Freeride FR 250R V FR 250F Shoot out Review

Описание: This video compares the 2 stroke 2014 Freeride against the 4 stroke 2018 Freeride. Having owned the 2014 Freeride since new and being one of the few early adopter owners stumbling through the modification and maintenance journey across the globe in the early years, I feel I know this unique bike intimately enough to compare it against what is the upgraded, revised and improved albiet 4 stroke model.

The FR250R 2014 Freeride, 1 owner since new, mainly ridden in pine forest, is TWEAKED for local friendly competition events, has stiffer fork springs and 90mm airgap. Lighter clutch springs for a lighter clutch pull, Scotts Damper, S/S front caliper pistons, motomaster oversized floating rotor. Thinner base gasket. Brembo brake and motomaster rear rotor. 8psi in the michelin tyres. 60:1 fuel mix. 12:48 final drive.
It pulls in 4th gear all day long across the rev range with no engine braking when throttle off.

The FR250R has clocked up over 450 hours running time, on its 3rd piston, 5th battery (4x LiPo4), 4th starter motor, 3rd bendix, 4th set of crown gear bushes, 6th set of rear brake pads, 4th set of front pads, 3rd set of clutch fibres and 2nd set of steel clutch plates. 5th spark plug, 2nd water pump impellor and 2nd sprocket seal.

The FR250F 2018 is STOCK plus mapping/traction switch. It has clocked up 6 hours running time since new. Old worn out 2014 plastics have replaced the new ones. The only extras are 3D printed engine protection and Motomaster rear brake caliper. 11:48 final drive.

It pulls in 3rd gear but has some engine braking when throttle off. The clutch feel is light which makes free wheeling easy when you don't want the engine braking. 4th gear has very little pull unless clutch is constantly teased to increase the revs. The engine braking makes it feel more grounded than the 250R so it tends to fall into the whoops if you throttle off. Suspension settings have been left in the middle of the clicker range until the Xplors have run in.

The 250R 2T EXC motor makes the R more explosive than the F, the 2T motor is a proven performer. It is simple to work on and easier to modify to get more power.
The rolling 4th gear power makes it slightly quicker than the 250F in flowing bush trails and with less engine braking and a snappier power can skip easier over natural trail whoops.

On the FR250F more balls are required to intentionally ride faster over natural whoops as the bike has a tendency to drop into them because of the engine braking.

The 2018 250F has improvements to suspension/stiffness/balance/brakes and this all adds up to make it easy and a pleasure to ride. One day a custom single pipe will be readily available and the secret of how to crack open the locked ECU will be shared, when this happens the bottled up 26hp 250 EXC-F motor will be uncorked and it will unleash 34hp of controlled power without major engine work or issues.

In this regard the FR 250F has more potential than the FR 250R.

KTM #Freeride 250R, KTM Freeride 250F, Yamaha YZ250FX #FR250

Shot with #GoPro #MAX360 #Hypersmooth 2 Auto Level Horizon