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 KTM 250 SX Engin e type . . . . Liquid-coo led, 2-stroke . single Bore x stroke 67.5mm x 69 .5mm Displace m e nt 248 .7cc Compres s io n ratio N/A Carburetion ~ Keihin PWK38 Transmissio n . . 5-speed constant mesh Final ratio 50/14 Drive chain 520 chain Ig n it ion type Kokusan digital SUSPENSION Front WP Extreme 50mm . fully ad). Rear W P·PDS shoc k, fully adj. WHEEL TRAVEL Front 11.02 in. Rear. .. .. . .. .. . .. . 12/6 1 in. Rake N/ A Trail N/A 5 rant Disc. Brembo r Di sc. Brembo ISiZES ..... Bridge ston e 80/100 ·21 in. . . . . Bridgestone 110/ 90- 19 in. ..._ 57.56 in. .. . . . . ... 15.16 in. . .. . .. ... . .. 36 .44 in. ..... ... . .. 1.9 gal. . . .. . . . . 2161bs. . .. . . • . . . $5698 grea ter overrev, but their suspensions, in m y opi nion, fee l ve ry si m ila r. I th ink what gives the Suzuki an edge over the Kawasaki is the RM's better agility. To me, the RM feels more nimble both on the ground and in the air, an d it carves a better line through th e turns. For a non. ju m per like myself, I have to ma ke u p ti me elsewhere on th e track, and th e Suzukilets me d o tha t, as well as clear some of those jumps tha t I couldn 't before. "Deciding second place wa s a toss of th e coin between the Kawasaki a nd Ya m aha . Like bo th the Su z uki and Kawasaki, the Yama ha has a very strong and manageable motor and has perh aps the most stable chassis of the bunch, bu t the YZ's suspens io n just isn't quite as cushy as the ot hers. The Yamaha d oes every thing we ll and nothi ng bad. It's a very, very good motorcycle. "An d so is the Hond a. .. , .. None A much-impro ved Wp ·PDS shock puts the KTM ri ght back in the hunt . , 00 ,...., I-< (l) ..D 8 (l) :> o Z 8 "T h e CR is a much improved motorcycle: The suspension is more compliant than ever - at least since the debut of the aluminum frame - but not before a significant a mount of fine-tunin g . With the Hond a , it's importa nt to tak e the tim e t o fiddl e wi th th e m an v fork and shock adjustments that are available to you . O nce you find your settings, the CR's suspension wo rks qu ite well. For me, I found th at th e b a ck end wor ks best by light enin g comp ression by a few clicks, go ing up a click on rebound and setting the rid e heigh t a little on the high side (96mm). I also lightened up the compression up front but left the rebound alon e. For me, I fel t th is was a go od all- arou nd setting, but the Ho nda still wasn' t as p lush as eit her the Kawasaki or the Suzuki over the sma ller bumps. "O verall, the CR's handling isn 't as scary as it used to be. The bike is much calmer at speed over rough ground, but I did feel mi nor hea dshake a t times when coming down from sp eed OVer braking bumps. " I lov e the CR's stro ng mo tor there's a ton of power on tap, and it's a lw a ys there w h en you need it. The back end tracks well when you open up th e th rottl e while ex itin g turns; you won ' t have to worry abou t an ybody else ou taccelera ting you when yo u' re on the Honda, that's for sure. "There isn' t a bike more refined than the Ho nda, eit her, but th is is a no ther given whe n it comes to th e C R. Th e clu tch, brakes and contro ls all ha ve that outstanding Hond a feel, and you kno w that overall the CR is built well - after all, it's a Honda trad ition. "I could easily live with the KIM, just as I cou ld wit h an y of the othe r bikes. Ove rall, the KTM is the easiest of the five bikes to rid e, thanks to its rather plush suspension, stable chassis and user -friendly motor. The KTM's mo tor might come up just a little short in terms of sheer power com pared to the other 250s, but non e of the ot her motors are as easy to manage. The KTM is a bike I would like to ride in long races, such as GPs, when conserving energy is of high importance. The mot or sta rts makin g power down low and accelerates steadily throu gh its power ran ge, which is qui te broad . There is no hard hit anywhere in the powerband - just a smoo th, linear pull . "T h e KTM ' s s us p e n s io n is much impro v ed over la s t year's, much of which has to do w ith the new WP shock. It' s far more sensiti ve to th e s ma lle r bumps and holes, giving the bike a more co mp lia n t ri de ye t sti ll ma inta ini ng streng th for the ha rd landings. Ther e' s still a little "d ead " feeling aro und midstro ke, but overall the KTM's rear suspension is very goo d . And so is the fork. Th e co nven tional WPs have excellen t feel a nd ca n ha n dle mu ch ab use - a t leas t as m u ch as I can give it. There's plenty of strength there for me. "I ag ree with all of our testers that all of these bikes are very good, and choos ing an all-around favorite comes down to person al prefer en ce, a bike that jus t has tha t right feel. For me, that bike is the Suzu ki - I jus t like it. Period . "Ask m e , howeve r , w hich o ne I wo uld buy, and I'm not so sure it wo uld be the same bike. I would seriously consider the Yamah a or the Honda if I had to break ou t m y wallet, because , from m y o w n p ast ex p erien ces, these two bikes seem to maintain that 'new feel' a little lon ger than the rest. "Bu t, on the track, the Suzuki sim ply fits my bill." m e . nOrC1lt-I NOVICE " welcome to the spode's guide to th e 1999 250cc motocrossers. If you' re slow and out of shape, and every jump face looks like the next, you've come to the right place.