2021 250 MX Shootout | In Depth

TEST RIDER IMPRESSIONS

PAT FOSTER

AGE: 43

HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6’1″, 180 lbs.

ABILITY: Pro

BIKES RECENTLY RACED/RIDDEN: 2021 Yamaha YZ450F

1. Yamaha YZ250F
2. Kawasaki KX250
3. Honda CRF250R
4. Husqvarna FC 250
5. KTM 250 SX-F

Although this is the closest 250 Shootout for me in years, the new YZ250F still holds onto the top step. The new power character still offers considerable low-end power, but now revs much more freely and pulls further into the top end than ever before. The suspension remains amazingly plush and comfortable, while the new chassis offers a lighter feel, more agility, and a newfound eagerness in the corners.

The new Kawasaki KX250 is also an amazing bike and came so close to winning for me. The engine response is excellent right off the bottom (just a tick off the Yamaha), pulls hard through the mid-range, and offers awesome top-end pull. It revs to the moon! The narrow feel and quick handling make the KX exciting to ride, the cornering is excellent, and the suspension is outstanding.

As always the Honda is the most fun bike to ride in the class. Quick handling, a light feel, and an aggressive cornering character make it an absolute blast to ride. The suspension is on the soft side for me and the powerband is a little hollow….that’s what held it to third.

The Husqvarna and KTM are excellent overall packages that do everything well, however, nothing really stands out as being exceptional, save for their top-end power. Both the Husky and KTM could use more low-end power. The bikes corner well and offer good stability, but both bikes are cramped-feeling for me and although the suspension is improved, I still don’t care for the air fork. I liked the Husky’s snappier powerband better than the KTM’s more linear delivery, and that’s what allowed the white bike to edge out its orange brother.

RENE GARCIA

AGE: 20

HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 5’11”, 165 lbs.

ABILITY: Pro

BIKES RECENTLY RACED/RIDDEN: 2020 KTM 350 SX-F

1. Kawasaki KX250
2. KTM 250 SX-F
3. Yamaha YZ250F
4. Husqvarna FC 250
5. Honda CRF250R

The Kawasaki KX250 is the best all-around handling bike and it also has an awesome motor. I felt right at home on it from the first lap, and I trusted it completely. I like the new Renthal Fatbars. They looked tall but once I rode the bike they gave it a nice feel, ergonomically. The KTM 250 SX-F was the most fun bike for me to ride because of how light and comfortable it was out on the track. I was comfortable on the KTM and I like the ergonomics and the feel of the suspension. I didn’t like the feeling of the air fork last year but this year it doesn’t bother me, and I was able to get the bike dialed in pretty great.

The Yamaha motor is awesome and the YZ250F is an excellent bike with great suspension, but the bike feels so wide in comparison to the others that I couldn’t get comfortable on it. I feel like the wider shrouds make the bike harder to manhandle in the rough sections of the track.

The Husqvarna, too, was comfortable, but I think it would need some refinements for me to be able to race it comfortably. I don’t care for the lower suspension and the bike needs more power everywhere. The Honda CRF250R was lacking badly in the engine department and I would like to see some chassis changes to improve the stability and reduce the harshness in bumps.

COLE KING

AGE: 28

HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6’1″, 160 lbs.

ABILITY: Novice

BIKE RECENTLY RACED/RIDDEN: 2020 Suzuki RM-Z250

1. Honda CRF250R
2. Yamaha YZ250F
3. Kawasaki KX250
4. KTM 250 SX-F
5. Husqvarna FC 250

Based on what I would walk into a dealer and buy off the showroom floor, I’d go with the Honda CRF250R. This bike is the best all-around machine for me as I feel I could take it to the races in stock condition and feel competitive. The Honda has a great engine for a novice and the suspension is excellent. The Yamaha is a close second. Some of the chassis changes hurt it for me as it lacked some high-speed stability. It remains the most powerful in the class, even though Yamaha moved the powerband higher. For me, it lacks in the ergonomic department because I don’t like the wide feel between my knees when I am sitting.

The Kawasaki was third for me and it is another great all-around bike. It came up short for me in a few key areas, though. The overall engine package is more difficult for me to keep in the sweet spot, and I feel that the new chassis holds the bike back, too. The bike didn’t feel as stable at speed as I would have liked. 

The KTM and Husqvarna are basically the same bikes and I still struggle with the feel of the air fork. I never feel like I am in tine with them. They are also the softest two bikes and I didn’t feel exceptionally comfortable on either. The KTM edged the Husqvarna out for me because it felt slightly firmer.

DONN MAEDA

AGE: 52

HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 5’9″, 175 lbs.

