late 90 rms and yz

[OscarTHEGrouch]

my friend is buyin a bike soon. what is better for performance and reliability ? the mid 90 to late 90 rm250s or yz250s ? thnaks

[reed1]

I have a 94 yz250 that i havent had any problems with.

Dono if that helps any:thumbsup:

[Gravy Dave]

i have a 99 rm and it rips. im sure you cant go wrong with either brand as long as its not thrashed.

[kennedy327]

I personally would lean twards the yz. I rode a 97rm250 and owned a 01rm250 and the motors on both were not as good. I have a 04 now and its sweet. I also felt the ergos of the rms were bad. But if he is new to riding it shouldnt be an issue. Realiabilty wise they both are good if taken care of.

[CaptDan]

When it comes to the Yamaha's...

1994-1995: GREAT motor, stable but doesn't like to turn. Kind of a pain to work on. "Light switch" rear brake.

1996-1997: Motor not as strong (Long Rod kit helps), ergo's are kind of cramped (top triple clamps w/adjustable bar mounts help), turns much better, brakes improved, new bodywork (same through 2001).

1998: Improved brakes, better rear suspension action (new shock linkage geometry), turns even better.

1999-2001: The return of the 1994 motor! Better fork action. The best of the bunch.

They all are pretty darn tough.

From what little I know about the Suzuki's, the good things (light clutch action, razor-sharp handling) are also their weakness -- toasted clutches (heavier springs help) and twitchy at speed.

Aside from the clutches, I've never known the Suzuki two-strokes to be unreliable.

Good luck!

[clamber]

i know a person with a 99 rm250 and he loves it.

i have a 99 cr250 and i love it also.

[RMXC51]

RMs are widely known for poor clutches and sketchy transmissions. I'd go with a Yamaha just for reliability.

[Billy121]

I raced both RM's ('96 and '97) and YZ's ('98 and '99) 250's back in the late '90's.

They were decent. My favorite of those was the '99 YZ. Great all around bike. The '98 was good, too, but the '99 has a stronger engine.

The only one I would not recommend is the '97 RM. I actually sold it and went back to my '96. I felt it was a step backwards. My '96 RM was a great bike.