Kiwi Rider December Vol.2 2025 | Page 59

Feels more powerful doesn’ t mean IS more powerful, it often means just rattily fuelled by being badly jetted. Anyway, the upshot of the tune is a much-improved output of 25-anda-little-bit hp of the reliable kind. Try it for yourself. Brett is nowhere near as grumpy as everybody who knows him says he is. Promise.
by the lashings of titanium bolts that have replaced the recycled ship anchor metal that the originals were hewn from, and the XR250 swingarm letting it land a little more softly. A handmade Kevlar airbox was created to help the little Honda breathe better, a competition clutch installed and the whole shooting match was painted, upholstered and polished before the mighty‘ two-hundy’ was frog-marched into Brett Roberts Motorcycles’( BRM) dyno for some fine tuningon Brett’ s rolling road. Now, the road folk use dyno tuning way more than the dirt world. Why? It just doesn’ t seem to have the awareness in the offroad world, but it seriously ought to. Dyno tuning not only enables you to extract extra power from your bike, it can also give more predictable power delivery, and smooth is fast … What it also does, and here is the underrated bit, it can save a whole lot of tears and blown engines. No more‘ hoping’ it isn’ t running waaaaay too lean at maximum revs, usually confirmed by a small but meaningful, not to mention catastrophic and costly meltdown of vital internal organs. The dyno and the sensors show actual facts, not just‘ woo-woo feels’.
VMX WOODS WEAPON After all that was done, the suspension was expertly fettled by Linton and now lets the wee Honda leap fairly tall buildings without having to back off, giving it that unwavering( kind of) speed through the technical sections that it cut its teeth on some 44 years ago. Now boasting what would have been a hefty 25hp and impressive torque for a wee 200cc bike in the day, the bike is ready to rumble in VMX events once more. It is proving to be a competitive wee weapon in the small-bore ranks. So, there you have it. One of the slightly quirky but nevertheless legendary machines from an era famous for gaps in the memories of many, wide ties, tragic lapels, horrendous moustaches and flares – not the illuminating ones either. The Eighties … Anyone remember them?
KIWI RIDER 59