Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

. SHOOTOUT (Left) Many 01 our testers lelt the KTM would make a good supercross bike becau se 01 its excellent ability to soak up the big jumps. The motor , however, could use a little more zap. (Below) The TM has tha t " Euro" l eel wh ich take s time gett ing used to . brake pedal by accid en t and th e back w heel wo uld instantly lock up - ve ry ann oying. Even the front brake was a little touchy. A couple of riders felt tha t the KTM's brakes could 've been a little stronge r, and th e Kawa saki' s front brake got a litt le mush y after a w hile. The other three bikes (the RM, YZ and CR) - their brakes performed flawlessly. MISC ELLANEOUS It's hard to fault anythi ng wi th th e KX. Abo ut the only thing anyone could co mp lai n abou t was th e seat - the padding broke down and go t very soft, alm ost to th e point w here you could feel the fra me rails. But a t the sa me tim e, th e KX's seat, as well as the CR's, was fairl y wide, and almos t eve ryone liked that. The YZ' s, SX' s and RM' s sea ts are awfully narro w - perhaps a little m ore na rrow than they need to be; a t lea s t tha t's how some rid ers felt. All of the bikes are we ll laid out and comfortable. Only the TM felt significantly different when it carne to ergonomics, but it was nothing you couldn't get used to after a while - well , maybe longer than tha t. o one had any complaints about an y of the bikes' controls, levers or ped als - at least nothing worth talking about. SUMMA RY 22 When it co mes to ra ting th es e six motorcycles, the TM pulled up the rear on everyone's list. The TM is just differ ent and takes a lot of time to get used to. The tes te rs who a ctua lly ga ve the TM a chance and put in some time on the bike had good thi ngs to say about it, feeling the bike has po ten tial but you just have to work the kinks out. "To be honest. I didn't have a problem with the way it handled," one interm ediate rider said . "I t didn't scare me at all; it's just a different kind of beast. But it is kind of an off-and-on kind of bike, meaning the brakes and power. The (rear) brake is the worst thing, bu t that can be fixed." A pro ride r said of the TM: "It has the po wer and a hit; the mo tor is competitive, but it ' s th e sus pens io n that ru in s th e wh ole bike for me." However, o ne of ou r novice riders said he had no problems riding it, bu t. for the most part, most of our testers sim ply could not come to terms wi th the TM's inability to react quickly to the rid er ' s imput, or its sha ky sus pension and too touchy rear brake. The bottom line is that you ha ve to learn to like this bike . But it sure looks cool. The KTM ran a solid fifth place. It's a very good m ot orcycl e b u t jus t didn't excite our testers . On e novice rider said he felt th a t the SX remin d ed him of a spiced- u p end uro bi ke, which per haps ex plains w hy the KTM is one of ou r favorites on the trails. One of ou r intermediate riders said of the KTM: "I was surprised how mu ch I liked the KTM - it's powerful and it's stable, but the rear end is just too stiff, and that held the KTM back for me." One novice rider broke the fifth-plac e mold , ratin g th e KIM as h igh as third: 'The KTM jus t fits me best. I could move around on the bike better than the rest; it mad e good, sm ooth po wer ; and I liked the brakes. Yeah, the rear suspension is a little stiff, but I cou ld live with that." Many riders comm ented o n ho w mu ch they liked th e looks of the KTM, with its modem styli ng and shiny chrome exhaust pipe. All but two riders rated the CR fourth on their list - each one of them com plaining of a harsh ride a nd unpredicta bl e handling - but the CR's savin g grace, they said, was its awesome motor, nice ergos, quality of craftsmanship, and light and easy-working controls. On e of the riders an intermedi ate - w ho rated the CR second, said, "I liked the bike - it has a fast motor, good powerband and enoug h low end. The CR just feels good, and it did n't pound m y arms as much as everyone else's." Th e o ther rid er - a novice - w ho rated the CR second said, "I really liked the motor and the overall layout - excellent ergos." Here's where things get close - the battle for seco nd / third between the Suzuki and th e Yamaha. Th is one really could hav e go ne either way, bUI when we ave raged out our tester' s ra nkings, the Yamaha ed ged ou t the Suzuki. Pretty mu ch th e d eciding factor was power - or the lack of it when it comes to the Suzuki. The RM is by no means slow but it just doesn't quite have the hit like the YZ, KX and CR have, and that's wha t tip ped th e sca le in the Yamaha's favor. Still, th e RM ha s m any stro ng points, inclu ding excelle n t suspens ion, grea t turning abilities, comfortable ergonomics, firs t- ra te brakes an d a sweet-shifti ng gearbox. Our o n ly real co m p lain t with the Yamaha is its forks, but it's nothing a se t of $60, stiffer fork springs can't fix, or at least substantially improve, Bu t th e cl ear-cut winner of this s hoo tou t is the Kawas aki (as if yo u cou ld n' t tell) . It does eve ry thi ng right, and it's the on ly bike that doesn't requ ire immedi at e, major sus pe nsion or jetting changes. You can roll this bike right off the showroom floor and into the back of your truck, drive straight to the track and race it (and probably win), That's p retty much w hat one of our testers d id - he was so impressed with the KX that he went ou t and bought one and d ecided to ge t back into racing agai n after abo ut a twoyea r retirement. However, there are things othe r th an performance alo ne to consider when it co mes to d ecidin g w hic h b ike to buy. Obviou sly, yo ur local dealer su ppo rt is a big facto r, as well as w hich manufacturer offers th e bes t cont ingency program and , in th is case , tha t wo uld have to be Suzu ki. Su zuki' s con tingency program for 1998 is the most lucrat ive, especially compared to Ho nda's, KTM's and TM's - th ey have no such programs. Suzuki's total contingency program is wo rth $3.7 m illi o n, and $10,700 of tha t is up for g ra bs a t one event: Suzu ki's annual Su zuki Cup rac e in O kla ho ma in September. Ka w asaki' s co n ti ngency progra m riva ls Suz u ki's , wit h over $3.3 million , and Yama ha's is worth more tha n $923,00 0. For m o re info rm a tio n and det ail s regar d ing th ese p rograms, contact vour local dealer . &" th ere you have it:' When it comes 10 o n-tr ack performan ce, th e Kawasaki KX250 surges ahea d of th e pac k an d is th e wi n ner of o ur 1998 250cc M X Sh ootou t a n d , w ha t d o yo u kno w there's no arguing. It su re is quiet around here. W them erate 4. Honda 5 KTM 6. TM Josh Wray • InL I. Yamaha 2. Kawasaki 3. Suzuki 4. Honda 5. KTM 6. TM Paul Canuthers • Nov. Overall average 1. Kawasaki I . Kawasaki 2. Honda 2. Yamaha 3. Yamaha 3 Suzuki 4. Suzuki 4. Honda 5. KTM 5 KTM 6. TM 6. TM Tim Sharp · Pro Kit Palmer· Vet tnL I. Kawasaki a 2. Yamah 3. Su zuki 1. Kawasaki 2. Suzuki 3. Yam aha Mark Hoyer. Nov. I . Kawasaki 2. Yamaha 3. Suzuki 4. Honda 5. KTM 6. TM 4. Honda 5. KTM 6. TM 4. Honda 5. KTM 6. TM Lance Gorton . Int. 1. Kawasaki ean-on Coatney . Nov. 2. Honda 2. Yamaha 3. Suzuki Scott Rouseau • Nov. 1. Kawasaki 2. Suzuki 3.KTM 4. Yamaha 5. Honda 6. TM Gordo n Ward · Pro 1. Kawasaki 2. Suzuki 3: Yamaha t . Kawasaki 4. Honda 5. l

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