Not one to be outdone, the Honda R&D department is never at rest. Every year each major motorcycle manufacturer does whatever they see possible to out do the other. Sometimes they are firmly planted on the top, not needing to worry about who is below them. In that case, the company may make the usual minor adjustments of "revised porting", and of course, "bold new graphics". Honda has been in that position, numerous times, but now they somewhat need to reprove themselves. By no means has the quality of Honda products decreased over the past few years; Honda's reputation for being one of the most meticulous manufacturers of machinery will never die. But ever since their brave venture into aluminum, they have received mixed reviews. The primary problem with this, as everyone knows, is that the aluminum frame was too rigid. As far as their CR125R is concerned, the motor has been lacking viable power compared to years past.

The company of Honda always has its sights set on the top spot.

But 2002 marks Honda's third generation aluminum twin spar frame. Is it true when they say that the third time is a charm? Yes it is. This year, the Red Engineers focused on shaving weight, and creating even more frame flex with their 125 and 250, to reduce the firm feeling that the aluminum can give. Honda ended up shaving 1.1 pounds from the frame alone. Honda didn't stop there when reducing weight:

• A newly redesigned rear brake saved 11.6 oz (the remote brake reservoir is no longer)
• Aluminum spoke nipples both front and rear dropped 3.5 and 10.6 ounces, respectively
• The swingarm weighs 7 ounces less, yet increases strength by 20%

Note the totally new rear brake design.

Sunrise MX Park is a popular SoCal motocross track way out in the middle of nowhere in Adelanto, CA. Which of course, is the perfect setting for any type of riding. The track itself was dry, slightly rutted, dusty and rough; the perfect testing conditions. We didn't have too much time on the bike, but here is our initial impression:

The most obvious achievement for the guys at Honda was the incredibly light feel of the bike. The Red boys claimed to have removed a full 7 pounds from the '02 CR125! The CR is extremely agile in the air, but with the typical windy conditions in the SoCal high desert, the bike really gets carried away (just as any bike would). But literally, by that achievement, the bike can be put anywhere on the track.

A full seven pounds has been shaved off of the new CR 125!

The light weight feel of the bike definitely goes hand in hand with its excellent handling capabilities. There were very few wide open areas at Sunrise to test high speed stability, but as tested, the bike doesn't have a high speed twitch. Without much fork tuning, the bike cornered quite well also. The track was hard and slick, which made for interesting high speed cornering, although the front end kept it's footing.

First off, the air intake boot is redesigned to increase the amount of air flow into the motor, providing for more mid to top end power. In recent years, top end wasn't the CR's strong point...it was all mid. But now with the new changes and increased air intake capacity, the motor is much better. Does it have more low end? Does any 125 have low end? Compared to the Italian powerhouse of TM, the Honda is a low end monster. I guess it goes off of your own definition of the word. Think of the new CR 125 as having a smoother motor than last year's.

New, slimmer bodywork for '02.

With Kayaba suspension components both front and rear, the ride directly out of the crate was actually balanced on both ends. The KYB rear shock has high and low speed adjustments; 18 positions for the low, and 2 turns for the high, and 30 clicks for the rebound. The Honda's back end tracked steadily when both entering and exiting corners. The only harshness we noticed was choppy exiting bumps out of corners; there were a few in particular that nearly took the bars out of my hands.

The forks didn't give us many problems either. With 18 rebound adjustments, and 20 compression clicks, dialing the forks to one's personal specifications should not be a problem. After inevitably coming up short on some of the doubles at Sunrise as I was warming up, needless to say I came out unscathed. Not at any time did I feel on edge about headshake or general instability, even down the fastest, rough straights of Sunrise MX Park. This is not to say the forks were completely suited for my tastes; both the shock and the fork could use some personalization.

Is it the fastest 125? Honestly, we can't give that opinion, until we spend more time on it and it's competitors. What we can say, is that the 2002 Honda CR125R is once again a refined machine with a strong, smooth motor, excellent handling characteristics, and an overall lightweight package.

Would we race one? Yep.

KGA