2008 Husqvarna CR125

[fury1]

there was something with that ad,the 2008 cr125s were 3995.00,the bikes that were 1995.0 were older bikes in the crate,maybe 02s?

[MattR]

I have not provided a ride report yet, so I thought I would post my thoughts. I will also add my first impressions on build quality, ease of service, etc.

Ride Report:
Well, it's winter time here in Michigan with trails covered in snow, ice, and frozen dirt. I typically ride all year long and install a set of Trelleborg studded tires for my winter trail rides. As mentioned above, my CR125 currently has a 19" rear wheel. I decided to put in some Kold Kutter screws in the rear tire until I can get a 18" rear wheel built. The downside of Kold Kutter screws is that they only hold up for several rides when using them on the trails. They quickly get angled from the abrasive frozen ground. Not to mention losing some of them while riding. The little 125 is harder on the screws since the rear gets spinning as you get on the pipe.

Engine:
I'm still tweaking my jetting, but I have several rides on my bike now and can give a decent ride report. First, the engine is surprising powerful for a 125. The little lady can really scream as you open the throttle. As the rpms build, you better hold tight because it accelerates very well. It gets addictive to hear it keep singing while accelerating. The lower rpm range is nice for sweeping singletrack. The bike can chug well and since the throttle response off the bottom is a bit slower (compared to my old 250), I can control wheel spin better... that is better modulation of the first 1/4 turn throttle. I'm looking forward to Spring when I get it in the dirt, but so far I enjoy the power characteristics.

Other tid bits... The bike has a cable clutch, but it is extremely light feel to it while riding. It actually feels as light as the hydraulic clutch on my old GasGas TXT280 trials bike. The bike also has a V-Force 3 Reed valve which is nice. Unfortunately, Husky puts a Mikuni TMX 38mm carb on this bike. While I prefer Keihin PWK carbs, I am slowly learning the Mikuni and it is not so bad as I first thought.

Suspension:
The bike has Marzocchi 45mm forks and Sachs rear shock. My first task was to set up the stock suspension for my rider sag. The front spring rate is 4.2 N/mm and rear spring rate is 5.0 kg/mm. I'm about 165 lbs in street clothes, so I was curious how the stock rates would work. Actually, the rear spring rate was decent and yielded 29mm static sag with 101mm rider sag (good ratio). The front spring rate was a bit on the stiff side and yielded 37mm static sag with 55mm rider sag, but the fork needs to break-in still. Then, I initially set the clickers at the standard settings in front and rear. Overall, the suspension has felt well balanced and the damping very good. I have been able to use just clicker adjustments to fine tune the damping. The real truth will be in the Spring when I ride the harder trails up north in Michigan.

Ergonomics and Handling:
The stock bars have a very low profile feel. There are risers under the bar mounts, but I'm planning to install some ProTaper Woods High bars. I will have to see if I keep the extra risers or not. The bars are probably fine for MX use, but I'm just used to higher bars for trail riding (I like to stand while riding). The handlebars/seat/foot peg relationship is comfortable for me at 6 feet tall. It should be noted that the CR125 sits surprising tall. I have a 34 inseam and I touch on the balls of my feet. My GasGas bike allowed me to flat foot while sitting. On the positive side, there is lots of ground clearance to the skid plate.

The overall handling of the bike is excellent. It responds very well to rider input and can change direction quickly. The bike is extremely light feeling and a pleasure to ride. It has a very stable feel like my previous GasGas bikes. It is definitely not twitchy like my old KTM 200EXC... that thing needed a steering damper to be comfortable.


Build Quality and Ease of Maintenance:
Husky uses a zinc chromate (gold colored) plating on most of their fasteners. While this looks nice, they tend to use a softer material grade on the smaller bolts. I noticed this previously on my SM610 and the CR125 is the same way. So you need to be careful on the M6 bolts not to strip them out. The larger bolts like M8, M10, etc. are all high grade structural bolts. Husky typically calls out much higher torque values compared to what GasGas uses (e.g., on rear axle nut or swing arm axle nut). I have went through the entire bike and retorqued critical bolts then paint dotted them. I'm good to go now!

