Honda MR Vs Hodaka Thunderdog CW Jul76
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250cc Off-Road Comparison Honda’s MR versus Hodaka’s Hiunderdog E KNEW FROM the start that Honda. Megabuck technology and its so much care in explaining all of this in this comparison test would be end products have found their way into order to give a point of reference from a dandy. If ever there were two our hearts time and time again. We take which to view the development of the Wenduro machines whose intent and per Hodaka 250ED. formance radically overlapped, the The 250ED was originally labeled the Hodaka 250ED and Honda MR250 were Thunderdog in a Hodaka tradition that the ones. But while both bikes have began with the Super Rat and graduated arrived at virtually the same place at the through the Dirt Squirt, Combat Wom same time, their heritages are about as bat and Road Toad. The catchy name parallel as a head-on collision. and its equally appealing mascot (a The Honda MR250 is a computerized Super-Beagle javelining a lightning bolt) product designed to fit the desire, abil have been officially dropped along the ity, stature and pocketbook of the most way in favor of a more serious ap common buyer in the most common proach, but the nickname has irrever city in the most common region of this ently stuck. country. The grips have been calculated The 250ED began life as a moto- to the average hand, the shifter to the crosser. Each time Hodaka was ready to mean foot length, the shock springs to unleash it on the public, a quick survey the calculated weight of Upjohn Every of available competing models indicated one in Our Town, U.S.A. None of this, that more improvements were called by any means, is to be held against the for. The state of the art was progressing Heouu * form. Hundreds of in-the-saddle testing everything from “businesslike” and CATEGORY ONE hours brought the machine from its “frill-less” to “dull” and “monot highly-tuned motocross state to its pres onous”—the color permeates the plastic MANUFACTURER S SUGGESTED ent enduro state. With the release of this tank, side panels and the Preston Petty RETAIL PRICE machine Hodaka was planning to cap fenders that come as standard equip ture a U.S. market sparsely populated ment. A white Petty headlight/number Hodaka.........$1195.................... 2 with European machinery that was fin plate combination is the only plastic Honda ......... 1287 .................. 1 icky and expensive. Then, just before part of a different color on the bike. introduction, Honda released its As has always been the practice with MR250. Hodaka could have withheld the folks at Pabatco, a double-cradle the 250ED once more. But too much frame made from mild steel is used. The time had been wasted and too many swinging arm mounts inside the engine CATEGORY TWO dollars spent. It was now or never. bay, as is common practice, but is WEIGHT W/HALF TANK FUEL So it was that these two machines secured by pinch bolts at both fulcrum came about. And through our compar ends a la Penton. The swinging arm Hodaka .... 264 lb....................2 ison test they met and battled it out like follows a proper downward slope back Honda ......... 266.5 lb.................2* two tomcats in a trash can. We put them to the lower shock mounts, then bends *Staff opinion is that a 2.5-lb. or 0.90 through a number of tests. We found upward until its remainder lies parallel percent difference in weight is insuffi out many interesting things. Some were to the ground. This was done in order to cient to warrant a point difference. good, some not so good. Here’s how it accommodate the desired shock ab went. sorber length within the confines of the rear-end geometry design. too fast for Hodaka to keep up with it. HODAKA 250ED Kayaba suspension holds up both In the end, the motocrosser idea was Hodaka’s 250ED is very functional in ends. The forks are of the conventional dropped and plans to change the ma appearance. Decked out totally in straight-leg design and deliver 6.75 in. of chine into a no-foof enduro bike took orange—a style that staffers labeled travel. The aluminum-bodied, finned> Photography: Fernando Belair, Paul Webb JULY 1976/ 71 HODAKA 250ED vs HONDA MR250 rear shocks are longish at 1 5-plus inches (easily accommodated by the afore CATEGORY THREE mentioned swinging arm construction) EASY HILLCLIMB and yield 4.5 in. of travel at the shock, (AVERAGE OF THREE BEST RUNS) which translates