UNI-CAM NO MORE
That’s right, Honda’s Uni-Cam has slipped into
the history books after many years and Honda
has followed suit, in line with all the other
manufacturers, finally seeming to accept that
two cams for valve actuation are indeed better
than one. Well, on the 250 machine at least. But,
the interesting thing is I’m not sure it’s a move
for the better - for the average racer anyway.
To explain the last sentence, yes, the new motor is
fast and, yes, it seems reasonably easy to ride, but its
only fast way up high in the rev range’s stratosphere
– there seems to be a bit of a lack of bottom end
power and torque. So, the up-shot is that it’s not
that easy to ride really fast. Pro’s aren’t going to
46KIWI RIDER
have a problem, they’ll be happy enough and skilled
enough to bounce off the rev limiter all day long.
No, it’s the average rider who might struggle with
the slight lack of bottom-end, mainly because they
might not be able to maintain enough corner speed
to keep the 250R on-song right up in the revs.
Having said that, the 250R engine’s power
delivery is very linear, the power just progressively
snowballing and its super easy to get along with
in the cross-country/trail ride scenario. I can
see it winning many non-MX riders over with its
smooth and easy low-rpm power delivery. But...
if you’re the kind of rider who wants low-end
punch out of a corner, then you might want to
think about eye-balling the CRF450R. Mind you,