Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

·S O T H O ovr 250cc MX Comparison I:hrl5 J o n n um hat a difference a few m onths m a ke . Aft e r testing each of our 250cc MXers on a n in d ivid u a l b as is , ou r testing staff gathered for se veral d a y s of high-flying, bar-banging, tank-s lapping action aboard all five of the contenders in backto-back fa shion a t a variety of MX tracks in the southern California area. Shane Trittler's Castaic Supercross Park in Castaic provided the high-flying portions of our shootout, while Joel Smith's Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, and the Continental Motosports Club Sunrise Valley Raceway in Ad elanto produced most of the bar banging and tank slapping. As usual, each our testers arrived on da y one of ou r evalu ation with a set of preconceived impressions . After all, we had all ridden the bikes on an ind ividual basis, so sho uldn' t we kn ow which ones we liked bes t? To o u r s u rprise, however, riding ea ch of th e m ach in es ba ck to back made it ev en harder to choose our favorites. As seems the case with each an d every passing year, modem motocross machines contin ue to ge t better and better, making it harder and harder to make a cut-and-dried decision about which machine is "best." This year, we found the Honda C R250, Kawasaki KX250, KTM 250SX, Su zuki RM250 and Yama ha YZ250 so closely ma tched, th at each of us came away with different choices - not on ly about which bikes were the best overall performers, but also about which b ikes worked best in d ifferent conditions. Age: 25 Height/weight: 6'3" / 170 Ibs. Specialty: Off-road /MX Skill level: A/Novice ' ve n ever ridden five motocrossers that wo rked so well, yet performed so di ffer en tly. For most riders, eac h of these bike s is capable of winning in stock form , and even pros will requi re minimal modifications . But does this mean that all five motorcycles are perfect? Far fr om it. Each has its stro ng poin ts an d its weak areas, and no t all riders would be happy on all five bikes. Hence, outlining the personalities and characteristics of each machine shou ld take precedence over choosi ng one undisputed w inner. Still, this is a shootout, and it's our job to ra te th e bikes. So here ar e my choices, but more importantly, why I've made them. I BUT FIRST , SOME THANKS FOR OUR "SPONSORS" 6 Since receivi ng them from their respective manufacturers, we had spent considerable time aboard each of the five bikes before our shootout. In order to assure that every machine was up to its full potential before our comparison, each was returned to its respective factory to be completely refurbished. A special thanks to Honda's Eric Crippa and Bob Olman, Kawasaki's Joe Wilson, KTM 's Tom Moen, Suzuki's Chuck Welch and Yamaha 's Ed Sche idl er and Don Dudeck for making our bab ies new aga in. In ord er to make the transition from ma chine to machin e easier, we fitted each of th e moto rcy cle s with Answ er Products' Pro Taper Handlebars in the Honda High bend. In addition to giving each machine a similar feel in the con trols department, the Pro Taper bars p rovided a sm oo ther, more comfortable ride than the steel OEM units, and we re far more resistant to crash damage. (The KTM comes stock with Renthal aluminum bars, but we elec ted to rep lace them with the Pro Tapers for the sake of co nsistency .) Thank you to Answer's David Kaiser for outfitting each of ou r bikes. And last, but certainly not least, we mu st ex p re ss our g r atitu d e to Ru ss Wageman's Pit Pr o Cycle Service and Accessories. Wageman and his box van full of parts can be found 'a t many southern California tracks on open pra ctice days, offe ring a selection of parts and services to those in need. Needless, to say, we were in need on several occasions. Wageman fixed our flat tir es on several occasions in the blink of an eye. Thanks, Russ. For the second year in a ro w, I like the KX250 best. This year, though , my choice was much eas ie r than in '93 . Kawasaski got it just rig ht, providing the best combination of s uspension , handling and motor. Some of the other bikes are stronger in certain areas, but n one of th em offers such a polished package. The motor on the KX may not be the best in its class, but it's not far off the mark. It feat u res a broad sprea d of power that starts down low and continues all the way up to the top end. On sa ndy tr acks, the Kawie posesses the oomph to blast out of comers and quickly build up momen tu m, and it can be ei ther revved or short-shifted on the straights. On super cross-style tracks, it has the sna ppy response needed to clear la rge obs ta cles. Not surprisingly.. the Kawasaki's suspension is again near the top of its field. The fork and shock both do an admirable job of absorbing stutter-bumps, wh oops and jumps, and the spring rates are right-on for my weight. Kaw asaki altered the frame geometry this yea r, and the KX is much-improved in the h andling dep a r tm e n t. It now rivals the Honda and Suzuki in com ers, yet still retains so me of its stability on fa st tracks. Yes, it will occasiona lly shake its head, though the stellar suspension helps to min im ize that tr ait. Both brakes are awesome, but the clutch is a little stiff and shifting cou ld b e smoother. Second place in my book goes to the Yamaha, w h ic h li ke th e Ka wasaki , offers a well-bala n ce d p a ckage th at doesn't stand alone in anyone a rea. The YZ's suspension is on par w ith the KX, and I'd be hard-pressed to d ecide which of the two is better. Apparently, Kayaba is sim ply a s tep ahead of th e competition w he n it com es to bu ild in g motocross suspension. The YZ's mot or is strong but, in my op inio n, not as versatile as the Kawasaki. With a strongbut-tractatable bottom end, the Yamaha works best o n h