MEAT AND POTATOES
We'll get right to what you
probably want to know most.
Yes, the Rangers are car-
bureted; both are fitted with
36mm PWK Mikunis. Yes,
they both have electric start-
ing systems with a manual
kick for backup. No, they are
not oil-injected, so you must
keep the ratio-rite nearby.
Yes, they have hydraulically
operated clutches. No, they
don't have crankshaft coun-
terbalancers, which seems to
be a two-stroke trend these
days. And, no, they don't
come fitted with suspension
components you never heard
of; instead, they come with
more familiar KYB units that
are fully adjustable.
GET ON AND HOLD ON
The first thing you will notice
when you get on the Rang-
ers is their lower seat height
compared to their Racing and
Pro siblings. The Ranger's
seat is 1.5 inches closer to the
ground than the race bikes,
36.3 versus 37.8 inches. That
might not seem like much on
paper, but it's a lot on the seat.
The lower seat height was
achieved by reducing wheel
travel and designing a thinner
seat. An adjustable rear shock
link can reduce seat height
even further.
A seemingly powerful (and
loud, we might add) starter
motor quickly brings the
Rangers to life, and you're
quickly reminded that these
bikes are indeed carbureted.
They feel overly rich until they
reach proper operating tem-
perature but even then, a hint
of blue smoke from the ex-
haust never completely goes
away. We ran your standard
40:1 fuel/oil mixture. They
VOLUME 59 ISSUE 34 AUGUST 23, 2022 P105
(Above) The lower rear-shock
linkage can be adjusted to lower
ride height even further. (Left)
The Ranger 300 is tuned the
same way as the Ranger 200
but with more power overall. It's
an ideal trail bike for the lighter/
smaller vet rider who has no
interest in racing but wants good
performance for technical terrain.
