First mx bike, purchase advice required

[Testing Times]

Looking for a 250 2t. Favouring 2 stroke as I've been reading the maintenance of a 4 stroke is much more extensive than that of a 2 stroke, plus I think they sound better! Budget is £3000 max. Will be used at mx tracks only. Current front runners are Yamaha YZ250, Honda CR250 and KTM 250SX.

With any of them I'm going to try and buy as new as I can with the best maintanance history possible.

Can anyone give me some advice as to what you would buy and why?

[graylag]

Have you ever done MX before? If not, I’d suggest a 125 2T should be your maximum if you’re determined to have a 2T or a 4T 250.

KTM is the way nearly everyone goes. You’ll see some Kawasaki’s and bugger all of anything else nowadays, other than Husqvarnas for those who are considerably richer than everyone else

[chunder27]

125's are very peaky, very light and easy to move about on, but very peaky
I would go for a 250 4 stroke.

[Green1man]

Pros and cons for both 2T and 4T. KTM seem about the most popular as much as anything because all the parts are easy to get and quite cheap. But the Honda and Yamaha are both decent enough as well. Note that in most cases maintenance will be in a large part be done by the owner so there’s likely to be very little paperwork.

A few things to check out in this vid
https://youtu.be/y5z9biuamfE

[Birky_41]

Go 250f 4 stroke. Old news about them not being reliable... Its not 2004 anymore

I'd stick with jap if possible. Ktm and husky are phenomenal bits of kit but typically command more maintenance

If you really want a 250 smoker try one first. Without any mx experience you'll find them have you blowing in 3 laps and although they aren't as Savage a 450 they do bite

Yamaha yz250 is a nice well built 2 stroke

I have up mx in '14 but have raced them since the early 90s. My boy does it now and I ride it from time to time ('18 crf250) they are bloody capable bikes

[poo at Paul's]

I'd go for a newish YZ250 out of that lot or a late cr250. Yes, KTMs are everywhere, but they're not spanner free at all, and the linkageless shocks are IMHO just too hard to work out! Husky better wiht the linkage.

A late cr250 would be bullet proof but be careful, the earlier ally framed ones were quite awful, very harsh so avoid 97 to 2000 IMO.

Edited by poo at Paul's on Sunday 23 December 23:47

[Brads67]

I run a 2018 Husqvarna FE350, road legal, use it where you like and 350 is waaaaay powerful enough.

Newr bikes from KTM have traction control and switchable mapping.

Go to any event round here and you'll be lucky to see any jap bikes at all. The Europeans are leading the way in quality and tech.

[Testing Times]

Thanks guys you've given me some food for thought, maybe I will got for a 4 stroke instead.

Has anyone heard of a shop named Absolute Motocross in south Wales? I'm planning to go there next week and have a look at a few.

Also is there decent mx uk forums you'd recommend? I've joined Vitalmx but it's heavily biased towards the Americans.
I'd like to try and make some mx friends for meet ups etc rather than going on my own all the time.

[Birky_41]

Testing Times said:

Thanks guys you've given me some food for thought, maybe I will got for a 4 stroke instead.

Has anyone heard of a shop named Absolute Motocross in south Wales? I'm planning to go there next week and have a look at a few.

Also is there decent mx uk forums you'd recommend? I've joined Vitalmx but it's heavily biased towards the Americans.
I'd like to try and make some mx friends for meet ups etc rather than going on my own all the time.

MX Trax I think its called but mx forums have died out. Most tend to be on FB now. I've gone back onto FB for this very reason

[Testing Times]

Birky_41 said:

Testing Times said:

Thanks guys you've given me some food for thought, maybe I will got for a 4 stroke instead.

Has anyone heard of a shop named Absolute Motocross in south Wales? I'm planning to go there next week and have a look at a few.

Also is there decent mx uk forums you'd recommend? I've joined Vitalmx but it's heavily biased towards the Americans.
I'd like to try and make some mx friends for meet ups etc rather than going on my own all the time.

MX Trax I think its called but mx forums have died out. Most tend to be on FB now. I've gone back onto FB for this very reason

I'm not on FB, left years ago but if the groups are where the action is, I'd be willing to sign up again. What is the name of the best groups?

[poo at Paul's]

For off road only and practicing not racing, there will be facebook sites for most tracks, or do something like Enduroland practice days. Cheap, well run, great tracks and well organised. They do races and practice days and run practice after the races too. I think it is something like "Race XC" on Facebook.

