2026 Yamaha WR125R Review — First Ride

Clearly, I’m not exactly a new rider. But I’m also not an off-road rider either. My comfort level in the dirt tops out at fire roads, which makes me part of the target audience for the WR. It’s small, lightweight, dirt-capable, and easy to ride, which is exactly what I need off-road. Lastly, Yamaha thinks its tertiary market for the WR125R are people who will throw it on the back of their RVs when they go on vacation. These three types of riders are on different ends of the riding spectrum, and Yamaha feels this is what makes it attractive. There’s something here for everyone.

The WR125R is built around a liquid-cooled, fuel-injected 125cc Single with Variable Valve Actuation (VVA) on the intake cam, which means it uses two different cam profiles to keep torque-friendly down low and power alive up top. An electronic servo motor switches between the two cam profiles at 7,400 rpm. If you’re new to motorcycles and have no idea what that means, in plain English, it’s simply this: it doesn’t feel gutless when you’re pulling away from a stop, and it doesn’t run out of power and fall flat on its face when you rev it out. Of course, all of this comes with the caveat that we’re dealing with a 125cc engine. So we’re not talking about a lot of power in the first place. And don’t forget: we’re not freeway legal either. Not that you’ll want to go there on this bike — the wee little engine needs a tailwind and a decline to hit 65 mph. Actually, I never found enough runway to hit 60.

For brand-new riders — like truly new riders with zero experience — this is what you need. The throttle response is clean, predictable, and forgiving. You can make mistakes on the WR125R without big consequences. Being fuel-injected, you don’t have to worry about idle speeds, chokes, or anything else carburetor-related, as you would on Yamaha’s own TW200. Simply press the button, and the bike starts and comes to a nice idle.

On pavement, there’s no getting around the fact that the little engine is going to be spinning. That said, there’s adequate torque off the line to not feel totally vulnerable. You have six gears to work through, also, and you’ll be using them often. Shifts are smooth and easy, clutch pull is nice and light. VVA is a worthwhile technology: at 7,400 rpm, the VVA indicator illuminates on the LCD dash, and though you can’t discern any noticeable difference at the moment the cam profiles switch, you do feel the end result. As the engine keeps spinning towards its 12,000 rpm redline, it keeps on pulling. Again, it’s not fast, but it’ll get you there.

Chassis & Suspension

Don’t expect anything extravagant on a $3,999 motorcycle. Yamaha equips the WR125R with a 41mm KYB right-side-up fork and a linkage-type KYB shock. All you can change on it is rear preload. They offer 8.5 inches of travel in front and 7.3 inches in the rear. Suspension tuning is aimed more towards overall comfort on-road and off rather than all-out performance. Still, ridden at a mellow pace that most newbs, myself included, ride at, most of the obstacles you’ll find on a Jeep trail or fire road won’t upset it.

As someone who’s more comfortable leaning into a corner than standing on pegs, the 21-inch front and 18-inch rear wheel combo requires a slight tug to start a turn on the road, but then the WR tracks smoothly afterward. Dunlop D605 tires have the requisite knobs for easy dirt riding while not being too aggressive for the street. Thankfully, those wheel sizes should offer ample tire offerings, should you want to get more or less aggressive.

You don’t need the brakes much on the WR, but when you do, a single 267mm disc in front with a two-piston caliper and 220mm rotor in the back with a single-piston caliper have you covered. Rubber lines feed the fluid to both ends. Again, these are far from state-of-the-art pieces, but are wholly adequate for the job at hand. Despite its price tag, the WR does come with one modern electronic safety feature: ABS. Well, only in the front, and you can’t switch it off. The front-only ABS is there to keep you from panic-grabbing the brake lever, locking the wheel, and either slamming yourself into the dirt or pavement — a somewhat common occurrence for new riders. There’s no ABS in the back, so some caution is needed when using the rear brake on the road, but you want to be able to lock the back tire in the dirt to slow down quickly.

Ergonomics

One look at the photos, and if you’ve never heard of the WR125 before, you can tell that it’s nothing like, say, the Honda Grom. This is an off-road-inspired design, highlighted by the upright, slim, motocross-like layout. The seat is flat and is also 34.3 inches off the ground. That’s high in most cases, but the bodywork is narrow, the suspension compresses a little once you sit on it, and the suspension is soft enough that my 5-foot, 8-inch frame and 30-inch inseam could easily put both feet on the ground. A tiny scooch to one side, and I could firmly place an entire foot on the ground.

The reach to the bars felt natural to me when sitting, and it was mostly fine when standing, though if I were to split a very fine hair, slightly taller bars would have been nice. The pegs are fairly narrow, but have decent grip, so there’s little fear of your boot slipping off. On-road, the rider triangle is very neutral and manageable. I never felt like the bike was too tall, too wide, or too awkward to manage. I needed that extra bit of confidence in the dirt.

Tech

The WR125R keeps things simple, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come sprinkled with a few bits of modernity. Beyond the aforementioned fuel injection and ABS, there’s also a compact LCD dash, LED split-lens headlights, and most interesting of all, the WR125R has Yamaha’s Y-Connect smartphone connectivity. So you can get call/text notifications while riding, while also being able to log your ride to share with friends later. Lastly, and not surprisingly, the little 125cc engine is extremely economical on gas, with Yamaha claiming it can get up to 200 miles from its 2.1-gallon tank. 

The Takeaway

Let’s be honest: if you’ve read this far you realize this is a motorcycle meant for the greenest of riders looking to explore the world of dirt and pavement riding. Either that or you have a collection of bikes and want a toy to play with at the campground. If you have the maturity to read this far into this review knowing something little like this would be a good match for your budding skillset, then you’d be right. The name of the game here is learning, and the WR125R is a great learning tool. Here you can learn the fundamentals of riding both on-road and off with little intimidation or fear — and that’s entirely the point. Add in the low cost, and it all makes sense. If you’ve been on the fence about giving two wheels a try, let the WR125R be your gateway.

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