2019 Yamaha YZF-R12528th September 2018 VVA | Slipper clutch | 41mm front fork | Deltabox ◄PREVIOUS STORY NEXT STORY► Yamaha's YZF-R125 has for more than ten years been at the top of its game, and it's easy to see why. Perfect poise. Lightweight construction. Competitively priced. Reliable. Good handling. Very nicely styled and, all-importantly, firmly in tune with its target market. Naturally, when you've got the right formula and the cash tills are steadily ringing, you're not in a rush to change things (ask Triumph about the Speed Triple). But to avoid staleness things have to change. And in that regard, Yamaha has been cautiously nudging along the YZF with minor upgrades and updates, mostly cosmetic. However, for 2019 the firm has made a more significant leap forward with the YZF-R125 notably by the addition of VVA (Variable Valve Actuation), a new aluminium swinging arm, a redesigned Deltabox frame, a revised 41mm front fork and a slipper clutch (the first we can remember on a bike such as this). And naturally, the stylists have been at work freshening the design and keeping the model recognisably the same, but fundamentally different. Yamaha has actually told us very little about the new bike, technology wise. So we don't understand yet exactly how the VVA works in this context, suffice to say for now that two inlet cam profiles have been incorporated into a new cylinder head with one profile serving the interests of low engine revolutions and high torque, whilst the other profile hits the high notes and gets this Yam on the boil. Different manufacturers use different techniques to achieve this effect from solenoids to mechanically shifted cams. But the results are much the same even though the engines have been more complex in order to meet the demands of the emissions legislators and the needs of the sporting customer. Maximum power is, naturally, likely to stay at 14.7hp to keep within the learner legal limits. And the lights, by the way, are LED front and rear which is practically de rigueur these days. There are no prices, and no firm delivery date for UK bikes. We expect to see and hear more of these come the 2019 Intermot Show on 3rd - 7th October.
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