YAMAHA XSR125 (2021 - on) Review

The Yamaha XSR125’s non-adjustable 37mm forks and rear shock are nothing short of excellent. Firm but forgiving, there’s 130mm of travel up front and minimal dive under hard braking.

Ruts and potholes are dispatched in comfort - aided by the supportive rolled bench seat that manages to provide both style and substance. The rear shock is the same KYB unit as the one found in the R125.

At town speeds the bike needs minimal rider input for quick changes of direction - likely to make filtering through congestion a piece of cake - and turning mini roundabouts, empty carparks and sleeping policemen into your own little Gymkhana course. I wish bigger bikes were as much of a giggle below 40mph.

This is helped further by the non-adjustable, one-finger-light clutch lever - however I’d have personally liked it a touch closer for my short digits.

It’s an equally impressive performance when you turn up the wick on a back road too, with the R125-derived chassis working in tandem with the chunky springs to provide bags of stability whether you’re extracting the last few mph from the top end on a long straight or barrelling into your favourite set of bends and leaning on the front.

The only area of the chassis that the two bikes differ on is the subframe, with the XSR getting a tweak to accommodate its classic look and relatively large pillion pad.

Both beginners and experienced riders will be impressed, with the chunky 17in IRC TrailWinner D211 tyres gripping without fault on our sweltering test day to inspire big lean angles, helped further by the impressive ground clearance.

Although great fun to hurl around beneath you, what’s also welcome is the physical size of the bike. It may only weigh 140kg dripping wet, but the bars are wide and the tank broad - giving you the feeling of riding something much bigger without any of the excess timber. There’s also a decent reach to the pegs, which will make life easier for taller riders and the mirrors are excellent.

It’s all-day comfortable and, despite its big bike feel, remains accommodating to shorter riders and novices, thanks to being so narrow between your legs and a seat height of 815mm. That said, Yamaha’s own MT-125 offers a 5mm lower perch.

For all its good bits though, the XSR is slightly let down by its braking set up, which lacks any real bite or feel and can occasionally feel underpowered at speed if you’re really tramping on.

Equipped with ABS at the front and rear, a firm stamp will still lock up the back end which could catch out novices and the front system will kick in over cracks in the road when you’ve applied a big handful.

There’s also no real feedback to the rider, lacking any initial bite and sometimes requiring a dab of the rear when scrubbing off lots of speed. It’s not the end of the world and a new rider isn’t likely to notice it, but it becomes noticable when the rest of the package is so good.