Want to do track and trail on a twostroke

[SoFlo]

I want to do track and trail on a twostroke bike, and basically have it somewhat down. I'm thinking as far as mx bikes to just get a 250, since they are well, mx bikes afterall, plus they are more trailable than a 125. Trailwise there's the KDX's and yamaha's WR's, but how would these do on a track? The trail riding I'd be doing is fairly slow, riding with family. The track riding I'd be doing is as fast and far as I can SAFELY :yikes: push myself.
Right now I'm just getting into dirtbikes, used to ride a quad full time. I do know how to ride a dirtbike, so I'm not learing, I'm just actually getting used to it and good at it. I'm turning 17, 6 feet, 160 pounds or less.
Also, any problems with getting an older bike, like early to mid 90's? I've heard the mxers will still have more than I can use, so I'm guessing it'd be okay. I only have like $1800 to work with, so an older bike is going to have to do.
:cool:

 

[tyesai]

I would think that a mid to late 90's 250 is possible for 1800 bucks. Just remember that you need to set aside around 500 for half ass quality gear. I guess if you rode quads you might have some of this though. For my purposes, since I like to ride both tracks and trails, I found my best mod so far has been a 12 ounce flywheel weight. Some people that are more track oriented don't like this much though and go with 8-10 ounce weights. I noticed a little bit smoother power, but the greatest gain is that on the trails the bike is almost stall proof. I have an 04CR250R. I also put a FMF Gnarly Pipe and a Shorty Power CoreII silencer wich helped with the low to mid characteristics. I think I am going to go up to a 52 tooth sprocket just to see what that does to it. You can ride trails on a 250MX bike fairly easy so don't let people tell you you can't. It is a compromise, but if it is all you know the you will never know the difference.

 

[SoFlo]

"but if it is all you know the you will never know the difference." :cool:

Alright, a 250 was basically what I was planning on getting, and doing some mods to mellow out the powerband and get a little more lowend power out of it, so I don't kill myself to quick and make trail riding easier. I'm a beginner anyways.
Only other thing is, does a KDX do well at all on an MX track? Would I be better off modding a KDX's suspension for MX than modding a 250's motor for trail riding? I also found a KTM offroad 200 twostroke, I think it was a 200EXC, any info on those?

 

[rodH]

$1800 should by a late 90s 250. I got a 1997 RM250 in SoCalif for slightly less, but that price is good for a late 90s MX.

 

[Britt Boyette]

A KDX does not do very well at the track. With an aftermaket pipe, it can be a lot of fun but, that's not it's intended purpose. A MX bike can be made to handle the enduro type stuff very well but again, you have to change a few things and add a few others. I would add a flywheel weight, change the gearing to suit yout terrain, add a good spark arrestor, and add hand protection at the minimum. You would be looking at about $400 extra, maybe less if you shop around. Shop around for bikes. Really look at a lot of them, all makes too. Sometimes you can find one that already has all those goodies, then your good to go. You can change your bike as you need it by swapping a few parts. That's the best of both worlds.

 

[SoFlo]

So basically a 250 would fair better doing both than a KDX is the final verdict. As far as mxing, I'd be doing like 10 or 15 foot tables, and maybe 15 or 20 foot doubles, would it do that alright?

 

[uhlanmc]

I would recommend saving some more money and buying an '01 or later YZ 250. We've been riding the desert with these and later model YZs, and they have held up better than most. Flywheel weights and a gnarly pipe/silencer combo with proper jetting are the first mods I would do. These motors were awsome.

 

[SoFlo]

A newer bike would be nice but here's the thing, I'll have at most $2200 to spend, but I can't spend it all on the bike, I gotta save some money for topends and tires, chains and sprokets, things that need replacing every now and then, plus gas and oil, and track addmision fees. So I really wouldn't mind getting a 90's bike, which will have more performance than I (a begginer) can handle for a while. Not to mention I'd have to buy the weighted flywheel and gnarly if the bike I buy doesn't have that already. :ride:

 

[DirtyDrew]

I got my 97 rm250 for 1800, it came with a gnarly pipe, turbine core spark arrestor and some other stuff. I mostly ride trails with it and have no problems, but i havent put on a flywheel weight. I also have an extra tooth on the back sprocket.

 

[Britt Boyette]

I know a peorson who just bought a 99 KX250 that came with enough spare parts to sell on E*** and maybe recover most of his expense. $1900 OTD. You just got to shop around.

 

[rodH]

A newer bike would be nice but here's the thing, I'll have at most $2200 to spend, but I can't spend it all on the bike, I gotta save some money for topends and tires, chains and sprokets, things that need replacing every now and then, plus gas and oil, and track addmision fees. So I really wouldn't mind getting a 90's bike, which will have more performance than I (a begginer) can handle for a while. Not to mention I'd have to buy the weighted flywheel and gnarly if the bike I buy doesn't have that already. :ride:

then you should be fine buying a late 90s bike. When I bought my bike, I had to do a TON of work that I didn't realize had to be done, and I wanted it to look fairly new, so I bought all new plastics, graphics and seat cover. Just remember, sprockets, chains, tires, fuel, oils, lubes, tools, stand and gear add up pretty quick.

