Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

larger for added strength. A new Delta-shaped Pro-Link system has revised leverage ratios to improve th e performance of the all -new Show a shock. A milk-bottle style resevoir impro ves shock coo ling a nd a lo nger shock stro ke, revised da mpin g and spring ra tes, a nd sensi tive damping adj ustors .all help to improve a nd p ro vide co nsiste nt ly smooth performance. U p front the Showa cartridge forks have redesigned dam ping valves and damping rates for increased com pression dam p ing. Firmer spring ra tes have also been inco rporated to help abso rb landin g off large j um ps. Other cha nges in cl u de n ewl y slotted brake discs, new lever ratios in the front a nd rear mas ter cylinders for improved feel, redesigned pl astic and a new , deeper color red. What do all the changes do? Out on th e track, th e H onda feels like it was made to be ridden hard. It doesn 't lik e to be ridden at a leisurely pace, and such ridi ng oft en results in fouled plugs. This was so m eth in g that became apparent righ t away. There isn 't mu ch low-end to putt around with a nyway. The Honda doesn 't get mov ing until it hits the upper midran ge of the powerband, and from th ere it keep s on pulling until it 's tim e to grab another gear. Wh en th e power co mes on , it hits with a burst, but not so hard that it is difficult to hang o n to. In fact the Honda is deceptively fast. It doesn 't give you that instant rush of power th at th e Kawasaki or Yamaha 250s have, a nd it isn 't as smoo th as the Suzuki RM , but th e Honda does have a strong pull as it 's revved o ut. Bu t this kind of power can be tricky to handle. Sin ce th ere isn 't much low- end, th e rid er must keep the engine up on the pipe, and to do that .requires that It be ridden hard. At times the CR feels slow , especially when cru ising, but attack th e track and th e bike feels mu ch faster. T ry to roll through a corner with the gas off and the engine of ten fall off the pi pe , requir in g a few sw i pe s o f th e clu tc h lever o r a downshift topull it out of the turn. Doing th is is easy since the H onda's clu tch has a fai rly light pull and th e transm issio n wor ks £lawlessly. H andling the H onda is much like th e engine; th e harder it is ridden , th e better it works. The CR 's q u ick steeri ng make it handle best wh en th e corners are attacked. High speed stabi li ty has been a problem wit h p a st CRs a n d th e '88 mo de l , alt houg h better than in th e past, still exh ibits so me shaki ness th roug h h igh-speed bumps. We found th at grabbing the mid-section o f th e bik e with our knees helped get it throu ~h some situa tions without shaking tts head. The new Delta-shaped Pro-Link rear suspe nsion works well wh en dial ed in , al tho ug h th ere was a trace of harshness at rnidstrok e. There was no problem with shock action o n short rides, bu t a fter the long motos it has a tendency to heat up and lose effectiveness, especially th e rebound da mp in g. Up front the howa cartridge for ks have smo oth ac tion through th e smaller bumps, but landings from some of th e lar ger jumps can be harsh . Rebo und da mping needs to be improved since ma ny landings res u lt in th e forks r eb ound i n g q ui ckly, ca us ing th e front end to skitter around in some instan ces. Con trolling th e H onda is easy. Movin g around o n it is a breeze thanks to the slim layout, a nd all the The Showa shock features a m ilk- b o ttle reservoir to help improve cooling and is connected to a n e w Delta -s haped Pro-link suspension system . Honda's Power Port exhaust valves have a longer stroke, open earlier and w ith the increased port sizes expose a larger area. controls ar e wi thin easy and co mfor tabl e reach. The seat climbs way up th e gas tank, so you ca n really ge t o ver the front end in th e corners. Bringing th e H onda to a sto p is also easy du e to th e excellent brake ac tio n. Although.the front brake has a rubber h ydraulic line it is still strong with no spongy feel to th e lever. At th e rear the di sc brak e is respo ns ive but not grabby, so killing ~ e engine with a locked rear wheel IS rare. Will it win? Alt houg h all of th e cha nges made th e Honda CR250 more difficult to ride, it can definat ely put you in th e winner 's circle. But ·since th e bike seems to work best ridden hard , it will probabl y be th e most aggress ive rid ers wh o arrive there more oft en . _ Honda CR250RJ Engine type Uquid -cooled, two- st roke, sing le Bore x stroke . . .. . 66.4 x 72mm Displacement . . •. • . . .. .. 24 9cc Co m pr ession ratio 9 .0:1 Carburetor • . .• . • . 38mm Keih in Starting system Primary kick Ignitio n CDI Lub rication Premix Primary dr ive Straight-cut gea r Final drive # 5 2 0 ch ain Frame High -tensile stee l. double crad le Rake ... . .. •... •. .... .. . . N /A Trail ...... .... . . . •.. .... N /A Front suspension .. . . . • . Showa cartridge telescopic f ork, 14·way com pression damping adj ust m ents For k t ube diameter . • .... 43mm Front wheel t ravel . • . .. • 12.0 in. Rear .suspen sion Showa single shock 21 -way rebound and 18·way compression damping adjustments, swingarm Rear wheel travel , . . . • . 12.6 in. Front brake .....•.•.. . • .. Disc Rear brake Disc Front tire 80 /100-21 Dunlop Rear tire •. . ..... . 110/100-18 Dunlop Claimed dry weight 213.8 Ibs 58.2 in . Wheelbase Overall length... • . : . . " , .' , . N/A Overall width , •• , , • • , •• . , , N I A Overall height , •. . , ... • , . , N/A Ground clearance ... •. . 13,4 in . Fuel capacity 2.0 gal. 37.4 in . . Seat height , Colors . ... . . .. .. . .•..•.. . Red Retai l price . , ..... . , ••. $3098 Pro C ircu it's p ipe i m pro v es low and m id-range power . Pro Circuit CR250 exhaust system Since the H onda CR250 doesn 't have much low -end, we went looking for an easy way to ge t so me more grunt out of th e engine. Pro Circu it, whi ch builds pipes for Ri ck Johnson 's factory CR250, provided us with their exha ustl silencer system that th ey claim gives the Honda more bottom-end and midrange. In stall ati on is sim ple; just unbolt th e sto ck unit a nd bolt th e P ro Circui t system in its place. All of th e moun ts lined up with no probl ems , . alt hough a mo un t o n th e fra me that swivels o n a bolt may have to be loo sened and moved to o ne side o r the other to line up wi th the pipe mount. Pro Circuit recommends changing to a 175 mai n je t, even for th e st-ock setup. • On the track th e Pro Circuit pi pe improves performance througho u t th e powerband, but th e most noticeable differen ce is in th e mid-range. In stock form , th e Honda doesn 't pull hard until th e upper part of th e mid-range, but with th e Pro Circuit pipe the mid-range burst begins much sooner and pulls much harder, giving the engine a much fatter midrange. Top en d p ower is also improved, but the improvement is more subtle. There is more low-end power, bu tit still takes some revs before th e motor gets goi ng. T he pipe is unpainted, so it will require lots of WD-40 or sili con spray . follo wing each ride. Pro Circuit's pipe sells for $149.95 and can be used with the stock silencer, or run with a Pro Circuit aluminum silencer that costs $59.95. For more information, contact Pro Circuit, 4214 E. La Pa lma, Anaheim, CA 92807, 714/ 993·5400. _ 15

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