2018 HONDA
CRF250R
T
he lack of electric start on last year’s Honda’s
CRF250R was a major omission, which put
the MX2 machine at a disadvantage in a class
where the majority of MX2 machines already
have it. Thankfully Honda has pulled out all
the stops this year with a completely new
CRF250R motocrosser to bring it up to date with its
big brother 450R, and competitor machines in its class.
While the 450 took two years to come with electric
start following its last big makeover, the 250 has been
given all the good toys, including electric start, in one
fell swoop. To be quite frank, it needed it too. The
main Euro brands have been electric start for some
years, so Honda is now on a level playing field in this
respect, rather than ahead of the game, but this is
an update a lot of Honda riders are going to be very
happy to see making its way onto this year’s machine.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking electric start
is just a lazy man’s convenience thing, anyone
who watches the AMA supercross will know its
super important for the racer too; the difference
in time taken to get the bike running again
after a stall between what is often several kicks
of the kickstart versus the press of the button
is stark, and can make the difference between
being a podium finisher or an ‘also ran’.
The other big news for this heavily updated model
is an all-new engine with the adoption of a twin-
cam cylinder head and a full twin exhaust system.
Also, the body work is completely new along with
the frame, which has in part been changed to
accommodate a new down-draft-style intake system
and the fuel tank is now titanium to save weight.
44KIWI RIDER