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SPECS · PICS · RATING
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Review of the 1973 DKW RT 125 E:1972 DKW 125 motocross |
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Author: Stu, 2010-05-31, viewed 349 times. | ||||||
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Wonderfully unconventional and capable 125 dirt bike. | ||||||
| The 1972 DKW (not Hercules yet silly people) was a bit unconventional, but if you knew how to use it its strengths it could do some amazing things. Loved the strong bullet proof cool running motor. Would run hard daily for a couple years before any top end work was necessary- fared far better than the jap bikes of the day. Machinist boring these commented about the alloy being far harder to cut. The big aluminum fins and sunburst head gave the impression of being larger- some even thought at first glance it may be a 400. But you could run hard then place a gloved hand briefly right on the head- try that with most air cooled bikes! The 1972 was still an ´A motor´, meaning it had the 5 speed gearbox which too easily missed shifts (often accompanied by rider profanity). But the aftermarket selector shaft was a very effective fix. The A motor had a heavy flywheel which resulted in us never being able to beat an Elsinore, RM, or YZ in a drag race, but had very controllable power and excellent hill climbing ability. We easily ran with the 250´s in the most gnarly hills. Going back down usually had us grinning as our leading link front suspension actually extended making it far more comfortable than the compressing telescopic forks most have. Many of these hills were steep enough to make walking entirely impossible- a little too much front brake and you quickly find out what it is like to be run over by your own bike- at least when equipped with conventional forks. It was essentially impossible to hurt that front end. Made it a bit harder to wheelie but that was a trade-off I´ll take any day! A couple years later bikes started spouting longer and longer suspension. The Deke needed more in the back- no question. But that front could have remained viable for a few more years in my opinion. |
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