Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

KTM 250ElXC The KTM 250E/XC dazzled all our testers with its outstanding motor. Like the CRE, the KTM is completely chuggable in the muddy ruts and on steep hills while still being extremely capable when the trail opens up. There isn't anything this motor can't handle. The only complaint one rider had was the motor "felt a little flat" for his liking. Oh, well. Throttle response is crisp and clean, as usual, which no doubt has a lot to do with its spot-on jetting. . For su ch a serious off-road machine, th e KTM is qui te easy to ride, th ou gh some of our testers complained about the KTM's forks, saying the front end felt too harsh an d skittish. One rider went as far as saying the forks felt "terr ible." We settled for bumping up th e . compress ion d amp in g a co up le of clicks, wh ich seemed to give the front end more stability, bu t the "Zokes" could use some mor e fine tuning. than on the faste r trails . One tester said he was in heaven ridi ng the Husky after h avin g just gotten off th e ATK in the we t. But in drier conditions, he preferred the ATK over the Husky. Gra d e: B- KTM250ElXC Positives. Excellent a11·around power Good -ch uggabillty' Spot-on jetting Comes'Mlh anodometer and spark arrester Quick steem>g Neglltlv. ., Busy front end Han:! seat No hand guards Kawasaki KDX200 Whe n weather conditions were, shall we say, not pretty, the Ka wasaki KDX200 was the bike of choice for many of our testers. After all, the bike is relatively s mall , easy to throw a ro u n d, makes good power and handl es well, p lus it is one of the few bikes tha t comes stock with ha nd guards. The on ly m o d if ica t io n s we performed were the fitting of a Pro Circuit p ipe and silencer for th e KDX a n d removal of the restrictive airbox cover. That was it. With those few changes, the KDX comes alive when youtwist the throttle , making it an absolute blast to ride. The Pro Circuit pipe enhances the KDX ' s power fr om m idrange on up with a negligible lo ss of bo ttom -end grunt. Kawasaki KDX200 Positives: Pl sh suspen u sion(good forwoods rid ing) Feels light and man euverable Comes with ha ndguardsand odometer Snappy power (with aftermarket pipe/Silencer) Just plain fun to nde Negatives. Small fuel tank Cramped cockpit Lacks power ontop Wimpy chain The KDX was, without a do ubt, the m ost po pular bike of the day when it was ra in in g . The m o tor is extre mely man ageable when the going gets tough, and on those narr ow, seco nd- and thirdgear "goat" tr ails, th e KDX h as m ore than enough bottom- to-middle power to get the job d one. It moves alo ng pretty goo d when the trails open up, but you will wish for a few more ponies in wi deopen terrain . Suspensionw ise, th e KDX can take wha tever th e tr ail di sh es ou t, but ju st doesn't inspire confidence as mu ch as its bigger rival s. The sus pension is definitely more in tune for slow going , rather than the more high-sp eed terrain su ch as th at of the Sout hern Californ ia desert. There wer e a few thin gs w e didn't like about the KDX like the whimpy non-Oring chain. It stretches badly afte r th e first rid e and should be tossed immediately and replaced with a quality O-ring chain. Also, the 2.9-gallon gas tank is a little small for serious off-road riding. Grad e: B No one had any comp laints with the KTM's rear suspension or its overall handling. The bike steers well while m a in t a in in g good stra igh t-line s tabili ty despite having a fairly steep steerjng angle. We went through a set of re ar brake pads after one day in row layou t, fairly sof t suspension and tractable motor that chugs wit h the best of them. Without a doubt, the RMX has th e best transmission of the bunch, and the clutch pull is extremely light. Suzuki RMX250 Positlvesl Good low-end Great forks Excellent transmission The tighter thetrails, the better the RMX wori

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