The YW125 seems to be one awesome scooter. It’s got decent storage under the seat (5.5 gallons), rugged looks and an new fuel injected, 4-valve engine. The new engine is supposedly quite a bit faster than the 125cc engine Yamaha is still using in the Vino 125. These engines are entirely different. The Vino 125 now lags this scooter in power, fuel economy and ease of starting. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the Vino 125 get a short case version of this engine soon.
Perhaps the reason Yamaha opted to keep the fuel tank small is to maximize the underseat storage capacity. If you’ve read a lot of the pages on this site, you may have noticed I highly value storage capacity. If the reason for the compromise is indeed to increase the underseat storage space then I’m all for the 1.6 gallon tank
Top speed of this scooter is about 95km/hr (57-58mph) which is enough for most roads but not really highway material. My YW125 accelerates briskly to 80km/hr (50mph) and then it wanders higher from there. 55mph is easily achievable in normal conditions. For owners who want more speed, lots of performance parts are already available including substancial big bore kits (www.samuraiscoot.com). I feel compelled to mention to Canadians that for $700 less than the BW’s 125 you can buy a Honda CBR125R. As a previous CBR125 owner, I can say that I like the YW125 better because there’s something charming and fun about small scooters and because the underseat storage blows away the CBR125, but the CBR is still worth considering. On paper the CBR125 makes a pretty strong case with liquid cooling, a rear disc brake and an extra 15mph for $700 less.
How about the rest of this scooter? There are a few main qualities that I look for a scooter (besides the engine) which are storage, comfort, quality and style. Being a Yamaha, you know the quality is good. From what I’ve read, the comfort of this scooter is mixed. It has enough room to accommodate larger riders
One small gripe is that it looks like Yamaha passed up an easy opportunity to give us a glove box. Perhaps it would have interfered with knee room too much but it looks like it could have been done. I really like having both a glove box and underseat storage so that you have place for your small stuff (ownership, insurance, spare gloves etc) and then a larger compartment for....well, larger stuff. Yamaha does sell a ‘front basket’ (below) for the left side of the inner legshield, but this ‘basket’ is really a cupholder and less usable than a lockable cubby hole would be, although it would be nice to have both.
What about the style? Well I’m sure you’ve already pretty much made up your mind, but I think Yamaha did quite a nice job. The only areas I don’t like are the headlights and the mirrors, both of which are easily changed. I think the ‘bug eye’ headlights and mirrors both look out of place because they are overly cute compared to the rest of the scooter. I do understand that Yamaha had their hands tied with the headlights because these are one of the main design elements of the smaller BWs/Zuma and I applaud Yamaha for staying true to that design. Compared to what Honda did with the clunky Big Ruckus, Yamaha did a nice job of updated the style without losing the essence. If you wish, you can replace the cute round mirrors with aftermarket ones and replace the headlights with the Euro spec ones. Overseas, this scooter is sold with a different single headlight array that I think is quite nice. You can convert your BWS/Zuma 125 to this setup for under $200. See the photo at the bottom of this page for a look at the Euro headlight.
Overall, I think Yamaha has a winner on their hands. The main reason I think this scooter is going to be successful is because Yamaha has managed to keep this a small scooter. Yamaha has created a powerful and fun small scooter, not an underpowered maxi-scooter. All the key dimensions of the YW125 are within an inch or two of its 50cc sibling. This is a big part of why this scooter retains that fun vibe to it. This scooter really is the same Zuma of old but with twice the motor and improved new styling. If you’ve got an extra grand to burn, the 125cc version of this scooter is the way to go.
Pros:
* Fuel injected, 4-valve, 4-stroke engine
* Rugged looks
* Catalytic converter
* Kickstand and centerstand
* Ceramic cylinder coating
* Nice looking rims
* Price
Cons:
* Air cooled
* No kickstarter
* Oversized muffler
Links:
MotorscooterGuide Forums - Visit the forum on this site to chat about this scoot.
YW125 Service Manual - Very helpful for anyone who works on their own scooter.
BikeBandit.com - Good for looking up OEM parts
BWs 125 Review - Awesome and humorous write up by the fine folks at CMGonline
Moto125 BWS125 Review - Nice writeup
Yamaha Website - Here’s Yamaha’s page on the YW125
Samurai Scoot - Lots of YW125 aftermarket parts
Key Specs:
* MSRP: $2999 (US) / $4199 (Canada)
* Engine: 4-stroke, air-cooled (fan assist), SOHC, 4-valve, single
* Displacement: 125 cc
* Bore and Stroke: 52.4 x 57.9mm
* Compression Ratio: 10 : 1
* Maximum Torque: 7 ft-lb. @ 6,000 rpm
* Fuel Delivery: 24mm throttle body fuel injection
* Estimated Fuel Consumption: 38kpl / 89mpg (This is assuming you travel at a steady 25mph).
* Lubrication: Wet Sump
* Ignition: TCI / Electric Start
* Transmission: Fully Automatic
* Final Drive: V-belt / Spur gear
* Suspension: (Front/Rear): 27mm fork / Dual shock unit swingarm
* Brakes (Front/Rear): 220mm Disc / 150mm Drum
* Tires (Front/Rear): 120/70-12 / 130/70-12
* Length: 1,910mm (75.2'')
* Width: 765mm (30.1'')
* Height: 1,110mm (43.7'')
* Wheelbase: 1,290mm (50.8'')
* Ground Clearance: 125mm (4.9")
* Seat Height: 780mm (30.7'')
* Fuel Capacity: 6 litres (1.3 Imp. gal.)
* Wet Weight: 122 kg (268.4 lb)
Colors:
2009: Yamaha Blue, Metallic Black, Calm Yellow
2010: Team Yamaha Blue, Alpine White
Overseas the YW125 gets a different headlight setup:
