2018 250CC DUAL-SPORT SHOOTOUT
SHOOTOUT
P124
has good feel over light chop and
you can push it fairly hard over
rougher ground; not as hard as
the Yamaha but harder than the
Honda. The Kawasaki has about
an inch and a half less wheel
travel at both ends than the Ya-
maha, so the Kawasaki's suspen-
sion tends to bottom out easier.
The KLX's suspension is almost
as adjustable as the WR's.
The Honda lags a bit in the
suspension department, but
that is only a concern for the
more experienced rider who will
complain that the CRF's fork
and shock are way too soft and
bottom easily; it has the least
amount of front-wheel travel of
the three bikes and just slightly
more rear-wheel travel than the
Kawasaki. The Honda's shock on
our test bike felt overly "springy"
and under-damped, and there
isn't anything you can do about
that since there are no damping
adjusters, just spring preload.
A quick glance at the Honda's
odo, however, revealed that it
had significantly more miles on
it than our other two test bikes,
which might explain some of the
Honda's more spongy feel from
the rear suspension. However,
a true beginner or first-time rider
won't complain at all and will
instead enjoy the Honda's ultra-
cushy ride and low seat height -
by far the lowest of the three.
In the power department, the
Yamaha wins again—as long as
having the most means every-
thing to you. None of them,
however, are rocket ships. That's
pretty much a given with these
bikes, but the Yamaha moves
along pretty good for what it is.
The Yamaha is noticeably more
powerful than both the Kawasaki
and Honda, but most of that
power is lurking in the higher rpm
range, which is a fun place for an
experienced rider but maybe not
so much for the true beginner.
On the flip side, both the Ka-
wasaki and Honda make better
bottom-end and midrange power,
which are desirable traits for be-
ginners, for those who just want
to plonk around and explore trails
at a casual pace, or who want to
challenge a technical trail now
and then. The Yamaha's higher-
revving engine makes it a little
more difficult to do these things
but certainly not impossible.
All three bikes, especially the
Yamaha, would be better off with
drive gearing for riding on dirt.
