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Aprilia Tuono 125, Yamaha MT-125 and KTM 125 Duke

125cc naked bikes in a comparison test

Away with the smartphone, boys and girls. Forget twit-snap and insta-chat, because real life happens out on the street. Here 125cc naked bikes turn touchscreen jockeys into real heroes. Which gets the most likes in “real life”? Aprilia Tuono 125, Yamaha MT-125 or KTM 125 Duke?

At the end of the last decade, it felt like an eternity, when the author’s generation clicked through MySpace and StudiVZ, the Yamaha YZF-R 125 swung the undisputed queen of the schoolyard. Introduced in 2008, the bonsai racer quickly became the number one of the young and wild, with its energetic, unbreakable engine, taut frame and, last but not least, the razor-sharp R6 look, it left its mark on the hard drives of many A1 drivers. Until 2011: From then on, KTM shook the Yamsel throne with the 125 Duke: fat tubular space frame, truss swing arm, Superduke look, and, absolutely essential, not only when you’re 16: a wide 150 mm slipper. All of this earned the Duke a lot of thumbs up. Safety-concerned producers soon shared the enthusiasm, because KTM was the first in the class to post an ABS. Immediately afterwards, the blue ones followed with the anti-lock device, stripping the R 125 as part of this facelift M.T-125 and gave it a little more everyday comfort. Nice collateral damage in the duel of the super lightweights: In the mutual arms race, Yamaha and KTM have created a lot of young motorcyclists – MOTORRAD likes that.

Aprilia Tuono 125, Yamaha MT-125 and KTM 125 Duke

125cc naked bikes in a comparison test

Tuono 125 definitely has what it takes to become the new superstar in the eight-liter class.

But even the 125 Duke doesn’t have to hide after the recent Euro 4 refresh, on the contrary. It now has a full LED face with a lot of built-in overtaking prestige along with an LED rear view and a rather impressive digital cockpit. This not only offers a generous range of functions, but can also be connected to the smartphone via Bluetooth if you wanted to. In any case, all of these features seem to have been taken directly from the three sizes larger 1290 Superduke. Trellis frame goes without saying at KTM, and recently the rear has even been screwed on, which pleases stunt drivers – and those who want to become one. The close relationship to the 390 Duke, which also rolls off the production line in India, is evident on every corner. The smallest duke inherits many fine identical parts from her. On top of that, the KTM unit hangs much more format-filling in the chassis than the Aprilia drive, which, depending on the angle of view, seems a bit lost in the aluminum bridge frame.

In view of these two skilfully full-blown appearances, Yamaha’s MT-125 appears more reserved, compact and filigree. This understatement should not be misleading, however, as the comparison between the technically identical small racers RC 125 and YZF-R 125 has shown, the Yamaha is the reference of the class for the time being. Like the R-sister, the MT-125 does this primarily with an engine that delivers the permitted maximum power of 15 hp with comparatively effortlessness and with an evenly powerful development of power. Long-stroke design, relatively narrow throttle valve diameter – that puts pressure in the middle, and the Yamaha has noticeably more of that than the others. In conjunction with the clearly noticeable weight advantage of around ten kilograms, this also allows you to shift gears at medium speed instead of constantly having to squeeze the engine all the way out. Nevertheless, the whisk turns up happily, hangs perfectly on the gas, hardly vibrates and delights with a low consumption of 2.4 liters on a quick lap. In addition, there is an extremely smooth clutch and a decent transmission with an ideal final ratio – Epic Win Yamaha drive.

The Aprilia Tuono 125 grabs its teeth by this benchmark. Although the four-valve engine, which is also water-cooled, delivers a similar power output at its peak, it needs significantly more speed and always lags behind by 2.3 hp in direct comparison on the way there. Designed with a very short stroke and with a larger throttle valve diameter, the engine looks as if it had been designed for more top performance, which it is not allowed to have – the result is a perceived lack of torque. The Aprilia struggles up to more than 11,000 turns, vibrates sensitively – sports fans find this electrifying – and is rewarded for this with increased consumption at the petrol pump, on average three liters. After all, a well-metered clutch rotates in the Italian’s engine housing, next to which the Yamaha counterpart looks a bit limp, and her transmission shifts with longer distances, but very smoothly.

If the Tuono has to admit defeat to the strong MT in terms of engine power, the chassis, which has always been the great strength of the Aprilians, looks much happier. "#Bearacer", stickers on the rims and tank encourage, and feel like a racer, the Tuono driver can do that smoothly. The spring elements are not overly sensitive, but the typical Noale miracle mixture of accuracy and balance, binding stability and neutral steering behavior over the entire lean angle range, the Tuono was also born from the cradle. That also turns the eight-liter thunder into a real match. Full throttle, keep speed like in blissful two-stroke times, take momentum with you, clean line. However, the conditions should be warm and dry because the first tire, Mitas MC 25 “Bogart” (100 / 80-17 and 130 / 70-17, like Yamaha) probably scores more with astronomical mileage than with good wet or cold grip. The tire rolls too stiffly, it reports back too diffusely, only hesitantly inspires confidence. The slightly more manageable, but not quite as stable in a large lean angle, Yamaha can do better with its Michelin Pilot Street.

