Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

clu tch. It also comes shod with Pirelli MT81 and MT32A San dc ross tires. The Enduro comes with head- and taillights but no odometer. Even without th e optional aluminum tank, the TM is the most expensive bike of the bunch with a suggested retail price of approximately $6700 - $6900 with the aluminum tank. . ha nd gua rds (however, your dealer will be happy to se ll yo u a set). Unlike the KDX, the KTM is no t EPA-approved but still comes stock with a spark arrestor . Im p ort ant featu res inclu d e massive 46mm conven tional Marzocchi forks up front an d a sing le Oh lins shock in th e rear, both of which are fully adjustable. The KTM also comes stock with Michelin MP11 Cross tires. It sells for $5498. Suzuki RMX250 Th e Suzuki RMX250 has been th e KTM's main opponent for top 250cc offroad h on ors in recent years, al though many off-road aficionados might argue th a t it's been the other way around; especially in the late '80s and early '90s. No matter how you look at it, the RMX has enjoyed great success on the National off-road circuit over the past five or so ye ars, bo a s tin g six AMA Na tiona l End uro Championships, and a cou ple of Na tio nal Reliability Enduro and H ar e Scr a m b le s Cha mpionshi ps as w e ll. Unfortunate ly, th e RMX isn 't w h at it on ce was - head and sho ul ders ab ove the rest. It is not that the RMX has go tten wo rse, it is just tha t the competition has gotten bet ter . The RMX has sta gnated in term s of yearly improvements and is losin g gro u nd to some of its competitors. Even Team Suzu ki Off-Road riders Ran dy H awkins, Steve Hatch and Rod ney Smith ha ve abando ned the RMX for the new-generation RM. However, Su zuki did make a few significant changes to the '96 RMX, such as going to 43mm conven tiona l Showa car tr idge for k s, wh ich, a lo ng w ith the Sh owa shock, is va lved w ith th e o ffro ad r id er' in m in d. Enginewise, the int ake tract has been red esigned for bet ter single-tra ck tractabili ty. The out-of-th e-crate EPA-approved , RMX is another bike that can' t be raced competit ive ly without an af termar ket exhaust pipe, and we w ent wi th an FMF Gold Series pipe and ISDE S/ A silencer combination. [e ttingwise, we went w ith a 52 pil ot (stock 60), a 172 (stock 165) main and a 1469 (stock 1472) needle. We also swap pe d th e uncomfortable sto ck h andleb ar w ith an Answer Alumilite unit, and w e trash ed th e stock Brid gest ones fo r D752 an d K490 Dunl ops much to th e rec ommendation of our Suzuki rep. Like the Kaw asaki and the KTM, the Suzuki comes with an endu roready odometer (resettable to 0 .10 miles), but is the only bike that comes without any kind of grab handles or hand holes. In stock condition, the RMX retails for $5299. TM 250 E duro n The Italian-bu ilt TM 250 Enduro is by far th e tr i ck e s t -Io o k in g bike of t he bunch, a lot of which has to do with its 3.6-gallon aluminum tank, a $200-option which holds more fuel than any of the other seven bikes. The standard tank is made out of plastic and holds just 2.3 gallons. The TM, which is imported by TM TRAIL BLAZIN' A TK250 LO Our test riders had few kind words about the ATK - initially. The bike is a handful in muddy conditions. It is hard to keep the ATK's Rotax motor pulling off the bottom; 'instea d , you have to keep the engine "on the pipe" all the time, like you would on a highly strung 125cc MX bike. The ATK's power hits like an on-off switch, which keeps it from hooking up in the slop. On drier gro und, the 250LQ is a completely diffe rent motorcycle. When traction is plentiful, the ATK is downright fun to ride. In the twisties, you can click up an extra gear, keeping the engine just above idle, and actually main tain a fast and steady pa ce. When the trail opens · u p, yo u can w ick it u p an d th e ATK responds instantl y, com ing on the pipe witho ut forcin g yo u to fan th e clutc h . There's no do ub t that the ATK is fast, from midran ge on up, as it pu lls quite hard. We don 't particularly ca re for the way the ATK's mo tor sounds - "It sounds like a snowmobile," said one tester. And he's right. (Top) The ATK 250 LQ features a no-link rear suspension, which means no maintenance. It works well, too. (Above) A new s ix-speed gearbox gives the water-cooled La more versatilitythan last year's five-s hifter. (Right) The CRE250 Enduro started out as a Honda CR250. but CRE Imports In Massachusetts turns It Into a fonn idable offroad weapon , via an enduro conversion kit from Italy. For $6419 (plus shipping) CRE Imports will set you up with a bike identical to this one. (Below) A different silencer plus a heavier flywheel makes the CREan excellent "chugger" In the slop . ATK 2 S0LO P o sitives: Good Iow·speed bott m-end o Plen tyof power on top Low firstgear Good throttleresponse Fun trail bike Negatives: Abrupt transitionfrom low· to midrange Nolchysh ifting Mushy.fee'ng clutch A little wide Sounds weird Motorcycl e s in Chino, California, is produced much like th e ATK in that most of the bike is made up of aftermarket components. The motor, howe ver, is produced at the TM factory in Ital y, while the frame built to TM's specs - is fabricated just down the road from the main factory. The bike features an Ohlins s h o ck, Marzocchi Magnum convent ional forks, billet-aluminum triple clamps, Excel rims, a Keih in carburetor, powder-coated frame, Renthal handlebars, a Regina non-a-ring ch a i n, an unpainted Messico pipe - minus a spark arrestor, and Acerbis plastic. The TM comes with a built-in centerstand (most of the others offering sidemounted kickstands) and is the only bike w ith a hydraulically operated Y amahaW R250 The Yam ah a WR250 is a no-frill s off-road motorcycle, featuring not much m o re than a heavier flywheel with a ligh ting coil, a wide-ratio tran sm ission, a sides tand and a larger fuel tank to differentiate from its YZ250 d eri vative. Billed as a "closed course" off-road race b ik e, the WR has no spark arrestor, odometer or hand guards, but these items can be easily purchased. Performancewise, the WR requires no immediate modification. It can be raced right 'ou t of the cra te so long as there are no timed checks between the start and finand go. ish line. Just put some gas in it Our bike came with Bridgestone 64M and 51M tires, and sells for $4749, which is only a few hundred dollars more than theKDX200. . The ATK w as one of the few bikes in our comp arison that came properly jetted. It ran quite well and never fouled a plug . Shifting left a lot to be desired, as it w as reluctant to d o so u n d er a lo ad . Very Yamaha-ish. An aw fully short shift lever combined with an overly large rubber pad didn't help matters either. There just isn't a whole lot of room between the shift lever and the footpeg for your foot. ATK sent us a longer lever without the rubber pad to try, and it did improve the ATK's shifting woes. The ATK certa inly feels different than the other seven bikes and takes some getting used to. We didn't like the sea t because it w as too soft, allowing you to feel the frame rails while flicking the bike through the turns. ATK found us a slightly firmer seat to try which

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