Motocross Action’s 2024 250 Shootout

#motocross #racing #motorcycle #review
We lined up all seven of the new 2024 250 four-stroke dirt bikes for our 2024 MXA 250 Shootout video to provide a comprehensive review of the pros and cons of each motorcycle. We live with these bikes year-round, and we constantly have test riders riding, racing, and testing them. For 2024, only the GasGas and Yamaha received major updates, so our main focus was to see how those bikes compare to the KTM, Husqvarna, Kawasaki, Honda, and Suzuki models. For a more in-depth Shootout article, subscribe to Motocross Action Magazine and find everything you need to know in the January issue.

Subscribe to Motocross Action:
https://hi-torque.com/product/subscribe-to-motocross-action-magazine/

Follow Motocross Action:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC13uOawMwZh56D2dEn41Gyw/feed?view_as=public

Motocross Action Website:
http://www.motocrossactionmag.com/

Motocross Action Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Motocross-Action/179374025430397?fref=ts

Motocross Action Twitter:
Tweets by MXAction

Motocross Action Instagram:
http://instagram.com/motocrossactionmag

Behind me here we have seven 254 stroke dirt bikes that we’ve been riding racing and testing and in this video we’re going to tell you the pros and cons of each new bike and then we’re going to rank him from first to worst but first thanks to Max for hooking us up with

Their new mxih intermediate hard terrain tire across all seven bikes to make sure we had fresh rubber for our final test and thanks to risk Racing for hooking us up with seven new stands that have the adjustable top to level out each bike and come with a trick new magnet with

All that being said let’s get into the details of each bike Now starting with the most expensive bike in the class the 2024 husar fc50 retails for $1,299 on the dyno this thing Peaks out at 44.78 horsepower and it hits 21 ft-lb of torque and it weighs 224 lbs on the Scales the FC 250 is the white gray and yellow brother of the KTM and gas gas 250 models and this bike is positioned to be a little more vet friendly and user friendly however it’s not costeffective as I mentioned it’s the most expensive bike in the class what do what do I mean

By userfriendly well this bike has a more mellow power band that still pulls to impressive high RPM numbers but is a little more muted on the bottom end when compared to KTM because of the closed off airbox the subframe is different on this bike these grab handles right here

Are completely closed off and it’s getting less air into the engine which makes for a smoother pull coming out of Corners less excitement but more of a mellow Power Band also the big one about this bike 1 in lower at the seat that’s due to the shorter forks and the longer

Seal head on the shock same framework as the KTM same Chromo steel frame same engine but this slightly lower chassis creates a unique experience for hus farer Riders that have the map switch and all of the premium offerings that KTM has at just a slightly different Option next up the 2024 Honda CRF 250 this bike is the current champion in both 250 Supercross and Motocross on the scales this bike is the lightest bike in the class at 219 lb on the dyno it hits 40.78 horsepower at 11,000 900 RPM and it hits 19.7 foot- PBS of

Torque the Honda CRF 250 is one of three 250 for strokes that has a low to mid power band that 40.78 horsepower Peak not very impressive when you compare it to the 44 and 45 numbers of some of the other bikes but what this bike does well

Is it comes out of Corners with authority and this is something that really appreciates for novice and vet Riders also intermediates and guys who like lot ride in the low to mid Power Band if you rev it out this thing is not going to make a whole lot of power but

If you keep it in its meat of its horsepower that’s where it does its best work another thing we love about this bike ergonomics foot Peg to seat seat to handlebar this bike is perfect Honda sets the standard for the rer triangle also the Honda red is beautiful to look

At the biggest problem with this bike though the show of forks spring Forks in the front are extremely stiff they’re like super crossed forks and they’ll rattle your teeth out of your skull no good in its stock form and that’s one of the biggest complaints about this Bike the 2024 Kawasaki KX250 is the fastest bike in the class just slightly beating out the KTM at 45.1 horsepower on the dyno it Peaks out at 13,300 RPM with 21 foot PBS of torque as for weight this bike is also the heaviest bike in the class 228 lb retail price of

$879 that’s the Kawasaki KX250 the KX250 has a strong engine that you have to completely rev out to get all of its horsepower as I mentioned slightly beats the KTM but it also follows suit with ktm’s philosophy of being high revving and that’s where you find the meat of the power on this KX

250 one thing we like about the KX 450 which shares the same chassis the 450 is a very stable and well-mannered machine when you use that same frame and concept on the KX250 it’s a lot harder to turn and then you couple that with the ultra

Stiff KYB spring forks and it makes it very hard to ride on the track and not user friendly especially for novice and light riders one thing that we did for rkx 250 over the past couple years is we stuck ride engineering’s 22 mil offset triple clamps on that help bring the

