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/126056
axle magnesium Marzocchi forks . Without a doubt, these are the best performing forks available on any production motocrosser at this time. Damping action is super smooth : Travel is almo i f the same as the rear suspension, close to 9 inches (22 5m m ) . The advantage of leading axle fo rks is that they allow long fork travel while retaining a lower front end position for quicker steering. Fork angle rake can be reduced without effectin g high speed stability. On new bikes, fork oil should be changed as soon as the bike is set up from the crate to drain out the metal particles left in the forks from manufacture. We used Bel -Ray 50 fork oil ( equivalent to 15 weight oil) as used by most of the factory tearns like Suzuki and Honda and experienced no fade in d arnp e n ing action during continuous use. Most other good quality 15-20 weight fork oils should perform almost as well. Weight on the 250cc Moiseev Replica is 220 pounds with oil , but no gas . A new Husky-style magnesium airbox behind the left side number panel draws air from under the seat, while helping to reduce some of the wieght found in the Penton/K'I'M enduro bikes with the high-breather frames. The air filter is a trick new design with waffle pattern foam on the outer surface that actually vibrates with engine rpm to shake off dirt as it builds up on the outer surface. We didn't really think it would work, but a two hour romp on a muddy practice track with two foot deep water holes convinced us. The new airbox design not only kep t the filter dry, but the filter itself was alm ost spotlessly clean. The dirt had actually shaken off the filter and built up harmlessly at the side edge of the airbox .. Though the motocrosser's frame still has more gussets than the Brooklyn Bridge, quality and detailing abound throughout. The fiberglass 1.8 gallon tank and side panels are super strong. Control levers are Magura. Rims are shoulderless Hi-Point alloys which .have locating pins, instead of tire locks to keep the tires from spinning on the rim. The only things we didn't like were the seat foam which is a little too soft, and the ••.Iencer which extends a little far beyond the frame structure and could prove vulnerable in a crash . Power and reliability The only thing carried over from the enduro bikes besides the wheels and brakes, is the KTM engine. Over the past three years it's proven itself to be one of the most reliable dirt bike engines in existance. But even more important than the engine's proven reliability for ISDT and enduro events, is that it's one of the most powerful engines around . Rated at between 32 to 34 horsepower, the 250cc KTM powerplant averages about three more horsepower on the dyno than an RM250 Suzuki. Dyno horsepower doesn't mean much though, when it comes to putting power to the ground, but this bike actually is easier to ride than, say the RM Suzuki or a CR Husky . Power is' extremely tractable and the KTM engine r esp onds strongly anywhere in the 3,000-7,000 rpm range. Part of this tractability is due to the external rotor Motopiat transistor ignition which keeps the engine from revving too quickly and losing too much traction from excessive wheel spin. All the - latest b ikes now come with six-speed gearboxes. Earlier motocross Pen ton/KTMs sometimes came with five-speed units by having the lowest gear blocked off. First gear is really only needed for enduro work and won't see much use on the motocrosser, but it could prove it 's worth on very tight or muddy courses. . The engine is fed by a 36mm Bing which, thankfully, comes properly jetted from the factory. The engine braces and through the frame exhaust pipe make getting at the carburetor a real impossibility and just to change needle position on the slide you'll need a - good selection of wrenches and screwdrivers. The engine starts easily from cold with a few prods on the tickler button. It really isn't needed on the motocrosser, but if you want, you can mystify your friends at the start of your next moto by tuning on the handlebar mounted choke control ; 11II • ~ E Suspension travel is longer than any other production bike - nine inches - equal to many works MXers. Marzocchi shocks give a "plush Sunday ride with no hoppin' and swoppin':' . should be removed so it can't open accidently during a race. But does it work? It wasn't easy getting hold of the Moiseev Replica for a Cycle News test, because every bike Penton brings into the coun try is already sold to a de aler who ordered it weeks in advance. The one 250cc we were finally able to get a hold of belonged