1997 Honda Cr250r
1997 HONDA CR250R
CYCLE WORLD TEST
QUANTUM CROSSER?
FIRST THINGS FIRST! No, THE CR250’S TRICK NEW alloy frame didn’t bend, break, get crushed or snap in half. Jeez, sportbikes and roadracers have used aluminum frames for more than a decade; why all the questions just because a berm-buster now has one?
Blame some of the misconception on rumor. When Honda unexpectedly delayed the U.S. introduction of the 1997 CR, speculation started. Headsets were snapping off, shock mounts were breaking-or so the grapevine had it.
Nothing of the sort.
The CR was held up for suspension work. American Honda refused to sign off on the fork and shock settings, which were fouled up in the transition from pre-production to production. It was late in the game, but extra testing was done and, finally, CR250s got the green light to be sold stateside.
On the showroom floor, it’s certainly an impressive piece: a twin-beam, perimeter-style frame, clamped around a refined version of what was already the crispest-hitting, power-oozingest motor in the 250cc class. A motocrosser for the next millennium.
It’s a reality check, then, when you throw a leg over the bike. The CR250 feels...well, pretty normal. Okay, there are some changes from the ’96 CR. The riding position, for one, is roomier overall. Plus, the forward position of the handlebar and the flatter, longer seat combine with flush-mounted sidepanels for an exceedingly thin-feeling bike.
The new single radiator, which has a 150 percent increase in capacity, is narrower side-to-side than last year’s twin-rad setup, and the flat profile of the fuel tank allows the seat to extend a long way forward to ease rider movement.
So, the overall feel of the bike should be lighter, right, especially with the aluminum frame weighing 4 pounds less than the steel unit it replaces? Well, no, not really. Even ridden back-to-back with a ’96 CR250, it’s hard to notice any difference. Yes, the ’97 CR is the lightest in its class (234 pounds full of gas), but it doesn’t feel appreciably lighter than, say, a 244-pound Suzuki RM250 on the track.
What is different is the way the Honda handles bumps. The new frame’s advantages in torsional and lateral stiffness can be felt. It also aids in steering precision; at all times, the rider can tell when the bike is hooked up and exactly what it’s doing. Never does the CR feel wallowy-just like last year’s CR, only better.
Of course, the redone suspension plays an important part here, too. First off, this is the best suspension that has come on a 250 Honda in a long time-especially up front. The 47mm Showa dual-chamber cartridge fork is sprung spot-on for a wide range of rider abilities, with very progressive action that worked well on everything from hardcore supercross to natural-terrain outdoor tracks.
Ditto for the rear Showa shock, which is a step ahead of the competition by virtue of its high-speed compressiondamping adjustment. (It has the generic spring-preload, lowspeed compression and rebound-damping adjustments, as well.) Most testers were happy with the stock settings and running 105mm (4.2 inches) of sag with the rider on board. How critical is setup? When the bike seemed twitchy in the bumps, Honda recommended decreasing the high-speed compression on the shock just a bit ( !4th of a tum) and the nervousness went away.
Turning was as precise as ever, nearly as light feeling as the Suzuki, and the Honda held the inside line like a...well, like a Honda. Stability is just a hair off the class-leading Kawasaki KX.
Not all the CR’s zootiness comes from its frame, though. The redone motor plays a big part, too. Last year’s overachiever of a powerplant was just too much of a good thing-Pros loved its hard-hitting nature, but for the rest of us it could quickly become a handful, especially at the end of a long, tiring moto. So Honda engineers threw the latest technology at the CR to keep the same class-dominating power level, but make it more user-friendly. Take, for instance, the Keihin Power Jet carburetor. It has an extra jet that sucks fuel from the float bowl starting around quarter-throttle (it’s electronically shut off at 8100 rpm), the goal being more fuel for more midrange punch and a clean-revving, long-pulling topend surge. Combine this with a three-dimensionally mapped ignition that senses the rate of rpm increase and then softens timing if needed-a sort of poor man’s traction control.
Out on the track, the CR is still a powerhouse, with ultra-responsive low end and super pull through the rest of the rev range, but now there’s a larger and more usable “chunk” of power. Applause, applause, applause.
The rest of the CR is up to snuff, too. Take the rear rotor, which grew 34-inch-just like the factory bikes’and has all the stopping power and control a rider could want. The front brake is similarly impressive. The Honda’s shifting seemed notchier than in the past, but loosened up with time. The clutch has just the right amount of pull and never fades, slips or gets grabby.
Complaints? Yes, mainly focused on jetting being a bit finicky. We leaned out the pilot jet one size to a #52 and went to a richer, #1368M needle. An early problem with reeds breaking necessitated an upgrade to petals from the ’96 250. We were told this has already been fixed on the production line. Our only real down for the bike goes to the chain and rear sprocket-they needed replacement after only five rides. A round of boos, please.
Back to the CR’s calling card, its aluminum frame: Throughout testing, we found it very hard to find fault. Huge sky-shots, case-crunching doubles and a whole spectrum of get-offs left the big beams with some small scratches, but absolutely no structural damage.
So, is the new CR250 a quantum leap forward for MXers? Nope, it’s simply a great working racer with a different kind of frame. It also happens to be the best 250cc motocross bike of 1997-which probably means its frame won’t be that different for very long.
HONDA CR250
$5699
