Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Cycle News 2000 12 13

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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- often li ftin g t he f ro nt end in a n ic e , super -lo ng st r a ig h t s p rec ee de d by c o nt ro ll a b le wheelie . For anothe r, you sha rp co rners , but th is is an extreme don 't have to wo rk the cl utc h so hard c ir cumstan ce . Aft e r th e sta r t, th e or keep the rpms c o nc e nt ra t e d i n 2 50 F ca n ho ld its own ag a ins t more such a narrow portion of the power - powerful b ik es amaz ing ly well. And band , which makes th e bike easier to even th ough big g er b ik es might leave ride tha n a 12 5 . E ven h eav ier rid ers yo u on t h e start , th e m an eu v erabl e ca n get by with just k e ep ing the Yamaha will do a good j ob of w orki ng t h ro t t le pegged , ra the r t han doi ng its way throug h the pack , especia lly that an d f a n n ing the c lutch lik e th e s ince the increas ed l in e opti ons it s ha mmer o n a six-shooter. powerband c reates sig n if ic ant ly open T he i ncreased ve rsati lity of the up o ne 's passing oppo rtunities . 250F's powerband compared to a Impre ssiv e as t he YZ250F ' s pow - 12 5cc tw o - stro k e has an in d irect ben - erp lant is, we think it's set up a bit on efit in that it gives a rid er more options t h e lea n side . Our ca rbu retor is c u r- in terms of line selection . In order to ren tly stoc k (w ith the exception of ma intai n momentum o n a 12 5 , one is havi ng t he a irsc rew backed o ut a full often forc ed to ra il c o rn ers in smooth turn) , but we plan to t ryout a ric h er arcs, rath er t han cutting an d thrusti ng needle , a lo ng with a few o t h e r li k e o n a 250cc tw o -st roke . The 250 F is in ma ny ways a step between twostroke 125s and 250s , which means t h e r id er h as th e o p t io n o f ra il ing o r pivoting his or he r way through a turn . Not that it has the p ower o f say , a CR250, but th e increased tractability o f t h e fo ur -s tro ke m o tor - comb ined w it h its qu ic k-revv ing characte ristic a llows it to accele rate rap idly fro m a near -st o p. Thi s sa me a t t ri b u te m a k e s t h e 25 0 F a g o od sta rte r agai nst 125s , and w e 're b ett in g that Y a m ah a s o f Tro y 's Ern esto F on sec a and N ath an Ra m se y wi ll p u ll a fa i r a mo u nt o f h ol esh ots t h is Supe rcross seaso n . Ju st p ut it in second ge ar, let th e Rs c limb , an d dro p th e cl utch when th e ga te fa ll s: even if t he rear t ire brea ks lose , it will st il l b e drivi ng forwar d . T h at sai d , starts cou ld also pro v e to be th e b ik e ' s d o wnf all in some updates , and re late our f ind ings in a fut ure issue . W e a ls o c h ang ed the bike's f inaldrive ratio slightl y , putting o n a 49 too th r e ar sprocket in place of th e st ock 48. The 250F com es g ea red a bi t o n th e tall side , probably to make it more compet i tive on top -end speed , b ut we fee l this crea tes some slight gaps in the t r a n s m i s sio n . O n Comparing tbe Incomparable Th e Yamaha YZ250 F is the only bike of its k ind, so tryi ng to explain its performa nce can be an exercise in futility, Do you compare it to the two-stroke 125cc bikes that it is legal to race against; the 250cc two -strokes with which it shares displacement; or the big-bore MX four-strokes with whic h it shares an engine type? Being the ind ecisive sorts that we are, we decided to go with all three. 125cc TWO·STROKES Compared to a toy- lik e 125, the 250 F doesn't feel quite as light and flic kable, but not to the point that it will hold you back. The size feels about the same as a tiddler • j ust a tad cramped for a tall rider, perfect for smaller racers. As for the m otor, you don't have to be as perfect wit h the clutc h or the powerband as you do on a 125, and the bike is mo re tract able coming out of com ers. Th is results in better accel erati on , greater ease at cl ear ing j umps, a far greater cho ice of lines, and increased passing opportunities. 