Advice please!!

[Hannu]

Have just sold my 1992 Blade and am looking for something for a bit of off road fun. Probably motorcross bikes rather than road legal enduro's as I can only really put a max of 1500 to this.
Have ridden friends CRF450 but these are out of my price range. Has anyone any experience of two stroke crossers? It seems I could get a 98-2000 spec CR/KX/YZ for this money?
What about reliability and general running costs, I've always wanted a two stroke but I've heard so many reliability horror stories!! For example that you should change the piston every 8-10 hrs riding time, is this true?

[YamR1,V64motion]

i remember seeing a few road converted CR250s on e bay a while ago and thought they would be great fun, but tank range and having to pre mix the fuel would be a pain.

[catso]

Until a couple of years back I had a 500cc KTM Motorcross (2-stroke) which was a awesome machine, too much really for my useage as it was a real b*st*rd to start and it was certainly not reliable, massive fun though with huge power and big wheelies available in any gear at almost any speed and difficult to break when dropped.

Can't really comment on more recent machines though but I have been tempted by some of the new 4-stroke crossers but not got anything yet as I can't really justify/afford another bike at the moment and I'm still into road bikes, but I will get another off-roader as soon as they are about as much fun as it is possible to have with your clothes on.

[F.M]

I would suggest a 97-00 honda CR 250. They kick like a mule and are easy to maintain. A piston will last the summer. A new piston and and ring are very cheap...under £100.
I think CR 500 engines fit in the 250 chassis but there should be no need to upgrade as the 250 will easily pull as hard as the blade due to the low gearing and power 2 weight ratio .. 60hp and just over 100kg is 550+ bhp/tonne..

[telecat]

Thought of Trialling instead????

[Hannu]

Have done trials in the past and found it most enjoyable, was a member of the local trials park, but sadly just haven't weened myself of the speed thing just yet! I started riding bikes on a TY80 then moved to a TY175 then an Aprilia Climber which gives an idea of how long ago it was! Great fun however and I'm sure I will go back to trials at another time..

[DennisTheMenace]

A mate had a CR500 bloody scarey thing it was too , but not as bed as his 2 stroker KTM that thing was evil

[grant.d]

Hi,

From my past experience with Motocross bikes (3 years playing in fields/Tracks, 1 year Racing), I would strongly suggest going for either Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki or Honda.It all realy depends if you crave more low, mid , or high range power. I wouldnt realy recommend goiong with KTM for off roading as i have been told by numerous mechanics they are an absolute bugger to work on as all of thier bolts compare to chocolate.

For £1500 you could get a nice condition 2000 model 250 and as for changing the piston, the bike would be fine with the same piston for a good couple of monthes anyway (Unless you are going to thrash it around a track all day long)

The only mechanical differences with one of these and your old bike would be having to clean the air filter every couple of gos and drain the gearbox oil a bit more often.

Have a realy good look around before you commit to buying anything and find a nice one, but all in all i would suggest a 1999/2000 KX 250.

Grant

[dern]

Hannu said:

I've always wanted a two stroke but I've heard so many reliability horror stories!! For example that you should change the piston every 8-10 hrs riding time, is this true?

I'm half way through restoring an 86 kx500 (well, I've taken it to bits anyway). Rebuilding the top end is a piece of cake and if you aren't using it for competition I can't believe you'll have to rebuild it that often. One gotcha on the kx is that the bore is nikasil lined so if you chip that (like mine is) then it can be expensive to sort out. However, I'm reliably informed you can get the nikasil taken out and a steel sleeve put in. Then you can rebore if you have to at a later date for much less money.

Mark

[Adetuono]

DennisTheMenace said:

A mate had a CR500 bloody scarey thing it was too , but not as bed as his 2 stroker KTM that thing was evil

I Supermoto'ed a CR500 a couple of years ago. It was fg mental on the road; it would have been lethal on a motocross track if you're not sure what you're doing. Don't make the mistake I made and think you'll be able to handle it. Unless you're a pro, go for small and light to start with. AND it was a bastard to start. It kicked back and broke my foot the first time I tried. Believe me, a 250 will be much more than enough.

>> Edited by Adetuono on Saturday 7th January 09:10

[catso]

dern said:

Rebuilding the top end is a piece of cake and if you aren't using it for competition I can't believe you'll have to rebuild it that often. One gotcha on the kx is that the bore is nikasil lined so if you chip that (like mine is) then it can be expensive to sort out. However, I'm reliably informed you can get the nikasil taken out and a steel sleeve put in. Then you can rebore if you have to at a later date for much less money. Mark

I'll agree with that re my KTM, which I rebuilt twice, the first time it seized at speed (luckily in a straight line) when the little end bearing disintegrated and the engine 'ingested' all the rollers, which all got stuck in the cyl walls between piston and cyl - I had to hammer the piston out the barrel . That was a nikasil bore and although you can get them replated (expensive) I got a used cylinder for the rebuild but reliabilty aside they are a doddle to work on.

The second time was also the little end bearing (maybe a weak point on KTMs?) but it just got 'loose' causing a piston/cylinder head 'interface' - but I think maybe you just have to check/change these things on a regular basis.

The most recurring problem I had though was that it used to wear the Carb float bowl away as it was very close to the crankcase and would rub with the engine vibrations (smooth running it was not!) causing a fuel leak.

I gave it away to a mate eventually, for spares when the coolant ate through the water pump housing and filled the crankcase with water/antifreeze and It was beyond economical repair to fix it.

It really was a bastid to start with unfeasibly high compression, left-side kick start, ankle slams into footrest if you don't move it off the starter at the end of kick and a vicious kick-back if you didn't get it right - the best comparison would be like kicking a pile of bricks that then drop on your foot!

All that could be forgiven when running though for despite only having 4 gears it had ablosutely mental power delivery/acceleration, it was (or at least it seemed) fater than a superbike up to about 40-50mph but a bit 'flip-happy' due to short wheelbase, high center of gravity, high gearing, soft springing and light weight.

I really think as a fun bike a 250 or similar is a much better option with almost as much power and more user-friendly, a mate of mine has got a KTM 200 (off-roader but road legal) and that is as much as is needed for most offroad users but I think I personally would be looking at a 4 stroke, poss a 400 or 450 for the better reliabilty and electric start.

[bimsb6]

*message for dern* do you need some forks for the kx i have a real nice set complete with yokes ,e mail [e-mail] regards steve

[dern]

bimsb6 said:

*message for dern* do you need some forks for the kx i have a real nice set complete with yokes ,e mail [e-mail] regards steve

Thanks Steve but the forks are good.

If you have a frame, an engine, two wheels, an exhaust, a rad and some body work I might be interested though

Cheers,

Mark

[Hannu]

Thanks for the advice I've been out playing on my mates CRF450 this morning, gotta have crosser now!
With all the research and the advice received it looks like being a CR250 98-2000 hopefully..