K A W A S A K I K L X 1 4 0 G V S . H O N D A C R F 2 3 0 F V S . Y A M A H A T T R 2 3 0
P116
SHOOTOUT
solidly, easy to work on and
seem very reliable; however, we
have to give Yamaha a thumbs
down for painting the TTR's
frame black which looks fine
new (well, sort of) but quickly
turns hideously ugly after a cou-
ple of rides; scratches and dings
really show glaringly. We also
burned through two batteries on
the Yamaha because of the way
its separate engine and ignition
on-off switches are arranged.
It's super-easy to forget to turn
off the Yamaha's ignition button
after using the engine switch
to kill the engine. And if you acci-
dently let it drain too far, there is
no reviving the battery. You're in
for a new one. The Honda is the
only one that uses a key ignition,
which makes it harder to forget
to turn off, and to steal.
The Yamaha holds the most
fuel at 2.1 gallons, but since
these bikes sip so little gas,
range really isn't a factor with any
of them, but still, when it comes
to fuel capacity, more is almost
always better.
The Winner
The bottom line is that there is
no real winner or loser here,
especially when there is no
checkered flag at the end of
the trail. Instead, when it comes
to these bikes, it's more about
The Yamaha's longer-stroke
engine gives it slightly more
tractability than the other two.
GEAR ID'd
GEARSET: KLIM XC PANT/JERSEY
HELMET: ARAI VX-PRO4
GOGGLES: SCOTT
BOOTS: SIDI X-3
