Motorcycle technology usually advances slowly with refinements, not revolutions. Every once in a while the sport takes a huge leap, as it did with the modern four-stroke race bike. Whether it's the displacement advantage or the more tractable power, it doesn't matter, the sport looks, sounds and feels different today than it did 10 years ago. Steve Christini may be leading the sport on another leap forward with his drive system that takes a bike's power somewhere it rarely gets to go--to the front wheel.
Make no mistake about it, the Christini is an all-wheel-drive bike, not a two-wheel-drive bike. The difference between the two is the amount of power directed to the front wheel. The Christini drive runs full-time, but at a mechanical reduction. The power is always going to the front wheel, but the rear wheel is going faster, keeping the front tire free-wheeling ahead of the power coming to it. When the rear wheel slips, the power catches up to the free-wheeling front tire and starts driving it. It's a "dumb" system, in that it uses no electronics or sensors, but effectively turns the front-wheel-drive into an only-as-needed function. At the same time, this design limits the power being directed to a spinning rear tire--acting like a traction control device. The design is solid on paper, but in off-road you don't ride theories and principles. Dirt Rider has ridden all the prototypes, but this time we took the Christini 250X (a 2007 Honda CRF250X with the Christini frame kit) and a stock 250X out to the trails to find out how the production AWD bike truly works.
In deep sand the bike is ... not in deep sand. The Christini is amazing here. From the moment you let out the clutch, you feel like you're riding on solid ground. The bike gets unbelievable traction. Turning with the power on in deep sand is probably the single greatest difference the Christini has compared to a standard bike. When you would normally expect to initiate a turn with the handlebar and arc around in a slide, the Christini magically goes where it's pointed. It's less a bike feel than an optical illusion. You see the sand, but you're somehow not riding in it. The front end actually feels lighter than on a standard bike because the tire is powering up and staying on top of the sand rather than being pushed into it by the rear tire. Jimmy Lewis has ridden several AWD systems and noted on day one, "On sand and in low-traction situations the AWD makes the bike `float' easier and earlier at a lower speed. The tone of the motor is totally different, and you can lug it in really soft stuff because you are spinning way less." Riding the Christini in mud gives a similar feeling. The slick mud still allows the bike to slip and not be as sure as it is in the sand, but it is still much more planted than the stock 250X. Riding in mud at lower speeds allows the drive's weight to come into play and makes the bike feel a bit heavier and more cumbersome than its stock counterpart, but the front wheel pulls around corners rather than pushing out through them. The Christini bike feels less active here--it takes some of the finesse and balance required out of the experience and replaces it with surefootedness.
Out of the sand and mud flats and up into the trails, the AWD bike feels better planted than the stock bike. The extra weight can be felt in power-off downhills, but anytime the bike is accelerating, the AWD system is helping. Jumping from the stock bike to the Christini is like taking a step up in rider talent--as long as the bike is driving forward. You can go from zero to hero when you're on the gas, but just remember when it comes time to slow down the machine functions like a standard bike with some extra weight on the front end.