Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

While everyone seemed to be pleased with the rear, some adamantly disliked the fork, claiming the front end twitched and shook all over the place. Others had no complaints at all, in fact, some were quite pleased with the Yamaha's fork. Handling The Suzuki and Honda were arguably the best turning bikes of the bunch. Most of the testers agreed that the Suzuki worked the best in the tight, grooved comers and could dive underneath the Honda, but the Honda seemed to be more stable through the sweepers. Either way, both the Suzuki and Honda are very good turners. No one really praised or faulted the Kawasaki's turning traits - it just worked, inside, in the middle, or way out in the berm, the Kawasaki did its job just fine. The Yamaha is a good turner as well, but testers who had logged a whole lot of time on previous YZs, had a tougher time in the turns. They admitted they had a hard time keeping the Yamaha in the grooves and the smaller berms, but those who are more familiar with the Yamaha love it. Ergonomics As far as overall feel, none of the bikes take much time getting used to. Most, but not all, felt that the Yamaha had the most neutral and comfortable feel. It has a very narrow layout, firm seat, comfortable handlebars and wellplaced controls, except for the clutch lever, which still has a firm and mushy pull. The Honda and Kawasaki feel nearly identical. Both bikes are somewhat tall, especially in the front, and have lowmounted footpegs. However, some riders had problems with their boots snagging on the side panels. The Suzuki, again, feels quite different than the other three bikes. It has a low seat height and feels narrower than the Kawasaki and Honda. Of the four bikes, most of the testers agreed that the Suzuki takes the longest to get used to. It doesn't feel bad, just different. Opinions Now that production MXers are so close in performance, it truly is impossible to choose just one bike as the clearcut best. This was often possible in the 1970s and even up until about the mid'80s, but not anymore. 50 which is the best bike for you? Well, that is going to . depend on your riding style and skill level, but to help make your decision a little easier, here are our own personal opinions of each motorcycle. don't think I've ever bounced beck and bth., IIIlXh in dloo ISing which of the ~ weD in the mud. Due to its low seat height, quick handling and strong fuur 25Oa: MXers from Japan J liked best. Ove: the put ttwee months. I must've power, it plows through the deep loam very well said to myself that 1 tiked each 0Ile of the four bi1r;es best at least once. But when I I had perilaps the most fun on theSuzuki. • finally bad to make a decision, I ~ that I i.ept zeoverting back to the Honda. I To me, the Kawasaki felt v~ much like the Honda in all departments. Motor-wise, f0un4 ~comparingtheXamaha. SuzWdandlCawuaki to lteCR, and, tome, that the Kawasaki, again, felt sirniIiar to the Honda's but juSt didn't feel to have as much overalt power and bottom end. In a nutshell, I liked the Kawasaki a lot, but for some right there is the writlllg on the wall In my opinion. the Honda CR has the best motor. It feels jtIst a little bit fasrer and reason that I could never pinpoint, I just never felt as comfortable on the Kawasaki like overan more powerful than the othel" three but is stiD the easiest to manage. You can I did on the Honda. despite liking its suspension and motor. The Kawasaki just doesn't roD on the throttle and the Honda will ~ by.giYing you. a strong surge of power do anything bad, or exceptionally well It just works. from gear to gear. It's ahnost as if you can t help bUt go fast on the Honda. even when The Yamaha and I just didn't get along as well as we did last year. I just felt as you. get tired and start getting lazy in the tuQ1S and whoops, the CR wmks with you though I had to wod<. a little harder and I was always a little more out of control on the rather than against you. thanlcs to its extremely linear poweband. Yamaha than on the other bikes, yes, evm the Suzulil simply had a hard time holding For the past few years, I've been very disappoiIlled with Honda's CR suspension, my lines on the Yamaha. For me, the motor was a little t~:we' but not any more. Both the front aIId rear suspension soak up the bumps, whoops and As far as layout and ergononUcs, it's still the most ble bike for me, by a jumps mud:t better than before and doesn't want to swap nearly as bad, either. The long ways; except for the dutch lever - the pull is sti1l too hard. Overall, the Yamaha is Honda comers weD, especially after you find a comfortable handlebar setting. The CR definitely fast, handles well and has good suspension - I was one of the testers who seems very sensitive to handIebar.positioning. liked the Yamaha's fork, as well as the back end. And not to mention, in my opinion, Overall, the Honda just feels the best for me, and it seems to work best when ridden it's the best looking bike of the four tested- I know I could be quite happy with the aggressively, too. Yamaha, once I got the motor smoothed out and dialed in. 1 was p.:ri\aps most surprised by the Suzuki.1 didn't like it at an last year, but I now But, hey, right now, if it was my hard-earned money on the line, I would choose the enjoy it a lot. It still feels a little twitchy in the suspension. department. but I love its • Honda. motor. I've always leaned a little bit towards Mrevvy" motoIs and it has enough IowSpecialty: OfJ-rwd/motocross end to handle the turns quite well For such a high-strung motoc, the powerband is still Class: ANd IntermediJzte v~smooth. . Age: 31 I also liked the way it rails through the tmns and launches off the jumps. The Weight: 160 lbs. Suzuki works weIl_ double jumps that immedialeiy foDow a tight corner - just slip Height: 6'1~ the dutch and "brraap: it easily deus the second jump. The Suzuki also perfonns I 7

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