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
Photos by ~It Palmer and Cameron Coatney ou're probably thinking, why bother even reading a shootout involving this year's crop of '97 250cc MXers? After all, the allnew, aluminum-framed, twinspar Honda CR250R is going to be the hands-down winner, right? Well, not necessarily. While it is true that the radically changed CR is simply an outstanding motocrosser and is by far the best-handling and most-powerful CR250 that Honda has ever produced, we'll tell you right now that the high-tech Honda is not the clear-cut winner in.our five-way, 250cc MX comparison, comprising the KTM 250SX, the Yamaha YZ250, the Suzuki RM250, the Kawasaki KX250 and, of course, the Honda CR250R. While Honda was busy honing its new 250, so were the other four manufactures. They, too, were doing their homework and have very well maintained the pace - some more so than others - with the CR250. This is perhaps our most extensive 250cc MX comparison ever. We rode all five bikes at various tracks, utilizing the help and opinions of many riders of all skill levels, ranging from the fairly inexperienced motocrossers to the veteran intermediate riders. We also recruited pro rider Gordon Ward, who provided us with his insight on the five bikes. AU of the manufacturers were heavily involved during our testing, as well. On two occasions, representatives and chnicians from each company attended our test sessions at two significantly different tracks, where they came to assist us in making necessary adjustments, such as tuning in suspension preload for each rider, turning the "dickers," answering questions, replacing bent levers and handlebars - pretty The Kawasaki has a . snappy motor and cushy suspension that will make a lot of people happy. The rougher the track, the better the KTM works. It has good suspension and a capable motor, though the pros will want more beans. much responding to our beck and call. (At least that's what we'd like to think). Plus, each manufacturer had its own day with us, as well. Combine aU this with many of our own private testing sessions over the past couple of months· and you can see that we hav", gotten well-acquainted with these five machines. When Kawasaki first introduced the KX250 to us at Carlsbad Raceway back in September, we knew that Kawasaki had a winner on its hands. The muchtalked-about and soon-to-be released, aluminum-framed Honda would really have to be good to top the Kawasaki's extremely potent yet controllable motor and compliant suspension, but Honda came through. Motor-wise, the new CR250R is simply awesome. The Kawasaki might have a smidgen more bottom-end, but the CR takes over from there. "This engine is so powerful," said Ward, who absolutely loved the Honda's motor. "From bottom to the top you never have to short-shift it; you can just wind the gears out all the way to the next corner." Most of the riders agreed that the Honda pumps out Open-bike-Iike power, which all of our testers liked, though some admitted that it's bordering on "too much." An intermediate rider said of the CR's explosive hit: "It's fast, has good, linear power, but it hits too strong for my weak arms." Our novice rider said, "It feels like a mellow Open-classer. There's power for