if yo u do click down a gear or
th e CR will still exp lode out
corn er.
U n fortu na tely, if you
do have LO slip th e
cl u tch o u t o f a co rner, cl u tch
ac tio n is n o t t h e grea tes t. T he
Hon da 's cl u tch is grabby. Let it o ut
to a certai n point with th e lever and
a ll of a su dde n it 's di sengaged, no
matter how th e free pl a y is adjusted.
T his is m ost noticeable wh en sta ning o ff from a s ta ndstill, but it was
a lso'Iel t in slo wer co rners. At high
speeds it is less no ticea bl e.
Although th e cl u tch may
not be su pe r-smooth,
the transmission is.
Each. gear is easy to
find a nd th e sh ift
action is very
smooth, except
whe[1tryin g tO ~
shift under power .
Then th e tranny
doesn't always want
to go up a gear
withou t backing off
o n th e thrott le. Missed
sh ifts a re ra re.
Rear su
nsion action
has been"greatl y i proved
witlfi.the beefiep"PI;p-Link
pivot'bolts. Sit1cc£I ex has-been
v ' tuall v eli. rrfir ated,
l _
~ ·i "
.
1
.
\ arks mu s
ih 0
;, ..
tefr.l
arp-edg~d
ru e n ?
.
f ro m maffis ive ' ,..
_ p ro
, and l a ~ld i
ow n ·wp' ttt?so; .
.
JU
r spa)sea 11
i ~ ea~.
•
LO some o t the strSitn
•!iiacl~s -'d
ha ng
~
;1\'1 ,
' rea; br;ke is ~Iso very str; ng but
in the past: Most shocks are ' eas ily
transmitted straigh t into th e rider's
doesn 't lock up the rear wh eel too
arms, so sett ing th e front suspension
: eas ily.
. .
'u p for a particular tra ck becomes
Once again th e H onda feels j us t
ri ght. The sligh tly flatter sea ting
more crucia l. We fou nd th e fork s LO
be a little harsh on o u r firs t o u ti ng
posi tion makes it eas ier th an ever LO
o n a' rough, dry h ard-p acked track,
move around, a nd a ll co n trols are
wi thin easy reach.
but by adjusti n g th e com p ressio n
damping we go t th e forks to work
Honda pays a tte ntio n to details.
fine. About th e .o n ly com p la int we
A small reinforcing flange on eithe r
have with the front end is that th e
side of the rear fender makes it easier
.en d of th e stro ke is rather h arsh when
to lift th e CR, the front fork prolanding from th e. big jumps. The
tect ors are exce lle n t a n d as we
forks work well Ju st about everydi scovered, do th eir job, a nd th e
where el se, but those sky-sho t landdual-stage a ir filter is made of highings ca n really be felt in the arms.
quality fo am a n d h olds up to
With so much front-end stabi lity,
repeated cleaning.
th e Honda will definitel y go wh ere ·
There ar e ' a few details Honda
it's pointed. Direction changes are
mi ssed , though. Loosening the rear
quick and require less effort from th e
axl e requires a wrench at both en ds,
rider, sometimes too quick and with
th e fro nt brake line can easily be
, .too Iittle effort. Setting th e front end
flexed into th e front wheel because
down with the wheel turned ca n
o f the flim sy mounting , j etting
quickly get yo u into tro u ble, or
cha n ges and turning th e pe tcoc k on
unexpected obstatcles, like a ro ck or
ca n be d ifficu lt because of cra m ped
rut, can eas ily chan ge th e directi on
space.
th e CR is headed.
But th is is m ore o f a minor
The bottom line
, a n n oya nce than a cu rse because th at
. sa m e rigidity that can get yo u into
After last year's model , we wer e
. troub le a lso gets you ou t of it just
p leasantly surpr ised by th e perforas quickly. And it m akes th e Honda
mance of the '89 CR250. All of th e
an excep tiona lly quick turner.
little chan ges made add up to make
it vastly improved over last yea r's
The increased rigidity helps to
eliminate so me of th e famous H onda
model. The power is much easier-to
h andle a n d makes it more sui ta ble
headshake, but n ot a ll of it. This
yea r's CR still shakes on bumpy
for ge neral off-road use for th ose wh o
a p p ro ac hes to corners, but it' s not
want to pl onk aro u nd on the trail
n ear as bad as th e sha ke o f th e pa st.
in stead of hitting th e track, a nd th e
sus pe nsion ac tio n is a lso improved.
We were al so su rp rised by th e
price, which wa s driven up primarily
by last year's double increase in th e
value of the yen agains t th e dollar.
At $3998 it .is th e most expens ive
250cc Japanese motocrosser o n th e
market.
But CR riders can earn some of
th at price back through Honda's CR
Support Program. The program ,
o ffe re d through participating
Honda deal ers, a wards a ma teurs gift
certi fica tes for H onda pans, H ondaline accessories an d Pro-Honda oi l
a n d che m ica ls for LOp pl a cin gs in
selected events, while pro riders ca n
receive up to $5000 in cash for an
AMA Su percross win an d $2500 in
outdoor National co m pe titio n.
So even though th ere was a big
price increase, th ere was a performance increas e to mat ch. The '89
CR250 is defin itely a strong contender a nd shou ld find its way LO th e
•
winner 's circle often ."
Honda CR250RK
Engine type
Liquid-cooled.
two-stroke. single
Bore x stroke . . •. . 66.4 x 72mm
Displacement
249.3cc
Compression ratio
: • .. . 8 .8:1
Carburetor . ... •. ·. 3 8 m m Keih in
Horsepower . . . . .. • . • . . •. . NI A
N /A
Torque
Starting system . ..• Pri ma ry kick
Ig nit ion .. . • . .. .. . ..... ... CDI
Lubrication
Premix
Primary drive Straight-cut gear
Final drive . •.. •.. .. #520 chain
Frame
Semi double cradle
Rak e .• .•....... .•. . . .... 62.5
Trail
4 .8 in .
Fro nt suspension . • • •... Showa
ca rtridge in verted f ork
Fork tube diameter .... •• 45mm
Front wheel t ravel; . '
12.0 in .
Rear suspension . :
Kayaba
.
single shock
Rear wheel t ravel • .• . • . 13.0 in.
Front brakes •. • . . . ... .. : .• D isc
Rear brakes • .. . . ..• ..... . D isc
Front t ire
80 / 100-2 1
Rear t ire •. ... . ..• 11 0/1 00-1 8
Cla imed dry weig ht ..... 192 Ibs
Overall length .• . . .. •.. 86.4 in.
Overall width .. ... . . . • . 32.9 in .
Overall height .. .. .•. • . 49.3 in .
Wheelbase • .. . . . , . . .•• 58.9 in .
2.0 ga l.
Fuel capacity
Ground clea rance
13.8 in.
Seat heig ht .. .... . •. , . 3 8 .2 in .
Co lors ....• . .. ........ .. . Red
$3998
Retail price
