Pre 90 250s' what are the best?

[Racer X]

I'm looking for another bike (long story) to race in pre 90 class. I've searched for shoot outs but have been able to find much. What's considered the best 250?

[kdx Geoff]

This is what ADB thought in the day.

[Racer X]

Thanks Geoff, a shoot out would be good. I have my eye on a Yamaha, not sure how they stacked up in '89.

[Slakewell]

I owned a 89 KX and it was a great bike that I have fond memories of. But they did wear out fast all the frame swing arm and bushes etc wore quickly. The Kato 88/89 250 were dam good and the 500's were better.

[Nathan S]

Top group in stock form:
87 CR.
88 KX.
88 RM.

Bikes with potential:
89 KX with 89 US-spec forks or 88 forks.
89 CR with RWU forks and the shock fixed.
88 CR with the suspension fixed.
86 CR if you can cope with the rear drum.

Generally:
The first year (1989) of USD forks were pretty ordinary. They are ALL worse than the cartridge RWUs that came before them. They can be improved with stiffer springs and modern valving, but the suffer from bush-bind due to the flex being in the wrong spots.

The 85 models were all updated Pre-85 models, and are clearly behind the later bikes. Ditto most of the 86 models - The 86 CR was a landmark bike, with HPP and cartridge forks. They shame all of the other 86 models.

Suzuki had lost the plot in the 1980s, up to the Hannah-developed 88 model. Then they kind of messed up the 89 model.

Yamaha similarly failed to shine in the Pre-90 era. The 87 still held on to a rear drum, and had harsh suspension. 88 had a flat motor (not sure how easy this is to fix). 

None of the Huskies were in the hunt, but the Cagiva-Huskies were closer.

Can't talk with any real authority about the KTMs, but the vibe is not positive.

[Ted]

Honda 87 CR 250

[Hardo]

The ADB #1 250 MX bike of 1989 .... 

[evo550]

Nathan pretty much hit the nail on the head.

[asasin]

agree with Nathan but I would put the 88 RM on top of the pile.

[Paul552]

Nathan
Are you saying the 88 cr was better than the 89 due to the USD forks?
Was there any other improvements between 88 and 89 meaning would you be better off with a 89 with 88 forks???

Just interested in your take on that one.

[Racer X]

This is what "Motocross Action" says:
•1980   Yamaha YZ250
•1981   Suzuki RM250
•1982   Suzuki RM250
•1983   Honda CR250
•1984   Honda CR250
•1985   Honda CR250
•1986   Honda CR250
•1987   Honda CR250
•1988   Yamaha YZ250
•1989   Honda CR250

[smed]

This is what "Motocross Action" says:
•1980   Yamaha YZ250
•1981   Suzuki RM250
•1982   Suzuki RM250
•1983   Honda CR250
•1984   Honda CR250
•1985   Honda CR250
•1986   Honda CR250
•1987   Honda CR250
•1988   Yamaha YZ250
•1989   Honda CR250

MXA are known to tweek all there test bikes more than a little,I would trust ADB's shootouts,Mr Eldridge called a spade a spade ,also US bikes were often different spec to the OZ jobs,particularly 
in the suspension department

[Nathan S]

Paul, The 87 CR was a clear winner in 1987. I don't think ANY magazine anywhere in the world didn't give it the top gong.

In 1988, they improved the bike, but messed up the suspension. The magazines were polite about it, some overly so (due to advertising budgets...). Basically, this was the start of Honda's soft-springs, stiff dampening era that lasted into the mid-90s.
It can be fixed, and most modern-day VMXers will do so. But stock-for-stock, the 87 model's suspension was so much better that it more than outweighed the other improvements to the 88 model.
In 89, the new model had all the same faults as the 88, but had the fundamentally flawed first-gen USDs as well. Again, they can be hugely improved - but even once fixed, the 88 RWUs are better forks than the 89 USDs (maybe the very best guys will appreciate the extra stiffness and put up with the extra stiction/bind, but the other 98% of us will appreciate the much smoother action of the RWUs. Doubly so if they forks are set up perfectly).

As a general rule, you'll see that the magazines are merely polite about all of the 40/41mm USD forks. Actual praise only comes when the manufacturers went to 43mm forks around 1992. And the USDs only clearly surpassed the action of the 88 RWUs when they went to 45/46mm forks in the mid 90s....

Plus what Smed said about MXA.
The results for 1980, 81, 82, 84, 86, and 87 won't be disputed be many, but the other years will have a lot of people happy to argue the point.

[evo550]

The '88 cr also has problems with bending linkage bolts in the rear suspension.
Although good solid bikes, as with all those Hondas, remember the word MAGNESIUM...

[EML]

Good to see the "best Paris-Dakar replica" was the XTZ750 Super Tenere'....got two of those in the shed... no room for anything else but.