Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

·S O T U 250cc MX ComparisonH O O T. By Do n n Maeda --------- A noth er yea r has passed, and 1995 is finall y upon us . ew Year 's resolutions, income taxes and a few more gray hairs come to the minds o f man y, but to MX fanatics, the new year means only one thing - new bikes! . Th is year's crop of 250cc mo tocrossers is the bes t ever. Tho ugh most o f the bikes ha ve been simp ly refined, the m ost competitive machines in recen t memory have been produced by the Ho nda , Kawasaki, KTM, Su zuki a nd Yamaha fact ories for '95. Bits and pieces_ As always, the Honda CR has the absolute best brakes. Power, feel and modulation of the CR units a re unequalled, and Honda riders will have no problems coming down from speed. Brake s on the othe r four bikes rated about The first of the '95 bikes rolled into ou r o ffices in late September, and in between Hallo ween tri ck-or -trea ting, Thanksgivin g turkey d estruct ion, a nd Christmas sho p ping, the Cycle NI:WS tes t-riding sta ff ha s managed to spe nd a co nsidera ble am ount of time on each of the machines . At each tr ack, every test er fille d ou t a detailed questionnaire, awarding points to each bike in several areas. Bikes were ra ted in many wa ys, but for our report, we've b roken it d ow n int o th ree major categories: power, han d lin g and sus pension. So which bike is our favori te? You'll have to read on for that answer... Before you s tart to peel off the warning labels on the Yamaha yz rear fender. make sure that you have a n hour or so to spare. The stickers tear off in little bits, and leave behind a stubbom. sticky residue. Don't ove rtighte n the gas cap o n the Kawasaki KX - the top will spirt in your bare hands. Keeping a spare in your toolbox might not be a bad idea. the same - a four-way tie, if you would. One tester felt that the Kawasa ki KX brakes felt strong at first, but became squishy towards the end of a long moto. Another fen that the Yamaha yz binders were on the grabby side, and could be heated up easily. The KTM SX comes wrth Domino grips and levers. They look different, but have awesome feel. The KTM also comes with Renthai-type aluminum ha ndlebars - the others come with bogus steel unrts. The Honda CR and Suzuki RM have the best When be nt in a crash , the bright orange Hond a CR fenders can crease and turn whrte. transmiss ions . Both machines have a buttersolt feel at the shift lever, and missed shifts were never a problem on eitherbike. The KTM SX and Yamaha yz fen notchyat times, but it was nothing that we couldn't live wrth. The Suzuki RM is best surted to short riders, as the rider feels as if he is riding in, rather than on the RM . Taller riders will nee d to order taller se at foam. The Kawasaki KX is the tallest-feeling bike of the bunch. 6 Levers can be bent back into their original shape on the Honda CR, Suzuki RM and Yamaha YZ. Don't try this trick with the Kawasaki KX , though , as they will snap. The KTM SX levers come wrth "perforations," so that in the event of a crash , the end of the leverwill snap ott. A broken lever is much belter than a broken clutch rdl"Clt ter cylinder. Best clutch honors go to the Honda CR. The Suzuki RM is right up there with the Honda. but the RM clutch is a tad easier to heat up. The worst clutch award goes to the KTM SX. Drag was a problem during testing, and try as we might, we couldn't adjust it out with the lever and clutch cabie adjusters. The Kawasaki, KTM and Suzuki all have tull-coverage radiator shrouds. This can be good and bad. The shrouds protect the tank, and make it easier to clean the bike up, but they block light and make it hard to see the fuel levelwhen filling the tank. A special lhanks to Rainbow MX Park, Glen Helen fla! ,. f"'Clru m is the KTM 250SX, .The Au strian machine is incredibly stable, thanks mo stly to its conventional Ma rzocchi fork and some-

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