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/127969
SHOOTOUT "1999250cc MX Shootout Yamaha YZ250 Engine type ... .Liquid-cooled. 2-stroke . single Bore " stroke ~ . .66.4m m x 72mm Displacement 249cc Compression r atio .8.8/ 10.3:1 Carburetion Keihin PWM38 w / Power Jet Transmission .. S-speed co nstant mesh Final ratio ; .49/ 13 Drive chain 520 chain Ignition type CDI SUSPENSION Front .Kayaba. 46mm inverted. fully adj . Rear Kayaba shock. fully adj. WHEEL TRAVEL Front Rear Rake Trail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.8 in. 12.4 in. 27.2' . .4.72 in. BRAKES Front . . Rear .. . .. . . .. Disc Disc TIRES /SIZES Front Rear Wheelbase >Ground clearance J height l !/capacity eddryweight _ 80/100-21 in. 110/90· 19 in. ' 58.3 in. 15.4 in. 39 In . 2.11 9al. 218 Ibs. $55 99 N one five-b ike choice. No one bik e ha s the mo tor, no one bike ha s the sus pe nsion, no on e bike has the handling, but there are differences." speak, they cou ld have an un di sputed winner on their hands. "The KTM is a su perfun bike to ride . With great con trol and bo tto ming resistan ce, the su spension is a wi nning package. The rest of th e bike feels kind of sluggish and heavy. The mot or is very , very smooth. and 1 thou gh t it felt prett y fast un til I rod e so mething like the RM after it. I think it would be a grea t bike for play -riding in the hill s and for the novice rider. In fact, it would be an outstandi ng bike for the novic e or beginner, thanks to the KTM's forgivi ng character. "Having to rate these bikes is harder than the Ca rlsbad Freew ay in the midd le of Au gust, but 1 have to g ive the edge to the Kawasa ki. I si m pl y can' t decide between the Yama ha and Suzuki for second place, so I'll just call it a tie. Trailing close behind is the Honda, followed by the KTM." EXPERT think there is a lot to be said abou t th e Kawasaki . I ra te this bike as my favorite, and I for a couple of reasons. "First of all, the pl ush suspension is a bi g th in g fo r me . For m e, p lus hness eq ua ls con tro l, a nd feeling in control gives me confide nce to go as fast as I can II The Yamaha Is an all -around good package t hat will cater to a w ide ran ge of rid ing st yles. 00 0\ 0\ I"""'" 00 l-o Q) ..0 a Q) > o z 6 and s till conserve energ y . The motor still has a ver y livelv fee l to it, b u t it does req uire a careful throttle han d on very sli p pery corners. "As a who le, the Ka w a s a k i ha s a s lig h t ly d iff er ent feel com p a red to las t yea r's mod e l. The layout is probab ly th e mo st notabl e change : The seat is flatter and much m ore firm, which I like. Th e sus pension pa cka ge fee ls stiffer overa ll, a nd tha t suits me just fine. "The Yama ha a nd Suzu ki a re ve ry different in a lo t of ways, bu t they are both very effective in the ir ow n ways, too. The Yamah a is as stable as a tru ck wit h a very bal an ced suspension package. The Suzu ki has a mu ch light er feel wit h a bit more rigid- feeling fram e. The motors are tot all v di ffer ent, how ev er . Both are ve ry us~fu l in di fferen t situa tion s. I prefer th e YZ's smoo th, lon gpulling motor on la rg e, slick, ou tdoorstyle tracks. But on a shor ter track with good traction and lots of turns, the RM is my pick of the litter. "T he Ho nda feel s ver y fas t, stro ng and soli d - maybe a litt le too so lid for me . I cou ld probably rid e thi s bike in supercross wit h no com plai nts. However, that's not going to be eno ug h versatilit y for me or, I presume, for a lot of people. I think if the Ho nda could lose s o me o f its 'rigidness ' a n d pu t th e CR 125' s susp e nsion in th e 250, so to 5LCVC B obr-ofsLr VET INTERMEDIATE II I have to go with the Kawasaki, too, but just by a hair. " For me, th e Ka w asa ki has the best mo tor package. It has good bottom e nd an d mid range, an d is possibl y the to rquiest of the bu nch . It' s also a qu ick hitter, mak in g the KX good for supercross-style obstacles. "The Kawasaki is also very stable on the grou nd and in the air; I expenenced no headsh ak e w ha tsoever, eit her. The aerial feel of the KX is very good , and I thou gh t it was easy to jump: It stayed straigh t and is easy to move aro und on. "T he re is n' t a ny thi ng I d idn 't li ke abou t the Kawasa ki's sus pension , as both th e s hock a nd for k soak up the hard landings and fee] p lu s h in the whoops; the sho ck, in my opinion, is as good as it ge ts. "The Kaw asaki does all of the little th ings we ll, too . The cl u tch has good feel, the brakes .are strong and effective»