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.