01 Rm250 reliability

[Adam Hausler]

Hi guys I was wondering what your experience is with the 01 Rm250, I am looking at buying one and wonder if it is a fairly reliable bike? I read somewhere there is a problem with the cylinders cracking around the intake ports. The bike has very low hours and priced right just wondering what you think about the bike in general also.

Thanks Adam Hausler

01 drz400e

96 rmx250

[MountainDog]

I had an '01 for 3 years, never heard about any cylinder issues. I did hear of 3rd gear heat treating issues that resulted in tranmission failures from broken gears. My tranny blew up, but I also neglected changing the oil very often.

When I got my '04, the Suzuki/Yamaha dealer mentioned he had no trans issues on any RMs he's had, and took me over to the oil section and loaded me up with Yamalube Trans Oil Plus and said to change it after every ride and I won't have problems. I've done that on my '04 and the trans and clutch feel new to this day. Now some might say changing every ride is excessive, but doing it often is the key...don't try every 6 months like I did!

So if the bike you are looking at has low hours and frequent oil changes, you should be in good shape. Change the oil often, keep the air filter clean, and run a good 2-stroke oil (I use Yamalube 2-R) at 32:1 and you should be fine.

The '01 was a huge step up from the '99 (which I had) which was also a huge step from the '97 I had. The '01 isn't too much different than my '04 by the way, so you should feel a nice step up from your '96 RMX.

[Adam Hausler]

Thanks for the information, I am always nervous about buying used since I have had bad experiences before.

Adam Hausler