I also disassembled all bearings to inspect for grease. Both wheels had minimal grease in the bearings and outer seals were dry. I repacked them with Bel-Ray grease. The steering head, swing arm, and rear linkage all had decent grease. Husky uses a thin white lithium grease so I repacked them with Bel-Ray. FYI.. a nice feature that Husky does is add grease fittings (zirk) on the rocker arm. This is handy for maintaining the linkage between yearly teardowns.

Overall, the bike has a very clean layout and easy to work on. Part of this is due to the small 125 engine. For example, the spark plug and carb can be easily accessed with the gas tank on... very handy! The air filter is accessed by a Dzuz fastener on the seat. Oil changes are a breeze since the filler hole is easy to fill on the clutch side (it is not hidden like the GasGas bikes). Finally, all of the fastener heads are common between a couple sizes. Most are 8mm, 10mm, 12mm, and 14mm hex head. There are a few allen head, but most are standard hex heads. Definitely fewer tools needed compared to the GasGas bikes.

Conclusion:
So far, the CR125 is living up to my expectations. I am happy with the engine power on my current trail rides. The bike is extremely light weight feeling and responds well to rider's input. I'm really looking forward to testing it this Spring on Michigan's sandy trails and moderate hill climbs. I have a few trails in mind that can definitely test the little tiddler's power.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed my report!

[skid jackson]

might want to double check those front springs
my 08 had .46's up front

[Rick]

Matt,

Nice report concidering the weather and trail conditions. Good luck and enjoy!

[roostafish]

Excellent report. Typical Husky goodness. I love Husky's, at least working on them. Not fond of the skyscraper status, but everything else rocks.

I'm not as tall as you (5'10" 160lbs), but I am also a stand up rider, and crave a good standing position. I have an underbar Scotts damper, which raises everything an inch, but it's not enough with the stock bar. My last bike was outfitted with a Pro Taper Enduro High, which was fine, but I've discovered something new...
I just put on a set of MSR Freestyle bend handlebars. They are really tall, and I mean really really tall. I went with this after trying a friends bike with Pro Taper Ricky Carmichael High bars. After research I found that the MSR bar is not only 2mm higher, but has 2mm more sweep. 121mm high, 56mm pullback, 30.5" wide. Perfect. I didn't go with them because of the 2mm though. Right now there is a introductory price on them, and they come with a sweet bar pad, nice grips, grip doughnuts (don't know what else to call them) and six feet of safety wire. I don't know how your dealer treats you, but they're into them CHEAP, my deal from my local shop was $50! That's a lot of bar for the money.

[GMP]

Matt,

Great post and good luck with the bike.

Does the swingarm still use the needle bearings with the tiny built in seals? If so they are worthless. On my bros '02 250 we found that GasGas bearings, sleeves and seals (or orings) go right in and solve the problem.

Yeah, there is something about Itailan bikes being overtorqued. Make sure you loosen and re-torque the triple clamps, they were crazy tight.

I'm going to spend some time on my nephews GG125 this year. I know what that bike can do. My only complaint about the Husky is the height, as I'm only 5'9".

[fury1]

glenn I bought a nice used 2007 WR125(originally a Hancock WEC bike marc bourgeois)from a friend who added the efm auto and 144 kit,and had the suspension worked by ACE,bike is incredible and has been lowered an inch,such a cheater bike its ridiculous,very light and big power when opened up,even the shorter riders who have tried it love it,if I didnt have an new 2010 four stroke to race,I would be racing it full time as its so much fun,not too old to be competetive and you just dont get tired of riding it,when I raced my gasgas 125 my only complaint was getting stuck on one big hill that I didnt have a run at,maybe I would run into the same problem again,but I think i have some more time racing and would be carrying more speed in the tight stuff now

[freejack]

Hi guys, ive also got a 2008 cr125 , origionally I wanted a GAS GAS ec125 but the but the importer didnt have one, he then offered me a 08 cr 125 at a very good price fitted up with all the WR bits (pipe, flywheel weight, magneto,lights,gearing).
It can only be described as stunning, stacks of power (torquey),light & easy to throw around,very reliable, excellient build quality & quality components.
First mod I did was to removed the bar rises, as im only 5'6 " and I was unable to get it leaned over enough in the tight corners and have the front tracking the way i wanted, I also ride standing most of the time (must be an ex trials thing) & like the huge amounts of room to move.
The only complaint I have is the marzocci forks being harsh at slow(trailriding)speeds, apparently its a valving problem so ill be getting that looked at soon.
Alex