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/128237
...And The Winner- Is... MX Lap T im es was a hig hly key participant in this year's 250 cc shoo to ut. Its team supplied each and every one of our riders with the ir own personal tran spon der, which they carried from bike to bike . Th en the rider would just check in -with MX Lap Ti mes before going out to let it k now which bik e they were on, and voila! At the end of the day , we co uld see exactly where each bike stacked up against the others. No guessing which was faste r or say ing , "I felt fastest on...• Our riders would just go out and pu t in consis tent laps and then co me in. Nobo dy knew what the results were until the end of the day , eit her, which kept peopl e from goi ng out and tr ying harder on their favorit e bik e ju st to move it up in the standings. And we had a few surprises - mai nly , that two of our rid ers were fastest on the KTM the first day at Piru . If this test were lef t up to wha t bikes peopl e felt fastest on, nobod y wo uld'v e said " KTM." Since yo u have to short-shift the KTM, you just didn't get the il lu sion of speed fro m it, but as it turns out, thi s bike is som ething else . As you can see, though, the RM was at the front, or very near it, every ti m e. Actu ally, it was at least second fa stest all but once , when it was third. And it was fastest twice , as well. Thi s, along with all of the other co nsider ations, is what help ed us pick the RM as the winner. For more info rma tion on MX Lap Tim es. visit its website at www.m xlaptimes .co m . or call 7 14/ 966- 2863. 1F([lg)i1~g)11 J1([l~ ilnITIID~~ Piru MX J ason Abbot t 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Honda CR25 0R Yam aha YZ250 Suzuki RM250 KTM 250 SX Kawasak i KX2 50 1:34. 940 1:3 7.41 5 1:37.743 1:39.324 1:4 2.685 Dano Leger e 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th KTM 250 SX Suzuki RM250 Hond a CR250 R Kawasak i KX2 50 Yama ha YZ250 1:34. 985 1:36.655 1:37.266 1:37.839 1:38.4 14 Ste ve Cox 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5t h KTM 250 SX Suzuki RM25 0 Yam aha YZ250 Kawasak i KX 250 Hon da CR250R . - It' s alm ost un anim ous. After every rider rode every bike, after tak ing a close look at th e lap times, and after noti ng the strength s and weakn esses of each m otor cycle, we've decided that th e 2004 Suzuki RM250 is this year's 250cc Two-Stroke MX Shootout winner. One or tw o of our teste rs disagreed completely with our ranking, but for the most part, when everyth ing was taken into co nsideration, the top three in this shootout were clear. The 2004 Suzuk i RM250 has everything: power, handling , brakes, a light feel, co mfort. It's a complete package. Although the RM looks pretty unchanged , in this case loo ks are very deceiving. Th e RM features an unba lanced crankshaft on purpose , wh ich Suzuki claims gives a pu lsati ng power delivery tha t co ntributes to increased tr acti on. However, it does n't vibrate enough to act ually feel it. And the RM's motor has come a very long way - it's in the run ning for the fastest , most usable of the bun ch . Th e thi ng reall y barks. Add to the strong engine a chassis that handles like a dream, stro ng brakes, compliant susp ensio n . an awesome sea t and more, and this bike is a winner - not to mention that it was the fastest overall where lap times were taken into consid eration. How could you go wrong? It's our shootout win ner. Last year's win ner, the Yam aha YZ250, came in as a strong second. The Yamaha isn't exci ting, wh ich might go against it in a shootout, but the onl y reason it's not is because it does everything prett y darn well . It' s got a grea t engine, it's stable (altho ugh it still turns pretty well ), and the little things like the gripper seat, tit anium pegs and awesome forks put it right in the running . How ever , in the end, it fin ished a clo se second to the awesome RM. But you can 't go wrong with Blu e. And probably the most surprising of the bun ch , and definitely the m ost improved over a year ago , was the KTM 2 50 SX, whi ch rounded out the podium in this shootout bu t finished last a year ago . KTM m ellowed out th e m otor , and alt hough it could use a ta ller rear sprocket to help level out the all -bott om ,and -mid motor, ju st riding th e bike a gear higher made fo r som e of th e fast est lap tim es of the week . Nu mbers don't li e. Consider that, along with the pletho ra of afte rm arket parts that com e standard and the good turning ability (whi le staying much m ore sta ble in .a strai ght line than last year), and the KTM beat out the other two for the final spo t on the podium. Ok ay , so the Hond a and Kaw asaki didn't make our 2004 25 0cc two- stroke sho ot out pod ium this year, but that doesn't me an the y 'r e no good or inc apab le of winning on any giv en da y on any given trac k . A bsolutely not. In the old days, you definitely had bi kes that...well, suc ked, But not anymore, T hey 're all so good no wadays that splitting hairs is the only way to determine wh o gets on th e po di um and who doesn't. And tha t' s a good th ing, 1:38. 193 1:38.738 1:40.078 1:40.46 1 1:4 1.708 , Lan ce Gorton 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Suzuki RM250 Honda CR250R Yama ha YZ250 Kawasaki KX250 KTM 250 SX I :39.06 1 1:4 2. 205 I :42.828 1:43.526 1:46.777 Perris Raceway _ Dano Legere 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th KTM 250 SX Suzuki RM250 Yam aha YZ250 Kawa sak i KX250 Hond a CR250R Steve Cox 1st 2nd 3rd 4 th 5th Yam aha YZ25 0 Suzuk i RM250 Honda CR25 0R Kaw asaki KX 250 KTM 250 SX 1:46.82 1:46 .94 1:47.15 1:47. 39 1:49.53 K it Palmer 1st 2nd 3rd , 4th 5th Suzuk i RM25 0 Hond a CR250R Kawa saki KX250 Yama ha YZ250 KTM 250 SX 2:01.68 2:02 .16 2:04 .52 2:05.33 2:0 6.85 , 1:43.29 1:43.36 1:43.61 1:45. 65 1:46. 18 There's no doubt that the Honda puts out tons of power, but some questioned the CR 's chassis. The bike handles well, but you fe el every bump. cue' e n e vv s O CTO BER 2 2 , 2003 23