TEN YEARS AGO TODAY: 2015 MXA 250 TWO-STROKE SHOOTOUT

It is no secret that two-strokes are becoming popular once again. Whenever we feature a beautiful two-smoker on the cover or on any of MXA’s social media sites the viewing numbers are record breaking. Two-stroke are counter-revolutionary. They are a knee jerk reaction to 1998’s four-stroke revolution. But it is not just nostalgia that is driving the two-stroke movement. It is the charm of the machines themselves. They are affordable to rebuild, fun to ride and their sound is music to ears tired of the drum of thumpers. The MXA wrecking crew loves to give our readers what they want. Thus, we bring to you the 2015 MXA 250 two-stroke shootout.

We all know what you want to hear. Who won the shootout, right? We aren’t here to build up the suspense of who wins and who doesn’t. But, we want to give you all the facts because the Yamaha YZ250, KTM 250SX and Husqvarna TC250 all have their reasons for being. Here are the facts.

It is now common knowledge that the Husqvarna’s have the same engines, chassis and suspension as the KTM’s. This makes for similar results. At first glance the Husqvarna seems to be suited to Enduro-style riding because of its hand guards and tightly sealed airbox. And the looks get some support from the stats and tech specs—where the KTM 250SX beats out the Husqvarna TC250.

On paper it is hard to overlook the KTM’s and Husqvarna’s class leading features. Their Brembo brakes are amazing, the self-adjusting hydraulic clutch is ahead of its time, the billet hubs are works of art and aesthetics are as modern as any bike ever made. Plus, on another paper trail, the KTM/Husky dyno numbers blow the Yamaha YZ250 out of the water.

Apart from the all-new plastic for 2015, the Yamaha YZ250 two-stroke is an eight-year-old design. First developed for the 2006 model year, the number of modification made on a year to year basis are drops in the bucket compared to what the KTM/Husky engineers have done in a single model year. Yamaha’s 2015 updates consisted of new bodywork, upgraded SSS suspension and wider footpegs. Sounds mediocre doesn’t it.

Remember, these are just the specs—and specs alone. On paper, there is no reason to buy the 2015 Yamaha YZ250. You could buy a used YZ250 for several thousand dollars less and call it a day. The KTM 250SX wins the paper trail shootout.

The YZ250 power is the lowest bike when it comes to dyno numbers. But the YZ250’s power delivery throughout the entire powerband is superb. It has enough torque to keep your finger from abusing the clutch and the mid-range hit is not too abrupt. The power transitions into the top-end without losing a beat. Finally, no matter how long you rev out the motor it never falls on its face. In a perfect world we would like to see Yamaha keep the same powerband, but try to pump up the power to KTM’s level. Our test riders wanted more power everywhere, but they loved the curve.

The Husky has two different map setting. On the aggressive map, which is setting two, we got the best results. The Husky engine does not feel like the KTM. Why not? The Husqvarna airbox is totally sealed. The KTM has air ducts on both sides of the bike. By choking off the engine the power becomes incredibly smooth and more manageable. Dare we say it—the TC250 ran a lot like the Yamaha YZ250. It lost a lot of a KTM’s raspiness and was very popular with the MXA test riders. Given their druthers, most test riders preferred to have a Yamaha that ran like a Yamaha, as opposed to a Husky that ran like a Yamaha. The Yamaha version had better throttle response.

KTM’s powerband ramps up slow, hits hard in the mid, pulls good to the top then falls off quickly at peak. Most test rider mentioned how quickly it quit pulling—and a comparison between the Yamaha YZ250 and KTM 250SX revealed that the YZ peaked at 8800 rpm, while the KTM peaked at 8400 rpm. Yes, you could feel the 400 rpm difference. There is no doubt that the 2015 KTM 250SX was the fastest bike of the three. But with that speed came the need to keep the power in the meat of the powerband—and that meant short shifting. MXA test riders often found their need to shift and the gearbox to be at odds—which meant that shifting before peak was the safest solution to keep the momentum up. We didn’t have this problem with the 2013 KTM 250SX engine because it was two horsepower stronger on the front side and didn’t peak until 8600 rpm. That combination made the gearbox and shift point almost perfect.

KTM is the winner. This bike hits as hard as Mike Tyson. Everything that bothered us about the shift points on the racetrack was moot on the starting line. the aggressive midrange hit and slam bam shifting in the rush to the first turn meant the the KTM would almost always get there first.

Husqvarna was the second best starter. The Husky powerband is smoother than the KTM’s. The smoothness makes it more manageable out of the hole, but when it gasp for air in the midrange the KTM sails past it. If you want to drag race your buddies take the airbox cover off or drill big holes in it—then you will feel what the KTM riders feel .

Yamaha was third best (out of three). Yes, we know that we said that the Yamaha had the best overall powerband, but that doesn’t mean it’s great in a 100-yard drag race. Off the line all that matters is how much horsepower you can put into the ground—and, at its best, the YZ250 is putting two less ponies into the job. It is slowest bike in the shootout—and that really shows up in a straight line.

