My riding technique not match my bike?

[Twoply]

I bought an '97 XR250R last year. The guy I got it from bought it used from a dealer. He had the title and purchase reciept.

He said he had just had the top end done less than 20 hours before I bought it. I rode itthis year doing some intense hillclimbs, but mostly just trails and woods riding. Some of the hills are very very long, so I have the rpms pretty high mostly in 1st and 2nd gear. I always use my clutch to shift, and use the engine to brake a fair amount of time.

A feww weeks ago it started puffing some white smoke. By hte end of the day, it was really pouring out.

I'm assuming that I smoked the rings, so I'm replacing piston and rings.

My question is, Is this a good way to ride this bike? I'm concerned I'm running the rpms too high and engine braking too much and causing unnecessary wear.

THanks in advance guys

Mike

[damone]

I bought an '97 XR250R last year. The guy I got it from bought it used from a dealer. He had the title and purchase reciept.

He said he had just had the top end done less than 20 hours before I bought it. I rode itthis year doing some intense hillclimbs, but mostly just trails and woods riding. Some of the hills are very very long, so I have the rpms pretty high mostly in 1st and 2nd gear. I always use my clutch to shift, and use the engine to brake a fair amount of time.

A feww weeks ago it started puffing some white smoke. By hte end of the day, it was really pouring out.

I'm assuming that I smoked the rings, so I'm replacing piston and rings.

My question is, Is this a good way to ride this bike? I'm concerned I'm running the rpms too high and engine braking too much and causing unnecessary wear.

THanks in advance guys

Mike

You could gear the bike to give you a little taller first or second gear so you get the same wheelspin and torque w/o the high rpms. This is tricky as you mess with one end of the spectrun and it takes from the other.

[dirtsquirt101]

Your riding technique is not the problem. The guy probably lied about the engine work or it wasn't a quality job. Sounds like the perfect excuse to go for a big bore kit.

[GTXR]

How often and how much smoke is it emitting?? When does it do it?? It may not be rings!! does it smoke light Blue when you rev it up a few times in neutral?? And no you wont wear anything out riding it the way that you are!!! Trust me my 94 get worked like that every ride and its got 16500km on it and I havnt been into the engine yet. It does smoke a little blue now but not worth taking it apart for yet. Just my 2c's

[Twoply]

It was smoking all the time. It started out as a little cloud after a few hours of riding, then by the end of the day it was pouring out. I've already pulled the engine and gave it to my mechanic. He's going over it this week.

[Mechs]

For hill climbing you`ll be better to use bigger rear sprocket. The smoke would be thanks to piston rings - they can lays in the grooves cause of bad oil. When you warm up the engine and ride on high turns - the rings are lay out.

[cstem]

All great replies- but what we need is some answers from the owner here before we diagnose his issue.

Twoply- How many hours did you ride it? Add that to the 20 the previous siad he rode it, add about six more, and multiply by 1.2 since he probably used innferior oil and didn't change it often enough. Were you pretty good about oil changes? Did you change the oil when you bought it beroe you rode it? Did the previous owner replace the valve stem seals ever?

Two- don't toss the baby out with the bath water. I raced a 93 XR250 for three years in hare scrambles with a 280 kit and cam. I was pretty quick and beat the crap out of it. I always changed oil (after every hard ride, filter after three), used good oil, and checked valves often. These bikes are good when built properly, taken care of, and loved. In fact I will go on to say that for the money- they are the best trail bike for hard riding on the planet. If you or I are getting beat by a newer bike on the trail- it is not thier bike beating you or me. So I would say- take this time to build it right, build it strrong, take care of it and see what happens. There are too many variables here to blame your riding style or techniques yet or ever. You need a do-over with more fair rules!