All Duels – Duel RS4 Vs YZF-R125: back to school with six! – The great illusion

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Duel RS4 Vs YZF-R125: the return to full six !

All Duels - Duel RS4 Vs YZF-R125: back to school with six! - The great illusion

With all due respect to purists, the reign of 125 4-stroke sports motorcycles is now established. We therefore organized a duel between the two sharpest representatives of this category: the new Aprilia RS4 and the Yamaha YZF-R125…. Duel 125 !

The great illusion

Inexorably banned from our roads by increasingly drastic antipollution standards, 2-stroke engines have had to give way to 4-stroke units. The advantages of the 2-stroke were however numerous – lightness and power, among others – and particularly interesting for the 125 with sport vocation..

These new 4-stroke motorcycles therefore have their work cut out for them to forget their glorious predecessors, the Yamaha TZR, Honda NSR, Aprilia RS and other Cagiva Mito with breathtaking performance for their displacement….

The "garage door" effect…

At first glance, it is clear that the new Aprilia RS4 (read our) and the Yamaha YZF-R125 (read our) have taken care of their look! These two little sports cars have something to stick with their owners when they rediscover them every morning in the garage..

With their proportions of 600 Supersport, they are extremely rewarding for people who do not have the A license. Moreover, the Italian maintains the mystery to the point of not displaying its capacity. Only a wise eye will recognize in it a 125, betrayed by its simple brake disc, its very fine pneumatic mounting, its small pot and its sound once started..

Equipped like big !

Aprilia has not skimped on the equipment of its 125 RS4: inverted fork, front radial brake caliper, aviation hoses, banana swingarm, etc. The RS4 has nothing to be ashamed of against the latest Superbikes and brazenly cultivates its resemblance to the thunderous RSV4 "Mille".

It does not just take the lines of its big sister since it also borrows its sharp front and rear shell which make up its entire visual identity! Nice for the owners of the 125, but perhaps a little more disappointing for the lucky owners of the 1000 ?

Note that the machine in our test was in a strictly single-seater configuration with its profiled seat cowl. In concession, the RS4 is supplied as standard with a saddle and passenger footrests..

The beautiful Japanese

The Yamaha YZF-R125 is not left out: if its equipment is less flashy than that of its Italian competitor, it is of high quality. Its fork is traditional but its swingarm is reinforced and its braking signed Brembo.

With its sharp double optics and generous size, it could easily be confused with its big sister R6, which keeps getting smaller over the years! But, unlike the Aprilia, the Yamaha assumes its capacity by displaying it on its front face and on its sides. As on the 600, the finish and the care taken in the assembly of the R125 are of high quality.

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