Checking about reeds one last time before I buy..

[Longtrail23]

Ive done a bit of research on reeds for my 2001 CR125 and from what I gather the V-Force 3 & Boyesen Rad Valve are going to yield slight gains.  Which one will do the best in my application is the question. I got ahold of a dyno printout from Boyesen and it improves a bit over stock, I imagine the V-Force is about the same.. I plan to bore up to a 134 and already have an FMF SST & Shorty silencer. With these modifications on this bike what would anyone out there with experience reccomend? I am unbiased and would love to hear some suggestions, preferably from somone who has built/worked with a few 125's.

Thank you as always for the tech information I love to learn!!

[G-MONEY]

I think it boils down to personal preference. Some folks will swear one is better than the other on most any after market part you run into. This may hold true for specific riding conditions but, are all your rides exactly the same? Do you ride the same track under identical conditions every time?

For me and this is just MY OPINION I look at the construction of the component. If you plan on keeping this bike you will have to replace the rubber intake boot due to fuel and uv rays will dry it out it wiil crack and begin to leak. RAD-VALVE has a resonably priced replacement, V-FORCE lets you buy a factory replacement from Honda.

RAD-VALVE is made from aluninium and the internal chamber can be polished.V-FORCE is plastic.I have removed SEVERAL V-FORCES from snowmobiles and the cages are crack ofcoarse its from some monkey tightening it to much but would that happen if it was constructed from metal? JUST MY OPINION

[Rota Ash]

ok i don't have a cr125, but i just today installed a set of boyeson pro series dual stage reedS to the stock cage  of the RM250 , it was a back to back test as i took it for a morning ride , got home and found the reeds had rocked up, so i slapped them in and took it for a ride, pretty much best bang for buck improvement not much diff to bottom end but midrange and top is awesome, i have a gnarly pipe and shorty so i already have enough bottom end, the bike is a weapon now!!!

[ford832]

My favorite reed.You will find a difference bottom to top if switching from stock but it is mandatory to rejet to realize the gain.Over the years on every 2t I've had I've found 2 sizes leaner on both main and pilot is a good start-otherwise it will blubber on the bottom and not clean out on top.

[Longtrail23]

what did you say your favorite reed was? And yes I definitely am expecting to re-jet

[Rota Ash]

http://www.boyesen.com/cwo.php?store=boyesen&vehicle_id=324&parent_category_id=20&category_id=18&product_id=1586
i think he meant these

[Longtrail23]

Oh those, thanks for clearing that up. I still am leaning more on a whole new cage though such as the rad of V-force3

[ford832]

Oops,mis type.Boyesen pro series.Some of the vforce you have to cut the intake which is fine-unless you want to go back to stock.

[Chokey]

I think it boils down to personal preference. Some folks will swear one is better than the other on most any after market part you run into. This may hold true for specific riding conditions but, are all your rides exactly the same? Do you ride the same track under identical conditions every time?

For me and this is just MY OPINION I look at the construction of the component. If you plan on keeping this bike you will have to replace the rubber intake boot due to fuel and uv rays will dry it out it wiil crack and begin to leak. RAD-VALVE has a resonably priced replacement, V-FORCE lets you buy a factory replacement from Honda.

RAD-VALVE is made from aluninium and the internal chamber can be polished.V-FORCE is plastic.I have removed SEVERAL V-FORCES from snowmobiles and the cages are crack ofcoarse its from some monkey tightening it to much but would that happen if it was constructed from metal? JUST MY OPINION

I completely agree. The Rad Valve is of very high quality. They are made from CNC machined aluminum, and each model is specifically flow-tuned for the engine it is intended for. As long as you know how to jet properly, the Rad Valve will produce measurable and noticeable gains in actual power output through nearly the entire rev range.

The V-Force, on the other hand, is made of rather cheap injection-molded plastic, and rather than being individually tuned for each specific bike model, they are "one-size-fits-all". The V-Force will make for a slight improvement in throttle response, but it won't significantly alter the actual hp numbers.

And I would never use a V-Force, for one simple reason:

[G-MONEY]

A picture is worth a thousand words............

[RideRedMx2]

I think it boils down to personal preference. Some folks will swear one is better than the other on most any after market part you run into. This may hold true for specific riding conditions but, are all your rides exactly the same? Do you ride the same track under identical conditions every time?

For me and this is just MY OPINION I look at the construction of the component. If you plan on keeping this bike you will have to replace the rubber intake boot due to fuel and uv rays will dry it out it wiil crack and begin to leak. RAD-VALVE has a resonably priced replacement, V-FORCE lets you buy a factory replacement from Honda.

RAD-VALVE is made from aluninium and the internal chamber can be polished.V-FORCE is plastic.I have removed SEVERAL V-FORCES from snowmobiles and the cages are crack ofcoarse its from some monkey tightening it to much but would that happen if it was constructed from metal? JUST MY OPINION

I completely agree. The Rad Valve is of very high quality. They are made from CNC machined aluminum, and each model is specifically flow-tuned for the engine it is intended for. As long as you know how to jet properly, the Rad Valve will produce measurable and noticeable gains in actual power output through nearly the entire rev range.

