the fork is slightly too soft to resist bottoming.
Bringing the CRF to a halt was no issue either,
with more than one tester complementing the
Honda's braking components for offering both
impressive power and feel through the lever.
Horsepower has become an increasingly
important factor in the 250 class, but where the
power is located is just as important as how
much of it there is. The Honda likes to be ridden
high in the powerband, offering a strong pull and
plenty of over-rev for the wide-open sections. Its
low-end performance comes up short in com-
parison to the Austrians, this latest-generation
engine feeling considerably weaker and having
almost zero initial grunt at lower rpm. Despite
the mediocre low-end performance, every tester
agreed that the Honda's engine was vastly
improved over its predecessor's, some testers
going as far as saying it's a "night and day dif-
ference" and "transforms the bike."
Unfortunately for Big Red, the same testers
did have their fair share of concerns, which
played a part in the CRF's third-place rank-
ing. The unique cylinder head design with dual
exhaust ports and twin pipes offers a trick
look, but our group was slightly put off by what
this could mean for the price of an aftermarket
exhaust (read: it's going to be pricey!). Fed up
with the complicated flashing system for the se-
lectable engine mapping, the testers also shied
away from Honda's tuning system, ultimately
wishing for an on-the-fly, easily-identifiable sys-
tem like what Husqvarna and KTM offer.
In the end, Honda has made an impressive
push in the small-bore category, and the result
is an incredibly competitive machine. It may
have its quirks, but there's no doubt that the
CRF250R will come back stronger next year,
like the 2018 CRF450R did (it didn't immediately
win shootouts after its recent rebuild either).
A couple fixes, and the 2019 250cc shootout
champion might just be oozing red.
2018 250F MOTOCROSS SHOOTOUT
P92
SHOOTOUT
HONDA CRF250R
NOTABLE FEATURES
•Electric Starting
•Handlebar Map Switch
•Dual Exhaust System
•Titanium Fuel Tank
•All-New DOHC Engine
•Showa 49mm A-Kit-Style
Coil-Spring Fork
•Aluminum Renthal Handlebars
IMPORTANT NUMBERS
Weight: 238 lbs. (wet)
MSRP: $7999