No surprise! Husky and KTM tied for first in this category. Their Brembo brakes have been changed, refined, retool and massage almost every year for the past five years. All that effort pays off in brakes that can haul a 240-pound 450 four-stroke down from speed—so they are incredible on a 218-pound freewheeling two-stroke. Even an oversize rotor on the YZ250 will have a tough time matching the KTM Husky duo. They are that good.

The YZ250 brakes are okay. Not great. Not very good. Just good enough. And, as long as you never ride a KTM or a Husky you won’t know how subpar they are.

Husqvarna wins this category hands down. If the Husky and the KTM are identical, why do we keep pointing out how different they are? Because they are quite different in motion—just the identical on paper. How does it beat the KTM? The resilience of the subframe play a big role in the Husqvarna TC250 very supple feel. All you need to do it point and shoot and the Husqvarna does the rest. It is one of the best cornering machines on the market.

KTM comes in a close second to the Husky, but it is second none the less. The KTM is more sensitive to setup than the Husqvarna and requires the shock sag and fork height to be fine tuned to get the most out of it.

Yamaha is third—as you would expect from an eight-year-old chassis. In stock trim it had major issues getting into tight ruts. And if we got it in, it was a challenge to keep it from climbing out. We could get it to corner like a champ with the forks obscenely high in the clamps and sag set at a very low 107mm. This setup, however, compromised the chassis for everything but cornering. Most test riders opted to give up the inside line so as not to degrade the stuff the YZ250 was good at.

Yamaha’s suspension has no competition from any bike in 2015. Yamaha upgraded its already superb Kayaba SSS suspension by giving the two-stroke the benefit of all they had learned from their newer generation YZ250F forks. In the initial part of the stroke the forks are plush and forgiving. The midstroke has a small harsh spot that can be ironed out with a few adjustments. Overall, the feel of the stroke is confident building

KTM is a poor second to the Yamaha’s SSS components. We must say that the new WP forks are a step in the right direction over WP’s older stuff, but it was tough to get the front and rear to work together. When we fiddled with the forks we either made them too soft or too harsh. When we got the front wrong the rear suspension really revolted.

Husqvarna was a close third. Like the KTM, is was a challenge to get the front and rear balanced. It was tough for our riders to get confident with the suspension. They second guessed jumping anything big. The MXA test riders liked the flex of the plastic subframe over big jumps—it took some of the bite out of the landings.

Yamaha wins this category. The moment you swing a leg over the YZ250 you feel at home. The bars are in a neutral position. The wide footpegs and shape of the seat make you feel planted. The cockpit is neither too big nor too small, it was just right. The jetting was right out of the box and the YZ250 ran clean on pump gas—which won’t be true if you start hopping it up. Its perfect as is—changed anything and it goes lean.

Husqvarna barely edged the KTM in this category. Getting on the TC250 you feel fairly comfortable. The Husky felt the most level of all three bikes when sitting on it. It also turned on a dime, which we loved on tight tracks. However, the bars were oddly wide and curved. When starting the bike there was noticeably more vibration than with the Yamaha. Also, we did not like the Husky seat cover material—it was very slippery.

KTM was just nudged out of second place by its stable mate.The KTM 250SX felt very much like the Husky except for three differences. It vibratedmore than the Husky. The stock jetting run rough on 91 octane pump fuel with the stock jetting. The KTM seat cover had considerably more grip than the Husky.

Clutch performance is a tie between KTM and Husky. The Husky and KTM’s hydraulic self-adjusting clutch is hard to beat. It does have a different feel from a cable clutch, but is easy to get the hang of. even though the clutch systems are the identical, the KTM clutch takes a little more abuse due to the more abrupt power curve.

For us, the shootout winner was hard. It seemed obvious when we started that the KTM 250SX and Husqvarna TC250 would share the golden mantel. They are faster, more modern, have super brakes, incredible hydraulic clutches, shiny billet hubs, inspired handing and creative designs. Putting the ancient, eight-year-old Yamaha YZ250 up against them seems like a serious overmatch against the all-powerful Austrian machines. Face it, while Yamaha has sat on its haunches for almost a decade, KTM has been burning the midnight oil to build more and more advanced two-strokes. Meanwhile all Yamaha has to show for it is restyled plastic—which they probably wouldn’t have done if UFO Plastic hadn’t shown them the way. New plastic increases a bike’s showroom appeal, but it doesn’t decrease lap times.

And the winner is..the 2015 Yamaha YZ250. It wasn’t a slam dunk victory, more like a 4 to 3 victory in the 12th inning, but you take victories any way you can get them. Why did the Yamaha YZ250 two-stroke win—especially after losing the handling, brake, clutch, holeshot and horsepower categories? By the skin of its teeth. This is a triumph of feel over function—the YZ250 just feels right. The 2015 YZ250 two-stroke is easier to ride, more confidence inspiring and. most importantly, its Kayaba SSS suspension delivers works-like performance to the common man.

So bask in your glory Yamaha engineers, but know that with an iota more damping, a smidge more jetting or a hair more over-rev from your European counterparts and you’d be in third place.