Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

··SH O O · 250cc MX Comparison . O T ur· ' : : ; :: .: " , ". " .;. : ;', ~ The' KrM is t1ie. ~asiest't'? start, 'a~d has ;he be",;t-sh.iped kick';;ta~ I"';e~ . . Yamaha 's lever is the worst, as it sends the arch ofyour foot smashing into' . .. . .'. '. .. :.: '. ': - . -: . ' .: : . . ", , . . . • Suzuki is now the only factory to provide an OEM fron t disc guard. '. . .• Kawasaki is the only factory.to provide an OEM rear master cylinder ' · -: theIootpeg..:.. shifter or sea t. Everythin g is w ell thought out, and the bike is as comfortable to maneuver on as it is easy to work on. The Honda wins. Though I didn't write a favorable review in our original YZ250 test, I have been able to spend a consid erable amount of time on the Yamaha and have grown to like the machine in certain conditions. I still stand by my earli er opinion that the YZ feels slow on sandy or loamy tracks where an instant burst of horsepower is needed. The YZ is an ything but hard-hitting or explosive. Instead, it delivers what may very well be the most-tractable power in the field . On tracks where traction is limited, the YZ is pure magic. One thing that repea tedl y irrita ted me about the YZ, however, was the exhaust note that it emitted. The bike sounds rasp y and worn out, adding to the illusion that the motor is slow. Suspension-wise, I didn't favor the Yamaha's shortened -travel suspension earlier in the year, but just as I came to accept the motor, I have grown accustomed to the YZ's Kayaba suspenders. On fast, choppy tracks, the Yamaha is perhaps the mo st confidence-inspiring machine of th e bunch, and in tighter sec tions it s till manages to h old it s own. . Erg onomically, th e Yamaha doesn't : . guard. -." . .. . . " ': ·: :· and oil. ,,,.':'. . ' . .•.. :. '. ' - ..:...• . ' : ' '.• :." ". : : '. :"' :._~: ThiHo~aa'~ white'fuel~k';"'~ am;;,~ are easily sci:ai~ed ana blac~ed . ';. . from the rider's boo ts. :." ,. ', ' . .", ' . :-.. '.. . ... . .: . .. .., . .. . . '.:. " -- :: .~ .the Kaw.a ·s frame and.swingarm are prirn eredwith black paiii.t· .~t sa!' " . . ...'. : . .:. : TheHond a is ~e·onlY· ri1adtine 'Without bu ilt-in gra~ ho!~ in t~ ~~e ~~: . . els. ., .. ....:.... . ,' '. . :. "".'. . ..' ..-:. '~" . ,. " . . '..: ',. , ' ' " ,:' ';: .. .- ;. : '. '. • Suzuki ha s, finally ditched their bolt-on .~ ckStand in favor of -a Sep~ate tri~ ' : . angle stand., . .... . ... . . ' .. '. '. . " ' .' . . .. : :" : ' . '. .• The Yamaha's rear fender tends tocome Jose and fall off.. ". . . '" ' ' . . '.. •.The Hond'a is the only machine to feature an IS-inch rear ~h'""l: . . '. '.. ," -The.KIM·s levers .ar e large ana hardto reach: ·,. .":. ... . .... . · . "FqM uses allen-head bolts, 'which tend to fiII upwithmud. " ,::, ," ~ , · , . The Suzukiis the only machine that-doesn't feature a fully-detatchable sub- , " · ·: frame...· . ,'.,.: .. .. . ': .. ' :,. :. : ":.: ' ... .' ,, :" . .: . "'::' .", ' -. :' · "~ The KTM, Kawa saki and Suzuki all have full'coverageradiator 'shrouds., . . :. and dark tanks. The shrouds look nice; but it's hard to tell when the tanks : ..·ate:full· ' · · · ·. ' : ..;, , ... . . . , .... ,. ..." . . .. ii'~till feels slitit: . .~.At 2.4 g~Il·~;;" . the K1'M·s tank~ the largest ~( the. five, · ,: ..This comes i n handy whenriding off-road . .", , ': ' . ' . . . ' . :-." ; . . . . . -. : ' .. ' - ' . : '. " .. . " .- ': ' ~ , ' ,; y et , ListPrict Displa<:eIMlI1 Engine type 80rex Sb:olte Carbu..tion Ka wwld KX250 $1949 249tt 2490: Li uid-roo sing1e-<:ylinder two stroke q led 66 .4mBll 72mm 66.4>72 -IOmm Keihin 38mm !Cejhin Ignition CD! Tnnsmisslon SJlftds 5 Rear whtt1travel Front brake Rtarbnko Final drive Oaimtd dry weight (Above) Aggressive riders will like the Suzuki RM2S0's hard-hitting motor and quick handling charac teristics. (Left)Likethe Yamaha, the KTM250SX is easy to ride, thanks to Its excellent ergonomics and supersmooth motor. 8 . . : ". · •.The Swting systrm Fue (.pKity l Wheelb... Seatbeghl Front tin! Rearlire Front wheel travel really suit me. The bike feels low and long in comparison to the others, and I never felt q uite as co m for tabl e w hile riding the YZ. I did, however, feel that I could tum in lap times that were comparabl e to those th at I cut aboard th e Honda, bu t it required more effort and concentration on my part. The Yamaha is a close second. Pick in g my third-favorite bik e was the hardest of all. The Kawasaki KX250 and the KTM 2S0SX w ere eq ua lly matched in my eyes. The Kaw asaki is one of the best, if not the best, handling bikes of th e bunch. Th e Kayaba uni ts did aI) ad mi ra ble job of soakin g u p every th ing thrown thei r way in a p redictable, forgiving manner. Though the '94 model is hardly as stable as past : .: · '.