2020 KAWASAKI KLX250 VS. HONDA CRF250L VS. YAMAHA XT250
C O M PA R I S O N
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THE CONTESTANTS
Of the three headliners here, the Kawasaki and
the Honda are the most comparable in design.
They both have water-cooled DOHC four-valve
engines, six-speed transmissions, inverted forks
and have similar chassis dimensions in wheel-
base, seat height and wheel travel, whereas
the Yamaha has an air-cooled SOHC two-valve
engine with a five-speed gearbox, conventional
forks, a shorter wheelbase, shorter seat height
and less wheel travel. Plus, the Honda and Kawa-
saki have sporty looks, while the Yamaha sticks
with a conservative look. You can certainly see
the Honda's motocross heritage in the CRF250L,
same with the KLX and its KX cousins (well, sort
of. At least the color is the same). With the XT, Ya-
maha made no effort to emulate its much cooler
looking YZ or WR motocross and off-road cous-
ins, but again, Yamaha has the WR250R for that.
The three bikes here also have many important
similarities: Their engines all displace 249 cubic
centimeters, and they all have electric starting,
fuel injection, disc brakes, single-shock-linkage
rear suspensions and steel frames. And, as men-
tioned, their MSRPs are comparable. The Honda
and Yamaha share the same MSRP at $5199,
though the Honda's ABS-fitted option (which we
