Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127813
CR250R VS. KX250 VS. RM250 VS. SX250 VS. YZ250 liked the Yamaha's powerplant, as well. "Pretty decent; electric feel," said one of them. "Though it's not as snappy as the Kawasaki." The Suzuki's motor is good, too, but just didn't wow any of our riders like the Honda, Kawasaki or Yamaha's motors did. The Suzuki makes good power, comes on the pipe right away, but just doesn't feel as robust as the other three. "Not explosive, but not weak," said our novice rider. Ward liked the RM's motor but did have this to say, "Out of the thick-berm comers, I had to clu tch it two or three times (which) would mess control up sometimes." ,. , The Suzuki's motor makes a lot of internal noises that irritated some riders, too. The exhaust-valve gears make a racket that is especially noticeable after stepping off any of the other bikes. Many riders compared the KTM's strong powerplant to the Suzuki's, saying both motors feel very similar. The Austrian-made mill, like the Suzuki, dishes out good power, and the word "usable" came up often when describing the KTM's engine. Many of our lesser-experienced riders came back after riding the KTM all smiles, stating that the KTM is easy to ride, much o~ which having to do with its torquey, strong and capable powerplant. It doesn't pull as hard on top as the Honda, Kawasaki or Yamaha, but the KTM isn't far off the pace. The bottom line is that it has more than enough to get the job done. Very little in the way of engin~ adjustments were performed on any of the bikes through9ut our testing, though we did make some jetting adjustments to the Honda, Suzuki and KTM. With the Honda, we stayed with the #175 main but· changed the pilot&om a #55 to a #52 and richened up the needle by going from a 1368M needle to a 1367L, with the clip set in the #3 position (from the top). We also left the stock #42 Power Jet alone. We leaned the Suzuki out quite a bit. We went from a #175 main to a #165 main; and went from a #48 pilot to a any conditions. Lug it, chug it, or scream it. It just keeps pulling. It's just a great mill." The Kawasaki's motor is not far behind the Honda's. Like the Honda, throttle. response is right there on the Kawasaki - "instant" said one rider. Pretty much the only difference between the two is that the Honda hits a tad harder and pulls a little longer on top. "It signs off a little early," said our intermediate rider of the KX motor, "but it has a good, ridable range of power." Ward perhaps said it best: '1t (the KX) has power &om bottom to top - but not like the CR." . The trade-off, however, is that overall our testers felt that the Kawasaki's powerplant is slightly easier to manage than the Honda's, which means that the Kawasaki should agree with a wider range of riders. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the five bikes was the Yamaha's motor. It, too, is right up there with the Honda and Kawasaki when it comes to outright power - a big change over last year's YZ. The YZ hits hard off the bottom and pulls well through the gears, and does so in a controllable fashion. Ward was quite impressed with the Yamaha's motor, as was our intermediate tester. "This is the easiest engine to like," the intermediate rider said. "There's plenty of power everywhere, (it) felt smooth, and very usable at all parts of the track." Both our novice and beginner riders (Above) Given the Suzuki's progressive suspension, the RM Is more suited for supercross-style tracks with big jumps. it's not as versatile as the others. (Right) The Honda flatout rips with its Openbike-type power delivery, and it has the suspension to keep up.