The V-Force, on the other hand, is made of rather cheap injection-molded plastic, and rather than being individually tuned for each specific bike model, they are "one-size-fits-all". The V-Force will make for a slight improvement in throttle response, but it won't significantly alter the actual hp numbers.

And I would never use a V-Force, for one simple reason:

Ok OK We get it you guys dont like the V-Force......Just one thing Chokey do you have any proof to back up your claims?"the Rad Valve will produce measurable and noticeable gains in actual power output through nearly the entire rev range."....."and rather than being individually tuned for each specific bike model, they are "one-size-fits-all"............I've run the V-Force for 10 years now on many different bikes and never had so much as a reed petal chip  

[dogger315]

I've run the V-Force for 10 years now on many different bikes and never had so much as a reed petal chip

Same here, plus the 2 and 3 offer improved throttle response and a noticeable gain from low to mid.
When Tom Morgan was building my race engines, they were always equipped with VForce reeds, and
some of those engines were scary fast motors of doom.

I like the Boyesen for 125s because it does provide a gain throughout the power band, but I prefer
the Moto Tassinari for 250s and 500s.

dogger

[juliend]

In my experience the benefit from using boyesen's power reeds in your stock cage is so close to the vforce/rad valve in performance, the extra money spent on the aftermarket cage is simply not worth it. That money would be better spent elsewhere. However, if you want every tiny bit you can get, then you will see some gain going with either the rad valve or the vforce cage.

[Chokey]

I think it boils down to personal preference. Some folks will swear one is better than the other on most any after market part you run into. This may hold true for specific riding conditions but, are all your rides exactly the same? Do you ride the same track under identical conditions every time?

For me and this is just MY OPINION I look at the construction of the component. If you plan on keeping this bike you will have to replace the rubber intake boot due to fuel and uv rays will dry it out it wiil crack and begin to leak. RAD-VALVE has a resonably priced replacement, V-FORCE lets you buy a factory replacement from Honda.

RAD-VALVE is made from aluninium and the internal chamber can be polished.V-FORCE is plastic.I have removed SEVERAL V-FORCES from snowmobiles and the cages are crack ofcoarse its from some monkey tightening it to much but would that happen if it was constructed from metal? JUST MY OPINION

I completely agree. The Rad Valve is of very high quality. They are made from CNC machined aluminum, and each model is specifically flow-tuned for the engine it is intended for. As long as you know how to jet properly, the Rad Valve will produce measurable and noticeable gains in actual power output through nearly the entire rev range.

The V-Force, on the other hand, is made of rather cheap injection-molded plastic, and rather than being individually tuned for each specific bike model, they are "one-size-fits-all". The V-Force will make for a slight improvement in throttle response, but it won't significantly alter the actual hp numbers.

And I would never use a V-Force, for one simple reason:

Ok OK We get it you guys dont like the V-Force......Just one thing Chokey do you have any proof to back up your claims?"the Rad Valve will produce measurable and noticeable gains in actual power output through nearly the entire rev range."....."and rather than being individually tuned for each specific bike model, they are "one-size-fits-all"............I've run the V-Force for 10 years now on many different bikes and never had so much as a reed petal chip  

What kind of "proof" do you want? The picture speaks for itself.

As to performance, I speak from personal experience. Granted, most of my experience is on KX250s, but in my experience the Rad Valve significantly outperforms the V-Force once both are tuned for.

I would add the neither product is really a very good "bang for the buck". The amount of performance increase is relatively small for the price of the component if used as an individual stand-alone mod. Both are really best considered as one part of a comprehensive engine build that includes exhaust and intake mods as well as porting and head work.

As to my comment on the Rad Valve being individually tailored for each bike, I refer you to the Boyesen web site:

Each Boyesen RAD Valve is unique - tailor made to that model, year and displacement. While other aftermarket valves might change flange sizes or bolt patterns, they're basically generic - and require you to irreversibly cut your intake boot to install it!

http://www.boyesen.com/cwo/OFFROAD#rad

[Rota Ash]

In my experience the benefit from using boyesen's power reeds in your stock cage is so close to the vforce/rad valve in performance, the extra money spent on the aftermarket cage is simply not worth it. That money would be better spent elsewhere. However, if you want every tiny bit you can get, then you will see some gain going with either the rad valve or the vforce cage.

i agree 100% even though i have not had much experience, there was a huge difference in my power going from stock petals to dual stage boyeson ones, i asked my mate today if he noticed a difference in his cr250 when installing a V-force 3 and he said no, he could not feel any notacable difference, he thought his bike had stockers in there but had boyeson pro series in the stock cage, imo the whole cage assembly is a bit of a waste of money. you can get a set of reed petals for about 1/8 of the price of a v-force