Front wheel in a little bit get a little more weight on the front so you can turn easily in the corners like I said this is mxa’s stock 250 shootout we test each bike in their stock form letting you know how they run when you buy the bike

At the dealership KX250 has a lot of Pros like the high RPM engine but a lot of Cons with that stiff fork and a little bit difficult turning with this Chassis this is the Yamaha YZ 250f and it is all new for 2024 following in the footsteps of the YZ 450f last year it retails for $889 the updated engine hits 42.5 horsepower at 12,700 RPM with 19.6 ft-lbs of torque and it weighs in at 224

Lb so what do I mean by following in the footsteps well this is basically a YZ 450 with a 2 F engine inside of it the engine mounts are slightly different to hold that 250 in the Cradle but everything else is identical to the YZ 450f which we very well liked last year

And it actually won our 450 shootout which meant that we had high hopes for this new YZ 250f model this year only minor changes to the engine for 2024 namely the airbox the airbox is bigger now it follows the footsteps of that 450 airbox that came last year 30% more

Volume on the clean side of the air filter talking with Mitch Peyton and the pro circuit guys this has a big effect on how the engine runs also the camchain camchain tensioner are all new in this bike as well to boost durability on this YZ 250f engine this engine is known for

Being strong coming out of Corners not having the same Peak horsepower as the Kawasaki KTM and some of the other models but it is a well-liked horsepower on the track that a lot of people appreciate and because of that we’re thankful that Yamaha didn’t stray too

Far for their engine for 2024 dude those Goggles this is the KTM 250 SXF for 2024 with only some minor refinements to the suspension this bike retails for $1,199 it hits the dyno at 45 horsepower at 13,000 RPM with 20.8 ftlb of torque as for weight this thing hits the scales at 224

Lbs on the track the KTM 250 SXF is the most racy version of this bike when you compare it to the gas gas in husna it does come with the map switch it doesn’t have the restrictor and the muffler and it has all the horsepower because of the

Vented airbox and the vented subframe if you look here on the subframe it’s got basically grab handles that you can stick your hands through you can see all the way through with air vents going straight down into the airbox making this bike more responsive coming out of corners and carry more horsepower

Through the RPM range the ktm250 SXF also has the most hold up in the suspension it’s got the wp exact air Forks in the front the wp shock in the back but the valving is a little more racer orientated than the gas gas and husf Fara models making this bike a

Truly race ready Model you might be wondering what this is the Suzuki RMZ 250 is the only bike with the kickstarter for 2024 this bike retails for ,99 on the dyno it hits 39.6 horsepower with 19.6 ftlb of torque and this bike weighs 227 lb this is the first time we’ve ever

Included a mod bike in our 250 shootout how come because this is exactly how you buy it Suzuki is offering a special RM Army Edition bike through December 31st where you can buy a Suzuki RMZ 250 and it comes with a full pro circuit T6 exhaust system header Muffler installed

Also comes with arm army Edition Graphics which we chose not to put on our test bike so we’re testing it with an aftermarket Muffler because that’s how it comes when you buy the bike stock now up until December 31st long story short the RMZ 250 it needs some help and

We’re appreciative that Suzuki and pro circuit have partnered up to offer something more exciting to this bike that hasn’t changed in the last few years we do know however that Ken roxon has done extremely well on the RMZ 450 we recently tested his bike we found out

That he actually likes the RMZ 250 triple clamps on his 4504 stroke and he uses a lot of other stock Parts this bike is outdated it’s got a Kickstarter but it’s good to know the Suzuki is at least trying to make some more incentives by adding on a pro circuit Exhaust and finally we have the gas gas MC 250f which is the second bike that is all new for 2024 this bike retails for $939 with a peak horsepower of 43.25 at 13,800 RPM with 20.4 ft-lbs of torque and on the scales the gas gas weighs 225

Lb this bike jumped up to the new platform that KTM and hus farna gained last year in 2023 gas gas was a year behind now they’re up to speed with the two brothers this bike has the skeletons of a KTM with the chome mly steel frame and the high horsepower engine but

There’s lots of little differences that gas gas used to save a little money on the price make it a little more affordable and to tune the character of how this bike rides on the track so what are the differences namely the subframe closed off airbox allowing less air into

The engine making for a smoother ride on the track this bike also has a restrictor screen in the muffler which detunes power as well as the map switch you don’t get a map switch stock on this bike you can buy one in the aftermarket but it doesn’t come stock which means

This bike is stuck in map one you don’t have access to map 2 which is the aggressive map more horsepower and you don’t have traction control or quick shifting when it com stock on this bike some other major differences softer suspension in the wp exact air Forks softer valving also brake Tech brake