250cc TWO·STROKES Most riders will ride the YZF m uch more aggressively than they ever could a 250cc two -stroke, as it is much easier to keep pinned and flick around . Yamaha' s clai med dry weight of 216 pounds is identica l to that of the YZ250 two -strok e, but the thumper feels signif icant ly lighter and is less eager to break the rear tire loose. You can get on the gas earlier out of corners, even if the bike is still leaned ove r, and although you 'll hav e better l uc k clea ri ng lo ng do ubles o n t he 250cc two stro ke, the 250F hol ds its own since it hoo ks up and accelerates off the ju m p face so well . To be brutally hon est , 250cc t wo-strokes have mu ch more potential than the average custome r is capa- YZ F' s inh er ent strong po in ts, lettin g ble of successfu lly ext racti ng on a regul ar basis, but th e same rider will feel li ke Ernesto Fonseca on the YZF. BIG·BORE MX FOUR· STROKES Much of what we wrote about com paring 250cc two-strok es to the YZ250F app lies just as well to big thumpers like the YZ426F. Obviousl y, the quarte r -lit er bike is mu ch lighter and will tire the rider out less in a lo ng mota . A s would al so be expec ted , th e sm alle r bike likes to be ke pt in a mu ch higher portion of the rpm range, and it's easier to stuff it int o a tight insi de line. Yes, you will th e rid er g rab the n ext gear in so me m iss th e powe r!n som e situa tio ns . b ut th o se some ju m p approac hes , for exa mple, second and t h ird gea rs fee l t o o low a nd hi gh , resp ectiv el y . The se nsation i sn ' t pro no u nced , b y any stre tch of t h e im a g in a t i on, but we feel th e s ma l ler r ear cog b ette r ut ili ze s th e secti on s . T rue , you might lose a b it of to p - en d by do ing t his , but it's more th a n made up for e lsew here. In fa c t, we i nte nd to tryout a 50 -too th instances are surpri singly rare, and the 250F makes up for it in other ways. Again , many riders can't use everyt hing a 426 has to offer, and they end up riding the bigger bike tight and pum ping up. One feels l~~~~~_~~~~~_J much more relaxed on the 426's new sibling, which you can basically ride as aggressively as you want. sprocket on some tra cks . ins tan ces . Yo u see , much of t he buy ing pu b l ic is over 30 ye ars of age , and Vet c lasses have n o st ip u la t io ns regarding disp lacem ent (th e YZ 426F has been a popular o ld- g uy bike ) . Ergo , the re a re m any potential 250 F customers o ut there wh o wi ll be ra c ing against 250c c two - stro ke s a n d big -bo re th u m p ers an d. again st t hos e bik e s , th e littl e YZF w on't s ta nd a c h ance o ut o f the ga te. Afte r a ll , a s go od as it is at building sp eed o ut of corners , this b ik e is st ill a 250 c c fo u rstroke, and not even Yamaha co u ld perform th e mag ic requ ired to make it win d rag ra c es against b igg er bikes . O n most trac k s , however, the start is th e o n ly pl ac e the 2 50 F w ill be at a d isa d v an t ag e , at least with t h e ri ght rid er on board . O ne of o u r tes ters - a For best results, the VZ250F lik e s to be ridden hard. Fortunately , it's easy to ride it that way, and you can do so for a long time before you get tired. The bike makes normal riders feel like heroes. Vet Pr o - was a b le t o han g wi t h a KTM 520 piloted by a not her pro , fo r lap after lap . Yes , th e trac k was t ight, but the big Kato om is n ot a he av y bike itse lf, and it wa s am azing how well th e Yamaha did cons ide r in g its power deficit; it should be e v en closer against a YZ426F. Obv iously , the YZF is at a disadvantage when th e track incl udes a preponderan ce of cue I e n e vv so • D EC EMBER 13, 2000 7

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