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Honda CR250/Kawasaki KX250/KTM MX250/Suzuki RM250/Yamaha YZ250
It was hard to fau It the Yamaha's
rear suspension, but most of the testers
felt the Kayaba shock was too stiff , even
though th e ride height (preload) was
adjusted to the manufacturer's recommended setti ngs, according to th e
ri der's weight. Despite th e som ewhat
harsh feeling, th e Yamaha was perhaps
the most stabl e of th e gr oup, especially
when pushed hard. .
KTM 's Wh ite Power rear suspension
rat es right up there with those offered
by Yam aha and Suzuki and is hard 'to
fau lt, as well. The back end would
probabl y feel even better if it wasn 't
al ways bailing the front end out of
tro uble.
As it did in the front end suspension
department, the Honda rates at the
bottom of the barreI in th e rear
suspension category. Like its fork, th e
CR 's Showa shoc k is harsh and wav
too bu sy feeling. Overall , th e rea r
sus pension does ge t th e job don e
efficient ly enough, bu t compared to
th e Kawasaki and th e o thers, the CR 's
back end kicks and bounces too much
for our tastes. Both the fork and sho ck
needs work.
Handling
Despite its fair - at best - suspensio n, as an ent ire pac kage, the Honda
CR handles extremely well. It turns
Of the five bikes, th e KTM is by far the most improved over last year 's mod el.
It has a strong motor and good suspensio n, but the fork needs work.
wit h predi ctabili ty, it ju mp s well and
is super easy to flick around, on the
ground or in the air - typi cal CR:One lap on the Honda and all you
wa n t to do is pin it l This has a lot
to do with the H onda 's sharp handling
and awesome motor.
.
T he CR is a n easy motor cycle to ride
and ada pt to, even if you 've been riding
o ther bran ds for man y years. It has a
neutral, yet pos itive feel o n the track.
As ment ioned ear lie r, the CR 's a
good j um per. Even if it gets a little
sideways in the air, its ni mbl e and
respo nsive hand ling characteristics
ma ke it easy to straighten back up, so
you can concentra te on clenching the
handlebars and gri tting your teeth for
a ro ug h landing-,
Bot h the Kawasaki and Yam ah a are
good handlers, also. The KX is a little
bi t easier to turn than the Yamaha,
albeit no t as easy as the Honda. It seems
as th ou gh the Kawasaki hel d its line
a littl e bit better wi th the rider's weigh t
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The KTM was the most enj oyable bike
to ride, mainly because of its smooth
powerban d an d p redictable handling.
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