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/128404
2006 250cc Four-Stroke Motocross Shootout NOTABLES: Aluminum Frame Aluminum Renthal handleban Five-speed gearbox Gripper seat Suspension. Kayaba Tires • Brldgestone JETTING SPECS WHAT WE LIKED STOCK SETTINGS PIlot Screw 2 118 tunis 2118 PIlot let 42 40 let Needle NCYU NCYU Needle Clip PositIon 2 ISO 2 Main let Recommended Ride Height Remember last year's KX250F? Forget it. The '06 KX250F is nothing like the old one. This one handles better, turns better and is faster. Without a doubt, Kawasaki gets the "most-improved" award. Our testers had lots of good things to say about the all-new Kawasaki, especially the motor, which flat-out rips. It might not be the bottom-end king, but it pulls hard in the middle, and it just keeps pulling and pulling on top -it's definitely a rewer. Just when you think the bike is about to sign off, it seems to catch a second wind and gives you one last blast of power just before it's time to dick up another gear. The KX had no problems pulling fourth gear up Honey Lake's killer uphill, and some of our real fast guys said that they could even NOTABLES: Aluminum frame Pro.Taper handleban Five-speed gearbox Gripper seat Suspension - Kayaba Tires - Dunlop JETTING SPECS What We Lil,ed Pilot Screw 2112 turns 2112 Pilot let 42 42 Jet Needle OBELQ OBELQ Needle Clip Position 3 3 Main Jet 178 178 The Yamaha confused us the most. Our test riders' opinions were all over the place when it came to the Yamaha. Overall, the Yamaha was well liked, but opinions varied greatly when it came to details. Take the motor, for example. The YZ250F has always been known for its strong motor, but some of our testers felt that the new yz lost a bit of its punch, which left us scratching our heads, since Yamaha made very few changes to the '06's motor. This leads us to believe that the other bikes just got stronger. The first time we rode the yz prior to the shootout, it actually felt as though it gained a bit more midrange, but ridden back to back with the other bikes, the Yamaha left us wanting a bit more when we alreacly thought that it had enough. The Yamaha is plenty fast and is a capable machine, but our bike just didn't feel quite as strong overall as the others - or should we say the KTM, Kawasaki and Honda. According to the dyno, though, the Yamaha peaks out at a respectable 33.6 horsepower, which puts it NOVEMBER 16,2005 • CYCLE NEWS 103mm catch and hold fifth gear all the way to the top! Even though the Kawasaki feels very strong on the track, the dyno says that, in terms of peak horsepower, it's just the fourth most powerful of the group, behind the KTM, Honda and Yamaha. Like the KTM and Honda, however, it makes up for it a bit by maintaining its peak 33.0 horsepower for a longer duration than the Yamaha. The Kawasaki also shifts gears smoothly and effortlessly, and the dutch works well, too. Pretty much on par with the rest. Handling is another strong point. The Kawasaki is arguably the best-turning bike of the bunch; it's one of those bikes that you just point it and it goes there, and once it's there, it stays there. It loves the ruts and can Recommended Ride Height 24 180 Stod, Settings 95mm behind just the KTM and Honda. Handling was another head-scratcher. Some of our testers really liked the way the Yamaha handled, yet others just weren't so sure. Some said that they thought the Yamaha handled okay but just didn't inspire confidence over the rough stuff as much as the Kawasaki or Honda did, and was just a bit more "nervous," while others loved the way the Yamaha handled, saying it turned better and was more predictable overall than the '05. Go figure. Of the three aluminum-framed bikes, the yz was the only bike that actually felt like it had an aluminum frame. The bike felt a bit more rigid than all of the other bikes, and vibration seemed to be a bit more prevalent, as well; perhaps that's why Yamaha went from the cross-bar Renthal aluminum handlebars to the Pro-Taper handlebars: to dampen some of that buzz that can't be absorbed in the frame anymore. We might have had some handling issues with the yz at Honey Lake, but we had no such issues with the