MXA TEAM TESTED: UFO YELLOW YZ125/YZ250 RESTYLE KIT

WHAT IS IT? Do you remember the Bob Hannah Yamaha plastics kit from One Industries? It turned your YZ250F or YZ450F into a yellow and black YZ a la the Bob Hannah era. It is gone, but UFO has come out with a totally new yellow plastics kit for the YZ125 and YZ250 two-strokes (to go along with its white, blue and black restyle kits).

WHAT’S IT COST? $239.99 (yellow), $229.99 (blue, black, white).

CONTACT? www.ufoplasticusa.com or (815) 756-9400.

WHAT STANDS OUT? Here’s a list of things that stand out with UFO Plastic’s YZ125/YZ250 restyle kit.

(1) Concept. Yamaha YZ125 and YZ250 two-stroke owners love their bikes but hate how old they look. So, UFO Plastics decided to take a chance and design modern-looking plastic to mimic the 2013 Yamaha YZ250F design. It was a gamble, but it paid off. UFO has had trouble keeping the original blue kits in stock.

(2) Design. Modern design trends—in everything from automobiles to toasters to motocross bikes—are dominated by words like “edge,” “crease,” “arrow,” “cant,” “light lines” and “cladding.” None of those words are associated with the old-school, rounded-plastic silhouette of the YZ125 or YZ250. To update the two-stroke’s looks, UFO decided to copy the 2013 Yamaha YZ250F plastic design. It comes from the arrow design school. Why is it called “arrow design”? Because every line, angle, crease and edge ends in a point. From the tip of the front fender to the tip of the rear fender, the YZ250F is shaped like an arrowhead. Very strident. Very pointy. Very edgy. Very modern. MXA can’t say that we love Yamaha’s arrow design, but at least it looks up to date.

(3) Restyle kit. Two-strokes already suffer the liability of being considered passé. They don’t need the burden of looking old-fashioned too. The $239.99 yellow kit includes radiator shrouds, side panels, a front number plate, a rear fender and front fender (all designed and drilled to fit on the two-stroke’s chassis).

(4) Installation. With the exception of the need to transfer the aluminum collars from the stock YZ125/YZ250 plastic to the UFO parts, every piece of the UFO restyle kit bolted on with ease. Not only did every part line up perfectly, but the quality was superb. We ordered a graphics kit from Fusion to fit the new plastic—because YZ250F graphics kits will not work on the YZ125/YZ250 restyle kit.

WHAT’S THE SQUAWK? It won’t make you any faster, but it will make you feel better about racing a bike that hasn’t see a major upgrade since 2006.