Handling and Suspension
Starting with our winner, the Kawaski KX250F is a great handling machine. Since the current version debuted in 2006, the KX-F's aluminum frame and Showa suspension have been renowned for generating huge traction and having a great turning character. This is more true than ever. With only the smallest changes in engine mounts and suspension coatings, the '08 KX-F is better than ever. From low speed to all out, the Kawi is stable, happy and predictable. It has a low, planted feel that instills confidence, actually feeling a bit wider and slightly heavier than the competition. Probably the most-noticeable change affecting the bike's performance is the power delivery. The old bike would get out of shape quickly with the tide and flow of the aggressive hit. This made it feel unbalanced in a hurry. This isn't the case with the '08. Suspension performance is top-notch. With only heavier riders feeling its stock settings being a bit too soft on big landings. Initial complaints of fork harshness disappeared as the hours racked up and the components broke in. The Kawasaki shined in braking and acceleration bumps as it remained stable and controlled into and out of corners. It's a bike that will turn on the front or slide the rear and will wheelie at ease. But most of all it is so good at being an all-around handling performer that it scored high.
The Honda CRF250R has the most radically changed chassis of all the '08 250Fs. With its high-tech steering stabilizer and new less-offset triple clamps, the new CRF is a different animal from any previous Honda machine, yet very similar at the same time. Our camp is split on the '08 Honda, with a few of the testers enjoying the stabilizer feeling and new turning and handling character while another group never really loved the setup. The Honda feels light for sure and is the easiest bike to flick around and manipulate with your body. However, we found the CRF was busier in the turns where the steering damper and its adjustability will play a large role in how the bike works. We never settled on a "standard" setup for the damper as some riders were perfectly happy cranking it up tight to its stiffer settings to settle the bike through the turns or gain some stability going into turns. Others were put off by the feeling they got in the bar, especially scrubbing jumps or in the air, and preferred the stock setting or less. The turning issues were more evident on the tighter tracks with more turns and less high-speed sweepers. The bike's steering geometry is more aggressive and lighter feeling for the most part (like you'd expect a 22mm-offset clamp to feel) but still retains a lot of the stability and laziness of the old 24mm clamp. It's sort of like having a 23mm clamp that's tunable with the damper to suit rider preference. You'll have to play with it to see where you like it. The suspension action on the CRF is great. The front and rear have the best progressive feel out of the group on all terrain and never failed to gain high marks. They seemed to span the largest gap of rider weights and ability levels with only minor adjustments.
Yamaha's handling has been consistent in the last few years. High-speed stability is king on the blue bike and its suspension action seems to follow the frame's preference for speed. The faster the bike is going, the happier it is. It's stable and goes straight. The YZ-F has taken some flak for mediocre turning in the past and those complaints follow the bike into 2008. This year we're convinced the power delivery is keeping the chassis from settling in the turns. Also, the aluminum frame on the YZ, even with its improvements over last year, doesn't give our riders the sensation of flexing as much as the twin-spar designs of the other players. It has a heavy feeling up front and resists falling off its center when you initiate turns just a bit more than the other bikes. On jumps and bumps the YZ-F works fine, if not excellently. It doesn't kick to the side on braking bumps and reacts to the gamut of obstacles predictably. On acceleration chop it has a planted or dead plushness that lets you feel the bike hitting the bumps, but also absorbs them, too. All in all, the Yamaha is simply happiest at speed and more reluctant to make the transition to the tight twisties than the others.