2001 Honda CRs
The big news with the 250 is its new carb (right) , a 38mm Mikuni
TMX flat -slide that replace s th is year's Keihen (le ft). Honda says the
new mixer has better off-idle response, better over-rev , and - thanks
to its simpler bypasses
and a spray nozz le
that is 4.5mm closer
to the cyl inder - the
capability to bum fuel
more cleanly. The
125 retains its 3 6mm
Mikuni TMX c a rb but
gets new jetting .
The 250's porting spe c s have been chang ed dramatically. That,
along with the new pi pe, ca rburetor and ig nitio n, is said to boost
power a cross the board,
with pea k power being
up by th ree horsepower. Hon da likens the
ne w motor to tha t o f
its fac tory bike (wh ich
ma y explain the tea mst yle gra phics).
By
Honda's Drey Dim puts the 2001
Honda CR250R through its paces at
Glen Helen.
C HRIS JONNUM
P HOT OS BY S COTT R OUSSEA U
Gr he re 's
a gene ra l fe eling among
~ the motorc yc ling publ ic th at
every year, sneak peaks of the fol lowing model year's motocrossers are
gradually being released just a litt le
bit earlier. Much of that sensation is
based on truth , but it's not the case
with the 2001 Honda CRs , which are
coming out a lot earlier than we 're
used to . In fact, Honda has moved
production up by a full two months
on its new MXers . There' s noth ing
gradual about that.
Why the sudden rush by Honda? It
seems that the company had an
empty spot in it s assembly line
22
J UN E 14, 2000'
eye
•
...
schedule. Since its 2000 motocrossers
were basicall y sold out. a nd its 200 1
models were not new from the ground
up , Honda decided to fill the gap with
th e new CRs . Will the trend co ntin ue?
You'll know the answer if we 're s howing you the 2002 CRs before th is year
is out. In the meantime, Honda 's Eric
Crippa , Drey Dirks and Jon Se idel
dropped by our office for a rundown
on the new models, and met us out at
Glen Helen for a photo session . The
inform a tion gained from these meetings follows.
_
n
eVIl's
The 12 5 also gets re -shaped cylinder ports and s u b- ports,
a lo ng with a ne w oval exha ust flange (righ t) , to matc h the egg
sha pe of its exhau st port.
That and a s m oot h e rs haped int ake ma nifold
he lp ac hie ve wha t
Honda claims to be be tter t h ro tt le r es p o n s e
and in c reased power
from bottom to top - but
especially on top.
