CR250 2001 BEST MOTOR!AJ Waggoner; Operations Manager of Service Powersports
Since we build the engines in house, from all new OEM parts, we can choose any engine style and I was never really inspired by the case reed inducted, servo powervalved, CR250 engines from 2002-2007. The 2001 Honda CR250 engine was just a great all around 250 2 stroke power plant. Many riders, myself included, felt this was one of, if not Honda’s best 250cc effort!
The power I feel when compared to the 02 and up engines, is a bit more what a 250 2 stroke rider expects, fun manageable and yet explosive enough when you need it. It has good low end, hits solid in the middle and revs out incredibly well.
The handling is improved for sure! Honda had kept the CR250 chassis fundamentally unchanged from 2002 to 2007 when they dropped the model altogether. They had no reason to put any R&D into a model they planned to drop. In the meantime the 4 stroke line up got all the R&D dollars and major changes to the frame and chassis, as well as 4 or 5 years of steady refinement.
The 2007 CR250 is a 7 year old design at this point and is dated, and when ridden back to back, its a difference easily felt. The newer 09 CRF250 chassis just does everything better, feels lighter and more responsive which really instills even more confidence when riding.
Much like the inspiration for building a 500AF, which was and is, to get a fantastic engine into a modern great handling chassis!
