JCR HONDA CRF450R AND CRF250R
RACER TEST
P74
superb. You could grab a handful
of lever and not worry too much
about the front end locking and
tucking underneath you.
Overall, Bach's 450 was
remarkably easy to ride, not
to mention, fun, but it's still a
450—it has tons of power, isn't
exactly featherweight light and is
a big-feeling bike, but we could
see us making it to the finish of
a three-hour GNCC with a smile
on our face, no problem.
Bollinger's 250 is also out-
standing on the trail and just as
fun as Bach's to ride but in a dif-
ferent kind of way. It has a lighter
feel, handles a little quicker and
loves to be revved out more, but
it, of course, doesn't have the
torque of Bach's big 450. Still, it
has very good torque for a 250F
and great bottom-end perfor-
mance, making it also a blast
to ride on the tight single-track
trails. Like the 450, the 250 had
no problem clawing and scratch-
ing its way up the big uphill,
and, also like the 450, the motor
never stalled on us. Not once.
Bollinger's suspension is
noticeably stiffer than Bach's
but still has a hint of plushness
at both ends, and we thought
it would work really well on a
motocross track, too.
We did miss electric starting on
both bikes, but, to be honest, they
both are easy to kick over, even
when the motors were hot. We
except both Bach and Bollinger
to nail some holeshots this year in
GNCC's dead-engine starts.
You could notice the larger
fuel tanks between your legs,
but it was not a hindrance
whatsoever. In fact, both bikes
still feel narrow and very com-
fortable in the saddle. We were
a bit surprised, however, how
low both Bach and Bollinger
like their handlebars positioned,
but that is no doubt an off-road
thing, since you're often sitting
down and hunched over more
than you are in motocross.
Overall, both these bikes
are amazing machines that are
easy to ride yet still capable of
winning the pro class in GNCC
racing, which Bach proved last
year. All that's left now is to go
racing. CN
It's not often you see Johnny Campbell on a 250, but he can still
shred on a 250 or 450. Wide-open or single track, it doesn't matter.