ABILITY: Intermediate

BIKES RECENTLY RACED/RIDDEN: 2021 Kawasaki KX450, 2020 Husqvarna FC 350, 2020 Honda CRF250R

1. Yamaha YZ250F
2. Kawasaki KX250
3. Honda CRF250R
4. Husqvarna FC 250
5. KTM 250 SX-F

For me, all three of the Japanese bikes were excellent and I could very easily spend the entire year on any of them with a fat smile on my fat face. Ultimately, I broke the three-way tie by thinking about what I would need to do to each of them to feel completely confident in each of them on race day. The Yamaha would require virtually nothing. I mean, I’d change the grips and upload the TP5 map in it, but I could race it with stock suspension and a stock pipe, no problem. I love the way the bike handles and I feel it corners even better than last year’s did. Of course, the engine doesn’t pack that ridiculous low-end punch like last year, but the overall powerband is much more effective and it still reigns supreme in overall power feel.

The Kawasaki KX250 is also super comfortable for me, but I would have to throw in an aftermarket exhaust to try and coax a little more low-end punch out of the bike. Like the Yamaha, the Kawasaki handles amazingly well and I love its cornering feel. The bike is thin between your legs and the ergonomics are superb. Kind of a nit-picky thing to say, but the stock exhaust sounds like wet farts. Haha!

When it comes to absolute fun, the Honda CRF250R is it. If I were never gonna race a 250 and just ride it for fun with my buddies, it would be the Honda all the way. The bike seems to know what I want it to do….it handles on ESP! The motor is easy to have fun with, too, but I found out in a hurry last year when I raced it, that it was slow compared to some of the others, especially on tracks with great traction. The suspension is also pretty soft and I had to firm it up last year. It is wicked on the trails, though!

I feel like I am not skilled enough to ride the two Austrian bikes as they have the most top-end focused powerbands. It is hard for me to keep the Husky or KTM in the sweet spot of the powerband because I am slower and not skilled enough to keep the things wrung out in the corners. Between the two, I prefer the Husqvarna as it felt snappier, has better handlebars, and – believe it or not – I felt the lower center of gravity from the shortened suspension travel was a bonus.

AUSTIN SCHOTT

AGE: 31

HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6′, 180 lbs.

ABILITY: Intermediate

BIKES RECENTLY RACED/RIDDEN: 2020 KTM 250 SX-F

1. Kawasaki KX250
2. Honda CRF250R
3. Yamaha YZ250F
4. Husqvarna FC 250
5. KTM 250 SX-F

It was really hard for me to pick a winner this year. I absolutely love the Honda CRF250R because it is so friendly and easy to ride, but I feel like the Kawasaki KX250 is so improved that I would have to do the least to that bike to be happy. There honestly isn’t much I’d change on the KX250 as it is wicked fast and it has excellent suspension. The Yamaha, of course, is a powerhouse, but it feels so big and wide between my legs that it would take me a few laps each time I got on it to get comfortable. If it were the only bike I had I am sure I would get used to it, but the thickness is real.

I don’t gel well with either the Husqvarna or the KTM. Neither bike has much low-end power to speak of, and I feel like I would have to spend some serious money on engine work to get either of them to where they would be enjoyable for me to ride. I am also not a fan of the air forks because they are a hassle to set up every ride and they lack the plush feeling that the spring forks on the Japanese bikes have.

MIKE SLEETER

AGE: 40

HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 5’8″, 168 lbs.

ABILITY: Pro

BIKES RECENTLY RACED/RIDDEN: 2020 Yamaha YZ450F, 2020 Yamaha YZ250

1. Kawasaki KX250
2. Yamaha YZ250F
3. Husqvarna FC 250
4. Honda CRF250R
5. KTM 250 SX-F

The Kawasaki KX250 is so easy to ride with great balance and a strong motor. I was completely surprised by the performance of the Kawasaki as it was so much improved over last year’s model. The engine is flawless and the suspension is best in class for me. I had trouble with an unbalanced feel caused by a soft front end on the KX450, but they nailed it spot-on with the KX250. The Yamaha actually has the best engine and powerband in the class, but I struggled to turn the YZ250F when I was at speed. The bike corners will in ruts and at lower speeds, but in faster sections of the track I felt like the front end tended to fade away from me and that affected my confidence in it.

For me, the Husqvarna, Honda, and KTM are all pretty far off. the mark set by the Kawasaki and Yamaha. The Austrian models were lackluster in the comfort and power departments, and both would need some serious and expensive work for me to feel comfortable enough to race at full speed. The Honda, meanwhile, is super fun to ride and it handles like a dream, but the motor would need some serious work to coax competitive horsepower out of it at the pro level.