The Austrian from India can do it even better: KTM appearance. Thanks to lush, high-quality Metzeler tires of the type Sportec M5 (110 / 70-17 and 150 / 60-17), the 125 Duke feels the most grown-up, like the most motorcycle. The KTM turns in full and good-natured, making it easy for beginners to practice clean driving. In addition, the Yamaha seems almost overhanded. In addition, the M5 not only has clear grip advantages, it also communicates this to the driver more reliably. A good thing, especially when most of the teenagers who tend to be clammy will probably not swap a weak initial tire for better material and instead have to struggle with wooden tires for two years. But not only the initial tires on the 125 Duke have improved as part of the facelift (it used to have MRF tires), the chassis and brakes also received useful updates. The developers gave the Little Duke somewhat harder springs and higher quality dampers. The chassis, which was once much too soft, was made for poor emerging market asphalting and has now become one that works comfortably with proper damping, but dampens the chassis movement in a controlled manner. More followers for the KTM chassis.

On the other hand, there is a less comfort-oriented, very tight, sporty-direct tuning of the MT-125. Especially at the rear, the Yamaha springs so crisp that it continues to drive completely unimpressed even with a pillion on the (albeit extremely spartan) seat bun. Duke and Tuono offer more space, but lose some of their sovereignty as a couple.

The Duke’s brake system, which comes from the Indian Brembo subsidiary Bybre, has recently been fitted with sintered metal linings, which significantly improves the braking effect compared to the previous model. Firm pressure point, firm bite, proper dosage with little hand strength – no rebuke. As with the chassis, the Mattighofen team listened to criticism and consistently improved it. The Aprilia stoppers come from the Spanish supplier J. Juan and do not reach this level. Radially mounted four-piston pliers also pinch a 300 single disc, which also has at least a satisfactory effect, but the pressure point is rather doughy and the required manual force is too high. The Aprilia’s single-channel ABS left an ambivalent impression. The anti-lock device only works at the front, you can slide freely at the rear. That takes some getting used to, the two-channel systems from KTM (can even be switched off, do not tell anyone) and Yamaha work better and more safely.

In general, the MT-125 cannot be cracked on the brakes. The radial brake caliper presses the pads against the 292-millimeter disc with such vehemence that it would also look good on some larger machines. Brilliant bite, little manual force, fine control – even in pairs, the MT still lifts the rear wheel when measuring the brakes, which, thanks to reliable ABS, remains uncritical. The Tuono pilot will hardly get into this embarrassment.

In terms of engine performance, the 125 Duke is close to the Yamaha. Their slight lag when accelerating seems to be due to the slight extra weight, which in turn is due to the strong construction adopted from the 390 Duke. Also designed with a short stroke, the KTM stays with the Yamaha with a slightly higher speed level. Our test motorcycle delivered a generous 17 hp on the test bench, but it is in such a narrow window that it doesn’t really matter in practice. Ultimately, it is not the machine that decides whether to win or lose at the traffic light and on the motorway, but rather the bathroom scales and clothing size of the crew.

Finally, in terms of price, the three 125ccs don’t give each other the slightest gift: Including ancillary costs, just under 5000 euros are due – unfortunately a young YouTuber has to knit a hell of a lot of videos for this.

MOTORCYCLE test result

1. Yamaha MT-125

No other eight-liter naked offers more engine, more brakes, more ultra-direct handling. Technically, the cleanly made Yamaha remains the benchmark for its class. The MT-125 goes off like cat videos.

2. KTM 125 Duke

The KTM is the most motorcycle in this field. Good engine, confident, pleasing driving behavior, unbeatable equipment, extremely adult appearance. Regardless of whether it is the schoolyard or Instagram, the Duke is awesome.

3rd Aprilia Tuono 125

The offspring of the hottest of all power nakes conveys a lot of the image of the big sister. The driving behavior itself also brings this across, but the others get more likes for the engine, chassis and especially the initial tires.

Price comparison of the 125cc naked bikes

Used 125cc naked bikes in Germany

Both on the road and in terms of price, the Aprilia Tuono 125, the KTM 125 Duke and the Yamaha MT-125 don’t give one another. Unless you visit the used motorcycle market. There you can find these 125cc naked bikes in large numbers at low prices: Used 125cc naked bikes in Germany

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