F
or some years now Honda’s CRF250R has
had a superb chassis, fantastic ergonomics
and excellent suspension. Even the brakes
have been great. Yes… it’s a bit porky on the
scales, but it’s not heavy to ride or when in the air.
So, I’m going to get straight to my big issue.
I think the CRF250R engine has struggled to
produce decent low-end grunt ever since Honda
dropped its Uni-Cam engine for the all-new
twin-cam motor in 2018. That engine was great
up top, but flat everywhere else when compared
to the opposition. Maybe great for top-end pros
who can keep the motor singing but for the rest
of us it had little roll-on power – something of an
all or nothing engine.
For 2019 Honda did improve things and the 250
engine definitely gained some extra low and
mid-range torque and became more rideable
38 KIWI RIDER
for us mortals. Top racers will argue they really
only use the top end anyway, so who cares about
the low end? They are more than happy revving
the wee Honda to the moon and swinging off the
clutch. But… they’re only half right. You can’t ride
perfectly all the time in that rev zone and some
decent torque for that drive/grunt out of slow
turns is always a great thing, particularly for the
novice and those who want a more versatile
power delivery. Let’s be honest, that’s most of
the rest of us.
So, where does the 2020 model stand? Well,
there’s no question that it’s better again, and it
still has that excellent top-end and over rev.
The upper mid-range is solid with great drive and
traction and the overall delivery is very linear. The
low-end power is still a little soft when compared
to the class leaders, but it’s certainly not like