~
a:
w
::l;
..J
'"
rJ)
0
....
~
O"l
C'J
0
:I:
e,
~
ro
~
The 2 4 9cc four-stroke engine produces ex cellent t orque without typical
four-stroke hesitation. M otor and pipe are tucked in nice ly .
.
Test: RTL250
SO·trick, so few
By Len Weed
Trials enthusiasts have been waiting to buy
a bike like the RTL250S ever since they first '
glimpsed the factory specials Honda prepared
for former National Champion Marland
Whaley and his teammates in
1975. Those 300s th ey rod e were
su pe r slim, su pe r light, a n d
boasted trials-tamed four-stroke
22
motors.
But H onda never sold wh at Whaley co m pe ted o n, in stead, Ame rica n
H onda p u lled o ut o f Na tional co m pet it ion a nd th e tria ls market af ter
Wh aley (who gave them three stra ight
cha m pio ns h ip s) mov ed to Montesa
during th e 1978 season ,
Overseas, R ob Shepherd, who h ad
posted th e first modern four-stroke
victory in World competition in 1977,
rema in ed in th e world 's top 10
through 1980. That same year, a
yo un g Belgian named Eddy Lejeune,
initially aboard a 200, became Honda 's top performer. Riding a 360 first
introdu ced in 1978, Lejeune h as topped th e world for the past three years.
This yea r he's attempting to make it
four straight on a Pro-Link sing leshock Honda with a new 360cc mo tor.
Am eri cans hav e had access to Honda tria ls mach ines since 1978 th rough
sp ecralty dea lers, but th is is the first
tim e th ey h ave th e opportu nity to
p urchase wha t th e wo rl d team is
competing on. All tea msters, exce p t
Eddy Lejeune, are on th e RT L250.
(Honda is al so developing a twostro ke tri al s machine.)
,
Ame rica n Honda, desp ite re-entry
in the marke t by Yam aha, has n ot
elected to ge t involv ed with trials
again a t th is time. but this position
might cha nge soo n , An y su ch decisio n would probabl y involve limited
am ounts of bik es aimed a t th e serio us
co m pe tition market.
.
C urre n tly th e new RTL250S is
ava ila ble her e only from Bay Area
Cycle Centre, a Los Angeles trials
deale r that purchases the bikes on
specia l order in J apan. This arra ngement p roduces a reta il p rice of $3400.
Obviously, tha t price wo uld plummet
if th e bik e ever were im ported by
' American Honda,
.
T he RTLs, unlike TLs, ar e not
built by Honda but, rather , by HRC
(H on da Racing Corporation ) - a
sepa ra te non-profit R&D co m pany
su bsidized by th e parent com pa n y
a nd , to a degree, by Am erican Honda.
HRC devel ops a nd builds limited
q uantities of raci ng mach in ery suc h
as road racers and Ilaurackers, which
a re th en so ld through nati onal di stribu tor s.
T he bik e used for this test, th e first
to reac h America, wa s purch ased by
Sco tt Annand, a So cal Ex pert compet itor. Annand previousl y o wned a
T L R200.
The RTL250 was first seen last fall
wh en Ma zaya Yamamoto rode one in
the final two world ro unds. Un kn own
in world competition, he scored points
in both even ts, including a six th. This
performance, pi us the use of Pro-Link
suspension, created immediate interest in th e machine.
Despite th e sma ller displa cement,
th e RTL250S seems at lea st-as power ful as th e original 300cc sho rt -stro ke
ridden by Whaley. Those bikes were
ideally su ited for slow riding over
. loos e SoCal terrain. Another.version
of the 300 - a stroker configuration gai ned favo r oversea s. This was th e
uni t p referred by Shepherd . The 360cc
monster mot or used by Lej eune was
co nt in ua ll y modified before fin ally
being replaced this yea r with a lighter, narrow er , sh ort er motor with a
new gearbox.
The RTL's 249cc powerplant is
close to square with a 70 x 64.9 bore
and stroke (the TL200 mea sures 65.5 x
57.8mm).. Compression is 8.2:1, and
the motor achieves peak torque a t
4000 rpm - peak horsepower at 6000
rpm . One of th e amazing aspects
about th e motor is it s compactness
and narrown ess - the engine is
roughly an inch narrower than the
Yamaha TY350 powerplant. A 22mm
ca rburetor is used.
An external oil delivery system .
using braided aircraft-type cable contributes to engine compactness. This
system permits easy installation of an
accessory oil cooler, a change favored
by Lejeune for his big motor. Weight
is trim med by using sa nd cast rnagne-
siu m cases, aluminum motor mounts
and silen cer.
Th e motor is a n integr al part of the
diamond o va l sp lit frame. The alumin u m skid pl ate, which wraps up and
aro u nd th e contours of the motor,
offers excellent protection. A stiff
rubber cu shion is positioned between
th e plate and th e motor to dampen
im pact jolts to the cases.
T he frame boasts a sea t height
about a n in ch lo wer than the new
Yamaha . The RTL is also the slimmest trials bike yet produced. Even
th e fenders ar e slimmer than those
found o n th e Yamaha which , in
itself, is a triumph of lighter-lowerslimmer oriented.
.
The vented tank cover/seat piece is
secured by two screws and one rubber
strap. Two slots are found over the
ca rb, just in front of the seat. Both
sid es are also slo tted. At first glance,
the gas tank appears inadequate, even
for a thirstless four-stroke. A closer
inspection revea ls the tank actually is
co nto ured to fit down deeper into the
fram e structu re th an first noticed:
capacity is three liters (0.8 gallons).
Most two-stroke tanks run one gallon
or less. •
The wheelbase is close to 52 inches,
bu t th e steep front end geometry
a llows excep tio na lly tight turning
ca pa bilities.
The steep front end a nd slim chassis make the RTL a delight for tight
turns , but the rider must be alert. The
Pro-Link suspension softened the
harshest impacts. The appl ication of
sin gle-shock technology to the slower
speeds of trials produces exceptionally
plush riding. Experimenting can no
doubt fine tune the shock to produce
the rebound effect preferred for
bounding up and over taller, steeper
-steps. On lower steps and rock piles, .
the rear wheel feels like it's floating.
The leading-axle forks are aircapped, but the Pro-Link rear suspension is the main attraction. A
massive aluminum alloy swingarm
is connected to a Showa shock which
