Simon Smart Body : Review

Cody Wethington

Novice Rider

Bike: Honda 250f

When I was told I would get the chance to ride a tricked out 2011 KX250F I was pretty excited to ride something other than my stock CRF250. Upon arrival at the track I was already drooling at all the goodies on the bike, like the RG3 suspension, Simon Smart Body EFI, full FMF system, and a tubeless tire setup. I would be even more astonished when I finally went out and rode it!

Motor/Engine: 5 out 5

The reason I gave a 5 out of 5 was because you couldnʼt believe that it was only a 250 you were sitting on top of. The thing had great low end power for around corners but not too much torque that youʼre getting thrown to the back of the seat when you twist the throttle. The top end just kept pulling, which made it convenient for those straights that werenʼt too long but not short enough. In addition, the throttle response was amazing throughout all rpmʼs making the bike a lot easier to ride. All this goodness in the motor was from an 8 horsepower increase. How, you may wonder? The Simon Smart Body is a new fuel injection system that was applied to this KX250. It allows the bike to have greater horsepower, and a much quicker throttle response than your normal stock showroom bike, making it do wonders in the dirt.

Suspension: 4.5 out of 5

One word for the RG3 setup on this 250, unbelievable. The front suspension felt like we had spent hours fine tuning it for my weight and size. I could charge into corners and braking bumps without having to worry about any head shake or having to worry about over working and guessing the suspension due to poor setup. The rear end also felt like it was tuned for me. For a 250 you canʼt always find a good suspension combination that you will like but this worked awesome for me.

Overall: 5 out of 5

After a quick adjustment to the sag the suspension felt great. Depending on your weight and riding style Iʼm sure that this RG3 suspension could complement anyone with the necessary adjustments. The Simon Smart Body EFI system just made fuel injection bikes a lot better! This addition to the 250 couldnʼt have worked better on it. The tubeless tire setup on this bike did well mainly because it went unnoticed. The tires reacted just the same as tires with tubes in it would, and no more worrying about pinching a tube when you change those knobbies! The overall performance of this bike built by Dave Simon was impressive for a 250 and could easily be seen ridden by any entry to high level racer.

Photo: AWhite

Kevin Vandermark

Int Rider

Bike: Kawasaki 450f

I was very excited to get news that I was going to test this bike because I have a KX450 and I wanted to see what this 250 had to bring to the table. I had heard some very interesting things about this bike including the out of the box fork design and Kawasaki didn’t disappoint. It had some aftermarket equipment that made the bike that much better including tubeless tires, an FMF 4.1 system with a Mega Bomb header, RG3 suspension, and the incredible Simon Smart Body slide fuel injection body.

Motor/Engine: 5 out of 5

I am usually a 450 rider so I was a little skeptical on how I was going to feel at first. As soon as I started out I could tell I was really going to love this bike. The motor was so much more powerful than I expected I was delightfully surprised. I was able to do all the jumps with ease even being a bigger rider on a 250F. The motor definitely has enough to get pretty much everyone around the track without the harshness of a 450. This was due mainly to the addition of the Simon Smart Body throttle body.

This system is incredible and one of the best aftermarket parts you can purchase for a fuel injected bike. It gives incredible throttle response and lots of power. If you are thinking about buying a pipe for your bike I would say but this instead because it makes a huge difference!

FMF again didn’t disappoint and delivered another great system.

Suspension: 4 out of 5

I feel that the suspension on this bike was great. Although not stock this setup was able to take anything I threw at it. I was able to come up sort on jumps and not have any harshness from the landing. It was able to soak up all the shock very well and I fell that RG3 set this bike up great!

I am giving the tubeless tires a 4 just because I believe that these tires are set up more for off road and not motocross. I could feel the tires sliding around a lot more than normal and it was hard to get used to at first but after a while you can get comfortable with the setup.

Overall: 5 out of 5

I gave this bike a 5 because I loved everything about it. As a 450 rider I was able to jump on and easily transition to the smaller lighter bike. There is nothing bad to say about it.

Photo: AWhite

James Singer

Int Rider

Bike : Honda 450

First Thoughts:  I haven’t ridding a 250f in about a year and to be honest I wasn’t as excited as I should have been to ride this bike.  But once this beast fired up I got more excited.  Then once I got on the track I was having a blast.  The bike was excellent all around and I was pleasantly surprised by it in just about every way.

Motor: 4.5 out of 5

This 250F motor really surprised me.  It pulled hard off the bottom, pulled though the mid and revved for days on top.  But the best aspect I think was the throttle response.  No bog or hesitation thanks to the Simon Smart Body system.  The last 250F I rode was a stock 2007 CRF250R, so I know all about the dreaded Honda bog.  This bike was the complete opposite.  I felt very comfortable, and nothing caught me off guard.  When you needed the power it was there, whether that was climbing any of the hills, or on the face of a jump.  This bike is definitely not your typical 250F.

Suspension: 4 out of 5

This suspension on this machine was set up by Rg3.  The suspension was on the soft side for me, and I knew that going in, but I was surprised about how much just setting the sag right helped.  It almost made it a new bike.  Setting it to the right sag didn’t make it perfect but I got better feel out of the bike.  Through the rough up hill the bike tracked straight with no bucking or swapping.  But on the big jump back down the hill I could feel how soft it was.  But through the rough stuff and the turns it was great.  The bike balanced in the ruts beautifully.  I found it easy to get the bike to lean over and stay leaned over.  I almost couldn’t get it to high side.  That feeling gives you a lot of confidence, and I found myself hitting every turn harder and coming in a lot faster.  So I loved that aspect.

Overall: 4.5 out of 5

All around this bike was fantastic, I loved it and had a blast riding it.  Everything worked well, and everything meshed.  The motor and suspension accented each other and worked together to get a lot of power to ground and quickly.  The throttle response was amazing, and the suspension made any rider a bar dragging rut master.  With the tubeless tire set up made getting flats a thing of the past.  And personally being one of those people scrambling to make they’re first moto because then need to change a tire, I like the feeling of not needing to worry about it.  All in all awesome bike and I hope I get to ride it again.

Photo: Cody Wethington