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/125814
Get a good bash plate. The magnesium cases need all the help they can get. Tape your clutch cable away from the exhaust pipe. . on how he does at the Last Chance Enduro (which will have been run by the time you read this). Jay feels that XL-250 is a super enduro bike, especially for the average ride.r, because it is such an easy bike to ride. His bike is set up very similar to mine with a few small changes. He also went to a 14 tooth countershaft but he went to a 52 tooth rear sprocket also. We put the 52 tooth on mine and now it has super low end response but will still hit 70 to 75 MPH top end, which is plenty fast for enduros. The XL-250 comes stock with a unique push pull throttle which requires two cables. Most riders think the extra cable always returns the throttle bu t this is not so. It's there for backup in case the spring on the carburetor fails. On a normal one cable set-up this means the engine is stuck at fuU throttle. We replaced the throttle with a one cable set-up since if you break a cable during an enduro it only takes abou t five minutes to replace one with the single cable set-up while it takes over 30 minutes on the dual set-up. Time is precious, you know. Since the stock kill button switch was located on the throttle set-up I installed a Yamaha (Ar hh. MX kill button. The one wire was even color coded the same as the Honda and plugged righ t in. Also at this time, I replaced the stock grips with a set of surgical rubber grips which seem to work well. I also removed all the lights, ignition switch, battery, hom, and tachometer. Plug the tach hole or dirt will get into your engine. The empty space where the battery used to be makes a good spare part compartment. I keep a spare throttle cable, super tape and a plastic container in which I carry master links, tire repair kit, etc. in there. Jay tried a tuned exhaust pipe on his bike but wen t back to the stock pipe because he fel t he was losing power. Also, the stock muffler is so nice and quiet. You couldn't possibly antagonize anyone with it. Less sound, more ground and all thal. However, the stock pipe is heavy and you can save over 10 Ibs. by switching to a lighter system. The XL-250 comes equipp~d with some neat features which save you some coin since you would probably change to them anyway. First, the foot pegs are the serrated desert type which give your boots something to get a grip on. The chain is a heavy duty type which should hold up well. Jay recommends keeping the ad 'ustmen t a little loose es ecially if A Surgical rubber grips; single cable throttle and a Yamaha MX kill button enhance motoring pleasure. .. PBNYON 7241 Orang_thorpe Buena Park, CA 90621 ~ ' MEANS (also Maico & Monark) (7141 521-2-420 you equip the bike with some long travel shocks. Jay feels the stock air cleaner sock does too good of a job and chokes the air intake. Filtron makes a replacement sock and since it's only $2.98, it's well worth it to change. The fenders are made of a flexible plastic which are ligh t but the rear is not unbreakable as [ found out the hard way. The front has a racy look but if you ever have to run in mud or water, you and your bike will both be muddy. Mud naps are in order if you contemplate running in foul weather. The bike comes with the best rims around. They are alloy but are almost impossible to ding. Another bonus is the smooth shape is much better than Akronts. The only engine modifications Jay did to his bike was to mount a 30mm Mikuni in place of the 28mm Keihin carbo Long Beach Honda seUs 32mm Mikuni kits but l feel this is a little big for enduro work. About the only other difference between our bikes is that his has Cumutt long travel shocks installed, which seem to be a good set.up for enduro riding. l installed chains from the shift and brake levers to the skid plate to tr;y and prevent brush (rom getting caught and jamming the levers. With the bike now set up how [ wanted it, a good test was needed to see if it would perform as expected. Some good (?) friends of mine took care of that as they entered us in the Foothill Hawks National Jackass Enduro which has a reputation for being rough. The bike took the 56 mile first loop in stride and I was really f~eling confident when, on the easier second loop, I hit a rock in heavy dust and went down hard. This is where I found the rear fender was not unbreakable as I somehow got a large rock jammed between the tire and fender when I crashed. I finally got the rock ou t but cracked the fender doing it. I also broke the two bolts holding the righ t foot peg on and in a couple of miles the peg came off with 35 miles to go. I wanted to Imish so I secured the peg to the fender and took off at reduced speed with one foot hanging out. I had to slow way down for the whoop-de.doos as I couldn't stand but, surprisingly, finished only 20 minutes late. The bike ran great and handled the ,... '" CD ff l1. ,... M '" ",' c: .., CD ~ w Z W ..J U > U Long travel Curnutts seem to improve rough-country handling more than a little. Take off the chain guard; it hangs up on everything. difficult cours~ with ease. At home l tapped the foot peg holes out and installed 3/8-inch aircraft bolts so that shoUld take care of the peg problem. I have ridden two other enduros and trophied in both, zeroing the COUTse on one and losing two points on the other, so the bike is competitive. I personally feel the handling is superior to most Japanese enduro bikes, which should provoke an argument or two. There is a lot of hop-up equipment availabie for the XL-250 if you feel you need more power. There are a number of cam conversions, cams, headwork, exhaust systems, etc. to be had but it isn't really necessary for enduro riding. The Honda has more than adequate power in stock trim and when you start adding power, you are taking a chance of reducing the reliability. Future plans include installing a full floating rear brake to improve the braking, especially on downhills. Long Beach Honda sells an exchange kit for around $30 or you can rig up one yourself if you have access to a machine shop. If you are thinking about buying a 250 enduro bike take a good close look at the Honda XL-250. Jay will be happy to set one up to your enduro specifications. ~Ul'£~~-~"tt IBas~9.~~1 ~~:~l 1117 Fountain Way. Anaheim, Cal. 92806 ...................................... Motorcycle Corporation 172 Freedom Avenue Anaheim, Calitor"i. 92801