Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Currently, the new RTL250 Honda is only availab le in Japan and Europe; only a few have trickled int o the U.S. It weig hs j ust 180 pounds. is mounted slig h tly a bo ve horizont al a nd has a remote reservoir. In add ition to prel oad. damping may a lso be adj us ted externa lly. Like H on da 's race bikes, th e rear end sub fram e may be removed (two fasten ers o n eac h side) for access to th e shoc k. The RT L co mes with tires recogniz ed as th e best ava ilabl e toda y Michelin X-I s. The test bik e h ad W (Winter) rubber which is stickier th an th e S (Sum me r) co m pou nd. These production tires ar e based on prototyp es Michelin began developing in 1981. A 1984 cha nge in FIM regulations requiring producti on tires for world competition accelerated th e arriva l of the X-I s. The D.LD. a llo y ri ms feature straigh t-pu ll spokes. A Renthal a lumi n um handl eba r comes stock and the pegs a re beef y. The cable-operated rear brake is activated by pressure on a fold-back pedal. The side stand is best described a s fra g ile. After h is first outing with the RTL. .An n a n ds o nl y complaint was a slig h tl y stiff front end. possibly attributed to the fres hness of the bike. A switch to light er fork oil improved front end resp onse. The ext re me slim ness makes the bik e easy to flick around, flo a t, or reba lance with ba r p ressure. T his recovery element a llows the rider to go slower in tight portions of a sectio n with increased con fidence . red ucing the concern abou t tippi ng o ut o f bala n ce. The lo w seat is a bonus for pa dd ling , allowing the rider to get more leg power to the ground while we ig hting the sea t to ha n g onto or regain tract ion. Power reponse is classic four-strok e. Although the motor is sli ghtly o versquare, it sou nds a nd pe rforms more like a long-stroke. Turn the throttle on and you feel th e bik e acce lera te forward - a controllable lunge with four-stroke traction - in contrast to a two-stroke's sli ngshot burst . Back off, a nd engine brakin g slo ws .th e bik e ins ta ntly. The eng in e brakin g makes the RTL a natural for picking a pa th th rough rock p il es, especially on gr adual or steepe r cl im bs. And, w h en ne cessary, the bike ca n be cl utched to app ly slingshot sud denness. . We asked Anna nd to eval uate hi s new mo u nt after it s ina ugura l ouii ng at th e ATA St. Patrick's Day Trial: " It stee rs reall y q u ick ." says Arma nd. " Yo u can almost lean the bik e and turn like a road racer. Th e clutch is a g ift fro m heaven . It 's a little gra bby, quick. but l like th at. The rear brak e peda l is easy to find. The brak es did squeak so me a fter bein g in wat er. but they still worked fin e. ' " T h a t low sea t height makes it so easy to .dab. iI found .m yself a ble to Michelin X -1 tires comes stock on the Honda. The engine cases are based on the XR models and are protected by a sturdy aluminum skid plate . The Kayaba shock has external damping adjustments. The tank/seat housing is made out of fiberglass which covers the plastic air box and 0.8 gallon gas tank. co ntrol falling bett er. T he re's less feeling th at th e bike is goi ng to do what it wa nts when you get in tro u ble. " T he lig htness is grea t. I was doi ng a ir tu rn s, no se whee lies, kick turns. You jus t throw it around . but it still feels sta ble in th e sect ions. You can really feel th e low center of gravity contributing to sta bility. Tha t's worth tra di ng o ff a little gr o u nd clearance. "The shock works great. At firs t I th o ught it was stiff, bu t I pl a yed wi th the externa l dampin g a dj us tme n t. I didn 't bottom a t a ll, even o n th e loop, so I can still go so fter. "The motor j us t a bove id le runs so smooth it's unbel ievable. I brough t it down into one section, stopped, th en made a turn. A cou ple of guys thought I had restarted a t th e