BTW, you'll be dead the day after you first start riding off road and even worse the day after that! Seriously, take it easy to start with, incredibly punishing and hard sport.

[mak]

You cant beat a 2 stroke for simplicity , today I have just stripped the lads 125 sx down for a top end rebuild, if it wasn't for the exhaust control mechanism there's fook all to them and a pleasure to work on.
Even on Christmas eve I managed to pop over to a ktm dealer and pick up all the parts I needed





how much does an anthropologist make a year

[Testing Times]

Thanks you for your advice guys, so appreciative.. I'm definitely decided on a CRF250. Next questions is, do I go over my budget and go for one like this with some blingy/uprated bits on...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HONDA-CRF250-CRF-250-20...f:0

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HONDA-CRF250R-2016-imma...f:0



Or do I go to the lower end and go for one like this...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-CRF-250-2010-EFI-...f:0


Are the newer more expensive ones going to serve as an easier bike to learn on or are they pretty much the same?

[Birky_41]

I've raced the crf's for many years

The 250 single cam finished in '17 so if you can get a 16 or 17 for the money you want you'll get something at its very best right before the change to dohc

Personally for me id go as new as I could and try get something with an hour meter or records to show the work its done

My money would be on the 16 all day long

[Walter Sobchak]

poo at Paul's said:

I'd go for a newish YZ250 out of that lot or a late cr250. Yes, KTMs are everywhere, but they're not spanner free at all, and the linkageless shocks are IMHO just too hard to work out! Husky better wiht the linkage.

A late cr250 would be bullet proof but be careful, the earlier ally framed ones were quite awful, very harsh so avoid 97 to 2000 IMO.

Edited by poo at Paul's on Sunday 23 December 23:47

A friend of mine has a 2004 CR 250 that he’s not ridden in 5+ years as he’s swapped over to road racing, he pint blank refuses to sell it to me!, really fancy another MX bike.

[patchb]

I’ve just bought a WR250F which is a 250 four stroke, this is an enduro bike not a motocross bike but has had some mods done that bring the power closer to the YZ250 mx bike.
I can tell you you will not find a 250 4 stroke lacking as an off-road newbie! I had always thought I would want a 2 stroke 250 minimum but the 4 stroke is more than enough to wheelie off the power in 1st and 2nd and it’s definitely not slow up to around 60-70

[GreigR]

Testing Times said:

Looking for a 250 2t. Favouring 2 stroke as I've been reading the maintenance of a 4 stroke is much more extensive than that of a 2 stroke, plus I think they sound better! Budget is £3000 max. Will be used at mx tracks only. Current front runners are Yamaha YZ250, Honda CR250 and KTM 250SX.

With any of them I'm going to try and buy as new as I can with the best maintanance history possible.

Can anyone give me some advice as to what you would buy and why?

Where are you based?

Drop me a message.

[Darkslider]

With the opening of a new MX track up the road from me I've been toying with the idea of getting an MX bike myself. I'd assumed a 4 stroke would be more reliable and need less servicing, do they need more than regular oil and filter changes?

[Dalmahoy]

For a while I had both a 2012 KTM 250 EXC (2-stroke) and a 2015 KTM 350 EXC (4-stroke), both were owned by me from new.

Admit the 350 was quite a machine, so controllable and easy to ride but required an oil change after every ride and valve clearance checks every 20 hours riding - but nothing ever went wrong with either bikes as long as you keep on top of the maintenance.

I had to rebuild the 250 once - after managing to drown it whilst crossing a river that got too deep (the water was chest deep!!!)
Crank start knocking afterwards but a full rebuild including rebuilt crank, recoated barrel, new piston/rings, replacing every gasket/seal and replacing all bearings cost approx £400 and was a weekends work tops.

Due to work and other things, the 250 hadn't been out for at least a couple of years. Last weekend, I drained the fuel, filled it with some fresh fuel and it fired right up on the 3rd kick. Things are just so simple to keep and maintain.

I sold the 350, just at the back of my mind the hours were clocking up and if I had to rebuild it, it's a different ball game compared to the 2 stroke cost wise.

Overall, I ended up with the opinion I was faster on the 350, it was easier to ride and it would go anywhere and climb anything - but the 250 ended up a keeper!!!!!
There's wisdom there someplace.