2020 KAWASAKI KLX250 VS. HONDA CRF250L VS. YAMAHA XT250
C O M PA R I S O N
P98
soon as the Honda or Yamaha.
However, we were quite
surprised by how good the XT's
suspension actually is, more so
than you'd think by just looking
at this bike. Despite giving away
up to a two of inches of wheel
travel to the other two bikes, the
XT isn't afraid of rough roads
and tricky trails and handles
them quite well, even at speed.
Yes, it bottoms easily, but the
XT does a great job providing a
comfortable, well-balanced ride
up until then.
The Honda's suspension,
however, is a little disappoint-
ing. It comes from the factory
tuned very soft, and there is
no easy fix because the shock
and forks are non-adjustable,
except for rear spring pre-
load. Our real gripe is with the
shock. Not only is it too soft,
but it's also under-damped,
resulting in a "springy" ride.
This becomes more of an
issue when the bike is ridden
aggressively. Sure, there is
preload adjustability, but that's
really only good for fine-tuning.
It won't fix the soft problem
even if cranked all the way in.
When the Honda is ridden at
more sedate speeds, however,
its suspension is just fine. In
fact, one of our testers, who
is a very experienced street
bike rider but new to the dirt,
had no issues with the Honda's
suspension at all and said that
he even liked it.
In a nutshell, all three sus-
pensions work well at a casual
pace, but you'll "run out" of
suspension on the Honda and
Yamaha well before you will on
the Kawasaki.
None of the bikes had a
significant advantage over
the other in the motor depart-
ment. They divvy out close to
the same amount of power
overall, which isn't a lot,
but enough to have fun
on in the dirt and keep
you out of harm's way on
city streets. All three are fun
little around-town go-getters
While all three
are excellent
motorcycles for
beginners, the
Kawasaki KLX250
will also appeal to
more experienced
riders. Exceptional
suspension has a
lot to do with that.
