1997 250 Motocross Shootout

tblazier
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tblazier
Edited Date/Time 1/9/2021 7:00am
Here is my look back at how the 1997 250 class stacked up in the magazines of the time.

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queen of spodes 1/7/2021 12:00pm
1/7/2021 12:00pm
I loved my 97 KX250, one of my fav bikes of all time.
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DynoDan22
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DynoDan22 1/7/2021 1:21pm
1/7/2021 1:21pm
The '97 KX250 had such a good exhaust note. It barked, snarled and sounded so crisp. I rode one and the motor was so responsive and had so much torque. I loved that bike. I spent a decent amount of time on the '97 CR250 as well. That bike should be charged with assault and battery. I swear it had a mind of its own and loved me to pummel me. The vibration alone was annoying at best. The motor was broad and had legs for days. I'm glad Ronnie Mac is burning though all the gen one aluminum CR250 parts. That bike was evil.
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SmokinJoe439 1/7/2021 2:15pm
1/7/2021 2:15pm
DynoDan22 wrote:
The '97 KX250 had such a good exhaust note. It barked, snarled and sounded so crisp. I rode one and the motor was so responsive and...
The '97 KX250 had such a good exhaust note. It barked, snarled and sounded so crisp. I rode one and the motor was so responsive and had so much torque. I loved that bike. I spent a decent amount of time on the '97 CR250 as well. That bike should be charged with assault and battery. I swear it had a mind of its own and loved me to pummel me. The vibration alone was annoying at best. The motor was broad and had legs for days. I'm glad Ronnie Mac is burning though all the gen one aluminum CR250 parts. That bike was evil.
You mean the bike dirt bike gushed over because it was so pro oriented and trick it just had to be good.
I wanted the steel perimeter frame version they were showing before the aluminium twin spar showed up.


1
Yeti831
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Yeti831 1/7/2021 3:20pm
1/7/2021 3:20pm
I needed this today.

Thanks for sharing 🤘
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The Shop

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gt80rider
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gt80rider 1/7/2021 5:02pm
1/7/2021 5:02pm
The kx and yz rocked... but that cr....... my hands still hurt....
Lightning78
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Lightning78 1/7/2021 5:47pm
1/7/2021 5:47pm
DynoDan22 wrote:
The '97 KX250 had such a good exhaust note. It barked, snarled and sounded so crisp. I rode one and the motor was so responsive and...
The '97 KX250 had such a good exhaust note. It barked, snarled and sounded so crisp. I rode one and the motor was so responsive and had so much torque. I loved that bike. I spent a decent amount of time on the '97 CR250 as well. That bike should be charged with assault and battery. I swear it had a mind of its own and loved me to pummel me. The vibration alone was annoying at best. The motor was broad and had legs for days. I'm glad Ronnie Mac is burning though all the gen one aluminum CR250 parts. That bike was evil.
SmokinJoe439 wrote:
You mean the bike dirt bike gushed over because it was so pro oriented and trick it just had to be good. I wanted the steel...
You mean the bike dirt bike gushed over because it was so pro oriented and trick it just had to be good.
I wanted the steel perimeter frame version they were showing before the aluminium twin spar showed up.


That was thought to be possibly meant for production? I mean, I'm sure they wouldve addressed the plastics but that probably wouldve been a good bike
Ted722
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Ted722 1/7/2021 6:40pm
1/7/2021 6:40pm
Plenty of others years to cite, but think of making a choice for a 250 in 1997. Such a variety and disparity. Different frames, power delivery, suspension, handling, etc.
38special
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38special 1/8/2021 10:20am
1/8/2021 10:20am
The vibration and rigidness of the CR250 was every bit what people said it was. But like Tony said, otherwise it was a really good bike.

I might be mistaken, but wasn't this the first production twin chamber fork?

SmokinJoe439 1/8/2021 10:42am
1/8/2021 10:42am
38special wrote:
The vibration and rigidness of the CR250 was every bit what people said it was. But like Tony said, otherwise it was a really good bike...
The vibration and rigidness of the CR250 was every bit what people said it was. But like Tony said, otherwise it was a really good bike.

I might be mistaken, but wasn't this the first production twin chamber fork?

No Suzuki beat them with that in 1994 with the rm's. Honda had just come off of like 3 years of kyb's on the 250's. But I believe the Honda version was a newer gen version over the Suzuki inverted ones from 94/5.
burn1986
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burn1986 1/8/2021 11:21am
1/8/2021 11:21am
It’s funny how a rear shock (Suzuki) can have such an impact on a bike, dropping it from 1st in 96 to 4th in 97? The YZ250 was overshadowed by the 125 from 96 on.
UsernameIsUnavailable 1/8/2021 11:22am
1/8/2021 11:22am
38special wrote:
The vibration and rigidness of the CR250 was every bit what people said it was. But like Tony said, otherwise it was a really good bike...
The vibration and rigidness of the CR250 was every bit what people said it was. But like Tony said, otherwise it was a really good bike.

I might be mistaken, but wasn't this the first production twin chamber fork?

