General question about the 2005 and up dirt bikes?

[SSMAN]

My son wants a 4 stroke 250 (YZF, CRF, etc) How are the reliabiltiy of these bike compared to the regular trail bikes. He does not race, but I had one guy say they are much more problematic. Any input would be appreciated. We just got rid of a KX85 Two stroke that was a great bike.

[krazy kris]

I had a 06 crf250 and after a top end rebuild (bike was used) I would say the only thing I had to do often was check the valves. other than that I loved the bike.

I had a friend that bought a 06 250f new and never had to do a thing to it in 6 years

[SSMAN]

I had a 06 crf250 and after a top end rebuild (bike was used) I would say the only thing I had to do often was check the valves. other than that I loved the bike.

I had a friend that bought a 06 250f new and never had to do a thing to it in 6 years

I was told they had to be worked on every 30 hours. Any truth to this?

[krazy kris]

I always checked the valves every 20-30 hours

[Grape]

valves are Ti and close to $90 per piece and they are not able to be re ground due to the coating. on most we do, customer switches over to the kibblewhite stainless kits.

[dsrtuckteezy]

if he's just putting around and not racing it, it shouldn't give him much trouble as long as he keeps up with basic maintenance. doubt the valve lash will be out of spec very often if he's just tooling around in the neighborhood/trails.

you can also check out a klx250 or the like, for extra comforts like kickstand, e-start, etc...

he sure has come a long way since those little blue chinese bikes!

[Sean88gt]

He needs an '11 kx250f

I put some decent hours on my 09. Valves done once and checked but no need for adjustment after the first time. Of course, I wasn't camming the piss out of it either.

[SNEAKY]

if it was ran hard, it needs maintenance. like others have said, the valves need to be checked. but, if he does not rip on it too often, once every six months would be enough.

[Buick355]

I think some people either exaggerate the maintenance thing, or just beat the crap out of their bikes. If you're a fast MX rider and ride multiple times a week, I can see doing a valve job and piston or two every season, maybe a bottom end every other. For the way I ride, checking the valves once a season was fine. My YZ250F valves never moved.

[SSMAN]

if he's just putting around and not racing it, it shouldn't give him much trouble as long as he keeps up with basic maintenance. doubt the valve lash will be out of spec very often if he's just tooling around in the neighborhood/trails.

you can also check out a klx250 or the like, for extra comforts like kickstand, e-start, etc...

he sure has come a long way since those little blue chinese bikes!

LOL, Yes he has. But those chinese bikes served their purpose. Never really had a problem with them. I wasn't sure if they still made the KLX's. He will be driving next year. Damn time flies.

[SSMAN]

He needs an '11 kx250f

I put some decent hours on my 09. Valves done once and checked but no need for adjustment after the first time. Of course, I wasn't camming the piss out of it either.

I seen that in the classifieds. That is a damn nice bike. Way out of my cash and carry price range tho. He is just a weekend rider, no racing to be done. I figure once he gets a car next year, motorcycles will fall by the way side.

[jleews6]

Look for a nice Yamaha 250F. I'm a Honda guy but when it comes to the 250s the Yamaha is the most reliable. Its the slowest 250f but I have seen them run for ever and never have problems. When my son was on 250Fs we were doing rebuilds like crazy but if your just a weekend rider/racer you will have hours and hours of trouble free fun.

[zemog]

i will agree with both of the above posts, we bought a 04'kx250f that had nothing but electrical problems from the start (purchased new), most people were running through the valves like water on that bike, in 05' josh moved to honda, a much more rider friendly bike ergonomics wise but this bike had valve job after valve job, in 06 moved on the yamaha were after the recall on the top end was done, was the most reliable of all the bikes. provided any of the above bikes have been rebuilt (which they most likely have) any will be fine for your son, just keep him off the rev limiter and you'll be fine. Also send KTM300hater a pm, he can give you all the info you need, he owns a bike shop and his son raced for 12-15 years i would guess.

[Big Pencil]

You might also consider the trail versions of the newer gen 250 four-strokers, specifically the Yamaha WR250F or the Honda CRF250X. They're a little heavier but their motors aren't quite as high-strung and, in the case of the WR's, seem to run forever w/ little fuss. Best bonus? They have electric start.

[SSMAN]

Well thought i found a nice 2004 RMZ 250. I bought it. it is proven me wrong every step of the way. first time I've ever been burned on a bike. Expensive lesson