Obviously a 2000+ bike would be cool, but lets look at it this way, I can ASSURE you that my buddy on his 05 YZ250 or all my buddies on thier CRF450's really aren't having any more fun than I am. Sure, maybe they can lap me 1 sec quicker around a track, but as far as pure fun on the track and on the trails, it really doesn't matter. Plus, if you do a top end and some regular maintainance the bike should run like new.

The bikes now seem to be evolving every year, but this is NOTHING like the late 70s and early 80s where the bikes made HUGE improvements like Water Cooled, mono shocks, exhaust valves, Huge travel suspension, lighter wt, etc...... Some may argue that the Aluminum frames are a HUGE step, I don't really see it that way, slightly better, yes, but not huge.

I went on a trip in the spriing with some freinds and had been out of dirt bikes for a few year, these freinds ALL ran out and bought CRF450R's, the years previous they would rent bikes. Instead of renting a bike and saving my money for a new(er) bike, I just bought a used 97 RM250 and added my touches to it. Now that it runs right I couldn't be happier. This sport has almost gotten to the point where you have to be a millionare to participate, but there are ways around that and have just as much fun.

btw, my RM came with Oversized triple clamps, Pro-Tapers, Bills pipe, Bills shorty silencer, and a few Works Connection frame parts. In other words, the bike came pretty trick already.

Good luck!!!

 

[KelvinKDX]

I think that you'd be better off starting out with a late 90's KX250 (instead of a KDX) and making it "trailable" w/ a flywheel weight and suspension mods. Keep your eyes out for something in good condition and do not be in too much of a hurry and you can get a great deal.

 

[SoFlo]

Thanks a bunch guys, advice from people who have been there and done that is priceless. :cool:

 

[Jaybird]

Kelvin is an experienced KDX man. I think he is giving you great advice.

Although I think the KDX has far more potential than folks give it credit for, we must realize that it is an 80's technology machine. It takes lots to get one to the level of performance that a late model 250cc provides.

With that said...you may want to consider a 125. Yes, they are harder to ride in the woods, as they need complete attention to speed and revs to keep your momentum. But there is no better teacher for woods riding than a 125. Heck, it's a great teacher for MX as well.
A 125 is simply harder to ride in all conditions, track or trail. Once you've mastered the woods and track on a 125, there isn't a bike you won't be able to ride in any conditions.

 

[SoFlo]

Man therea so many choices when buying a bike it's amazing. Plus they redo them every year so they are different. I wasn't really thinking of a 125, because to me since they are just as big as a 250, might as well just get a 250. And most of the 125's really aren't too much cheaper than the 250's. I have heard that 125's make you great riders though, and that they are the funnest to ride. Really what I gotta do is finish selling my quad and test ride some bikes. Here's my choices I think in order, 250, 125, KDX. But guys, seriously thanks for the advice, I'm going to reread through this thread a few times while trying to make up my mind, and it's helped others too besides me. :cool:

 

[bclapham]

an MX bike makes a better trail bike, than a trail bike makes an MX bike.

get the 250- they last really well also.

 

[SoFlo]

an MX bike makes a better trail bike, than a trail bike makes an MX bike.

get the 250- they last really well also.

How does a topend, chain and sprokets, clutch, tires, generally last on a 250 compared to a 125 ridden the same way?

 

[bclapham]

ive raced both 125s and 250s, for me the 250 is cheaper to run. Chains and tires usually run the same, but i found my self changing topends and clutches more often on the 125, plus the bottom end on a 250 lasts way longer before it needs rebuilding.

 

[SoFlo]

ive raced both 125s and 250s, for me the 250 is cheaper to run. Chains and tires usually run the same, but i found my self changing topends and clutches more often on the 125, plus the bottom end on a 250 lasts way longer before it needs rebuilding.

Doing topends is fine with me, but I defintly don't want to mess with the crank, I don't have the tools, or want to do it. There's that thread going on the best 250's throughout the years, each year and model had certain strengths in their motors, I gotta read up on that too.
But a KDX or one of those 200EXC's still requires less parts being replaced correct? Still, the 250's sound like a good package.

 

[maximumbob]

Which one did you end up getting?

 

[TimberPig]

I'll take a wild stab here and guess the 96 RM 250 he has listed, and was asking about on another thread.

 

[parkerCR]

Get a 250 and put on a light flywheel - 9 oz or 11 oz and you'll be money. As far as 2 strokes go the 250 MX version is the most versatile in my opinion. Now a CRF450, that's a whole nother story.

 

[2wheels]

MX trail conversion

I had Eric Gorr port my 2002 CR 250 for low end . The cost was less than for an after market pipe. I also added a 12 ounce flywheel weight. The bike has unbeleivable low end.