Alright, so I’ve been meaning to do this for a while. Got my Kayo TT125, and it’s a blast for trail riding, you know, just messing around. But that little question always pops up: “Just how fast will this thing actually go?” You see numbers thrown around online, but I like to find things out for myself. So, the other day, I decided it was time to get a real-world top speed figure.
First things first, I had to get the bike ready. Didn’t do anything fancy, just the basics. I checked the tire pressure, gave ’em a bit more air than I would for pure dirt. Lubed up the chain, made sure it had the right slack. Checked the oil too, just to be safe. Didn’t want the little engine complaining too much. Safety gear was next – helmet, gloves, decent jacket. Even if it’s not a superbike, tarmac still hurts!
Then came finding a good spot. This was trickier than I thought. I needed a long, flat, and, most importantly, empty stretch of road. Can’t be doing speed runs with cars whizzing by or around blind corners. After a bit of cruising around, I found this quiet access road, pretty straight, hardly any traffic. Looked like the perfect test track for my little experiment.
For measuring the speed, I kept it simple. Just used a GPS speedometer app on my old smartphone. Made sure the phone was charged up and strapped it securely to the handlebars with a decent mount. Double-checked it wasn’t going to fly off mid-run. That would have been a bad end to the day.
So, out on the road, I started with a few warm-up passes. Just getting the engine up to temperature, feeling out the surface. The TT125, it’s got that 4-speed gearbox, so I was just running through the gears, listening to the engine note. It’s a gutsy little motor for its size, I’ll give it that. Doesn’t scream like a race bike, more of a determined thrum.
Then it was time for the actual attempts. I’d start at one end, get a smooth launch, and click through the gears as efficiently as I could. Shift, shift, shift, and then hold it wide open in top gear. I tried to tuck in a bit, you know, get my head down and elbows in, try to reduce some wind resistance. Not sure how much difference it makes on a bike like this, but every little bit helps, right?
I did maybe five or six full-throttle runs. Each time, I’d let it build up speed until it felt like it wasn’t accelerating anymore. The little engine would be buzzing away, working its heart out. You can really feel when it hits its limit. The wind noise gets pretty significant too, even with a full-face helmet.
After the last run, I pulled over and checked the max speed recorded on the app. I was kinda curious to see what it managed. And the number I got was… 51 mph. Yep, fifty-one miles per hour. That was it, flat out, on a level surface with no real wind to speak of.
To be honest, that’s pretty much what I expected. It’s a 125cc air-cooled trail bike, not a road racer. It’s built for fun in the dirt, low-end torque, and being chuckable. Hitting just over 50 mph felt like it was giving its all. It wasn’t scary fast, but you definitely knew you were moving. The bike was stable enough, though, no wobbles or anything weird.
So, there you have it. My little top speed test on the Kayo TT125. It’s not going to win any drag races against bigger bikes, obviously. But for what it is, I reckon that’s a decent enough figure. It was a good bit of fun finding out, and now I know exactly what she’s capable of on a straight run. Back to the trails for this one, I think!