to Jack Penton. Jackie had just gotten the bike a few weeks before we dropped in at Penton Imports in Lorain, Ohio, to do the test. He had raced the bike in a couple of local hare scrambles and motocrossers, winning them. Then the weekend before the test he bolted on a Preston Petty headlight and tail light/fender assembly. to go out and win the 250cc class at the Burr Oak National Enduro. Designed as a pure blood GP motocross bike, the Moiseev Replica was really proving its versati lity. The Motoplat ignition on the b ike co n tains a lighting coil which is wired up to the frame, and just bolting on lights could tum it from the ultimate motocross weapon to ultimate enduro machine. Riding the Moiseev Replica is definitely an experience . No other prod uction motocross bike on the market at th is t im e comes with as much suspension travel. Nine inches of travel on both wheel. equals what most of the other factory works bikes are using now. Making all that travel work riJ{ht i. taken care of by the Marzocchi forks and shocks. Blasting down a rough whoop-de rutted track at full throttle is a plush Sunday ride with no hoppin' and swoppin'. It tracks straight in the worst section. of the track and makes you realize what all the factory riders have had that you haven't. Turning is neat, because the leading . axle fron t end snaps its way around a comer like it's hooking up with a berm though the ground is flat. The bike definitely likes to track its way around a tum, not slide, as the rear wheel pays attention to which way the front is going. The bike actually works better in high speed turns if you stand up, which also lets you pick -off the bumps with more con trol then. sitting would. What bike turns on off-camber comers, Other leading axl e motocrossers we've ridden had a tendency to wash out the front end when turning on off-eamber turns, but not the Moiseev Replica. The front end, with i t s 3.00 x 21 Hi·Poin t iMe t zler, would stick on downhill off-camber turns even with the throttle on to push the fron t. Never once during the test did the bike put us on our heads and we came away from the sess ion tryin~ to rethink our -ow n riding . ability to closer match the potential the bike offered. Moiseev uses the production KTM engine, and in its stock form it proves to be one of the fastest and most tractable engines there are. It's reliability is well known, and even a Pro rider can expect to race it an entire season without even having to replace th e piston. The six-speed gearbox is perfectly suited to the broad powerband and second through fifth gears are the real working co p in the semi-wide ratio transmission. Jack likes to sh ift the engine early and let the torque doing the pulling, but the engine seems just as happy to play the high rpm role on fast tracks were horsepower be comes the deciding factor. , The 250cc Moiseev Replica comes from Penton with a fairly tall price tag around $1800 for a production bike, but quite a bargain for a factory works machine. It's the only production bike on the market this year that is winning on the Grand Prix circuit, and with ~oiseev in the saddle again it just might pick up another World Championship. • Specifications Engine Type •.•••.•.•.•..••.•.... , ..•.. Single cylinder, two-stroke piston p<>rted Displacement ••........•...••. ", ..• •••• , •..•.• •... , .••.•• " 245cc Bore and stroke •.•.••.•...... •••...•...•.••:-•.••...•.71mm x 62mm Horsep<>wer .• •.............•...••......•• 32·34 hp at 7,000-7,500 rpm Lubrication .•..••..••.....•..•...•. , •...•. , ..•• , ... Hi.f>ointat 40: 1 Carburetor •..•.. •........•. ••••. , . , •..•• ••..•. ••.•..• , .36mm Bing Elec:trical .•..•• , , . , , •••• , • •• Motoplat transistor, with 35 watt main lighting coil Timing •.• , ••••• " • •..••• •• ••...••....•.•.., ..•••.•..• 2.55mm btdc Spark plug ..•..•......... ,. , •.• ,., ••••••• ,., •••••• Bosdl W-290-T16 .Ty~ Transmission Gearbox , •..••..•••• , •. •••• , •••••••.••...•••••..••••••••.six-speed Clutch ......•... , •.....• , ••••.•••• • , •• , ••••••• multi-disc wet dutch Sprockets , • , •.....•.... ; ..••.•12 teeth front, 52 teeth rear Chain " .•••.•.• , •• : 318 x 518 inches, 530 Chassis Frame: double down cradle, chrome molybdenu':;; steel, magnesium lirbox, fiberglass 1.S gallon tank Front Suspension: Marzocctii magnesium leading axle forks, 225mm travel (9 ins.) Rear Suspension: """zocchi Series 4 gas/oil shocks, 230mm travel (9 ins.) Hubs: All magnesium, full width front and conical rear, full drum brake shoes Tires and Rims: Hi-Point shoulderless alloy rims, Hi.f>ointlMetzler tires 3.00 x 21" front, 4.50 x 1S" rear. 41