stop. th at I h ad sta lled. It 's that quiet. It's so smooth on the bo ttom - yo u don' t get that boomp, boornp, boomp four-st rok e feel. It ha s an occasio na l spit or co ugh down lo w, but it never stalled once during the tr ial. "I think that 250cc motor is more ' than sufficient. It mak es the 200 seem an d so un d lik e a sewi ng mach in e, T he 250 sou n ds much meaner , gutsier. And th e pulling is not a ll jus t a t the bottom. I wa s pulling fourth on the hand-cut climb th at th e twostrokes ta ke in th ird. I cou ld back off and ro ll back in fourth . I' m im pressed. The performance. the sound. It 's like having a small block C hevy in yo ur mo to rcycle." Armand's com parison of hi s new H o nda to th e Yamaha 350: "I lik e the Yamaha front end better. It feels lighter. I think th e rear sus pe nsion is co m pa ra ble, but I'd ra ther have th e H onda because it 's externa ll y adj us ta ble. I like getti ng th e X-I tires stoc k on th e H onda. T he Ya ma ha is more co mforta ble to sit o n - th e H onda. Io rg e; it.) pr efer, th e; four-stroke re- sponse for cl im bi ng - I feel surer o f what's goi ng to happen in response to th rottle inpu t." Allowing for the ex uberance of a new model owner. we'd have to go a lo ng wi th th e th rust Sco tt 's o bservation. The RTL250S is a marvelous bike - lower , ligh ter, a nd slim mer than any thi ng elseavailable. Its mo tor is powerfu l, but stops sh ort of breaking the rear wheel loose o r becomi ng a bru te to hand le. T he RTL ride r can choose betwee n si m p ly wo rki ng th e throttle on a n d off through a sectio n or usin g th e new stop-an d-clutch techq ni que. Is the RT L worth th e extra $900 or so it costs. compa red to the Yama ha a nd Beta monosh ocks? It a ll depends. Not so muchon th e wallet, mor e o n the heart. Committed th u m per enth usiasts co uld be will ing to pay th e di ffere nce for th e fin est p roduction four-stroke ever bu ilt . If sou nd handl in g and th umping sounds are key p urchase elements , then the RTL250S can definitely be ca lled a sound in vestme nt. • What if American Honda decides to end th eir trials moratorium a nd im port the bikes a t a com pe titive p rice? It 's our guess that the wh ite bik es a nd the red bikes wo u ld soon be, to mi x meta p h ors, el bowi ng for position wi th th e red . wh ite , and blue thumpers. A lot of enthusiasts in th e '70s decided th ey'd li ke to have a facto ry four-stroke. Fi nally given tha t op portuni ty, their response just might be su rprisin g. 8 Honda RTL250 Engine type • • •. • ••• Air-cooled. four-stroke single Boril x stroke . • .... 70x64.9mm Displacement •.......•. 249cc Compression ratio •••• ••• 8 .2:1 Carburetion . . . . . • .. 22mm PW Horsepower .. •.. • • 13.8 bhp @ 6000 rpm Torque .... ...• 14.83 lb.-ft. @ 4000 rpm Ignition _ _•• . .• C.D.I. Lubrication . . . • .. . ... Wet sump Gear ratios Primary . . . •. •... . .. . . 4.055:1 Final 4 .555:1 6th . . .. .. . • . . .. . ... . . . 0.67 5th . . . .. .. . . . . . .. .. •. . 0 .85 4th .. . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . .• 1.23 3rd 1.50 . 2nd •• . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 .94 1st .. . . • . .. . .. ... . . . .. . 2 .50 Frame Single downtube Rake 24.5 0 Trail • .• . . .• •• .•••• 2.58 inches Front suspension type . .... Telescopic fork Fork tube diameter • ••.••• N/A Front wheel travel •••• . _. • N/A Rear suspension type ••• • Single . shock.s~nglWm Rear wheel travel • • • . • • . • N/A Front brake .. • . •. •4.3-ln. drum Rear brake 4 .3-in. drum Front whael .... • . . ... . 21 -inch Rear wheel .. . •. .. .. . • • 18-inch Fronttire 2.75-21 Michelin X-1 4.00-18 Rear tire Michelin X- 1 Dry weight . . . .• . . . . . 180.4 Ibs . Wheelbase 51 .8 inches 0 .8 gallon Fuel capacity Ground clearance 12 inches Seat height 28 inches Colors Red /white /blue Retail pr ice $3400 ·23 ..

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