For while the 2018 Honda CRF250R is smooth, it isn’t punchy anywhere in the rev range. That’s a good thing because you’ll need it. The DOHC 250 boasts a linear power curve that makes it deceptively fast. Fueling is handled by Honda’s PGM-FI fuel-injection through a 46mm Keihin throttle body, which is the same size as last year’s unit, but the 2018 CRF250R gets the downdraft intake layout that Honda used on the 2017 CRF450R, giving the incoming air/fuel charge a straighter shot into the 250R’s new cylinder head.ĭ lead test rider Ryan Abbatoye churns and burns Zaca Station MX’s loamy ground on the all-new 2018 Honda CRF250R.
Even from the first few blips of the throttle, we could tell that the throttle response is smooth. We were excited when we first saw the 2018 CRF250R, and now that we’ve spent some time aboard it, we are impressed, although not exactly the way that we thought we would be.įiring up the 2018 CRF250R is a snap now, because the all-new CRF250R boasts electric start as a standard feature. Coincidentally, Honda finally announced the MSRP for the new 250R, which will be available in dealer showrooms this December for $7,999. That day finally came at Zaca Station, near Buellton, California, where Honda invited us to come and experience the 2018 CRF250R for ourselves. Naturally, we were dying to swing a leg over the new machine and see for ourselves whether it has the goods to reclaim the top spot in the 250cc motocross hierarchy. When Honda unveiled its all-new quarter-liter motocross contender last July, the 2018 Honda CRF250R featured a twist that even the 2018 Honda CRF450R can’t claim – an all-new, DOHC, dual exhaust port engine. Does the 2018 CRF250R have the goods to become the 250cc motocross class champion? Honda steps up with an all-new, 249.5cc, DOHC engine and a chassis that mimics the superb-handling CRF450R. Photos by: Scott Rousseau 2018 Honda CRF250R Editor Score: 90.0% Engine