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Killed it!

By Hans Schmid,
in WR250F/YZ250F/YZ250FX

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Grand Master

MidlifeCrisisGuy

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I've seen your 300ser-f thread. I've been seriously considering a Sherco and have a test ride hopefully this week. I wonder if the 300ser-f has just that little extra ooommmfff over the 250FX? If not, I'll probably drop back into a 300 2t...

 

My friend has a Sherco 300 SEF.  It is no faster than the 250FX.  It has a bit more grunt in the bottom, but not much.  

 

The SEF is a pain to work on.   Have to remove the seat to adjust the shock preload.  It has an extreme forward riding position.   The stock (and modified) suspension is no match for the 250FX suspension.  The engine is not tunable.  It is a pretty quirky bike.

 

My friend is a vet expert, our size.   He doesn't really ride his 300 Sherco anymore.   We swap bikes from time to time.  The last time he got off my bike he said "I could win races on that bike".

 

Congrats on a job well done, Monk. 

 

I'd love to hear some of your setup details... spring rates, engine map and ergo mods.

 

BTW, totally agree with your hill climbing comments.   The 250FX is a good climber if you can keep it pinned in 1st. 

 

But it is no 450F.  FWIW, the YZ450FX has exactly the same chassis geometry as the 250FX.  By the time you account for the skid plate, the 450FX weighs 11 more pounds.  My 250FX weighs about 244 ready to ride.

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Hans Schmid
Hans Schmid

In April, after a major crash that left me with a broken scapula and torn rotator cuff, I let the Yamaha 450 go in favor of a YZ250FX. I'm a solid 220lbs+gear and race Vet A. Could the little 250FX be

Hans Schmid
Hans Schmid
Hans Schmid
Hans Schmid

Went racing today. 2-4in of snow was in the pits, 6-8in at the higher elevations made for a interesting race. I wired up heated grips and no doubt they are the cats meow! I don't think I'll ever own a

Community Regular

NVarra

Posted
Posted

Last I'll mention Sherco in your thread Monk, I just don't care for incorrect information.

 

 

My friend has a Sherco 300 SEF.  It is no faster than the 250FX.  It has a bit more grunt in the bottom, but not much.  

 

  • This is incorrect - The 300 is exactly what you'd think 54 more cc of displacement would provide.

 

 

The SEF is a pain to work on.   Have to remove the seat to adjust the shock preload.  It has an extreme forward riding position.   The stock (and modified) suspension is no match for the 250FX suspension.  The engine is not tunable.  It is a pretty quirky bike.

 

  • A pain to work on? No.

    The seat does not need to be removed to adjust the preload, the shock must be removed. Yes - it's a pain but 2 bolts isn't too bad. Other than that, it's the same as any other bike.

    It does indeed have a forward riding position, but coming from a long history of Yamaha's, I can't say its at all bad, in fact it's amazing in the tight single track. All stock suspension on every bike sucks, that why everybody re-springs and re-valves right? The stock Sherco "Racing" edition suspension is not designed to function the same as the FX anyways - it's closer to the WR or a XC-W. The Factory models have the CC forks which is closer to an FX or XC model.

    Engine can not be re-mapped like the FX/WR with comp ECU - but why would you? It doesn't need it. The SEF-R is built for tight and gnarly, the FX is built for cross country - They're not a straight across comparison.

    The YZ250FX is though, without a doubt, the best bike per dollar out right now - by a large margin.

 

 

My friend is a vet expert, our size.   He doesn't really ride his 300 Sherco anymore.   We swap bikes from time to time.  The last time he got off my bike he said "I could win races on that bike".

 

 

Congrats on a job well done, Monk. 

 

I'd love to hear some of your setup details... spring rates, engine map and ergo mods.

 

BTW, totally agree with your hill climbing comments.   The 250FX is a good climber if you can keep it pinned in 1st. 

 

But it is no 450F.  FWIW, the YZ450FX has exactly the same chassis geometry as the 250FX.  By the time you account for the skid plate, the 450FX weighs 11 more pounds.  My 250FX weighs about 244 ready to ride.

 

 

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Bitteeinbit

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I'm surprised you guys are saying 1st full out... Makes me wonder how the 250FX is geared. Is it a really long 1st? I typically ride hills in 2nd and ride the clutch a lot. On my 450 I'm sometimes in 3rd! My two most recent bikes have been wr450f and a KDX200 and both would lose way too much traction in 1st. Even in some 250s I find 1st just hurls dirt and rocks behind me more than it propels me.