Components and hydraulic clutch actuation now braketech was bought by Brembo but it is not Brembo quality yes it’s improved improved from what we saw last year on gas Gas off-road bikes brake Tech brakes were no good on those models they’ve upped the braking power for 2024 on this bike but it’s still not

Brembo quality same thing with the clutch other differences taller silver handlebars on this bike and it’s got completely unique Bodywork as well as the forged aluminum triple clamps all these subtle differences are used to drop the price but also tailor how this Bike Works on the Track Coming in seventh place it was an easy choice for this one it’s the Suzuki RMZ 250 the Suzuki is a polarizing bike you either love it or hate it our test rider Brian mados he personally loves the banana bikes and he takes them every year for us but the RMZ 250 has no

Horsepower Ultra stiff Forks an ultra stiff aluminum frame as well that makes it a rigid and harsh ride on the track it’s something that you have to learn to love our test Riders they’ve heard all the comments they’ve read all the internet reviews and they were actually

Surprised that the bike was better than they expected it to be especially firsttime Suzuki riders that hopped on the bike today and over the last couple weeks they were impressed with how well it cornered and with how well it pulled out of Corners the Suzuki rmz250 has a

Strong low-end grunt however the overall weight and the low total horsepower along with the rigid chassis and the rigid Forks make this an easy choice for dead last coming in sixth place is the Honda CRF 250 it’s always easy to put Suzuki in seventh but man it’s a shame

To put Honda and six because we know that they’ve tried hard on this bike and they’ve made changes to make strides forward with their CRF250 in the past few years this bike was all new in 2022 and personally it makes the best power for a novice level Rider on the track we

Have many test Riders In The mxa Wrecking Crew and our lower level novices and also our older vet Riders who aren’t as high experience with revving the RPMs way to the moon on their CRF250 they like the low toid grunt that this bike has Suzuki has good

Load of mid grunt but the Honda is Best in Class off the crack of the throttle making it the easiest engine to ride and that’s our favorite aspect about this bike however also same as the Suzuki the forks are incredibly stiff way way too stiff to be sold stock off the showroom

Floor way too stiff for any regular Motocross rider also the frame is rigid as well making it a more finicky bike that’s a little harder to get used to we love the low to mid grunt on the CRF 250 but it Peters out quickly peeking at only 40.78 horsepower making it the

Second slowest bike in the class and that’s just not enough to win mxa shootout coming in fifth place the Kawasaki KX250 we love the high horsepower RPM that comes with this bike it hits 45 horsepower just over 45 on the dyno this year it actually nudged out the KTM

Which was the highest horsepower bike last year both bikes didn’t change but this KX250 just edged out the KTM making it the strongest in the class but it’s another story of stiff Forks KYB does the forks on this bike as well and they are incredibly stiff on the Kawasaki

KX250 and like I mentioned at the top of the video with the 250 engine inside of the 450 chassis it’s difficult to turn turn the KX250 it under steers coming into corners and that’s something that uh is really difficult for us to get front tire bite and feel comfortable on

This bike in its stock form a few mods that we recommend definitely getting a REV valve to soften up the front forks also ride engineering 22 mil offset triple clamps bring that front wheel in make it a little easier to turn on this bike as well big knocks against Kawasaki

The bolts strip out easily and they fall out easily on this bike as well as the Plastics crack especially the fork guards one thing the tplate bolts that hold the seat on they fall out easily we replace them with bolt Hardware te plates that stick in there for sure for

Good long story short the Kawasaki KX250 it’s a high RPM revving machine it’s got a strong engine but a chassis that’s very difficult to get used to coming in fourth place you might be surprised by this one because I sure am it’s the Yamaha YZ 250f we had high hopes for

This bike with the allnew chassis and the updated engine but it did not meet our expectations the original test days and in our original test video we talked about the low RPM lull and the bog that came off of the crack of the throttle I should correct myself it’s not really a

Bog it’s just the new style of power on this yz250f that takes a little bit of clutch work and takes a little bit of effort to get into the meat of the power where previously this bike was like the Honda CRF250 that picked up initially and that was what everybody loved about

The Yamaha Power Band in the past now the new yz250f because of the bigger airbox and the bigger intake it’s sucking more air into the engine and it because of that it take detunes the power Just slightly off the crack of the throttle in our original test video I

Talked about the bigger camchain the bigger cams and the bigger camchain tensioner all boosted to be stronger for durability on the yz250f I talked about that being the reason why the yz250f Isn’t So responsive off the crack of the throttle Mitch Payton had a long talk

With him he corrected me he said you know what it’s probably not the camchain it’s probably the bigger airbox that came off of the 450 on this this new bike that’s most likely what we’re feeling on the track the dyno confirmed what we thought the new YZ 250f is

