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2001

MOTOCROSS ACTION’S TWO-STROKE VERSUS FOUR-STROKE SHOOTOUT: 2004 CRF450 VERSUS 2001 CR500

First, let’s get one myth out of the way up front. It is common for modern critics of the 450cc four-stroke to claim that the AMA 500cc National Championship was terminated because bikes like the CR500 and KX500 were too powerful. Not true. Not even close to true. The reality is that the AMA dropped the 500 National Championships after the 1993 season under political pressure from Suzuki and Yamaha. No surprise there; neither Suzuki nor Yamaha built a competitive 500cc motocross bike. In fact, Suzuki ha…

ASK THE MXPERTS: 2001 HONDA CR125

Dear MXA,     Can you get the rear suspension settings for a 2001 Honda CR125?  I need a good starting point.     For hardcore racing we recommended this shock set-up:     Spring rate: 4.6 kg/mm     Race sag: 100mm     High compression: 1.5 turns out (1 stock)     Low compression: 8 clicks out (9 stock)     Rebound: 20 clicks out (24 stock)     Notes: For faster riders we recommen…

YAMAHA DEBUTS THE YZ250F

Amidst all the hype surrounding the first outing of Honda’s RC450, Yamaha also debuted a new bike at the October 22nd race in Japan. That’s right, at the same mud race where Tortelli showed the world the RC450, Ernesto Fonseca proved to the world exactly what the YZ250F was capable of after months of rumors. Ernesto holeshot both motos and after a small battle with the locals, pulled out to a ten second victory in moto one and a twenty second victory in moto two. On hand at the event was the very proud …

SEE IT NOW! HONDA’S NEW FOUR-STROKE

Honda is a strange company. Less than a month ago they refused to tell or show their dealers any details on the CR450 four-stroke at the annual dealer meeting in Las Vegas. Now, they bring the bike out in public at this week’s Japanese race and allow a hoard of photogs to snap photos at will. Strange marketing! Honda dealers could have used the promo material on next year’s CR450 four-stroke to increase floor travel (and been in the know before their customers). HERE ARE THE CR450 FACTS The CR450 engine…

YAMAHA’S ALL-NEW 250 FOUR-STROKE

Believe it or not, Yamaha will race a four-stroke in the 125 class next year. No, not a 125cc four-stroke—a 250cc four-stroke. Under current AMA rules the 125 class is limited to 0-to-125cc two-strokes and 0-to-250cc four-strokes. The all-new Yamaha YZ250F (the F stands for Four-Stroke) is a down-sized version of the popular YZ426 (which is 250 class legal). But do not think that the YZ250F is a clone of the YZ426. In fact, it shares very few engine components with its big brother. Few engine parts ar…