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: Steel, perimeter frame Steel handleban Five-speed gearbox PIlat Screw - JETTING SPECSWhat We Lil,ed Suspension· Showa Tires - Brldgestone Stoel, Settings Pilot Jet 2-] turns 42 40 Jet Needle OBELR OBEKS Needle Clip Position 4 4 Main Jet 170 178 Recommended Ride Height The first day of our shootout at Honey Lake, Mike the Suzuki rep was a lonely man. All morning, while shooting static photos of the bikes, the track was calling, and when it was time to start riding, our test riders pretty much made beelines for the KTM, Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki. Could you blame them? After all, the KTM is still a new commodity, the Honda has twin mufflers, the Yamaha has a new aluminum frame, and the Kawasaki is just plain all-new. The Suzuki? It's pretty much the same 01' bike. And, to make matters worse, it's the same 01' bike that finished third to the Honda and Yamaha in our shootout last year. (Had the KTM been around at the time, the Suzuki would've probably been fourth.) So how can it even come close to measuring up to the even more improved Kawasaki, Honda and Yamaha? And even the not-so-changed-but-still-awesome KTM, for that matter? It doesn't. I 1/2 tums 100-105mm Actually, the 'OS RM-Z250 was a pretty decent bike, though certainly not decent enough to get by another year without making any changes, and this became painfully evident after riding the other '06s back to back. Later that day, Mike was no longer lonely - he was busy. After our test riders complained of a mystery bog with the RM-Z's motor, Mike determined it to be an electrical glitch. Luckily, Mike had a spare bike, and he swapped motors - problem solved. But even with a perfectly running motor, the Suzuki couldn't hold a can of chain lube to the other bikes. It does, however, run pretty good off the bottom and in the middle, but it runs out of steam way before the other bikes, forcing you to shift earlier and more often. And the dyno charts proved our findings. On paper, the Suzuki actually holds its own against the others up to about 10,000 rpm, I(TM 250 SX-I= Chrome-moly steel frame Six-speed gearbox Tapered aluminum handlebars Quarter-tum gas cap Hydraulic clutch Gripper seat Suspension - WP (non-linkage) Tires - Bridgestone Main Jet NOVEMBER 16,2005 • CYCLE NEWS I 1/4tums 40 OBDTP 4 158 OBDTP 4 158 178 I 1/4 turns Recommended Ride Height Whoever is in charge of KTM's engine department deserves a raise. The Austrian company has been pumping out ridiculously fast motors in all displacement sizes for quite some time now, and the one in the 250 SX-F is no different. If you're looking for outright horsepower, go no further than the KTM. As mentioned, the KTM was the dyno king, producing a whopping 36.6 horsepower at a screaming 12,250 rpm. And it can be felt on the track, too. At first, however, you might think that the KTM lacks bottom end - but you'd be wrong. Okay, so it doesn't hit hard down low, nor does it explode when you first crack the throttle like the other four bikes, but it has so much torque and hooks up so well that it gives you the sensation that you're barely moving at all when, in fact, you're smokin'. It almost feels like it has an anvil for a flywheel, but it's that smooth transition from bottom to mid that makes the mighty fast KTM actually pretty easy to ride, too. Throw in the super-light clutch pull and a slick-shifting gearbox, and you have one sweet-performing dirt bike that anybody can ride, from the novice 26 40 170 Pilot Screw Pilot Jet Jet Needle Needle Clip Position Main Jet 105mm to the expert. No problem. The KTM handles well, too, yet it has that distinctive KTM ergonomic feel that some of our riders liked and others did not. (What else is new?) But even the naysayers could get used to the KTM pretty quickly. Everyone liked the KTM's flat layout, which makes it easy to get your weight over the tank for the corners. Now that it stays put in the ruts and grooves and goes where it's pointed, it's probably the best-turning motocross bike that KTM has ever built. The bike is quite stable at speed, too, and the word "headshake" never raised its ugly, er, head throughout our testing, even on the fast and rough Honey Lake track, and for KTM, that's a big deal. The fork is quite good, and the PDS nonlink rear-suspension system works far better on the 250 SX-F than it has on any of KTM's previous SX bikes, especially the two-strokes. The back end doesn't pack like it used to over the jumps, it absorbs the smaller bumps quite well, and it just has an overall plush feel. Some of our real fast guys, however, bumped up the compression and rebound damping a bit to keep it from feeling too cushy.