of had it stroked at the same time to make the 153 as seems to be the best set up. The 125 worked pretty good in the woods too though. Just needed a little tiny more on bottom.

Last year I contemplated doing this as well, getting an EC/MC 125 leftover and building a 144. After doing a lot of research, and talking to a few guys who did other 125s, I decided to forget about it. Concensus was that while some work good, many are prone to reliability problems. Now, perhaps a lot has to do with the builder and how the cylinder is ported, but overall there was a pattern of more problems. The GasGas 125 is very sturdy so perhaps its a better platform for this mod, but the bikes are so scarce there is no history. Just pick up a used 125 of any brand to see if you can get along with the power first, then sell it for what you paid. Also try a 250F.

GasGas, who did your bike? FWIW, some have been happy with EG, others very disappointed.

There are some horror stories associated with this guy for sure so take your chances.

Here is a really good small engine builder in CT. Guy is supposed to do great work. You might want to give him a call and run your ideas through him to see what he thinks.

http://jbonemotorworks.com/index.htm

GasGas, what was the hiccup? Mechanic at the Husky shop I do business has had CR125's bored to 144 and bored and stroked to 153. He prefered the 144, as he thought 153 lost over rev. he was so dissapointed he put a 125 top end back on. He is a real classic 125 guy though... all speed control is with the lever on the left while pinned. He switched to KTM 200 and 250's for awhile, but came back to a Husky 125

GMP, what 125's were having reliability issues? Most people I know have had good luck with EG. It's said that a draw back of EG's kit is that the ring gap on the Wiseco piston is big to start with and has a short life. This may not be much of a change on Japanese bikes, but Euro 125 guys are used to longer ring and piston life. I question his low end porting on some bikes though. Power doesn't seem smooth, he just puts a huge hit down low. I was hoping Husky would offer the Factory Race Team (CHRacing) 144 kit that Antoine Meo has used in European MX/SX and Italian National Enduro Series. There was talk that Husky might import a WR144 kitted bike, but that evaporated.

Yamahas primarily. The GasGas 125 motor is VERY similar to a '98 - '00 era YZ125. You can use a YZ125 piston kit. Since the GasGas 125 cylinder is scarce and VERY expensive, I decided not to bother in case the project was a failure. Plus, the bike was still quite expensive for a leftover. After riding a couple 250Fs and really liking them, I decided that if I downsize that is the route I will take.

The Husky 125 is more established and I suspect more parts are on hand. While I had no major problem getting GG 125 parts, you will never find them in stock. Most of the consumables though cross over to either a YZ or CR 125, and the rest is shared with the bigger GGs.

This is all based on research talking to people who have done it, as I never have, but like Skidad said there are some real horror stories about EG quality and support from reliable sources.

ok so I'll bag the 144 idea ...
Probably best to settle on a new or newer used 200 gg or ktm and then pick up an older used 125 that is close by, used, and cheap, to play and experiment with.

Some bikes respond really well to the 144 kit,, the TM is one of them.. A buddy of mine raced a few 144 tm's and never had issue with reliability.. But this guy has with just about every other bike he touches..