Cycle News

Cycle News 2017 Issue16 April 25

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/815139

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 113 of 141

VOL. 54 ISSUE 16 APRIL 25, 2017 P113 cially up front, for aggressive riding but is fine for cruising around. The KLX is the only the bike that you can adjust damp- ing in the rear shock, at least rebound. That's a nice little touch. None of the forks here are adjustable. Technically, the Kawa- saki has the best brakes of the three, mostly because of the KLX's rear binder; it is the only bike with a rear disc, the other two have drum brakes. But, in reality, the beginner won't feel the difference. The experi- enced rider, however, will. The TTR230 and CRF230F are motorcycles that are very similar to each other, both on paper and on the trail. On paper, both bikes offer the same 233cc displacement, have six-speed transmissions, almost the same seat height and wheelbase, nearly identical rake and trail, and weigh within a few pounds of each other. Ground clearance is nearly the same, too, at 11.7 inches for the Honda and 11.6 inches for the Yamaha, which is just over an inch less than the Kawasaki! On the trail, the Honda and Yamaha perform similarly, too. They both make fun, usable power, like the Kawasaki, but just more of it. Our female tes- ter, who has a lot of experience riding both bikes, has no real favorite between the two when it comes to the engine; though she actually did say that the Ya- maha feels maybe a bit "more torquey" than the Honda, but can't decide whether that is a better thing or not. She could be noticing the longer stroke of the Yamaha's engine, which, The Honda CRF230F boasts good suspension and solid handling.

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Cycle News - Cycle News 2017 Issue16 April 25