In today’s topic, lets talk about another famous 250-category motorcycle, Honda XR250 Motarad or Honda XR 250 Supermoto
Before talking about this motorcycle, first, let’s focus our attention on its evolution & its history.
The XR250L which was introduced in 1979 managed to make a big difference when compared to Dual sports motorcycles of R motorcycle mode and also this model evolved rapidly & technology also improved. As the main change, we can mention the applied RFVC (Radial Four Valve Combustion Chamber) engine in 1984 & this engine generated 19.9 horsepower. Later some small changes happened and in 2004 the XR first generation took a different dimension. By that time these engines were generating a power of 24 horsepower.
After 2004, Honda XR 250 Motarad & XR 250 which is today’s topic released to the market with a more attractive & faster engine of 30 horsepower. The main differences between this XR & XR motard can be pointed out as tire sizes, rim sizes, and size differences, and the Factory Fitted SM motorcycle is smaller in size and weighs almost 1 kg more than the Big Wheel or Enduro model. This is because the & tires are in different sizes.
Engine
If we refer to the engine of this motorcycle first, it is powered by a 249cc SOHC, Four-stroke four value single-cylinder engine. This engine provides a power of 30 horsepower. KLX250D Tracker and WR250X which are the other motorcycle competing with this motorcycle also generates a power of 29 & 30 horsepower.
However, when compared to these above two models, this XR is a motorcycle which has less technology and has a speed of nearly 150, but after 140Kmph this speedometer shows no indication. But the above-mentioned WRX and D Tracker models can be seen with digital meters and relatively higher speeds can be obtained from these improved engines. Though Honda XR 250 Motarad & XR 250 doesn’t have a digital meter, XR Baja 250 which is a sister motorcycle is with a digital meter before 2004 also. Honda had not yet mentioned why they did so.
Cooling
Because XR has an air-cooling system, there is no need to do any special maintenance related to the cooling system compared to other 250 SM motorcycles in the relevant category and because of that, this motorcycle can also be pointed out as a low maintenance and low-cost motorcycle. But because there is no liquid cooling system, this engine heats up more than other motorcycle engines of the same category. But since there is no liquid cooling system, this engine heats up more than other motorcycle engines of the same category, but the heat coming out of this 250 single-cylinder engine is not too much and the air flows well into the engine due to its arrangement. This air-cooled engine does not cause major problems because the country Japan where it was manufactured and most of the other countries where it was exported, have a cold climate.
Fuel Supply, Gear, Clutch
The fuel supply here was through a carb, like most motorcycles of that period. According to Honda Company, you can use almost 40 km per litre of petrol, if you travel at a low RPM below 60 km/h. In practice, this is a motorcycle with a fuel efficiency of about 35 kilometres per litre of petrol and this can be shown as a very good level for a 250-category engine in which fuel is supplied through a carb.
This is with a 6-gear speed system and a Wet Multi-Plate Disk Clutch, so the gear up and down of this motorcycle is very smooth.
Appearance
If we pay attention to the appearance and structure of this motorcycle, this motorcycle model, which came to the scene for the first time in 2004, has been produced in a way that makes it possible to get the attraction of younger to this model than the previous models. The pointed type tank covers on both sides which are made of very good quality materials, the short front fenders, the small headlamps and the pair of gold-coloured rims help very much to get the attraction.
Clearance
This Motorcycle is with a 9.5-litre fuel tank and the frame of this motorcycle is a Double Cradle Frame, and the ground clearance is 9.4 inches and the seat height is 33.6 inches, so the motorcycle is a little difficult to handle for a person of shorter height who is not familiar with it. Due to the ground clearance of this motorcycle, it allows you to travel easily on any difficult road. This is a special characteristic of SM and Enduro motorcycles. The total weight of this is recorded as 120 kg and it is also the lightest SM motorcycle in the relevant category.
Meter
The metering system here is a very simple analogue type meter and it shows the speed from 20 times to 140 and the total distance travelled and the Trip Meter can only be seen here. Features such as Fuel Gauge, and RPM are big miss here, but this is common in many SM motorcycles. This is more primitive than other SM motorcycle meters. Therefore, the possibility of errors and adding a new meter again in case of an accident is relatively low & they can be done at relatively a low price.
Suspension, Tires, Breaks
As for the suspension the front 41mm KYB USD Forks and the rear Honda Pro-Link Suspension are used, and Honda has been able to use this handle of the motorcycle very well in both Off-Road and On-Road modes & as well as provide comfort to the rider.
When talking about the Tires, a 110/70 front tire and 130/70 back tire are used according to the factory-fitted standard and a pair of 17-inch rims have been used at the front and back.
If we pay attention to the brakes, a Nissin calliper with a 260mm disc at the front and a Nissin calliper with a 220mm disc at the back have been used and a very good braking response can be obtained from this.
Finally, when talking about this motorcycle, the Big Wheel motorcycles before the year 2004 were modified as Supermoto and were run in other countries and this country as well, and because of this situation Honda Company is releasing the XR250 Motarad from the factory as an original Supermoto motorcycle. After the year 2000 Supermoto motorcycles had a high demand in many countries.
The XR250 and 400 models of this XR 250 came to the fore as Factory Fitted SM motorcycles and the production stopped here in 2007. After that, only the CRF model which came in the year 2000 with features like Digital Meter, PGM EFI, and Liquid Cool was improved under several different models. Release to them to market was done by Honda.
XR650L which covers a wide range from 50cc to 650 can be named another popular model of this XR family and we will talk about this model in the future.
Send your comments, and suggestions to our FB page. Get an idea about the motorcycles and the changes that happened in the broadcast by viewing the photos below.
Until next post, be safe and keep riding.
Copyright WML©2022.
Very good post