to 6 in. of wheel travel. It is possible to get more travel at the Bob: Hodaka Honda rear axle without any shock modifi 9.8 10.4 cations since the limiting factor here is 9.6 10.0 the fender against which the tire bot 9.7 10.0 toms. Raise the fender loop and the 9.7 avg. 10.13 avg fender and another .25-.50 in. is available. Randy: Hodaka Honda Plastic Hodaka gas cap can be easily cross- 10.4 9.8 threaded if care is not taken. Once this 10.2 9.8 happens it leaks profusely. Speedometer is 10.4 9.7 not as accurate as the Honda's. i0.33 avg. 9.77 avg. Thunderdog exhaust pipe passes through the frame and out of the rider's way. Skid plate is SCORE a necessary option. Hodaka .......................................... 3 Honda .............................................3 72/ CYCLE WORLD CATEGORY FOUR STEEP HILLCLIMB (AVERAGE OF THREE BEST RUNS) Intake in the 246cc engine is piston controlled. Fed by a 36mm Mikuni Bob: Hodaka Honda carburetor and oiled by a Mikuni pump injection system, the Hodaka, like the 12.2 11.6 Honda, is an easy starter and completed 12.0 11.6 our entire test without so much as a 11.8 11.3 spark plug change. Power, sparked by a 12.0 avg. 11.5 avg. capacitive discharge ignition system, is transferred to the five-speed transmis Randy: Hodaka Honda sion via straight-cut primary gears. The 12.6 11.0 left-side-operated transmission runs true 12.6 10.8 to Hodaka form by taking all use and 12.4 10.8 abuse in unhesitating fashion. 12.53 avg. 10.87 avg Brakes at both ends are strong, although the rear binder has to be SCORE judiciously applied in order to avoid Honda ........................................ 4 unwanted lockups. > Hodaka ...................................... 2 Slim Kayaba forks, a good brake and a strong, light D. I.D. rim accent the front of the orange Hodaka. Finned, aluminum-bodied 250ED shocks have good damping but too soft a spring. Chain tensioner and mud covers for the shocks are added Hodaka bonuses. \ HODAKA 250ED JULY 1976 / 73 HODAKA 250ED vs HONDA MR250 CATEGORY FIVE ACCELERATION TEST HONDA MR250 (AVERAGE OF THREE BEST RUNS) Elsinore influence on the MR250 is obvious. Only the fuel tank, lights and Bob: Hodaka Honda huge muffler externally disguise last 9.6 9.6 year’s CR250 motocrosser, but there are 9.4 9.2 many internal differences. The engine 9.6 9.4 housed in the single-downtube frame is 9.53 avg. 9.4 avg. more like that of Honda’s MT dual- purpose 250 than like the moto- Randy: Hodaka Honda crosser’s. Mild porting, moderate 9.6 9.6 flywheel and widely-spaced trans 9.4 9.4 mission ratios tell the story. Although 9.4 9.4 the exhaust pipe is very CR in style, a 9.47 avg. 9.47 avg. shoe-box size muffler keeps the exhaust note remarkably civil. Attached to the rear frame rail opposite the muffler is SCORE the container for the minimal toolkit. Honda ...................................... 4 Within the magneto ignition is a lighting Hodaka .................................... 3 coil to power the small headlight and token taillight. A handlebar-mounted switch connects the lights to their power source. Suspension damping fore and aft is identical to the ’75 CR’s, as are the rear springs. Lighter (21/27-lb.) progressive fork springs replace the straight-wound 27-lb. springs found on the CR. Fork travel is identical to the Hodaka’s, but at 5.75 in., rear axle movement is a tad shy of the 250ED’s. Externally the MR250 Honda engine is a carbon copy of the CR motocrosser's. With its larger 3.4-gal. tank, the Honda has a range of better than 90 miles when used with a moderate throttle. Small box at right rear of machine contains sparse toolkit. Large muffler stayed put on the Honda throughout the test. Shocks should be replaced for serious competition. 74/CYCLE WORLD White plastic fenders adorn both ends, while a bulbous 3.4-gal. red tank CATEGORY SIX (that’s a full gallon more than the TIMED ENDURO COURSE Hodaka’s) occupies most of the mid (AVERAGE OF TWO BEST RUNS) ship space. Outstanding brakes on the MR come laced to D.I.D. rims identical Bob: Hodaka Honda to those on the Hodie. Bridgestone 7:22.6 7:28.8 provides the 3.00-21 and 4.00-18 tires 7:15.4 7:24.1 for the MR. : 7:19.0 avg. 7:26.45 avg. Headlights were surprisingly powerful on both machines. The MR's has a protective grill in Randy: Hodaka Honda front of it. 6:47.7 6:50.8 6:45.8 Token MR skid plate is good for protecting 6:48.8 the paint on the lower frame rails and not 6:48.25 avg.* 6:48.3 avg. much more.