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Grand Master

Hans Schmid

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I'm surprised you guys are saying 1st full out... Makes me wonder how the 250FX is geared. Is it a really long 1st? I typically ride hills in 2nd and ride the clutch a lot. On my 450 I'm sometimes in 3rd! My two most recent bikes have been wr450f and a KDX200 and both would lose way too much traction in 1st. Even in some 250s I find 1st just hurls dirt and rocks behind me more than it propels me.

The 1st/2nd gear jump is fairly large. Being heavier I have no choice but to hold it pinned. The bike just doesn't have the power to pull 2nd. Granted this isn't every hill, but a good majority. I have the FMF exhaust and tweaked GYTR mapping which gives the bike more legs on top... Gearing is stock. I don't want to go down making 1st useless, or go up making the jump even bigger. It's probably my biggest issue when racing against bigger bikes too. I get yarded pretty bad going up a hill against anything bigger in motor size...

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Grand Master

MidlifeCrisisGuy

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The 1st/2nd gear jump is fairly large. Being heavier I have no choice but to hold it pinned. The bike just doesn't have the power to pull 2nd. Granted this isn't every hill, but a good majority. I have the FMF exhaust and tweaked GYTR mapping which gives the bike more legs on top... Gearing is stock. I don't want to go down making 1st useless, or go up making the jump even bigger. It's probably my biggest issue when racing against bigger bikes too. I get yarded pretty bad going up a hill against anything bigger in motor size...

 

I'm a big guy like Monk and I agree with everything he is saying here.  I'm glad to read it is not just me that runs into this.

 

I'm running 13/53 gearing to make the bike better for climbing hills.   I can pull 2nd gear on hills in more places and when I drop from 2nd to 1st, the bike instantly jumps to full power even if my shift is late.  I lose a bit of speed when pinned in first, but if I ever need to restart on a hill climb I can get the engine back "on the pipe" way easier with 13/53 versus stock 13/51.  I had trouble with that with the stock gearing.

 

Yamaha needs to make a 300 or 350FX.  Having said that, the 250FX is outstanding everywhere other than a few hills.

 

Having said that, last weekend I outclimbed a YZ450F owith a pretty experienced rider on a steep, rough hill .  I probably wasn't going as fast, but I was able to control my FX and keep it pinned.  The 450F rider shut off to regain control and couldn't get going again.

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Grand Master

Hans Schmid

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Went racing today. 2-4in of snow was in the pits, 6-8in at the higher elevations made for a interesting race. I wired up heated grips and no doubt they are the cats meow! I don't think I'll ever own a bike without them now! Hands were so dam toasty today!

I pulled the holeshot (straddle the front fender/bike running) which put $50 in my pocket. Was leading for 10min and missed a turn off a road section, followed in 2nd now and the guy missed a turn 5min later putting me back in 1st. Rode in 1st for about 30-40min of nice fast flowy terrain. Hit a bad line on a hillclimb and got stuck. Another rider got around me putting me into 2nd. Another 15min later I had 3rd place hounded me so I let him by on a road section. Had little issue in terms of speed but I got stuck in every mud hole and hillclimb, and fell over on every log and root. Very very difficult terrain when dry, now imagine 6in of snow!? Missed another turn and 4th got around me putting me off the box. Rode like a damn maniac catching and passing him for 3rd overall in Vet Expert. I didnt enjoy the middle of the course, the first and last sections were spectacular even with the snow...

The 250FX ran flawlessly! I did struggle a bit today. A few road sections, some long hillclimbs and a few short hillclimbs with no run had me wishing for more power. I lost a lot of time to my competitors or virtually anyone who was in front of me, they would literally yard me with little to no effort. I could get them back in the tight stuff but there was a good mix of hills which had them pulling me everytime. Whats nice is this bike doesn't even hiccup, it will do it anything ask with no complaints making it easy to ride...

Overall I'm pretty happy, 3 podiums in 5 races, a win and 5/5 on finishes. Makes for a great way to end the year...

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Rck18

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I haven't seen a definitive answer from Yamaha, but it should be the same power if the bikes both have the same exhaust and same map.

However, the GYTR hard-hitting map is different for the YZ and FX/WR. I'm not sure if the power is the same with the same map name, or with the same map settings.

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Bitteeinbit

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Good job Monk. It seems like everyone is getting snow early this year.

I'd never use tear offs in the bush. It's littering.

I agree, I'm just wondering because my first race is coming up next month. It's on a small closed course (endurocross), so I don't think tear offs are an issue.

As for the power, I tried to find it again but couldn't, but I remember reading somewhere that the exhaust and mapping were changed, the WR mysteriously produced more power (or higher revs?) then the FX.

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