cold start test each morning – yep , big-bore two-strokes with the kick-starter on the left required a certain skill , that ’ s for sure . And we were given a whole minute too , which was still no guarantee . But in MX racing there is no minute and there is no time to waste – E-start is vital in the event of a hiccup ... or you are nowhere . So , well done to Honda . Other than that , there are not so many updates for the ‘ 18 model after what was a completely new bike last year . Subtle changes have been made to the engine mounts , namely the head stays which are thinner and flexier to make the chassis a little more compliant . Also the suspension springs front and rear are harder , up from 0.48 to 0.50 N / m in the forks and 5.4 to 5.6 N / m on the shock . And , the fuelling and mapping has been cleaned up from , what was a reasonably average , slightly stallprone low rpm last year . While the from-idle response is still abrupt and it will stall / flame out sometimes , it is much improved and once in the mid-range the engine is a thing of beauty . It pulls hard and has decent top end , which gets it to the ground well and drives the Honda forward with real enthusiasm . At high rpm it is fast , but not intimidating and manageable . I can ’ t help thinking a little more crank mass would help low rpm rideability , but whether it ’ s helpful at high rpm is debatable . The three power modes remain with the aggressive map being well named and suitable for open sand tracks . The mellow setting is certainly mellower than the reasonably all purpose default map , but still a little on / off abrupt ,
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