EFI for 2010 250F motocrossers?

The opening round of every All Japan Motocross Championship is always an eagerly anticipated event, with the motorcycles creating as much interest - if not more - than the on-track action.

The reason: it's when the Japanese start to go public with the machines that may form the basis of the following year's production models.

The All Japan opener, round one of 10, was held at Kumamoto last Sunday, and this year it was the composition of the 250cc four-stroke class (prosaically known as IA2 in Japan) which piqued the most interest.

According to Transworld Motocross (here), both the Kawasaki KX250F and Suzuki RM-Z250 were pre-production models for 2010, and were equipped with electronic fuel injection (EFI). It would be a logical progression for both manufacturers, as the RM-Z450 adopted EFI for 2008, with the KX450F following suit in 2009.

Meanwhile, Honda's works CRF250R has been running EFI in Japan for a few years now, which is allowed under the country's laissez-faire regulations. But in 2010 we may finally see it on the production model.

Meanwhile, Yamaha is finally set to fit EFI on its YZ450F, in what is shaping as an overhaul for the machine that really kick-started the four-stroke motocross phenomenon.

For the record, Suzuki's Yoshitaka Atsuta won the open class (or IA1) at Kumamoto, with Koichi Fukaya (Honda) claiming the IA2 overall.

Round two, which should provide more consolidation about next year's likely production tackle, is in Nara on April 5.

Pics: Transworld Motocross