Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127369
KTM250MX . "" Engine type Liquid-coo led, . 2·stroke, single, reed-valve Bore x stroke ·. 67.5mm x 69.5mm Displa cement 248.6cc Carbu retor 37mm Keih in Starting system Prim ary kick Ignition COl Lubri cation Premi x Prima ry drive Straight cu t gear Fin al drive : Chain .Front suspension White Power inverted ca r tr idg e telescopi c fork, adjustable rebound and compression damping Front suspension travel 11.8 in. Rear suspension Lin kage suspe nsio n system, Whi te Power shock wit h adjustable rebound and compression da mpi ng adjustments Rear suspension travel 12.6 in. Fron t brak e Disc Rear brake Disc Front tire Metzeler 90/90-21 All Cross Rear tire Metzeler 120/ 80-19 All Cross Claimed dry weight. 218 lbs, Wheelbase 58.4 in. Fuel capaci ty 2.6 gal. Ground clearance 15.2 in. Seat heigh t 37.2 in. Colors White/ green Retail price $·1229 positioned more towards th e back of · the sea t than the front, although not every rider seemed to think so. Eve' ryo ne did agree, though, that the Yamah a takes a little time getting used to in the turns. T he YZ feels low and longer th an th e rest of the bi kes , making it seem a little lazy in the tu rn s. It took a bit of extra effort to get th e Yamaha th ro ugh th e corners as fast as the rest of the bikes tested , bu t the YZ felt more stable in the st raights. The YZ had the tendency to rise up too soo n in the berms. The Suzuki RM , o n th e o ther hand, is a quick handler. It lik es to get in and ou t of the corners as quickly as possible, altho ug h this forces the rider to ride the RM rather aggress ively. The ·R M is very responsive to th e rider 's com ma nds and will usually deliver what is asked of it, no matter if that's forcing it to dive to the in side line or go out wide in the berm or between both on flat ground. Like the Honda, the Suzuki j um ps well. The KT M is a good overall handler. It doesn't do anything exceptionally well or bad. It simply works. Man y of our testers came back after riding the KTM for the first tim e quite impressed, agreeing that it is a fun motor cycle to ride, mainly because it is so for giving. It goes where it 's pointed in the turns, · jumps okay, and holds its lines in the grooves or ruts. TOYOTA IS TH E OFFICIAL CA R & TRUCK OF LAGUNA SE CA RACEWAY.CHAMPION IS THE OFFI C IAL SPARK PLUG OF LAGUNA SECA RAC EWAY. TICKETS TICKET , ADVANCE PRICE NO . TOTAL SAVE $10.00 ON GENERAL ADMISSION. ORDER NOWl SUNDAY GENERAL ADM ISSION 530.00 X 2-DAY GENERAL ADMISSIO N 540.00 X • Admission tickets not good for camping . 3-DA Y GENERAL ADMI SSION 550 .00 x • Camping tickets not good fo r admission. FLAG ROOM 3·DAY ADMISSION HO spItal ity· lnheld Parkina- ReservedGrandstand • No Saturday only tickets available. $17500 X • Children under 12 years of age free with parent. • All general admission tickets $10.00 more at gate. GRANDSTAND SAT G RANDSTAND 55.00 X SUN G RANDSTAND 510.00 X TYPE OF ARRIVAL VEHICLE MOTOR CYCLE • All Grandstand seats $5 .00 more at grandstand gate. CAMPING PER NIGHT WEDNESDAYTHRU SATURDAY NIGHT $25.00 X _ Address $15 00 X RVIOR WEDNE SDAYTHRU O THER SATURDAY NIGHT VEHICLE Name _ City/StatelZip _ Daytime phone ( D check or money order payable to SCRAMP TICKET TO TAL D MasterCard or VISA # GRANDSTAND TOTAL Exp . date CAMPING TOTAL GRAND TOTAL $ -'- Signature _ MAIL TO: SCRAMP, P . Box SCRAMP .O Monterey, California 93942 or call: (40B) 648-5100 ' Toll Free (CA) 800·367·9939 (Outside CAl 800·327·7322 Bra kes No contest here - th e H onda CR boasts the best br akes of the bunch . One finger is all tha t' s needed to co n tro l the front brake, while a slig h t tap o n the rear br ak e pedal slows down the Honda in a hurry. Both fro nt and rear binders a re extremely progressive, positive a nd predi ctable. T he Yam aha YZ a lso has powerful br akes, perhaps too powerful in th e rear. In fact, mo st o f the test ers co m plained that the back brak e locked up way too easily, making for so me tense moments on bumpy and slick downhills. Even the sligh test a mo unt of pr essure on the brake pedal (some ' times unintentionall y) slo wed the Yamaha down prematurely. We later lowered the height of the pedal which all eviated the problem. ~ Both the Kawasaki KX and KTM MX have strong brakes, too. One tester, though , had problems sta lli ng the engine in tight .turns because of wha t seemed to be a too-touchy back brak e £lac:kburn ---=qaClng 5858 BThunderbird Rd Indianapolis, IN 46236 1-800-828-9143 At Daytona We Will Have Available The New Bridgesfone .............--..... ~ BT50 Racing Compounds Front 120/70ZR17 Rear 160/60ZR17 see Us At The Bridgestone service Transporter in the Daytona Paddock. We will be open for business Thursday, February 28, and all through Bike Week 33