2003 Off-Road
2003 OFF-ROAD
Major Moto Mojo
JIMMY LEWIS
EVER YEAR, IT SEEMS, THERE IS A HEAD-line bike in the dirt wars, but 2003 will go down as the year the floodgates opened. We haven't even ridden '03's most-anticipated bike, Yamaha's all-new YZ450F Thumper yet, but we have sampled more radically changed dirtbikes earlier in the year than ever before.
Some are all but all-new, like the Kawasakis. Some don't look as altered as they feel, the And some bikes-we're thinking KTM 525 SX here-are just plain shocking!
So, here's the down-and-dirty, the quick and-nasty, or as speedway announcer Larry "Supermouth" Huffman might call it, the slam-barn, thank-you-rna'am rundown of the most notable 2003-model dirtbikes we've seen thus far. Trust us, extensive comparison tests to follow, but `til then you'll need to tear our hot, sweaty fin gers off the hand1ebw~.~ `cause~we're out riding!
KTM 525 SX
KTM’s previous SX four-stroke was a megaThumper, with the Motor of Death and a light, loose feel. Great for holeshots, but a handful at the end of a long moto. Use your right wrist wisely or end up on your ear. Well, for 2003, the SX is a serious MX tool. From its new look and more aggressive feel to its fresh WP suspension, the big Katoom delivers an altogether different ride. So much so that KTM changed the model name (i.e. 520 to 525) just to let customers know something special is going on, even if it isn’t in engine displacement.
Sporting the same cc, but with a fatter torque curve, the fastest bike on the track is even faster.
The motor comes on earlier than before and builds into that potent midrange hit sooner, yet it revs out farther. Thank higher compression, different valve springs and a few other tweaks four-stroke tuners
dabble in. Forget the clutch, you won’t need it after the start, and on the track four speeds in the tranny seems like one too many. Comes time to toss out the anchor, get ready for stopping excellence. The SX brakes rock-and they need to!
About the only component on the bike that didn’t change was the frame, but after sampling the KTM’s newfound handling prowess, you’d swear it was all-new, too. The only complaint we can come up with is that the bike is now a bit tougher to kickstart. No big deal, just put a little more boot into it.
KTM 450 E/XC
Drool over this studio shot but don t feel bad for us, because we slipped in a quick ride on one of these babies, too. “Aggressive” is the only way to describe the changes. The burly new suspension will allow track usage or GNCC battle, and the motor, still sweet and gentle, has a punch not available before. Super sano is the new digital instrumentation. It’ll take $7198 and a spot on your KTM dealer’s waiting list to get one.
KAWASAKI KX125 & KX250
It’s about time. Since the mid-’90s we’ve wondered what happened to the KX line. Both 125 and 250 fell off the pace, continually losing ground, never mind that one Ricky Carmichael was laying waste to the troops with race-tuned versions. RC’s riding Red now, but the 2003 KX125 and 250 are so damn good, Kawasaki doesn’t need him anymore!
Sharing the same chassis, the 125 motor is totally new and the 250’s is so heavily revised it might as well be. We rode the KXs for a solid day at the national motocross track in Washougal, Washington. Loamy in the morning, baked dry in the afternoon, it provided the widest variety of test conditions possible.
First the 125. Wow! This may be the most kick-ass small-bore ever! It was banging upshifts and diggin’ hard on the big uphill that usually sends a 125 into submission. Full spread of power, tons of overrev, not the peaky, segmented delivery that usually comes with this level of performance. Watch out KTM 125s!
HONDA CRF450R
We expected this. The first year of any allnew bike, it’s going to have a few teething problems. But our 2002 CRF test unit was as close to perfect as a bike gets, winning one of our Ten Best trophies pretty easily. But knowing that Honda rushed to get the 450 out last year, we guessed there’d be a pile of small fixes to make the bike even better-it’s Big Red’s way.
First off, they fixed airbox leaking with an all-new filter design, seated with a rubber flange, the backfire screen now on the filter cage. And for those who got into triple-clamp swapping last year, Honda went a different route to alter geometry. It left the clamps alone, deciding instead to change the rear linkage to get a steeper angle on the swingarm, making the bike similar to the two-stroke CR. And, yes, in case you’re wondering, the ’03 motor gets a sweeter cam.
Do these few changes-and a bunch more so minutely techy that we can’t go into them here in the space provided-make that much of a difference? Oh, yes, they do! Not that the “old” 450 had any standout problems, but if you go back-to-back between ’02 and ’03, you really notice a difference. The new CRF comes on way stronger while being noticeably smoother. More rideability and more power is a winner every time. Makes the bike feel much more lively and, in turn, even lighter. As for the handling, the new 450 just plain works better everywhere. Traction is improved, small-bump compliance is better, there’s a bit more weight on the front so turning is incredible, stability is never in question and, boy, can this bike jump!
A better, almost flawless CRF450R? Not exactly what Yamaha was hoping to hear.
About the only noticeable downside was slightly notchy shifting that we feel will go away with time on the bike.
And the KX-both of them, in fact-had the best clutch actuation and feel we’ve ever sampled.
Chassis on both bikes is now in line with the times. Narrow and short-feeling, not truckish like the older KX’s, these bikes are much more track-focused. But the best part is that great KX stability is still present. Suspension is set firm yet very comfortable, with plenty of progression to fend off bottoming. And speaking of bottoming, both forks make a loud audible clunk on full compression, but they don’t transmit the shock to your arms. Good job, suspension techs!
Forget that the 250’s engine looks familiar; it’s been positively transformed, with super-crisp throttle
response and bhp everywhere-very easy to ride. It likes to go through turns a gear high and then, whammo, a dab of clutch will do ya! It pulls forever. The KX250 is back!
Shootouts to come, but if our impressions from Washougal are any indication, you can’t lose in ’03 by putting your green on Green.
SUZUKI RM250
Early reports suggested the RM250 would have a brand-spankin’ engine for 2003, good ’cause the Suzuki was in need of a little more steam. Hmm, sure looks the same, though. Turns out the changes are in detail only, as in an alland valve mechanism, plus a higher-inertia crank, all mounted at a slightly more upright angle on the centercases.
Brave then of Suzuki to hold the RM press intro at Honey Lake Motocross Track in Northern California. This premier natural-terrain facility has the most horsepower-sapping hills this side of a European MXGP. The main uphill is a fifthgear-tapped affair that ascends some 500 feet above the track’s base elevation 4100 feet.
No worries, the screamin’ yellow ’Zuk ripped! Beefier power all the way through the spread, especially in the midrange. It’s still a screamer, but now you don’t have to rely solely on rpm. After laps on pump gas with stock jetting, Suzuki poured in some race fuel and leaned out the carb. The bike ran like someone had sneaked in a $3000 full-race Supercross motor! Pretty impressive.
The chassis is still Suzuki-light and nimble, with improved suspension settings and now a non-bladder KYB fork. Only bugaboo was a few missed shifts, again most likely a tight transmission needing some time to loosen up. All-new or no, for 2003 the RM has game!
YAMAHA WR450F
Sure the YZ motocrosser is big news; you’ll see the first test on these pages next month. But for all those enduro warriors out there, Yamaha has you covered-and with electric starting, too! Taking notes from Europe, mostly KTM, the Blue Crew magic-buttoned and slimmed down the WR, plus gave it more power, addressing its weakest points and padding its advantages. A bit later on the production schedule than the YZ-F, it may be the first of the year before WRs make showrooms.
