Enduro beast, YZ 250?

[OGHAlex]

Hi there,

I've recently built up a yz 125 for the track and that's going well.

I'm thinking of getting a bike to use as an enduro/woods riding bike.

In the UK you can have these sorts of bikes on the road providing its within 10 years old and what not; I've got all the details how to get it on the road.

Now the only thing I'm struggling with is finding a bike I want to use for this purpose.

My brother has a KTM 300exc and I love the power of a larger two stroke etc... BUT.. I don't want a KTM.

I like the idea of a YZ as they're relatively similar to my current YZ and I want to stay team blue.

Now with that aside my question is

What sort of things should I do to a yz 250 if I were to get one to make it decent for this sort of riding? It will need to be 06/07 and newer to allow this all to work.

I've seen that people put fly wheel weights on, retard the ignition, put WR gears in etc. But I'd kind of like a shopping list to get me up to a stage where I can just get a bike and tick it all off as I go along.

I plan on getting a bike which needs some things doing..

1. It's cheaper

2. Whilst I'm in the engine I can do what I Need to so I know exactly what's going on inside i.e piston, crank, bearings etc...

So essentially I plan on getting a bike to completely convert into an enduro bike.

Any help is welcome

[Sierra_rider]

First of all, I would started with a skid plate, handguards, and basic bike setup. After that I would look at larger tanks, suspension valving, and a FWW. After that, other options you may be interested in are 18" rear wheel, WR gears, BB/porting changes, hydro clutch, etc. It's hard to know what you want, as we all have different needs and dislikes. Some guys absolutely swear by auto clutches, but I'll never have one in my bike.

[bg10459]

To any woods bike, I add skid plate, hand and rad guards, etc.  For the YZ250 in particular, I would add a carbon pipe guard (others don't fit near as well),   If you're racing, I'd definitely get a big tank.  If you're racing enduro (timekeeping, 4-5 man lines), you need an odometer, roll chart and watch (or computer), but due to the less traffic nature, I don't really see the need for engine work.  If you're racing hare scrambles, though, where you want everyone in front of you to be behind you, I think the YZ needs help.  It's quick and nimble in the woods, but loses the open field drag race to the next section.  I'm hoping port/head work is the answer.   If you have to do any paved roads, I'd think about the WR gears, but otherwise I think its not necessary.  I thought the Rekluse was really cool, just not reliable enough for racing.  And I don't feel like spending a grand trying a new one.  Overall, I think the YZ is an excellent choice for a woods machine ?

[mikeylikesit]

 My YZ250 was street legal and totally sucked on the street. It was ok for about 15 min. After that the vibration, horrible seat, on and on became very annoying. 2 stroke gas and oil is expensive along with short (race bike) maintenance intervals.

1st rate woods bike though.

[OGHAlex]

The only reason I plan on putting it on the road is so that I can cross roads to go from woods to woods and other trails areas etc.. here in the UK police will.pull you over no matter the circumstances if they see someone riding these types of bikes around on the road but sometimes you.get lucky haha.

So.with that being said, I plan on just doing mainly woods riding with th exception of some quarries..

What exactly is the rekluse? I've heard of reklus, clutches but are they the same?

Would I need to set up the stock yz suspension to allow for the type of terrain?

And what are they advantages of wr gears?

Thanks in advance

[Sycamore]

The only reason I plan on putting it on the road is so that I can cross roads to go from woods to woods and other trails areas etc.. here in the UK police will.pull you over no matter the circumstances if they see someone riding these types of bikes around on the road but sometimes you.get lucky haha.

So.with that being said, I plan on just doing mainly woods riding with th exception of some quarries..

What exactly is the rekluse? I've heard of reklus, clutches but are they the same?

Would I need to set up the stock yz suspension to allow for the type of terrain?

And what are they advantages of wr gears?

Thanks in advance

You and I are kind of in the same situation.  Depending on how tech-e the terrain is the yz first gear is kind of high since its an mx bike.  For ME, gearing it as low as I want it screws up the top end big time.  I've given up on the super low 1st and just making it a tad lower so that it remains reasonably versitile.  But WR gears are going in their sooner or later and THAT makes this bike perfect for tech and mild street work.

