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/128308
California Air Resources Board (CARB) requirements for the Golden State's Green-sticker status. So in California, you can ride the X year-round . To say we were impresse d wit h t he X's performance would be a seve re unde rstatement. When the front wheel came off the ground the first time we opened up the throttle, we were somewhat shocked this bike has bottom-end, and it pulls quite hard for a 250cc four-stro ke enduro bike . In fact , it just plain goes for any kind of bike . No, it do esn't hit as hard or pull as har d as a converted 250cc two-stroke motocrosser or qu ite as forcefully as its four-stroke motocross brother, but the X is quite sp unky and hooks up better and is far more contro llable fo r off-road use . Unlike any o ther 2S0cc four-stroke offroad bike we've ridden , the X actually chugs quite well down low, something we had to do a lot of on the tight course Honda laid out for us. The Honda folks said they spent a lot of time testing the X back East because they didn't want this bike to be pe rceived as a "West·" or a "deserto nly" bike, so the y wan ted to give us a heavy dose of the tight stu ff for our initial ride. And we're glad they did. So, just when is the next GN CC race! Perhaps what Honda is most proud of wit h the X is t hat t his bike is, as they say, race-ready right off the showroom floor. And it's also proud of the fact that the X is very qu iet and runs well w ithout any exhaust or air inta ke modifications (o r wire cutting). Honda doesn't recommend prying o ut the baffl e in the muffler, but if you do , you nee d to make ot he r mod ifications to the carburetor and airbox to kee p th e bike breathing right and running up to par. Honda had examples of properly pre pared "unplugged " Xs for us to ride. but we didn't fee l the minor powe r advantages outweighed the added noise the modified bikes produced. In this case. quie te r is better, especially for trail riding in the hills. Ho nda also had a Ca lifornia model o n hand for us to ride. It's not much different from the 49-state model, except for an airpump mounted under the gas tank. The CA bike ru ns surprisingly well but just doesn't quite have t hat snappy hit like the 49-state model has. O ne thing we didn't worry about going in was the X's suspension and handling. We already knew the CRF25 0R was outstanding in these departments, so it didn't surprise us that the X felt just as good, o nly bett e r for the trails because o f the more compliant suspension settings. The bike also starts eas ily With . the X, the clutc h lever must be pulled in - either in neutral or in gear - in order for the starter to work. The X doesn't In box-stock condition, , the "X" delivers surprisingly ond very tractable power. So w hen was the last time you saw a CR with a kickstand? have an electrical on/off switch or button like the WRs have . Just pull in the clutch lever and hit the starte r. So is the re anything we didn't like about the X! Well, there was a lot of chain clatter. and we d id manage to stall the engine a few times. And when that happens, you must pull the clutch lever all the way in to the handlebar, but your finge rs get in the way, preve nting the starter from engaging, so you must release your grip on the handlebar, which gets a little annoying (are we getting spo iled. or what!) . You can probably tell that we came away fro m our first, one-day ride on the new CRF2SOX very impressed, not only becau se it has decent power and pe rforms well overall. but also because it can do all these things right off the showroom floo r and, perhaps best of all, quietly. eN '.na ..... _11_le,.,~ .'e: ,-n rn SPECIFICATIONS 2004 Honda CRF250X LIST PRICE ENGINE TYPE $5999 249cc liquid-coo led single-cylinder four-stroke BORE & STROKE ......78mm x 52.2mm COMPRESSION RATIO I 2.5: I VALVE TRAIN Unicam. 4-valve CARBURETION Keihin 37mm flat-slide w/throttle position sensor (TPS) IGNITION ....Solid-state CD w/electronic advance and lighting coil TRANSMISS ION Wide-ratio 5-spee d STARTING Electric & kick FUEL CAPACITY 2.2 gal. WHEELBASE 58.6 in. RAKEITRAIL 27,48·/4 .7 in. SEAT HEIGHT 37.9 in. GROUND CLEARANCE 14.2 in. FRONT SUSPENSION 47mm, inverted 5howa cartridge fork wI 16-position rebound and compression damping adjustability REAR SUSPENSION ..Pro-Unk Showa single-shock wI 17-pos ition re bound and compression damping adjustability; 13-position low-speed and (3.5 turns) high-speed dam ping adjustability FRONT BRAKE ........Single 240mm disc w/twin-piston caliper REAR BRAKE Single240mm disc FINAL DRIVE # 520 T-ring-sealed chain; 13T/49T CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT 232 Ibs. CO LOR Red