• The KTM coinesstockwith Renthal-type.alu minurn handlebars.' : .".: ": ' . . Honda is the easies t.towork'on, Three·:r~handles ·are·all that's 'needed ..' . for basie ma"intenani:e:·.·· .' ":: : ~ : '.',:.:":.::' :: ::.' . ' ' . ' '. ,. · ·The Suzuki hasthe worst air. filter. The dual-stageuriitis a pain to clean models ha ve been , the newest KX is graced w ith the ability to finally carve an inside line with little effort. While I loved the way the Kawasa ki handled, there was something abo ut the motor that didn't agree with me. Th e powerband is mu ch more violent than it has been in the past few years. Though it worked qu ite we ll at the s upercross tracks, the motor's hard -h itting pow er proved to be a handful on some of the rougher courses. The KX likes to be ridden hard , and d oes n ' t ag re e with a calmer riding style. The KTM on the other hand, has a smooth, yet strong, type of power tha t starts pulling way down low and pulls well thr ough the mid dl e of the po we rband before signing off on top. To me, Kick 2.0 gal. 58,4 in. 37 in. .7 80/100:<21 1iO/lOOx18 121 in. 12.6 in. Disc Disc Otain 213.8 lbs. cm 5 Kkk 2.2 gal 575 in. 37.6 in. 8O/l00x21 1l0/ 9Ox19 12.2 in. 13 in. Disc Disc Chain 212.71bs. ' . " 675x695 67x70.8 68x68.8 39mmK.ihin 38mmKeihin PEl 5 38mmMikuni Digital 5 \(",k Kick 2.0gal. 577 in. . 37 in. .8 8O/100x21 2.4gal 58.3in. 37.2in. 8O/ 100x2l 120/9Ox19 IlO 9Ox19 / 11.8in. 133 in. Disc Disc Chain 2J81bs. 12.2 in. 12.8 in. the KTM felt like a Honda with more low end, but less up on top. The 250SX worked equally as well on both the stad ium and outdoor styl e tracks that we rod e. As far as the KTM's WP sus pensi on goes, I must ad mit that I was quite surp rised . On o the r KTMs that we ha ve ridd en this ye a r, the WP s uspen sio n has either been way too so ft, or stiff and harsh. Thankfu lly, th e 2S0's s us penders de liver pe rforma nce that is the perfect b le nd between the two extremes. The 250SX ne ver swa p ped or kick ed unco n tro lla bly, a n d I never managed to bot to m ei ther end. Th e fork did seem to gl ance off sq ua re ed ged bumps, but in most cases, I was able to avoid hitting them altogether, thanks to the mot or's torquey, wheeliefriendly power. For me , choosing between the tw o machi..n es was tou gh . So tou gh . in fact, that I had to resort to my local telephone book ..Flipping through the pag es of the " motorcycle d eal ers" sectio n reveale d fiv e Kawasa ki deal ers an d only one KTM/Husqvarna/ATK/Ducati dealershi p . For me, th e Kaw asak i would be the bike of choice, but for someone with a good KTM delae r nearb y, the Katoom wou ld certainly be the way to go. The Kawasa ki is third; the KTM fourth . Last is usually a bad thing, but not in this case. Really! Let's jus t refer to it as fifth. The Suzuki RM250 is an aw esome machine in the hands of the right rider. Th e mot or delivers a kick- in-the-butt type of power, one that I'm not ashamed to admit is too rad ical for me. Thou gh Suz uki has mellowed out the RM250 for Disc Disc Chain 216 1bs. CD! 5 Kkk 2.ll gal 58.7 in. 39.1 in. 8O/100x2l I10/9Ox19 11.8in. 12.4 in. Disc Disc C11.in 214 Ibs. '94, the bike still hits hard and fast, and ha s the hand lin g charact er istics to match. . In '94, the RM2S0 ha s wh at Suzuki describes as an "outdoor ratio" linka ge system out back, replacing the "stad iu m ratio" linkage of the past few ye ar s. I will admit tha t the bike feels a bit calmer than it has in the past, but the fact is that the RM250 is s till best s uited fo r the hi gh-flying, fast ac tion of su pe rc ross. While I felt awesome aboard the RM at Castaic, I felt like an absolute beginner on th e sa me bike a t Gl en H el en a nd Sun rise. On fast tracks, especially rough ones, th e RM is a ha ndful. The new Showa Twi n Air Cha mbe r (sealed cartid ge) forks felt fine, bu t th e rear end repeated ly kicked and swa p pe d over square-edged obstacles. The Suzuki RM250 may be the right bike for some, it's jus t not the bike for me. Forrest: HilUilShi Age: 34 Height/weight: 5'10" / 170 Ibs. Specialty: Motocross Ski ll level: Vet Novice rom the mom ent I threw a leg over the Kaw asaki KX250, I was in love . As ma tter of fact, the oth er teste rs had to pry my hands off the bars in order to get me to try the other four motorcycles. The Kaw asak i's Kaya ba sus pe ns ion is the best, peri od . The fork and shock soak up every thing in their path - big or li t tle - and everyth ing about the Kawa saki ' s handling was in my eyes .. .perfect. f a

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