 

I have been using a Rekluse auto since about 06.  Started using one on my cr500, then my 300, then 200, now the YZ250.  NEVER had a problem with them EVER, but do know one guy who broke down in the middle of nowhere.  He had a helicopter bring him and parts to fix it.   BUT, it was likely his fault for not setting it up proper or checking tolerances.  Checking it involves either a quick check= putting in third, reving it with the brakes on OR a more involve method of laying the bike over popping the clutch cover off and using the supplied go no go gauges.  Takes 10 minutes and your riding again.  No excuse for frying your clutches on a Rekluse or at least becuase of a Rekluse.  It's a simple device, but chit does happen where we space on maintenace so I guess you could still list this as a negative.

 

I just cant beat perfect engagement/disengagement of the Rekluse so it was the tool for the job for ME.  But they arent perfect.  IF you screw up on a hill you have no tranny gears to stop you from going down.  Instead you give it some gas to prevent rearward motion.  First time this happens you may forget, and I promise you it will be the last, VERY SCARY!  The other thing is in the event you need to bull dog the bike down a hill, same thing.  No gears to hold you so it is front brake or nothing unless you buy a left hand rear brake.  I had one on me cr500, they are the deal!  They would also eliminate the "not making the hill" issue.

 

Rekluse new goes for about $5-600 for the Z=start Pro 

WR gears from what I have been reading goes for 1k when all said and done???  others may want to chime in.

18 inch wheel $220 or so, I just go mine yesterday.

Valving- My stuff was totally rebuilt at my request $300, $200 is more likely.

Edited November 17, 2015 by Sycamore

[subxero]

I have been chipping away at my 03 yz250 and transforming it into a better hare scramble, woods bike.  I'm not done just yet and most of what has been said is the typical approach.

 

Things that I think make a big difference in endure/woods ect...

 

A tie for # 1 in my opinion -  Suspension, get it setup and dialed in! That means everything, springs, valving, sag, fork height in triple, and more.  It took me a while, adjusting, sag, fork height, clickers ect to find what I like but now that I found it, it is good.  The main problem I was having was keeping the front from wandering out of ruts, it took a combination of changes to help settle that down.

 The other # 1, figure out how to get the power to the ground.  yz's are known to just spin up every chance they get.  Getting more power to the ground means doing a few mods typically.  flywheel weight, (don't be afraid to try some of the heavier ones, you might be surprised) anything to safely run less psi in the rear, maybe an 18" on the rear, alter ignition timing, porting, enduro head pipe,  and whatever else you need to throw at it to make it happen and get it hooked up

 

After you get the bike more ride able for your intended purposes I would start thinking about other goodies in whatever order you think you would need them most.  Be it bark busters, oversized tank, skid plate, hydraulic clutch, steering damper ect...

 

I have FWW, Hydro clutch, DEP enduro pipe, typical guards, among a few other things but no oversized tank.  I can typically get through a 2hr HS race with a little left in the tank...typically ?   2 things I would like to get for my bike yet are the 18" rear wheel and the steering damper.  They are about the last pricey things I have yet to splurge on.  I will get the rear wheel before the damper, hopefully before next season, I really think an 18" rear and running slightly lower psi is going to really help out in the rear end traction department.  Sometimes when I am running hard pack tires with stiffer side walls I can run lower psi than I normally would and I can feel a difference just about everywhere.

 

yz250 is a solid bike and starting platform for an off road machine, the sky, and well your budget are the limit

[mikeylikesit]

No changes are absolutely necessary. I took 10 yrs to get my bike where it is. That's a good thing for me because I enjoy it more every year.

 

Buy it, ride it, change what you dislike. The best thing about a long production run with few changes is the aftermarket, Ebay, and info you'll find here.

You cannot go wrong with this bike for woods or MX.

[Captain.Olives]

I am a experienced but not pro level rider by any means. The 2002 YZ250 I own is mostly used for NorCal single track and a couple of Senior C class hare scrambles per year.  I bought and built the bike to ride tight and steep single track.  The more challenging the better.  The bike is now more competent than I.  ? ?

 

My goal was to try and make the motor a tractor like the old IT's and KDX's.  Didnt get totally there, but pretty darn close.  Retarded the ignition, added an 11 oz flywheel weight, stock pipe (seems smoother than the FMF knarly I tried), FMF turbine Core II with sparky and a G2 throttle tamer.  The heavier offroad tires, HD tubes, and o ring chain's added weight seems to also slow up the wheel spin a bit (I could be imagining that last part... but it does feel like it ).

