j!ttle touchy and was prone to stalling
until we lowered the brake pedal. Much
~tter.
.rlJ If there was one bike that we quesP./ilned when it came to the brakes, it
VYfis the Kawasakis. The rear started
fe,eling a little "soft" toward the end of
,our testing. It was due for some bleeding
So which bike is best? It truly boils
down to a toss of the coin between the
.Honda and the Kawasaki. However,
e eryone pretty much agreed that the
'pro-level rider will like the Honda best
right out of the crate. Ward chose the
Ronda as his favorite, praising its awe~some powerplant and solid suspension
R ckage, not to mention excellent
JbEakes.
i Ward chose the Kawasak~ next, followed by the Suzuki and Yamaha,
Jhough this could change depending on
the track. He liked the KTM but just
didn't feel as comfortable on it as he did
t4e other bikes.
Our intermediate rider, however,
chose the Kawasaki over the Honda ·easily. While he loved the Honda's
Open·bike-type power delivery, he simply felt that the Kawasaki was easier to
ride as a whole, despite having a motor
-nearly as strong as the Honda's. Also
swaying his opinion to the Kawasaki
was its slightly more cushy suspension.
"It wasn't difficult for me to pick the
Kawasaki," he said. "I found myself
searching for ways to fault or criticize
the Kawasaki, but I couldn't find anyJ!ting. 1 just had the most fun on this
bike."
He chose the Yamaha next for its
strong powerplant and solid stability,
but did say that he thought the suspension could be better. Next, he chose the
Suzuki, then the KIM.
"It's hard to. rate a motorcycle as
good as the KIM last, it's just that the
competition is so stiff," he said of the
KIM. "1 j)1st didn't feel as comfortable
on it at speed."
.
Our novice rider weI\t back and forth
between the Honda and Kawasaki, but
Ije couldn't overlook the Honda's
power, this being his deciding factor
oyer the Kawasaki. His third choice was
Yamaha, followed by the KIM and
Suzuki.
'oJ The only rider who did not rank the
Honda in the top two was our beginner\'7vel rider. He found the Kawasaki to be
.~e easiest to ride, but barely over the
~aha. The Honda was a bit too much
(9r him, ranking third. He liked the
.Suzuki next, followed by the KTM.
• As you can see, the Honda and
~awasaki were liked by all. But, again,
Which one's best? That depends. If pure
,horsepower or having the fastest bike on
rl
t!\.e
Kawasaki KX250
,list price
$5.649
.Displacement
249cc
Engine type . . . . . . . . . .
liquid·cooled.
single·cylinder two-stroke
.....66.4 x 72mm
'Sore x stroke .. ,
Compression ratio. . . Variable 9.0-' 0.8: 1
-
