Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

lik ed the CR's b rakes, narrow feel , th e wa y it shifts, and its mid-to-top power, bu t didn't like the Honda' s sketchy suspension an d lack of power off th e bottom. On e rid er said , "Ov erall, the CR is a great bik e tha t need s the sus pension set up, and it could use some bottom end to go wi th its massive mid-t o-top po wer." Another rid er said, "The CR250 feels like it was d esigned fur Supercross, The motor works grea t w hen you ha ve good traction, and the suspe ns ion wo rks good off jumps, as long as there ar e no bumps in between." So, our initial fe w rides on the '98 Honda CR25 0R lead us to be liev e tha t (Above) The CR's powerful motor was bas ica lly left alo ne, but the Kelhln Power Jet carburetor was retuned for crisper response. (Left) Ergonomics are typical Honda- excellent. (Right) Honda made som e chassis changes for a lessrigid feeling. (Below) The CR lives to be ridden hard. slightly altered, as the ca s te r is no w steeper and the trail shorter, which results in a slightly shorter wheelbase. As strange as it may so u nd , becau se of the modi ficati on s to th e shock and fork, these changes were m ade to keep the frame's geometry pretty much the same as before. O t her chass is changes include the chain roller , w hich is now mo un ted to the linkage in stea d of th e frame, and there are n o w di ffe r ent m ethods of weldi ng u sed at cer tain points of the frame to inc rease durabili ty . Also, the sw ingarm has a beefier cross-body, an d the subfram e u se s a t h inner-wa ll ed design and has new moun ting loca tio ns to reduce weight w hile still maintaining strength. As expected, the first time we rode the '98 CR250, we d id n't feel any drastic change s, especially with th e motor . It' s still as powerful as eve r but still lacks punch way down low . One of our Pro-level testers, wh o currently owns a '97 CR250, sa id the bike is still a litt le "flat" off the bo ttom, bu t has bet ter m id range a nd "really shines on . to p ." Anot he r Pro rider agreed that the CR needs more low en d, but added tha t the motor , on top, is "s tro ng" and "revs fore ve r." He went on to sa y: "[t's grea t ou tdoor, fast-track mo tor. H old on once out of second gea r." Our No vice-classed rider ag reed tha t the Honda is awfu lly powerfu l but is still rid ab le, even for his SUb-Expert abi lity . More bottom end and a smoother . transition fro m low to mid range, everyone sa id, would mak e the CR eas ier an d more forg iving to ride. Even one of our Pro rid ers sa id , "If the low-t o-m id tran'sitlon wa s as good as the mid -to-top, it wo uld be perfect." But no matter ho w you look at it, the CR's motor rips ." Ge tti ng the power to the rear whee l is as good as eve r, than ks to the CR's flawless transmission . Missed shifts are ra re, and feel is excellent. H owever , we hea rd so me of ou r test ers co m plai ning that the clutch pu ll is a little on the stiff side. a th is wi ll be an other love-i t-o r-ha te-i t year for the CR250R. Pro rid e rs will mo st like ly love the bike, but not u n til they s pe nd the time to ge t the suspensio n d ialed in - only then will they be able to tak e adva ntage of th e C R's poten t motor, even if it d oes lack a little off the bottom. After all, most Pros got to where they are by keeping the throttle pinned . Novices, however, still might have tro ubl es comi ng to terms with the CR' s st ill-unforgiving suspens ion and fX exp losive mo tor in race cond itions. While Cycle N ews believes the foregoing test reliable, it is the opinion of the r""iewers only and should not be relied upon in determining the performance or safety of the vehiWhen it co mes to the CR's su sp ensio n, everyone wh o rode the bike agreed that the overall ride is, still, a little on the harsh side. Wh ere the fork is concern ed, our Pro riders felt that it isn 't sensitive enough on the sma ll-to-mediu m bu mps bu t handl es th e har d hits quite well. Even ou r Novice rider nodd ed his head in agreeme n t. Mu ch th e same wa s sa id abo ut the back end . "Good on th e ha rd land ing s (bu t) no t so good o n lit tle bumps and ru tted grooves," said one rider. "It feels. like a shock made for ju mping . It resists bo ttoming - very wel l." Eve n th e CR owne r sai d : " It (the s hock) fee ls like the ' 97 . Needs to be mo re plush a nd t rac k better in th e ro ug h." Obv iousl Y» we h a ve some serio us d ialing-in ye t to d o w he n it comes to the '98 CR' s sus pe ns ion - just like last year. As far as overall hand lin g, opinions varied. "The fas ter you go on this bike, th e more stable you fee l," sa id o ne of ou r Pro riders. H owev er, our ot he r Pro rid er had a totall y different conce ption of th e CR's high-speed s tability: " No t so good," he said . "It 's a big handfu l in the rou gh . It feels like a 5u percross bike." One of ou r Novice riders wasn't as critical of the CR's handling, saying the bik e felt fairl y solid in the rough but di d ge t a little twitchy here a nd there. He though t the bike work ed well - better th an last yea r's . Of course, the CR comers reall y well and stee rs with precision - as always but a couple of rid ers felt that, beca use of the motor's "low-to-mid power gap," a lot of thr ottle con trol was necessary to get thro ugh the flat turns quickly. Whe n i t ca me to braki n g perfo r m a nce, we hea rd no th i ng but pra is e abo ut the CR's bin d ers : "The rear b rak e is the best, and the front is very stro ng withou t being too touchy and grabby," said one of our Pro riders. The re was no argumen t. As far as ergo nom ics are conce rned, the CR is still one of the best in the business. All of the co nt ro ls ha ve a lightand-easy fee l, and the ove rall layout is narrow. We also liked the big footpegs. However , one rid er sai d he would have liked taller han d leba rs and a softer sea t. Wh en it co mes to likes and di slikes, everyone pretty much ag reed tha t they cle. The reader should make his or her own investigation. 1998 Honda CR250R Specifications' List Price Displacement Engine type .._ $57 49 ,2490c Llqulo-cooled . single-cy linder, two-stroke . w/PPS (Power Port Sys tem) Bore .It stroke .... ,." . .66.4 x 72mm Compression ratio , 8.7 :1 Carburetion ,38mm flat-slide. Power J et Control Ignitio n Solid-state CD Starting system Kick Fuel capacity , , , _. ,2.0 gal. Wheelbase 58.4 in, Rake/trail 27,3 derees /1 09mm S ""t height 36.9 in. Front tire 80/1 00·21 Dunlop K490 Rea r tire .. _ 110/ 90·19 Dunlop 6951 T Front Suspension . . , .. .47mm Showa adjustab le invert ed fo rk w/ 12.4 inche s of wheel travel Rear Suspension " .S howe adjustable s hock w /1 2.9 inches of wheel trovel Front brake , .. ' .. ' . , Disc Rear brake ". " , .Disc Claimed dry weight 213.8Ibs. .~ 0\ ,..... ,,-' ,..... ... Q) § ..... 0.. Q) CJ) 11

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