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/128243
2004 Factory Connection Honda CRF2 5 0 R I've eve r ha d to answer. Th is bike is pretty awesome. The Fa ctory Connection s u s p e nsion was nearly flaw le ss right from the s hop. All I had to do was go up two clic ks on the forks , whic h were just a touch on the so ft s ide, and it was a d on e deal. I fo u nd m y s e lf attacking whoo p sections with a co nfide nc e I ha ven 't ha d in a long time ther e was a particular set of whoo ps at La ke Els inore Motocross Park tha t I was skimming so q uickly, I was hitting the rev lim ite r in third gear by the end . I had to start hitting 't hem in fourth . The bik e jum ps e xtre mely ne ut ra lly , a nd despite my fee ling tha t fo urstrokes are too he a vy and bulbo us for MX. whipping th e bike around in the a ir '!las as e a s y, a s I:ve eve r expe rienced . It s e ems Wo rks Con nection 's co m pa ny motto tha t I ment ioned earlier isn 't unfounded . Th e c o m bi n a t io n of th e Ti -4 ex ha ust and Power Flow filter kit gave the bike that bit of extra oomph tha t it de sperat ely needed stock. It has m uc h better powe r than before a ll th roughout the ra nge, and it sounds great. No matte r how mu ch some peopl e complain a bout the s ound of four-strokes, the Honda was th e qu ietest - and most restrict ed - of the bunch in stock form , which m eant the pipe prob ably made a bigg er d iffe re nc e o n it tha n it m a y have on the othe rs . In othe r words , th e pipe is ne cessary if yo u want to get a hold of this bike 's potential. And a ltho ugh a ll of the trick reda no d ize d a lumi n um p ieces proba bly a re n't ne cess ary , th ey do ligh te n th e The Cycra fender and numberplateobring about a whole different look. Some people think the stock front numbet'plate l_muchIDbe desired, IookawIse. with a set of its supergrippy Pro Se ries pegs, and then I threw a s et of Fa sst Co. bar ins e rts into th e ba rs to cut down what little vibra tion th'e bike had. S o I know what you 'r e think ing , "Yeah, yea h. But wha t's it like to ride?" That's probably the easiest question With the filte r kit installed, I began work ing o n th e graphi cs and seat cove r from N-Style . It a ll wen t on with ease , a nd befor e I kn ew it , I had a bike th at at le ast 1 00J:ed the pa rt. Next, I began to bo lt on the ma ny Works Co nnection accessories - many o f w hic h n ot o n ly lo o k c o o l , but s ho uld really be a m us t-b uy. Th e skid p late was pr oba bly the m ost im po rta nt p iece , a nd sk id plates ar e usu a lly t he h arde st pa rts to fit. That wa s n 't th e c as e wit h th e WC un it. A littl e Loct ite , follow ing th e inst ruc tions, a nd it went righ t on - as did the trick-loo king left e ngi ne guard, which re pla ced a p la stic unit th at wa s visually uninspiring , not to m enti on flimsy . I fo llowed those up with a matching billet rea r-b ra ke caliper gu a rd, also repl a c ing a stock pla stic piece. And, just for aesthetics , I repl a ced th e stock right side oil-filler plug with a red pie ce th a t matc hed th e triple cla mps. After I re placed the s tock Ren th al bars with a s e t of Azon ic a lum inum one s , I fin is hed u p the Works Con n ec t ion pie c e s , re pla c ing t he sto c k fro nt -bra ke re s ervoir .cap wit h a red un it th at matc hed a ll the other re d a lum inum on the bike , incl ud ing th e red- an o d ize d Pro Pe rch w/ Hot Start on t h e c lu t c h sid e and th e re d an od ized throttl e tube. The last "replic a " p arts I ins ta lled we re the Cyc ra front- e nd plasti cs and Pro Circuit Ti-4 exha ust, all of which are lighter than stock, and definitely tricker looking. I also installed an EK Cha in. I unfortu na tely d idn't ha ve access to Go s s el a a r' s Fa c to ry Honda footpegs,-so a s a s ubstitute (and a good one) I tu rne d to IMS, who provided m e DEC EMBER 3 . 2003 ' cue bike up a bun c h, and people stop by in the pits jus t to c hec k this bike out. It' s really a n a mazing motorcycle both in fo rm a nd funct ion. Factory Con nec tio n gave me th e o ption of c ha ng ing t h e tri ple -c lamp of fset fro m s tock when it sent the clamps, as it ha s a se t that would bring the fork a ngle in by four de grees , but I opted for the stock geometry - I hone stl y thi nk th is bike han dles great in stock form , so I didn 't wa nt to risk going with a steeper fork ang le. For su percross, though , Goss ". la a r was run ning the steeper rak e. . ... Honda 's brak e s are a lrea dy among th e best, so I d idn't mess w h th em. If it this "e ve ryma n's" ve rsio n of th e Fa c t o ry Con nect ion team b ikes is an y i~dication , one thing's for sure : Tra vis .... -_ Presto n , Ch ris Gosselaa r a n d Billy Lanino vich are going .to be to ug h to be at in 2 004 . eN ~. 5J(!f]@[jrfUDfi][fDJ@71Il1n- =. .W. . . . .; : ,@-=-@ 1-=-~ Cym: factory Connection: Fork revalve Fork fluids Oil lock collar set Pressure spring set 'Shock revalve Shock fluids High-speed compression adjuster spring Triple damp w/bar mounts One-piece top mount , Lower d amp : ; , $ 170 $15 $49.95 $29.95 $170 $ 15 $14.95 $59.95 $59 .95 $199 .95 WorksConnection: Skid plate Leftengine guard Pro perch w/ hot start Oil fil ler plug Throttle tube EZ holeshot Rear caliper guard Billet brake-reservoir cap : $66 $49.95 $165 $22 $49.95 $99.95 $27.50 $24.95 Pro Circuit: Titanium exhaust header Ti-4 silencer $249.95 $449.95 Amnie: A-3 bars $69.95 . twin-Air: Four-stroke power flow kit $104.95 IMS:. Pro series pegs $96 fasst CO:' 'Anti-vibration bar inserts I e n e vv s _ $49.95 Half-vent front numberplate Cycralite front fender : $58.95 $34.95 N·Style: Amsoil/Chaparral Honda graphics kit w/gripper seat cover Factory Connection 10 Crossroads Ind. Pk. Rochester, NH 03868 800/221 -7560 .... $189.99 Twin Air (JSA 410 East Walnut St., Unit 4 Perkasie, PA 18944 800/749-2890 wwwJactoryconnection.com www .twinairusa.com Factory Connection West 1701 Rimpau Ave. Corona, CA 9288 1 800/221 -7560 N-Style 28908 North AvenuePaine, Unit B Valencia, CA 91355 800/831-9043 www.n-style.com Works Connection 6451 Capitol Ave. Diamond Springs, CA 95619 530/642-9488 www .worksconnection.com Fasst Company 25 Savona Walk Long Beach , CA 90803 562/439-1025 wwwJas stco .com Pro Circuit'Products 2771 Wardlow Rd. Corona, CA 92882 909/738-8050 www .procircuit.com Cycra 171 O'Neill Dr. Hebron, OH 43025-9680 740/929-0188 IMS 6240 Box Springs Blvd., Unit E Riverside, CA 92507 800/ 237-9906 www.imsproducts.com O'Neai/Azonic 9600 Topanga Canyon Blvd. Chatsworth, CA 91311 www.pneal.com