Seth:
It was all I could do to NOT write a check for the 450! Especially since one of Yamaha's Dist mgrs. was there checking it out in his Corp Yamaha shirt! (would have been a great Honda PR picture!) I didn't, because I know, that in 03 Yamaha will be right there with an equal or better bike! I will tell you that my 426 will still whup the 450! At least it feels like it. I like the hit of the 426/250. The thing I'm not sure about is if I would be faster on the 450 Honda?
I do like Honda's attention to detail, brakes etc. The clutch was so sweeeeeeeeeeet! It feels like my kids 125 and it's cable, not hydraulic!
I could push the kickstart down with my hand! There is NO compression release, but rather a hot start lever where there would be a compression release on the 426. Only time will tell.......... I know I can still turn faster laps on my 426, (instead of the 250) but am not going to get back on it untill I can rock on the 02 250. If you are younger I think the 250 would work better. You can be lazy on the 426, ie,... a gear too high or low and still be OK, whereas on the 250 you have to be on the pipe or you lose! It's obvious that the 4 bangers are the future, but the CR 250 is 30 + lbs lighter and state of the art. One things for sure, this 250 is like no other. The other mfgrs will have to step up to match the quality and performance/potential.
Regards;) :cool: