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/128184
When it comes to suspension and handling, all of the bikes tested here work exceptionally well, though they do have their own personalities. Take the Suzuki, for example: It has a super-plush suspension, and it's still a very quick handler; it turns sharper than any of the other bikes and is very sensitive to rider input. If you point the front end to the inside of a tum, you'd better mean it, 'cause that's where it's going - like now! The trade-off is, however, a lack of some stability down the fast and rough straights. The Suzuki has a tendency to move around a little bit more than the others at speed, and some of our testers tended not to like this, while others didn't seem to mind at all. The Honda, on the other hand, is very stable at speed, yet it doesn't quite carve an inside line quite like the Suzuki does - but it still does a good job getting through the corners efficiently. The CR's forks are arguably the best of the bunch, and the back end is just as good. But the CR still has a slight "harsh" feeling about it. Even though the CR's aluminum frame has come a long way since the first aluminum-frame CR, the bike just doesn't feel as plush as some of the other bikes - namely the Suzuki and Kawasaki. Otherwise, the Honda is one of the best-handling bikes of the group. The Yamaha probably compares closest to the Honda in that it, too, is a very stable machine, has a solid chassis and has excellent forks and rear shock, although a couple of testers complained of the forks' tendency to blow through the travel on jump landings or under other heavy loads. It probably doesn't tum quite as well as the Honda, but it does steer well enough to get the job done. Overall, the Yamaha has the most "neutral" feel of the five. The Kawasaki has, without a doubt, the best chassis/suspension package of the group. Its suspension is plush like the Suzuki's, it feels just as stable as the Yamaha and Honda if not more - down the straights, and it ralls the turns at least as well as the Honda and Yamaha. All of the changes made to the KX's chassis have certainly paid off. While all of our testers loved the KTM's motor, unfortunately the same could not be said about the KTM's chassis. The bike suffers the same twitchy front-end syndrome that we complained about with the KTM in our 125cc shootout. Most of this came about at speed over square-edged bumps, where all of our riders noticed some headshake from the KTM. The back end is far more steady than the front but lacks sensitivity over the smaller bumps, especially while accelerating out of rutted/bumpy tums. Over the bigger, rollingtype obstacles, where you get deeper into the suspension's travel, the KTM actually works quite well. To make matters worse, the KTM seat is extremely hard, so the bike just has an overall harsh feeling about it. We played with the KTM's suspension adjustments more than any of the other bikes and eventually came up with a setting that we could live with. We felt the KTM worked best after stiffening up the forks (believe it or not) and softening the rear end, which gave the KTM a more balanced feeling and seemed to calm down the front end a bit. The KTM actually comers quite well and is a good jumper, making it perhaps more suitable on tight supercross tracks. Speaking of supercross, we've heard that Jeremy McGrath is quite happy with his KTM - the one he'll be competing on in the THQ World Supercross Grand Prix Series. The biggest change he's making to his bike is lowering the seat height. Otherwise, he's reportedly made only relatively small modifications to the KTM's suspension and motor. (Q)lIil~cI!Jml~Il'~ Honda "Nice. The Honda just feels right and does everything welL" "Predictable. It puts you at ease." "Honda is all about feel, and this bike feels great." Kawasaki "I felt right at home on the Kawasaki; the bike tracks straight and true." "Just lean it in and gas it - the Kawasaki will take whatever you can dish out." "A IittJe soft for jumpy tracks, but if the track's rough, the KX soaks up the bumps." KTM "The KTM just beats me up too much to have fun on this bike. " "You get headshake on the track, then you have to shake your head in the pits trying to figure out how to fix it." "With all this talk about the Iinkless rear suspension and supposed problems with it, that's not the weak point. The rear works fine." Suzuki "The RM just feels lighter and more nimble than the others, and that's more important to me than outright power." "This bike is plain easy to ride. It could make a novice look like a fast guy." "What's not to like? It soaks up everything like a sponge." Yamaha "It might not have the plushest of suspensions, nor does it tum the quickest, but it just does everything well." "The fork bottoms hard sometimes, especially when landing off a jump and immediately getting on the brakes for a tum." "It's solid. Doesn't do anything funny. You can just worry about riding." 10 DECEMBER 1 1 , 2002..!. cue • e n e _ s Last year's shootout winner, the CR250, got a lot of praise for Its suspension, and some thought It we.....er to ride for longer than some of the other bikes.