VOLUME 57 ISSUE 38 SEPTEMBER 22, 2020 P101
and decent commuters, as
long freeways aren't part of the
equation. However, they can
get up to freeway speeds, that's
not the problem; it's getting
there. They aren't in any hurry.
All three bikes are fuel in-
jected, which has many benefits
over carburetion, and the ones
you'll notice most are: improved
cold starting, better fuel economy
and smoother throttle response.
All three ran well, no annoying
hesitation or bogging, though the
Yamaha popped every now and
then on deceleration.
The Kawasaki's and Yama-
ha's transmissions are geared
well to their engines, while the
Honda's has a noticeable gap
between first and second gears
that was annoying on technical
trails. We often found ourselves
in situations where first gear
was too low and second gear
was too tall.
Yamaha must have enlisted
a small child to design the XT's
shift lever. It's too short and
nearly impossible to wedge a
"normal" size foot between it and
the footpeg, which was also de-
signed by the same small child.
And speaking of small, the
Yamaha is overall smaller ins
size relative to the Honda and
Kawasaki. Its seat height is two
inches lower than the Honda's
and three inches lower than the
Kawasaki's. Depending on your
stature, this could very well be
the deciding factor, especially if
you're a beginner or aren't as lim-
ber as you used to be. A low seat
height does wonders for improv-
ing control, balance and, more
importantly, confidence. Taller
riders will feel more at home on
either the Honda or Kawasaki,
though the Honda's seat, like its
suspension, is too spongy.
We had no mechanical is-
sues with any of the bikes. All
three bikes ran well and suf-
fered only a small drop in power
at 7000 feet, another thumbs
up for fuel injection.
The Honda has the advan-
tage in the braking department.
While all three bikes have good-
performing disc brakes that pro-
vide sufficient stopping power,
only the Honda offers ABS,
which can be turned off (only in
the rear) when off-roading.
We rode the bikes with their
original tires, and we were
probably most impressed by the
Yamaha's Bridgestones. Despite
having the narrowest profile
(front and rear) tires of the three,
the XT's stuck remarkably well
to the dirt and gave the rider
surprisingly good feedback. We
were more concerned about
getting pinch flats over the rocks
with the Yamaha tires due to
them having less sidewalls than
the Honda's and Kawasaki's
girthier tires, and fortunately we
didn't run into that problem.
The good-handling Honda
CRF250L is also an excellent
bike for inexperienced riders.
They will appreciate the Honda's
cushy suspension, experienced
riders, not so much.
