Road Test Cycle Guide 1979

Your average enduro bike is expected to be a nasty forest animal with alloy sinews and the spirit of a wild beast. It says so right here in the Enduro Rider's Handbook. But Honda doesn't believe it. Enduro bikes are not supposed to be meek, but the XR250 would sit up and lick your hand if it could.

Honda isn't interested in building yet another motocrosser with lights for those narrow trails between time checks. As a result, the XR250 lacks the competitive edge of the foremost enduro machinery, but it does demonstrate that sheer ridability remains one of the most significant qualifications of any motorcycle with which you intend to spend six hours thrashing around in the underbrush. Never mind the Enduro Rider's Handbook, Honda suggests, friendliness counts for a lot.

Honda hopes that its new line of four-stroke off-road and street/trail motorcycles will prove that such bikes can compete with two-strokes in size, weight and power. Dual counterbalancers in the engine enabled Honda to subdue vibration and eliminate its side effect, the massive over-engineering required to insure reliability. Once Honda discovered this formula for a four-stroke off-road bike of reasonable proportions, the rest was almost easy.

First, the XR250's pulse has risen three horsepower to a rating of 24.6, the result of an increase in compression ratio from 9.1:1 to 9.6:1 and a 2.5mm increase in the size of the carburetor to 30.5mm. Off-road bikes don't have to placate the EPA, so the XR was allowed low-end jetting rich enough to provide adequate throttle response, eliminating the need for the XL-style accelerator pump. The frame geometry and the suspension have also been changed. The steering head angle is tucked in 2.5 degrees more on the XR, and the front fork and rear shocks both deliver 0.8 inches more travel than those on the XL. In addition, the swept area of the XR's brakes has been reduced 60 percent, since it isn't figured to be performing any 60-mph street panic stops.

The remainder of the XR reflects careful detailing in concert with the rugged task ahead. The alloy gas tank (Honda doesn't make plastic tanks) has been increased a tenth of a gallon from the XL and the filler opening is wide enough to be easily hit by a drunken one-eyed service crewman. The fork tubes have rubber gaiters, and there's an alloy skid plate and a fender-mounted tool bag. To save weight, the brake stay arms are alloy and the rear sprocket is aluminum. Both the shift lever and rear brake pedal have folding tips strong enough to retract without braking. In addition, first gear is fractionally lower (higher numerically) than on the XL and the XR's countershaft sprocket has one less tooth.

On the trail, the XR's eager-to-please personality shines through as soon as you prod the kickstart lever. The kickstarter-actuated compression release takes the sting out of the four-stroke starting drill and the fear out of your heart when the XR's engine stalls in a tight spot. In addition, from the moment the grabby clutch engages, the engine's willingness to pull at extremely low rpm stamps it as an ally instead of an enemy in the woods.

While the riding position is for the most part comfortable, the low-rise handlebars can sometimes discourage standing on the pegs. Unfortunately, because of the XR's high steering head location most normal accessory bars aren't suited to this bike. Still, some sort of scrambler handlebar might be adapted to make standing up on the XR an easier proposition.

The XR's suspension also adds to the bike's well-adjusted personality. Nasty holes, ugly rocks and big lumps are incapable of producing more than the pleasant hydraulic squish of the fork. Even at moderate speed on a motocross track, the XR's suspension failed to bottom out viciously in the big stuff or lock up in the stutter bumps. Meanwhile, the brakes don't overpower the motorcycle, although more braking power—especially from the rear—might inspire more confidence.

XR-series Hondas have special enduro tires which, like the street/trail tires on the XL series, were designed by Honda and built by Bridgestone. Honda claims that the claw-type tread components on these tires work in conjunction with deliberate sidewall flex to actually grip the ground better than regular knobbies. In practice, these tires cling exceptionally well on most hard or loamy surfaces, but in deep, loose stuff (especially sand) they seem to have a mind of their own.

The XR's only character flaws were revealed in sand and on dusty trails. Under these conditions, the front wheel skated and the handlebars waggled ominously. But although the front wheel seemed to display a lack of resolve, it didn't upset the rest of the bike. Nevertheless, it's hard to summon up the gumption to go really fast when you're wrestling the handlebars. Without engaging in a specific and tedious investigation, it's difficult to know if the front tire, the 23-inch front wheel, the steering geometry or a combination of all three perpetrated this rude behavior.

Compared to other street/trail bikes, the XL250S is a great motorcycle. But the XR250 doesn't shine as brightly compared to its competition. Basically, the problem lies in the XR's heaviness, high center of gravity and modest, power output compared to its two-stroke competition. The XR engine seems willing, but it lacks both the sheer horsepower and the instant response required for really fast riding. When you try to pivot the XR, with a wring of the throttle, hoping to spin the rear tire, the bike simply stands up and plunges 'off-course. hi this circumstance, the XR is too tractable. Honda apparently realizes the XR250's horsepower deficiency, for the factory makes a hop-up kit for this bike which is more elaborate than similar- kits for the XR185 and XR500.

In perspective, the stock XR250 functions best as a playbike that is serious enough to avoid the foibles of less-commited designs. Its power-to-weight ratio prevents it from competing head-to-head with bikes like the Yamaha IT250 and Suzuki PE250—motorcycles with more power than the XR and 20 pounds less weight. Honda's own XR line-up also points out the 250's failings, for the XR185 provides slightly less power than the XR250 but weighs a lot less, while the XR500 weighs slightly more but provides a lot more power.

Despite its failings in the horsepower department, however, the XR250 proves its point about the value of an enduro that eschews an adversary rider-motorcycle relationship. Confronted with enduro obstacles like deep water, breathtaking climbs, sudden drop-offs and nasty switchbacks, the XR always responds capably if not quickly or powerfully.

In the end, Honda's 250cc enduro, bike formula emphasizes the survival quotient rather than the speed factor. As a result, the XR250 adapts readily to a playbike role. But this lack of beastliness isn't necessarily a bad thing. Too often, serious enduro bikes are too fast or too demanding for their riders. You can find yourself being carried out of the woods when your high-string enduro bike clashes with a tree just as easily as you can end up carrying your high-strung motorcycle out of the woods when it breaks down. The .XR250 minimizes the chances of either occurrence.

The warts on the XR250 are plainly visible. But the XR's capture of that elusive quality of tractability is a significant achievement. So while the XR250 remains the best four-stroke 250cc enduro bike simply because it is the only four-stroke 250cc enduro bike—at least until the Yamaha TT250 solves its pre-production teething problems—it does offer a reasonable alternative to riders alienated by the beast inside other enduro bikes: Once you go off into the woods with the XR, it's unlikely you'll be the first to come back again, but you'll arrive home in one piece.

Source Cycle Guide 1979