ard-packed tracks, whether they're of the outdoors or the supercross persuasion. Perhaps the only disadvan tage of the tractable botto m end is that th e Yamaha doesn't have th e ex plosiv e hit th at works s o well on san d tracks. The mid-range and to p-end p ower are both very impressive. St ability is still the YZ's strong point, b ut it can now comer almos t as tightly a s the quickerhandling bikes in its cla ss. Yes, cornering d oes take more effo rt th an on th e Honda, but it was m u ch better th an in the-p a s t, and I never once go t the Yamaha to shake its head or swa p . Br ake s a re decent, but a notchy tranny is a flaw. Bot h Ki t and Don n like the Ho n da bes t, and I mus t ad mit t h at it yet again has the best pow erplant, but its suspension held it to third p lace on my tally-b oard . I act ua lly had fe w co m p la in ts about th e shock, and th e Showa fork is worlds better than las t ye ar, but th e sprin gs on both ends are wa y too s o ft . W e w ent on e s te p s ti ffe r on the coils, in order to even ge t a decent impression of how the u n its functioned, and I still bottomed the fork on harsh landings. Also, the front end tended to deflect in so me situa tions . The mo tor, on th e other ha nd, is simply flaw less, with killer boost all th e way across the board. Brakes are awesome and gear-changes are effortless, bu t clu tch pull is too stiff for my tastes. The KTM 'su rp rised all of us , es pecially on supercross-style tracks. The SX motor featu res a broad sp read of usa ble power, which hooks up well and translates into rapid forwa rd motion . The WP suspension d oes a good job of han dling jump landings and rounded-o ff obstacles, but delivers a jarring shoc k to the rider's wrists over square-ed ged bumps. Handling leans toward the stable side, but tight co rnerin g is not o ut of th e question. The new Brembo brakes are surprisingly strong, but shifting requires a concentrated effort. The Suzuki co mes in la st, which I w a sn 't expecting. It s m a in fau lt is a motor wi th very little bottom-end . Midrange is abunda n t, but comes on too abruptly, a n d more b asement wou ld prov ide a s moot her tra nsi tio n. The Showa suspens ion units function bett er than the Hon da's, wi th s p ri ng rates that are closer to the m ark, but fo rk ac tion paled in comparison to the KX and YZ. The RM is a quick-handling machine, wi th s t r o n g brak es , ea s y clutch pull and a buttery-smooth transmission. So there you have it, the [onn um list for how the quarter-liters ra te. The Kawasaki once again com es out on top, for the simple reason that it does nearly everyth in g right, and nothing w ro ng . None of the other con ten ders can make this claim. KIt: Pillmer Age: 32 Height/weight: 6'1" /160 Specialty: Off-road/MX SkiIllevel: A/Vet Intermed iate went with the Honda last y ea r because of its awesome powerplant, top-of-the-lin e ergonomi cs and overall good handling. The s uspen sion, however, left room for improvements, but what the Honda might've lacked in the suspension department was more than made up for everywhere else. This year, I aga in have to tip my hat to th e Honda CR250, pretty much for the same reasons. But, I must admit, it was an extremely tough choice between it and the Kawasaki and Yamaha. As far as I'm concerned, the Honda is the easiest to rid e fast and for a longer period of time. You just can' t help but go fast on the Honda, and a lot of this is due to its astounding motor. A sligh t crack of the throttle and the Ho nda responds wi th a strong burst of power, but not so strong as to ri p th e h and leb ars out of yo u r hands. As yo u click through the gears, the Honda continues to p ull hard but in a gra d ua l and leisurely ki nd-of-way. The p ow erb an d is extremely smooth and there's never a lack of power alo ng the way. We rode all of the bikes at a variety of tracks and the Honda's powerplan t see med to work best whether on supercross or"out doo r" motocross tracks. As far as I'm concerned, th is motor is as close to perfect as you' re eve r go ing to get. An added p lus is that the Honda is very tractable. The rear wh eel hooks up nicely on either hard-packed or loam y d irt surfaces. The transmission also shifts smoothly, but is perhaps not quite as nimble as the Suzuki's awesome tranny. The Honda also fits my six-foot, oneinch frame like a we ll-used glove. This made the Honda simple to flick aro und over the jumps and on the gro un d . The Ho nda also retains its reputation as an excellent turner. For the umpteenth year in a row, I wasn 't exa c tly thrilled about the Honda's s us pens io n. It ' s definitely good, but for me it still doesn't inspire confidence as much as the Yamaha and Kawasaki . I never really felt totall y certain as to what the Honda was going to do while chargin g down a rou gh, highspeed s traight. Sometim es the Honda would track straight as an arrow; other times , the back-en d w oul d sn ea k in a hardy kick or swa p. At least the Honda would always recover, usually on its ow n accord . At slower s peed s, the . Honda's suspension wo rks just fine. It' s jus t the high -speed stuff tha t gets a little scary. . As always, I loved the Ho nda's con'trols - lev ers, ha ndleba rs, g rips, footp egs, seat , etc. The levers a re withi n ea sy rea ch; th ey 're n a rrow a nd b oth sides ha ve light pull; the gri ps are sano; th e footpegs are loca te d right w he re they should be, an d the sea t is n ' t too narrow an d th e p adding is just right. Mmwaa! Choosing th e runner-up was my toughest deci sion - picking between the Ya maha a n d Ka w asaki. Last y ear I chose the Kawasaki as number two and the Yamaha number three, but this year th e order is reversed. I liked the lessexplosive hit on the new Yamaha and I definitely approve of Yamaha's decision I

• Cover