2019 HONDA CRF250RX
FIRST REVIEW
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adds to the confidence-building
experience the more you ride it.
Likewise, the power is just enough
downplayed from the MX version
that its reluctance to stall is admi-
rable. Almost all of its 450-class
brothers suffer from the dreaded
pop-stall, the 250, not so much.
It's not going to win drag races
against open-class bikes off the
start, but while fighting in the same
weight-class, this bike should prove
itself competitive around a grass-
track-ribboned course, or against
the clock, thanks to its comfortable
ergonomics and enthusiastic power
delivery. It's not the most powerful
pony in the stable. Where it shines,
though, is midrange, so tighter
courses, where the bike can pull
around in mid-to-top rpm will be ide-
al. This is sort of where you should
be riding during a race anyway.
We played with Honda's EFI
mapping software. Honda's ECU
management system plugs into the
bike and is housed on a laptop—
not ideal for weekend warriors. It
isn't very user-friendly. With a few
mouse clicks and a couple test
sessions, however, we managed to
breathe a little more life into the bot-
tom end of the little RX, and we've
kept it there ever since.
The Ride
The chassis and suspension pack-
age is damn near perfect for all-
around riding. The suspension is
tuned for a rider around 170 pounds
and, at that weight, it soaks up off-
road rocks and roots adequately.
Ridden aggressively, it holds its own
on everything but the biggest and
fastest motocross obstacles and
landings. For that, you can blame a
spring-rate drop and dedicated valv-
ing that softens the front end overall,
compared to the CRF250R.
If you're trying to ride the RX like
its MX brother on the track, you will
feel some limits from the suspen-
sion changes. First, it can wallow a
bit on high-speed and big landings,
or rollers, and the high-mounted
fuel tank feels more awkward than a