SmokinJoe439 wrote:
No Suzuki beat them with that in 1994 with the rm's. Honda had just come off of like 3 years of kyb's on the 250's. But...
No Suzuki beat them with that in 1994 with the rm's. Honda had just come off of like 3 years of kyb's on the 250's. But I believe the Honda version was a newer gen version over the Suzuki inverted ones from 94/5.
it never ceases to amaze me of the depth of knowledge you guys have about bikes from 30+ years ago. I'm saying that as a compliment. I barely can remember what I had for dinner yesterday and you guys know what forks were on what bikes, when the swingarm changed, and what was the "hottest" bike for what year.
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Aceofspades 1/8/2021 5:24pm
1/8/2021 5:24pm Edited Date/Time 1/8/2021 5:25pm
I had an 97 RM250 a few years ago and it was the absolute funnest bike I’ve ever owned. It felt like a bicycle with a rocket engine on it. I heard the main power valve flapper used to stick on those and they was the reason they went a little flat in the midrange. I polished the flapper and the inside of the cylinder to mirror finish and it really pepped the bike up a ton, so there might’ve been something to that rumor. I almost loved it as much as the 07 RM250 I had but the 07 had a way way bigger hit. The 07 engine in the 97 frame would’ve been the ultimate bike to me👍
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Aceofspades 1/8/2021 5:29pm
1/8/2021 5:29pm
burn1986 wrote:
It’s funny how a rear shock (Suzuki) can have such an impact on a bike, dropping it from 1st in 96 to 4th in 97? The...
It’s funny how a rear shock (Suzuki) can have such an impact on a bike, dropping it from 1st in 96 to 4th in 97? The YZ250 was overshadowed by the 125 from 96 on.
On my 97 I rebuilt the shock and used a “non-foaming hydraulic oil “ to refill it, polished the shaft, and increased the psi of the nitrogen (a report from Suzuki that year says they had used the improper psi from the factory). I also rebuilt the forks and I’m telling you that shock especially went from dogcrap to the best rear suspension I’d ever ridden. I really think that oil made a huge difference, and it was thinner than baby oil. I loved it👍
1
burn1986
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burn1986 1/8/2021 5:37pm
1/8/2021 5:37pm
Aceofspades wrote:
On my 97 I rebuilt the shock and used a “non-foaming hydraulic oil “ to refill it, polished the shaft, and increased the psi of the...
On my 97 I rebuilt the shock and used a “non-foaming hydraulic oil “ to refill it, polished the shaft, and increased the psi of the nitrogen (a report from Suzuki that year says they had used the improper psi from the factory). I also rebuilt the forks and I’m telling you that shock especially went from dogcrap to the best rear suspension I’d ever ridden. I really think that oil made a huge difference, and it was thinner than baby oil. I loved it👍
Sweet man! I’m looking to get a ‘96 or ‘97 Zook to rebuild (either 125 or 250)
sandman768
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sandman768 1/8/2021 6:03pm
1/8/2021 6:03pm
I bought a new 97 CR250 in late fall of 96.. it had a great top end motor and after Race Tech did my forks & Shock the suspension worked really good. It handled poorly compared to what I was coming off... a 93 CR250. You could definitely feel the stiffness of the frame compared to steel framed bikes. Overall it was a solid bike for me, typical Honda, great engine, clutch, shifting, brakes, fit & finish, but it handled poorly and was a little tiring to ride. I kept it for 2 years, I rode a friends new Yz250 in 98 and that sealed the deal, in 99 I bought a new YZ250 and didn’t buy another Honda until 2007. That 98 YZ was so easy to ride compared to the Honda.
1
burn1986
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burn1986 1/8/2021 7:24pm
1/8/2021 7:24pm
sandman768 wrote:
I bought a new 97 CR250 in late fall of 96.. it had a great top end motor and after Race Tech did my forks &...
I bought a new 97 CR250 in late fall of 96.. it had a great top end motor and after Race Tech did my forks & Shock the suspension worked really good. It handled poorly compared to what I was coming off... a 93 CR250. You could definitely feel the stiffness of the frame compared to steel framed bikes. Overall it was a solid bike for me, typical Honda, great engine, clutch, shifting, brakes, fit & finish, but it handled poorly and was a little tiring to ride. I kept it for 2 years, I rode a friends new Yz250 in 98 and that sealed the deal, in 99 I bought a new YZ250 and didn’t buy another Honda until 2007. That 98 YZ was so easy to ride compared to the Honda.
I wonder how your 93 CR compared to the 98 YZ?
Aceofspades 1/8/2021 9:07pm
1/8/2021 9:07pm
burn1986 wrote:
Sweet man! I’m looking to get a ‘96 or ‘97 Zook to rebuild (either 125 or 250)
Make sure the main power valve flapper is smooth and polish the cylinder where the flapper valve rides in the cylinder . The 97 has a two piece flapper while the 96 had a one piece. I’d say that a good upgrade would be to replace the 97 with the 96 flapper because the dyno showed that the “progressive” action of the 97 flapper opening did nothing but take away a big part of the hit and robbed horsepower. I ran the preload on the power valve at one turn counterclockwise (I think) as well and it have it a bigger hit. If you get a 97 it has another adjuster in the very front of the cylinder but don’t touch it except to set it up stock.
2
Chance1216
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Chance1216 1/8/2021 11:59pm
1/8/2021 11:59pm
SmokinJoe439 wrote:
You mean the bike dirt bike gushed over because it was so pro oriented and trick it just had to be good. I wanted the steel...
You mean the bike dirt bike gushed over because it was so pro oriented and trick it just had to be good.
I wanted the steel perimeter frame version they were showing before the aluminium twin spar showed up.


That bike was for sale a few years ago for 23K. Absolute work of art.

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sandman768
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sandman768 1/9/2021 6:50am
1/9/2021 6:50am
burn1986 wrote:
I wonder how your 93 CR compared to the 98 YZ?
It did not have the motor or the cornering the Honda did, but the handling & suspension was way more forgiving. I rode rough sand tracks mostly, the Honda’s were a handful!
jerry atrick moto 1/9/2021 7:00am
1/9/2021 7:00am
Had 97 Cr250 loved the bike sold it got a 99. Wish I had the 97 Cr250 back. Looking for another one to rebuild. Put it next to this
Beauty.


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