Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

2005 Honda CR250R -------------------------------- By THE CYCLE NEWS STAFF PHOTOS BY KIT PALMER cliched as it may sound, good things do come to those who wait. After months of anticipaion,Honda has finally released the 2005 CR250R twostroke - and we're impressed. For 2005, Honda went to town with the new CR250R's motor while pretty much leaving the CR's already good chassis and suspension package well enough alone. But the '04 motor left a lot to be desired - not that it wasn't powerful enough, oh no, but the issue was how all that power was delivered... all on top. In recent years, the CR250 has been pretty much a handful to control, since you had to ride the bike pinned nearly 100-percent of the time (not much unlike a 125) in order to take advantage of the CR's otherwise strong motor. Unless your last name was Carmichael, the '04's motor just wasn't a crowd-pleaser among us mere mortals. A But Honda went all out to change that for '05 and pretty much ended up with an all-new motor for the new CR2S0. And Honda did this by addressing the numberone complaint with the '04 model - having no low-end. So, Honda's aim with the '05 was to create grunt off the bottom while - and here is the tricky part - retaining the same rip-your-arms-off, top-end pull that the CR250 has been known for in years past. For starters, Honda changed the shape of the airbox to allow for a more direct and quicker breathing path to the carburetor, which results in more efficient air/fuel mixing. It was the cylinder, however, that received most of the attention. For 'OS, the cylinder takes on significantly new port shapes and port timing that were aimed toward finding that much-needed bottom-to-mid performance. Plus, the piston crown and combustion chamber were also reshaped to maximize fuel burning and ultimately increase overall power delivery. Along with the new port shapes come modifications to the infamous RC power- THE LONG-AWAITED HONDA OKEHAS o valve. It's now a one-piece unit that Honda claims goes a long way in helping smooth out the power delivery, and it does so without harming overall output. Of course, the carburetor gets all-new jetting specs to match all of the other engine changes. And to keep things running cool, Honda increased the capacity of the radiators by enlarging the core's depth from 24mm to 2Bmm. Since suspension and handling has not been much of an issue as of late, Honda didn't tamper much with the 'OS's chassis. The new CR is still fitted with a 47mm, Showa cartridge-style fork up front and a Showa shock (which did receive some minor valving changes) in the rear, and the third-generation aluminum frame is pretty much identical to that of the '04 frame. Although the 2005 CR250R isn't what we would regard as radically changed especially when you consider how long we had to wait for it - the bike is quite improved on the track over the '04 CR, mainly, as expected, in the motor department. The CR still flat-out hauls but does so in a more controllable and user-friendly manner, because, just like Honda promised, the new CR now has better bottom and midrange power. But, don't worry: It's still plenty fast on top! It just simply has a smoother and broader powerband now, making it far more pleasurable to ride. Our test bike ran good right out of the crate but did require some minor airscrew adjustments before we were completely happy with it, which is a big improvement over last year's CR that required more in-depth jetting adjustments before we found something that we could live with. Carburetion with the '05 in general seems to be less finicky, but we've only ridden the bike at two different tracks so far. We'll have a better idea on the 'OS's carburetion when we finish up our 250cc two-stroke shootout. But for now, the '05 does seem to run better right off the showroom floor. Handlingwise, we had no complaints. As we mentioned earlier, the CR already had a great chassis but is now complimented even more by the improved motor, so we're certainly okay with

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