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/128352
• to get a better fee l fo r the way the bikes hand le the tighter turns, the short run -ups for the jumps, the jumps themselves and, perhaps more impo rtantly, the land ings. ALL SAID AND DONE Determining this yea r 's 250F shootout winner was again e xtremely tough, as these four bikes are all ex tre mely good and, w he n it gets down to it, all w inne rs in o ur book - and we're sure you're tired of hearing that just as m uch as we are of writing it. But since a shootout wou ld n't be a shootout wit ho ut declaring a w inner, we have to give the nod to the Ho nda th is year. Th e majority of our teste rs , fro m Pro s to Novices, said that t he Honda was t he ir num ber-o ne choice t his year, ma inly because it just had that "fee l" - and having more powe r than last yea r's surely didn't hurt, either. Yes, the Ho nda just feels right: the ergos are about as good as it ge ts, t he motor delivers good powe r in a smoo th and friend ly manner, t he susp ension is o n par with the rest, and it' s still the king in the hand ling department, just like it was last year. We also felt that t he Ho nda was t he most versatile, as it felt just as good at Honey Lake as it d id at 5tarwest, two totally opposite tracks. Get a Handle on Overall handling was Honda's strongp oint last year, which pretty much explains why its engineers didn't make too many changes to the CR's chassis in ' 05. The bike still handles incredibly well, though some of our testers mentioned that the front end still tends to push a little bit in the corners, though less so than before. Otherwise, the Honda gets through the turns quickly, whether it's utilizing the berms on the outside or settling into the rut on the inside. And the CR just plain feels the lightest and is very easy to fli ck around bot h on the ground and in the air. The Yamahagot new Renthal aluminum handlebars for ' 05, and just tha t alone gives the yz a significantly better feel and seemingly better control. The yz, howev er, still feels a little taller, larger and more top -heavy than the other bikes, which tends to make the rider work a little harder getting the bike set up and leaned over for the turns. But once you're committed , the Yamaha stays put and isvery controllable. 18 DECEMBER 1, 2004 • The Kawasaki and Suzuki are good-handling machines as well, but their claim to fame is in their smaller size, which might benefit the rider graduating from the 8Scc class that wants to bypass the 12Scc two-stroke. But our six-footers never complained about feeling cramped or anything like that. If they had, however, they could've flipped the handlebar mounts around and bought a little more room. Despite the smaller feel, both the Kawasaki and Suzuki remained stable at speed and overall felt safe and secure, even while hard on the brakes and coo kin' down Honey Lake's steep down hill - talk abo ut stutter bumps! And speaking of brakes, this category is now closer than ever. For years, Honda has been the undisputed king of this department, but the competition has pretty much caught up. When it gets down to it, they all work extremely well. As for as cornering. the Suzuki and Kawasaki are among the best in the busi- ness, but they really like the tight stuff and can sneak inside the Honda and Yamaha any day. CYCLE NE WS 40th Anniversary