Should I swap xcw150 for a YZ250FX ?

[Burger72]

Hi guys 

I currently ride an Xcw150 with plenty of mods to make it run as good as it can, however I get fed up with jetting and it does become hard work on my open going.

I ride a lot of technical tight woods and rocks as well as single track so would the 18 YZ250FX be suitable or am I going to be plagued with stalling issues ? I can’t have a Motocross feel of the bottom as I’ll need it to be smooth at small throttle openings

I have read that the “hard map softened” works well ?

The bike will be a Canadian import into the uk as we do not get this model over here, any info and advice would be mega 

cheers 

[drewnabobber]

Funny, I thought about swapping my 250FX for a 150 XCW.  Both bikes are suitable IMO.  FX is good in tight single-track but better in open spaces.  With a soft map and throttle tamer it is pretty smooth off the bottom.  It will be very linear compared to your 2T.  The FI is very good and it is nice to just push the button and go.  My KTM friends only ever talk about jetting.  The bike does stall from time-to-time, all the four-strokes do.  Nothing lugs like a 2 stroke, even a small bore.  There is only so much you can do with a high-compression single.  It will feel quite a bit heavier than your 150 for sure, both on the stand and in motion.  Tradeoff is that it is super stable.  Faster you go the better it gets.

The FX is a great bike, but I'm not sure it is a huge upgrade assuming your 150 is fairly recent.  Horses for courses.

Edited March 15, 2018 by drewnabobber

[Burger72]

Thanks man that’s kind of what I was thinking, really appreciate the honest answer, my 150 is an 18 and it’s still like new really.

My other choice which is a bit bizarre is the Alta Mxr ! I know run time is reduced but in map 1 apparently it’s an amazing bike for technical trails, suspension would need work as it’s a bit stiff but what a bike they look !

[LukeYZ426F]

Your gonna hate it. You need to go ride one before you do it. 

[Burger72]

What hate the Alta ? 

[ckny]

I got rid of my YZ 125 and 250 after I bought my FX it is such a great do it all bike. I ride mostly tight woods. This is my favourite bike I have ever owned. It just does everything so well.

[Burger72]

16 minutes ago, ckny said:

I got rid of my YZ 125 and 250 after I bought my FX it is such a great do it all bike. I ride mostly tight woods. This is my favourite bike I have ever owned. It just does everything so well.

See that’s my concern I do love the light weight fun the xcw150 has at low speed so in the tight woods it’s like a mountain bike and almost impossible to stall. I’m worried I would miss all that and don’t want to end up with something that hates going slow, I had a Ktm 17 Xcf250 and that’s what I found with that bike it just didn’t want to go slow and would stall a lot. The motor was great at speed but in the slow stuff it needed constant clutch control to keep it moving smoothly  

[LukeYZ426F]

1 hour ago, Burger72 said:

What hate the Alta ? 

 

 

Inwas speaking of the FX. I came off a 17 250xc to a 17 FX and i love the FX for what I do and enjoy doing. But, I don’t ride right technical single track. I have rode it in tight single track and it’s a ton of work. The FI nature of the bike is twitchy compared to a 2 stroke, it doesn’t lug as low, and requires a ton more clutch work to clear the same obstacles. If all I rode and enjoyed was tight technical stuff I’d have sold it the day I bought it. 

 

Apparently people do enjoy them in these conditions, but I’d strongly suggest finding someone who has one and riding it. 

[ckny]

No issues with low end power and stalling if you know how to ride a bike and use a clutch. Bump the idle and play with the tuner. Moving to a 4 stroke is always going to be different than running a smoker, there is always a period of getting used to the different feel. I do miss my 125 on some days but if I had to pick only one bike it would be an FX over a small bore 2stroke. My fan almost never comes on, the bike does not really get hot. There is so much you can do with the FX with gearing and a tuner. Most of my money went into suspension. 

[NW_drZ]

If tight technical single track is your primary riding i personally wouldn't do it.  I liked my FX a lot but i thought this is where it wasn't the best.  The bike is tall and top heavy and just doesn't flick like the smoker.  I found it kinda lethargic in these situations.  For a 250F, i found the 250XCF easier to sling around the tight stuff (feels lighter and smaller).  I will say though, when i owned the FX (prior to my Beta) i wasn't really complaining to myself about this as it was a fun bike to ride.  It wasn't until i got my 250RR that i noticed how much more work i was putting into the gnar with the FX.  Now when things started to flow and pickup this is where it shinned.  Loved hammering it through the chop at speed.  I also never boiled the bike which i found impressive.  Even in situations where some of the 2 strokes did.    

