Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(Left) The Yamaha WR250 Is a full-on motocrosser barely turned off-roader. (Far left) The WR has a very versatile motor but plan on replacing the stock, round-slide, spark plug-fouling carburetor with one that works. ready. However, yo u' re go ing to ha ve to reach deeper into your pockets for a new, more up-to-date carburetor, perhaps a spark arres tor and, in some cases, an electron ic odometer, Shop around for th e be st deal s, and you will wind up spending less on the Yamaha than you would for the KTM. Still, with the KTM, yo u d on 't have to do any thi ng . Mo st a g re e d they 'd buy the RMX n e xt , d espite h aving to s in k a t least another $55 0 (on an ex h aust system, handlebars and tires) to make it co m pet i tive . The _ _ forks are excellent, and over all, the - _CT'' ' RM X lias ton s of po tentia l. Still taking cos t in to co nsi de ra tio n, th e KDX was our next favo rite, follo we d bv the H u skv and the ATK. Neither th~ CRE nor the TM will imp ress the pennyp inc he rs, n o m a tte r h o w goo d these b ikes ac tually are . For th o se w ho do have the extra cas h and want something a little different, though, the TM wi ll fit th e bill . It really is a good bike. An d w ha t if bomb ru ns an d che ckpo ints are not high on your priority list, but goo d 01' fun week end trail ridi ng is? This is wher e the KDX200 shines, especially when you take into accou nt its relatively low p rice. The Kawasak i is pure fun on th e trails because it feels fairly light, makes good pow er, is sm all and nimble, h as decent su s pen sio n, nev e r fouls a plug and alw ays starts. Plu s, the KDX200 - with relatively minor modifi cati on s - is a form idable bike to ride in enduros when the u rge strikes. One of ou r testers who is relatively new to the off-road scen e but is rapidly improving by leaps and bou n d s with every ride, went as far as saying he liked the KDX above all the rest . Then again, he foll o w ed up with , "Bu t th e KTM w as a lot of fun, too ." The RMX is a fun play bike, too, as are the ATK an d the Husky. Aga in. the CRE and TM are a little pricy for ju st trail ridi ng. We never went trail riding on the WR without a fanny pack full of spark p lugs. None of these b ike s are cle ar-cu t losers, but sin ce the re can on ly be one winner in a comparison test, we h ave to give the nod to the CRE 250, keeping in mind the fact th at all of these machines are designed for o ff-road competition. Some migh t say that it' s not fair to compare a "kit" bike to production bikes, but the bottom line is that all you have to d o is write one check for anyone of th ese machines, and it 's yours. Tha t' s the common d en ominator. And if you write that che ck for the eRE, we think you 're going to be happy with what you get in return. 1"X SPECtACATlONS , ATK : eRE : Uquid-<:ooled. : two-stroke, single : Uquid-<:ooled. : two ·stro Single ke. ' Uquid-<:ooled. ' two-stroke. single Displacement ' 249.8cc : 249 .3ce Bore. stroke : 67.5 x 69.8mm : 66.4 x 72mm Engine type : Kawasaki ' KTM : 249 6cc : Uquid-<:ooled. two-stroke. single • 198cc : Uquid-<:ooled . , two·stroke. single : 67 x 70.8mm : 66x58mm ' 8.2·9.4:1 : 35mm Keihin : PWK. crescent-slidle ~ Husqvama Compression ratio ' 7.04·12.5:1 ' 8.7:1 ' 9.0:1 Carburetion : 38mm Mikuni , TMS. f1at·snde : 38mm Keihin. : PJ28K : 38mm MikuniTM Transmission speeds ~ 6 Rear shock WP Rear wheel travel : 13.6in. Fork : WP.4 3mm. ~ inverted Front wheel travel : 11.8 in. Tire, front Metzeler 90/90·21 Tire, rear : Metzeler 140/80-18 TM Yamaha Uquid-<:ooled . two-stroke. single Uquid-<:ooled. two-stroke. sing le : 2486cc Uquid-cooled. two-stroke. sing le : 24get 24get : 24get ' 67.5 69.5mm ' 67x 70.8mm 66.4 x 72mm : 68x 68.8mm :N/A : 9.8-8.0:1 15.5:1 ' 9.0·10.4:1 : 38mm Keihin : PNK. D-slide : 38mm Keihin. ' PJ fla . t-stde 38mm Keihin. PWK. f1at·s1ide : 38mm Mikuni : VM38SS. round-slide :6 Suzuki : 5 :6 :6 :5 :5 5 : Kayaba : Showa : Kayaba : Dhn ns : Sho wa 12.8 in. 12 .6in. ! 11.8 in. , 13.3 in. , , 12.8 in. Dhlins : Kayaba. 43mm. : Manocchi. 45mm. : conventional : Kayaba. 43mm : cartridge. conventional Marzocchi Mag num. 4Smm. conventional : Kayaba. 43mm. : Manocchi Magnum. : 45mm. conventional : inverted 12 .2in. : 12.0in. ~ cartridge. conventional 11 .8in.. 11.8 in. : Du nlop 80/100·21 • MetzelerUn icross ' 90/90·21 : Dunloa59M K695 : 80/ Hio·21 ' Michelin MP11 : 90/90·21 : Du nlop 695 100/90·19 : MetzelerUnicross : 130/90·1 8 : Dunlop 51 M K490 : 100/100· 18 N IA : Kayaba : 12.4 in. : Kayaba..43mm. : inverted 11.8 in. 11.8 in. _11.8in. Bn dgeslone 51M 80/100·21 Pir lli Sandcross e 3.00· 1 2 : Dunlop 490 : 80/1OQ.21 Pirell Endurocross i 140/80·1 8 : Dunlop K695 : 110/100-18 Brake. front : 260.4mm Brembo ~ Nlssin : 260 mmBrembo ~ Nlssin ' MichelinMPII ' 130/80-18 : 259.1mm Brembo Brake.rear : 220mm Brembo : 220mmBrembo ~ Nissin : 220mm Bre mbo Fuel capacity (gal.l : 3.1 • Nissin : 2.0 : 3.2 : 2.9 : 3.2 Wheelbase : 58.5in. : 57.09in. : 56.5in. : 57.8in. : 58.5in. Seat height ' 37.2 in. • 58.4 in. : 36.9 in. ' 35.04in. : 36_2 in, : 37.2 in. 37.6 in. Grou nd cleBrance ' 13.5 in. 13.1 in. : 14.47 in, : 13.4 in. : 15.2 in. Dry weight : 235 1bs. : 232 1bs. : 2311bs. . : 235 1 bs. : 239Ibs. MSRP : $5695 ' $4249 : $5498 : $5299 : $6700 : $4749 : $5695 • $6419 : $6419 ' $4999 Price as tlsted : $52 39 ' $4502 : $5498 : $5840 $69 00 : $4749 / : Blidgestone 64M 11 0/100 Nissin 260mm Brembo : 245mmNissin Nissin 220mm Brembo 3.4 3.6 : 220mm Nissin : 3.4 : 58.6in. 13.4in. N IA N IA NIA 240 1bs. 2301 bs. : 230 Ibs. : 38.7in. • 15.0in. ~ ~ ~ \0 0\ 0\ ' ,....... ~ ...... ...... l-< 0...

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