Were the 97-99 Honda Cr250's really that bad????????

Weeeelll, my 1999 CR250R was tough to diel in. But with a Rat Racing BIG BOR MODS and FMF RACING SUSPENSION MODS. A Fatty pipe, the bike cranked. To over come the agile turning required for super moto. Required more horsepower and SUSPENSION modifications.  Once that was achieved,  the Honda was faster then the pack. I ran the Trail Riders Of Houston rides. Mainly for fun, being a Dad is a full time job. I still have the bike, looks like the day that I built her. Yes, the ride required some learning.  But at 6 foot 3 and 225 pounds. The bike was a dream come true for me. All of my other CR's back to the 70's simply were too small. This bike was built for men, big men. The little dudes simply don't have the mass to wheel this machine.  Only seeing how most riders are smaller. Well the negative critasyzym is blasted. I was far from FAT, I'm just a big Dude.  Even now I'm still in shape enough to ride. I can say that I grew up in motocross during the dawn of this sport. I have seen some great motocross bikes. I have raced them too. But today, I sure miss the sport. At one time, MX was everywhere. Today the populous say that the sport makes too much noise.  To me it is music to my ears.

David Muecke 

hell, I hated my 2001 CR250.  engine was great though.

My 1997 CR250 was absolutely the worst bike I ever owned. I blame this bike for 24 years of pain as it is what caused my SCI. 

The engine was incredible. The frame was literally a backbreaker.

Ah yes, the '97 spit me off with regularity. Awesome motor with total unpredictable cornering manners.

The 97 cost me fracture in my back , unfortunately. I still remember that , I come short on this big tabletop in Gorman and the landing was so harsh that I got airborne again. 

I left the sport in 1993 and came back in 2003 on a 1997 cr250.  I hadn’t ridden from 93 to 03.   When I got on the cr250 I liked it because the bike was good in many ways.   Half a year of riding this bike and I have had a bad back ever since.   I then got a 2002 cr250 and thought the bike was amazing

I’d love to answer that, but I can tell you that I had a 2000 and that is the one bike that I regret ever selling. It did everything right, but maybe I should thank Ziggy @ Factory Connection and Fred @ VPE for an amazing combination that they gave me. 

The 97 I had was awful.  My dentist at the time liked it though.....  I had several fillings replaced that year due to vibrations rattling them out.  Sold it to a local who didn't know any better, or gave a damn about his physical self.....

I was one of the first to have a 97 in my area, sold my beloved 93 to get the new aluminum framed Honda! I should have known after shaking it down at my local rough sand track, the bike got out of shape in a section of the track that had never given me problems before… I wrapped the bike around the only tree near the track & ripped the single radiator off the bike! Had to wait a good 2-4 weeks for a new radiator from Honda, they were so new….It was a good sand bike because of the great engine and if you had berms to bounce off, it would eventually turn. Flat sweepers really brought out the worst of the chassis, big push from the front end…coming off a 93 it was pretty disappointing overall.

Was that the last year of the electronic power valve? Or that was '02? I saw one in pretty mint condition on Marketplace the other day

2002 was the first year for the RC valve. 
 

Ok that's what was in my head. Gotcha

As an old guy who raced C and then B in that era, I'll say this: The faster rider you were, the better the CR 250 was. 

Let's be honest - the beginners didn't know better. The C and slow B riders all thought it was too harsh in both suspension and power delivery. However, fast B and most A riders thought it was the cat's meow.

It was an interesting era for HRC for sure. While I've never heard anyone who raced them - even the haters - dog on that generation of CR250s on power, the 98 CR 125 was Hyde to the 250's Jekyl. 

I never raced anything older than 91, and I quit around 2006, but the 98 CR125 was the slowest stock bike I have ever been on. Everyone raved about how well it handled, but that was because it was slow af. I'm not saying a proficient motor builder or the right combo of mods couldn't have built it fast, but out of the box, that thing was a mutt. 

"Bad" or not...that was a DAMN sexy dirt bike!! 

I rode 1 for 5 laps on a hilly hard pack track . I jumped everything the 1st lap , 3 ft clay whoops it tracked straight. It was a 200 lb reps bike not setup for a 165 lb me. It did everything good but you hv to get it pointed in the direction you want to travel. Engine was impressive. 

Can someone explain me what mods they used on the factory bikes back in the day? Because their bikes scored two World Championships.

1997: World Champion 250cc with Stefan Everts 

1999: World Champion 250cc with Fred Bolley

They were able to modify the frames any way they saw fit . Over here we had Ezra Lusk and Mike LaRocco among others who did well on that bike despite supposedly following a production rule . Lusk was on record saying his 98 was the best bike he ever raced . As already said though the bike worked better the faster you went . 

Howver I had a 98 I used for grass track type riding and I loved it and I'm far from fast . I never took the bike out on a modern track or raced it though .

Could have been the riders….

I would love to hear what Ezra Lusk has to say regarding this question! Dude hit the ground hard way too many times on this generation of CR250

I remember reading an interview where he said the 98 was his favorite.  He had his best premiere class SX season on it . Also had a double moto win at Southwick that year if I remember correctly and his outdoor wins were few and far between. 

This.

We hear all the time (from US based riders) how bad it was, but yet it won WC’s and ws fairly popular here in europe. Both HRC and non factory riders did good on it.

My dad had one and i remember the vibrations, but i doubt that the bike was so bad that people trying to make it sound like.

i think that it was ”different”. It was the first of the modern stiff chassis bikes and people were not used to it when it came. The same way as i don’t like to ride 90’s steel frame bikes now, i think they are way ro soft and have to much frame flex.

I won’t defend the vibrations, but the rest of the bike were probably a new thing people had to get used to.

Everts also won the 500gp in Namur on a production framed cr500AF.

I had a 98 the motor was unreal and I had a really good re-valve on the suspension. With the vibration I sprayed expander foam down the main tubes that helped. You had to be committed to your line as it didn't like to change once committed. The more you rode it the better it felt, but if you didn't ride it for a couple of weeks look out.

Ruined Bradshaw's comeback