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Something weird on my 21 and 22, I would start the bike, let it warm up for a minute or 2 (usually just while I grabbed my gloves and goggles, I would feel the radiators to see if they were warm), pull in the clutch, pop it in gear and it would jump like I didn’t have the clutch engaged and die. Then it would take a minute or 2 to start, usually had to crank a bit before it would fire, but after that it would run fine and wouldn’t do it again the rest of the day, even after taking breaks. Both bikes had done it since new. Just curious if anyone else has experienced that?
One thing is didn't really like was the brakes. They were too "touchy". Not a lot of modulation there, especially the front brake. Too much of an "on or off"-feeling.
The suspension was very plush (bone stock, not even a revalve). Probably too soft for my weight since i've gained some weight the last 6 months and i'm a bit over 190lbs now. It felt good the first couple of laps when i was riding slowly and learned the ergonomics. Once i started to push a bit the rear shock gave up and didn't have the necessary holdup.
Overall a very good bike, and it looks amazing.
I’m a 36 year old ~190 lbs Vet Intermediate rider that has 30+ yrs riding experience. I’ve had many 125’s, 250’s, 450’s over my riding career but always gravitate back to the slower bikes for the increased fun factor.
Motor - It’s fast! After spending the last 8 years on YZ125’s this bike can haul me around just fine. Never did I think I needed more power at any point on the track. Very satisfied with the amount of power. As others have stated it does have great bottom and I was able to run 3rd gear in all corners and could ride the entire track in 3rd and 4th gear. Spent most of the day in the lower end of the rev range but I did stretch 3rd gear out a few times. Pulls harder up top for sure but I felt more comfortable short shifting rather than wringing it out. Never got close to hitting rev limiter and don’t think I ever will.
Handling / High Speed Stability - I never got head shake or any unexpected twitchiness! After reading some reviews this was a concern of mine but happy to report it was not an issue for me.
Ridgid Feeling - I did not notice the bike being overly ridgid. Only mods that were done prior to riding was ProTaper ACF bars, hand filing of the shock tower (pic below), and re-torquing of all engine mounts. Did it make a difference???? I’m not sure as this was done prior to riding the bike but I have no complaints!
Cornering - On flat corners and bowl berms the bike cornered very well. Area 1, 2, and 3 I had no complaints. However on rutted corners I struggled a little with area 1. Had trouble getting the bike settled and leaned over on the initial turn in. I think this has more to do with the suspension setup than the actual ability of the bike to corner. I’m sure as I get more comfortable with the bike and get the setup dialed this will not be an issue.
Front Suspension - Forks are harsh in the mid stroke! Most notable area on the track that I struggled with was coming into corners with breaking bumps. If I applied any front brake at all the forks were very harsh and the front end became unsettled. If I didn’t apply any front brake this feeling mostly went away so i adjusted my riding technique to make the bike work better. I clicked the compression softer and harder to try and ease this feeling and I found going a few clicks in on compression made this feel better but I need to continue clicking on next ride day. In addition to staying off the front brake I chose to be creative and ride the smoother lines and roll into the turns. May have found a new riding technique due to the harsh forks. Roll speed vs attacking in and out of the corners. On large landings the suspension feels great, no complaints.
Rear Suspension - No complaints, worked well.
Planned Mod’s - Factory Connection suspension revalve to get the fork more compliant coming into corners with breaking bumps.
Tip - I used a hole saw bit to cut a hole in the skid plate directly under the oil drain plug. This allows you to leave the skid plate on during oil changes.
Pit Row
I put 2 hours on the bike and at the end of the day when the track was beat (and me too) the bike felt the best it had all day! I was pretty happy leaving the track and satisfied to leave my bike alone until I have time to send off the suspension for re-valve and springs.
Couple key take aways:
At 2mm fork height the bike didn’t want to turn in as well as I had hoped. Moving to 4mm helped the cornering with no sacrifice in high speed stability.
When going stiffer on fork compression I was loosing comfort so I settled for backing out the rebound to try and get the hold up I’m needing in the consecutive bumps.
Over jumped a step down table top and landed into the face of a breaking bump. Thought for sure I was in trouble but the forks soaked it up extremely well. These forks continue to work great on big landings, just don’t like consecutive bumps.
The rear end was riding too low in the stroke on corner exit when there were some sandy rollers. Increased the low speed compression to help this.
Im not a suspension expert but I’m not afraid to make some adjustments. After reading many reviews and watching ride review videos this is where I settled. Hope this helps someone.
2023 Honda CRF250r CURRENT settings
Forks
C 13
R 17
4mm fork height
Shock
C 4
HC 2 1/6
R 11
105mm sag
2023 Honda CRF250r STOCK settings:
C 12
R 13
5mm fork height
C 6
HC 2 1/6th
R11
105mm sag
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