 

After respringing if for my weight and riding style, playing with the clickers and fork oil weight, I was able to get it feeling pretty plush without bottoming off road. Even without an expensive revalve.... it feels better than some of my previous Euro bikes revalved suspension.       

 

I have the more inexpensive Rekluse EXP clutch sitting on my shop's shelf for over a year as the bike works pretty good as is and rarely stalls.  It may go in later this winter after I lace up my new set of wheels (18" rear) and put on the 2016 plastic that's sitting next to the EXP clutch.     I may also try some of the WR426F gears then.

 

Other than the normal offroad armor and a few personal tastes items like the kickstand, pegs, and bars.... that's about all I have done or will do.  At a third of the price of a 300EXC (which I am sure is better/more capable), I enjoy it immensely.  Put about 75-100 hrs a year on it and grin every time I think I about the fact I don't have $8-10K invested in it like I have in other bikes. ?  

Edited November 18, 2015 by Captain.Olives

[OGHAlex]

So essentially its more of a trial and error kind of game? Setting parts up and changing to suit the current application..

The reason I wanted to see if I could get say a 'shopping list' of stuff to change is that for me to get this thing about I'll need to have the correct license; and until then I plan on doing it from the ground up in my garage.

I understand there's a lot of things which can't just be set and left but that will come when I ride it.

I think what I plan on doing it some of the 'major' mods if you were, such as suspension setting up, grabbing the 18" wheel, some decent tyres, a decent flywheel weight.

Once I go about sorting engine problems, as I'd normally get a bike which needs a rebuild as I that's what I prefer doing, getting it ported for low-mid and setting the squish, I may opt for the fmf gnarly pipe as I have heard it gives great torque over some other pipes, again this could be preference.

Do these rekluse clutches stop stalling? Are they like a semi auto manual clutch type job?

And what do you guys think of the rear brake mod on the handlebars?

Very grateful for the replies so far, gives me a bit of hope on getting it all sorted in the near future.

[mikeylikesit]

I have the Rekluse 3.0 and yes the bike never stalls, even when I fall over. You still shift gears but never have to touch the clutch lever unless you want to override the Rekluse.

 

I've thought about the LHRB but I don't think I would like it. On long downhill sections my right hand gets tired of braking but my foot never does.

 

On uphill if I start to roll backwards I just give a little throttle.

The bad of the Rekluse is no ability to bump start.

[subxero]

a shopping list just to get you started, in no real order.  (not saying this is exactly what you need to buy but should at least give you an idea and then you can compare contrast other offerings that do similar)

 

flywheel weight - (gytr has a whole flywheel that has weight welded on, or you can just buy a bolt on weight for your OEM FW)

bark busters - (different strokes for different folks, do some research)

skid plate - (I like the large aluminum ones that flare out in front with wings to guard the water pump and left side of the case)

aftermarket reeds - (I like vforce3, JMO)

endure pipe - (gnarly or DEP, I like the DEP enduro heavy pipe personally, both will give you more grunt where you want it but the stock pipe is great as well)

18" rear -  source from a wr450 on ebay or Tusk makes a set that is reasonably priced and they have good reviews, they are black

oversized front rotor kit? - (more of a preference, not needed, but can be nice, can also pair this with a Honda full front brake system swap, again a preference       but mostly agreed upon as being better)

oversized tank - depends on your riding and races if you need it or not

steering damper - scotts? GPR? whatever you decide on

bars -  again a preference thing, if you are partial to a particular set of bars, or fancy flex bars.  I have my bar ends cut about 3/4" down on each side for tight stuff

sprocket gearing - will depend on your riding,  for tight hilly stuff I think 14t F and 51 or 52 rear are pretty common.  Faster pace stuff that doesn't require too much lugging in 2nd gear I really like 14t  49t combo (save cash and get steel rear sprockets, that little bit of weight in the back won't hurt, might actually help a bit with traction, JMO)

different clutch set up - hydraulic, rekluse, clake, whatever, some people like the simplicity of the cable.

suspension set up - you can try and make the stock suspension work, you could probably get it fairly dialed in if you put some time and experimenting into it

gripper seat or cover - preference thing again

programmable ignition timer - getting a little fancy but some people really like them

 

that's bout what I can think of off the top of my head, i'm sure I missed a few obvious things and some more simple things I just didn't feel the need to mention.