Edited March 15, 2018 by NW_drZ

[bkoz]

14 hours ago, LukeYZ426F said:

 

 

Inwas speaking of the FX. I came off a 17 250xc to a 17 FX and i love the FX for what I do and enjoy doing. But, I don’t ride right technical single track. I have rode it in tight single track and it’s a ton of work. The FI nature of the bike is twitchy compared to a 2 stroke, it doesn’t lug as low, and requires a ton more clutch work to clear the same obstacles. If all I rode and enjoyed was tight technical stuff I’d have sold it the day I bought it. 

 

Apparently people do enjoy them in these conditions, but I’d strongly suggest finding someone who has one and riding it. 

I came off a '13 250XC and onto a FX.  I ride nothing but British Columbia mountain single track.  I find the FX easier to ride.  It makes way more traction than the 2 stroke.  And I find clearing obstacles is easier because of the great traction it lays down and the smooth power output.  Yes it is heavier than the 2 stroke but it also holds a line in roots and rocks much better.  I do not find the FX throttle twitchy compared to the 2 stroke as the torque curve is very smooth.  I can ride the FX faster and for longer than my XC and my race results instantly improved when I made the switch.

Just another point of view.  YMMV

[gatorfan]

11 hours ago, NW_drZ said:

If tight technical single track is your primary riding i personally wouldn't do it.  I liked my FX a lot but I thought this is where it wasn't the best .... Now when things started to flow and pickup this is where it shinned.  Loved hammering it through the chop at speed. 

So true about the FX. 

[Burger72]

Seems to be very much a mixed bag of opinion, a friend of mine said he rode his mates 18 bike and found it really good in the tech with literally no stalling and on another thread some guys are having lots of success using the “fast map softened” I do like the idea of not having to jet the bike all the time and having a smooth power for constant throttle openings on more flowing trails would be nice which is where my 150 can be a slight chore 

[Hans Schmid]

The 250FX will be more effective on tighter, more technical trails than the 150 will ever be... If you're having problems on the 250FX, it won't be the bike, it's all rider... 

[gatorfan]

It's not the FX per se that can suboptimal on very tight tight stuff - it's the EFI. Carbs are smoother off throttle. It's not that the FX is "bad" at very slow speeds, it's just a little jumpy and requires a lot of focus.

[Burger72]

1 hour ago, gatorfan said:

It's not the FX per se that can suboptimal on very tight tight stuff - it's the EFI. Carbs are smoother off throttle. It's not that the FX is "bad" at very slow speeds, it's just a little jumpy and requires a lot of focus.

But surely that is the FX as the efi is part of the bike ? Can it be sorted to be smoother enough to work well at low speed with mapping etc ? 

[ckny]

1 hour ago, gatorfan said:

It's not the FX per se that can suboptimal on very tight tight stuff - it's the EFI. Carbs are smoother off throttle. It's not that the FX is "bad" at very slow speeds, it's just a little jumpy and requires a lot of focus.

So many people make a mountain out of a mole hill about the off throttle feel of these bikes. All EFI bikes do it. You can reduce it with tuning or by bumping the idle. People need to practice throttle control. I don’t feel it’s jumpy at all. We have clutches on our bikes, people really need to start practicing better throttle and clutch control. I ride super tight east coast gnarly and it’s a non issue. Ride a gear higher and use the clutch. 

20 minutes ago, Burger72 said:

But surely that is the FX as the efi is part of the bike ? Can it be sorted to be smoother enough to work well at low speed with mapping etc ? 

It works fine. And yes you can make it smoother. 

[Burger72]

Yep I get what ya saying regarding the clutch for sure, my reservations I guess are from experience with the Ktm 250xcf which has a semi wide ratio box, first wasn’t that low and there’s for you had to use the clutch all the time instead of just crawling or it would stall and it was to be fair pretty jerky and not a nice bike to ride in the slow stuff.

do they come with a fan kit ? 

I take it the gytr tuner is sold separately? 

[ckny]

6 minutes ago, Burger72 said:

Yep I get what ya saying regarding the clutch for sure, my reservations I guess are from experience with the Ktm 250xcf which has a semi wide ratio box, first wasn’t that low and there’s for you had to use the clutch all the time instead of just crawling or it would stall and it was to be fair pretty jerky and not a nice bike to ride in the slow stuff.

do they come with a fan kit ? 

I take it the gytr tuner is sold separately? 

Fan kit is cheap, was $90 and it’s plug and play. I don’t use 1st gear for anything, never have on any bike. Race starts I use 2nd or 3rd. I find that a 52 rear sprocket really makes the gears more usable in tighter terrain. I’m running an FX. My fan almost never comes on. I really need to be torturing the bike for the fan to start. 

[ckny]

The bike lugs great in 2nd and 3rd gear.