Slower off the crack of the throttle and actually slower a couple more times on the curve when compared to last year’s yz250f and then it picks up on the very top to be a little bit stronger at the very top of the RPMs long story short on

The track this bike has a heavy deceleration feel it’s got a Twitchy front end and a less responsive initial crack of the throttle making sure that this bike is fourth place and just barely I almost wanted to put the Kawasaki and Honda ahead of it but overall Yamaha is still an impressive

Bike but it did not meet our expectations so as you can see the Yamaha yz250f is less than impressive off the crack of the throttle Honda CRF250 way above the rest of the bikes while the Yamaha is way below the rest of the bikes all the way through until

You get into the higher RPM range and it still is beaten out by Kawasaki hus farna KTM and gas gas coming in third place it’s the gas gas MC 250f I already mentioned that this bike was all new for 2024 catching up to the KTM and hus Fara

With the all new chassis and engine ultimately it comes in third place because it’s the least race ready bike when it’s compared to its Brothers but it is still more RAC than the Yamaha Honda Kawasaki and Suzuki the gas gas is ultra smooth coming out of corners and

It pulls strong down the straightaways this bike doesn’t have the map switch it doesn’t have the stiffer suspension it do does have a restrictor in the muffler and it has less air going into the airbox all these things slightly detune the gas gas to make it different from

KTM and husna long story short this bike isn’t as race ready off the shroom floor but it’s still a great platform that was good enough to beat the rest coming in second place is the husar fc250 now in one sense we want to complain because KTM has three different

Brands with all the same engine all the same chassis but in the other sense we have to be thankful because Stephan Pierre the owner of the pier Mobility group and the three different brands he revitalized both hus farna and gas gas who pre previously weren’t doing so well

In Motocross industry now we have three different brands on the track Stephan Pierre has employed many different Factory Riders many mechanics and many different people in the motorcycle industry because of husar and gas gas the differences are minor but they’re actually bigger than you think when you

Separate the gas gas hus farna and KTM the Husky story lower much lower we had all of our Riders do a round round robin run hopping on each different bike today and when they hopped the KTM and jumped on the hus farna they all talked about

How much lower it was to the ground if you get comfortable in the Husky it doesn’t feel low it feels like your normal bike it Corners exceptionally well because of the lower center of gravity but for pro level test Riders like myself and Dennis Stapleton we pre

We we personally like the gas gas and KTM chassis more with the extra suspension travel especially on the new generation frame and suspension that came in 2023 the hus Fara is more tailored to vet Riders novice Riders some of us pro riders we prefer a little more suspension travel while the hus

Farna is perfect for vet Riders and novices every year during shootout season we are tasked with the project of ranking the bikes from first to worst and our curriculum for ranking and our process is to determine which bike is the best stock motorcycle in the class

That you can buy yourself and take out to the track this year it’s the KTM 250 SXF that takes the cake it’s the best overall race bike that comes in stock form before we get into the praise of this bike we do have some complaints to

List off first the spokes do come loose which means you need to check them at regular intervals especially when you’re breaking in new Wheels also it’s difficult to get Plastics from KTM husar and gas gas right now KTM is suffering from coid long coid really because they

Cut off their manufacturers they used to sell their Plastics to a cheres and to other manufacturers to remake them and sell them to at dealerships now KTM has taken all that inhouse they said you can only buy aftermarket plastic straight from KTM and they don’t have any in

Stock so that’s one big complaint a lot of other parts are out of stock right now for KTM models as well so those are some other complaints we have and the air Forks are a big one air Forks come stock on KTM gas gas and hus Fara and

You have to check them regularly throughout the day of riding or else the pressure will bump up if you let your bike sit in the Sun or if you’re doing motos all day and you’re building up that pressure inside it’ll be end up being harsh on the track so air Forks

You you need to spend some extra attention keeping an eye on those uh besides that the ktm250 SXF sets the standard in the Motocross industry especially the clutch they use a onepiece steel clutch basket with the primary gear made into it that sets the standard for clutches in the 250 class

KTM husar gas gas they’re the only Factory teams who use the stock clutch in their Factory race bikes the Japanese brands cannot say that also the front-end traction was one of the main compliments that our test Riders felt on the k ATM chassis as well as the engine

It’s the strongest in class I did mention that Kawasaki has a tiny more Peak horsepower but the overall pull through the RPMs KTM Takes the Cake this is a race ready model that we appreciate and it’s our best recommendation from The mxa Wrecking Crew all right guys thanks for watching our 250 shootout

Video if you want more information on each bike in a more detailed written article check out the January issue of Motocross Action magazine we’ll have everything in there the full shootout also subscribe to our YouTube channel to check out our individual bike test videos on each model and check out our

Website motocrossactionmag.com got lots of information on these bikes thanks for watching see you in the next One you