2025 Yamaha YZ125

They say if you can ride a 125cc two-stroke fast, you’re a darn good rider. Yamaha’s YZ125 two-stroke motocrosser isn’t the torquiest of motors, but it has a surprising amount of muscle in the top-end of the powerband. The trick is learning to ride the bike up there, basically with the throttle pinned, your clutch hand working overtime, and banging through gears like it’s going out of style. Although this is definitely not a beginner bike, this type of motorcycle is an excellent learning tool for aspiring motocross racers, as it will first and foremost teach you to carry corner speed.

Yamaha’s YZ125 is one of the few remaining production eighth-liter two-stroke models. These bikes used to dominate the feeder class in the pro ranks of AMA Supercross and Motocross Nationals. It’s rare to see them outside the amateur ranks anymore, but the 125cc two-stroke still has a special place in the hearts of core motocrossers.

The Yamaha YZ125 hasn’t had many major revisions ever since its glory days in the stadiums, but the blue crew keeps the YZ line up to snuff with key updates. For 2025, the YZ125 receives toolless fork compression damping adjust knobs, which is a handy feature for many racers looking to fine-tune suspension settings on the fly. Updated radiators and fresh graphics complete the changes to the little Y-Zinger.

The 2025 Yamaha YZ125 is available in Yamaha blue for $7099 and in black Monster Energy Edition for $7299.