DIRT AND TRAIL

3. Everyone loves the CRF450R
suspension, and Honda nailed it on the
CRF250R. The 2018 Honda CRF250R’s
Showa feels balanced. Each end works
in harmony, as they both suck up the
small stuff while taking care of harder
hits. Bottoming never happened and
most of the time the CRF250R floated
over the terrain. There’s no diving during
hard braking, or squatting when getting
Aggressive. Especially in the muddy muck
we were playing in. All the riders felt that
with just a little bit of setup to suit the
individual, the bikes will be great race tools.
4. Braking is spot on. Smooth on initial
bite, the braking increases progressively
and confidently—this is true for both the
front and the back. Honda got the pads and
ratios just right.
5. Cornering is sharp. This bike turns
beautifully. The 2018 Honda CRF250R is
willing to take corners as they come. On
fast corners, it stays put against the berm,
and settles in exactly how you would want.
When diving in and squaring off the apex,
the CRF250R responds without the need to
sit on the gas cap. You can steer with the
back end coming out of corners, should the
conditions call for it, such as in flat corners.
The track was very muddy - all of the guys
would have loved to try it again in the dry.
6. At speed, the Honda CRF250R is
stable. Headshake isn’t an issue. This
makes you go faster.
7. Airtime is great. The CRF250R feels
light and can be moved around in the air
as needed. The suspension and chassis
lands beautifully.
One of the things that the guys battled to
get used to was the power delivery. All say
that the bike revs like a cat out of the toilet
and it has such long legs, but they battled to
get the power to the ground. Please do bear
in mind that the track was literally a slimy
pile of mud… So that would play a major
part in this. But all felt that the 250 will need
a bit of tweaking to get more bottom end
torque going. Maybe a pipe and filter and
you go racing?
We’ll quote Jesse on this one – “You
need to ride it like a 125. Aggressively with
lots of shifting.”
All of the riders played with the mapping
settings. On both bikes.
There are three power modes, and they
make a difference. The modes are Standard,
Smooth, and Aggressive. The power
delivery modifications come from changes
in ignition and fueling. They are easily
selected with a button on the left handlebar
and a flashing light confirms you choice.
Aggressive isn’t what you might think it
is. You would expect Aggressive to be the
most powerful performer on top. Instead,
it gives you more power down low and
quicker revving. This was the choice for all
of our guys. Without a doubt, the extra snap
helps on jumps and accelerating hard out of
corners—when you have the traction.
Smooth is smooth, and that’s not exciting.
The smooth mode makes the bikes easier
to ride. The power comes on softly on the
bottom, and it’s less fatiguing for the rider.
Our guys “Ran the bikes in” in this mode. All
preferred the hit of the Aggressive mode.
Standard mode splits the difference. This
is the mode the 2018 CRF250R is in when
you start it up. It’s a compromise between
Aggressive and Smooth.
“Cornering is sharp. This bike turns beautifully. The
2018 Honda CRF250R is willing to take corners as they
come. On fast corners, it stays put against the berm,
and settles in exactly how you would want.”
42 DIRT & TRAIL MAGAZINE MARCH 2018