anyway to lighten up my bike

[yamahayz125rider]

hi i have a 96 yz 250 and itsquite heavy i think dry weight is 230 pounds not 100% sure tho, i mean im not a woose and i dont really care so much that its heavy, i just wanted to post a thread for something to do, but i would like to hear your guys pinions on lightening it up cause it would help, the frame is steel and so is the subframe, i dont want to put another frame or sub frame on it, i just want to know if there is an inexpensive way to lighten the bike up , with out making it look retarded , so comments would be appreciated, it is a nice bike for a 96 hoe do i post picture of it on here ?

[ktm200xc 457racer]

Aluminum spockets, lighter chain, lighter tires, tubless, aluminum sub frame, drill 1/2 holes in bottom of seat, renthal bars...

[sro2004]

Eat right and work your butt off for a few months. Cheapest and easiest way to save weight...

[RCannon]

The 96-98 were about 10lbs heavier than the later bikes. Most of the extra weight is in the engine, which is not easy to do anything about. If your going after major weight savings, ti will cost thousands in titanium and carbon parts. It would be easier, and cheaper, to trade the bike. How can we tell him to lose weight when we dont even know what he looks like? He might weight 95 pounds and be 6'10.

[CaptDan]

The '96 YZ was a nice bike with a competitive weight... in its time.

But compared to newer bikes, ANY bike from that era was overbuilt; with beefy, sturdy, and cheap-to-produce components.

Sadly, about the quickest and cheapest way to reduce the weight of your '96 is to swap in parts from newer bikes.

The seat and subframe from a 2000-2001 YZ look almost identical to the parts on your bike, but will surprise you with how light they are compared to the '96 pieces.

But your '96 will give you a greater return at trade-in time if you don't throw silly money at it now, so your best bet is to just ride the trusty, reliable, durable, and yes, heavy old '96 and start saving money for a newer machine.

[usdualsports]

+1 on ride what you got, and when you NEED to replace parts like sprockets, foot pegs, and so on then look for lighter ones.

[yamahayz125rider]

ok im around 5 9 and i weigh 150 pounds . so its not me thats heavy , i guess im just gonna have to get used to the weight, and buy lighter parts when the ones on it wear out, but im gonna put a newer aluminum sub frame on it this winter though, not anytime soon but sometime i might have to do an 05 to 12 aluminum frame swap out even if it needs some modification , i had an 01 yz 125 and that bike was pretty light feeling , oh ya and can someone tell me how to post pics on here i click insert image and insert link i do that and it doesnt work

[yamahayz125rider]

ok i figured out how to post pics , i wanted to show you that this bike is pretty nice especially for being a 96

[USED YZ426F]

I remember an article that was in one of the cycle mags back in the '80s where they went all out to lighten one of the motocrossers of the day (I think it was a Honda CR250).

They went with all titanium hardware (engine bolts too), machined titanium axles and cross drilled them also. I also remember that they drilled holes in the levers to reduce their weight. I believe they changed the pipe and muffler to lighter ones that were still factory OEM (from a different model).

If I remember correctly, it was an air-cooled bike, so they drilled holes in the cooling fins also.

After all of the work, I remember that they were actually below the AMA mandated weight for a bike in its class.

There were no single huge weight savings, but by saving a few grams here, and a couple ounces there, the were able to cut several pounds off the bike.

I remember thinking that it was a cool article, but really not practical for the average rider. It would be cool to find a reprint of the article just to reread what they did.

[RCannon]

Yes, we need you to diet down to 98 lbs for a weight savings of 52lbs. Plus you'll make money doing so since you'll buy less food.

As far as bike weight goes, who cares? It is fun to have an ultralight bike. BUT, not to the point where reliability suffers. Look at the modern day 4 strokes. Imagine how much stronger they would be, especially the engines, if they were allowed to gain 20 lbs? In a lot of ways, thats how the older yz's were built.

Remember the semi-recent Dirt Rider article that had the 199lb ktm 300? The one with the two stroke ti pipe? They spent huge dollars on it and saved 10 lbs. Very cool, but is it worth it?

Another thing, have you noticed the 96-98 bikes rarely have transmission issues? Sometimes an extra pound or two is good.

[yamahayz125rider]

i dont need t loose weight im a skinny 16 year old, im not scrawny skinny tho, but anyways i have no problems with the weight o the bike hen riding er i just notice hoe heavy it is when i lift it up onto the stand , but saying how the bike is built big and beafy strong and is quite reliable bike for the most part , it gives more respect for the bike then i did before , the bike is a bear and a quick one at that , lol

[kenpowell]

I weighed my '03 YZ265-WR engine last month before I dropped the engine in the frame: 55 lbs without carb but with a 13 oz FWW. Wished that I had weighed my YZ290F-WR when I had it out of the frame doing the WR conversion.

[CL13579]

There is a thread I started a couple of years ago about a CRF230 project. I was able to remove 45 pounds from the bike. Check my history, and it might give you a few ideas.

[RCannon]

I dont know why it took me so long to do the math on this. Somehow, it feels like a 96 is a"few years" old...not 17. The bike looks great, and still runs great. Any complaint is ridiculous.

Is anything being built now going to be running 17 years from now? Would we be talking about hopping it up? Maybe its time to thank them for building it so strong.

[capt justin]

remove the brakes, saves a lot of weight and they only slow you down anyway, you dont need them. JK maybe hit the gym, work a little upper body. You'll be suprised how quick it will help, improves stamina also.

[BDubb106]

Romove the motor and throw some pedals on it!!! J/K.

My 96 is becomming a beast, and still getting better! Of course I have thousands invested in it but who cares! I get a thrill by going out and spanking guys on thier 2012 250fs and 450s on my 17 year old pinger! ? Point being you dont need a brand new bike to go out and have fun or be competetive!!!

OP: Ive modded my bike quite a bit since purchase, but you'd be surprised at how much of a difference the later subframe and seat make... (00-01, since its a direct swap). I thought the bike was heavy in the rear and with the new subframe you can immediately tell that its lighter in the rear. Ive also upgraded forks, and pegs,... also some lighter weight aftermarket parts like sprocket, chain, wheels, bars, guards, and it made a huge difference as well, although in reality all those mods probably saved me maybe 1 or 2LBS which may be an exaggeration. On the track I cant feel the difference!

Here is a pic of my 96 as proof that they can be made to work!

My friends still laugh at me when they ask what bike Im riding today at the track and I tell them, the 96. Its just so much fun to go out to the track and beat the snot outta them and at the end of the day ask them how it felt to be roosted by a "worn out, out of date POS". Anything that doesnt have a alum. frame is "too old" according to them.

[CaptDan]

I dont know why it took me so long to do the math on this. Somehow, it feels like a 96 is a"few years" old...not 17. The bike looks great, and still runs great. Any complaint is ridiculous.

Is anything being built now going to be running 17 years from now? Would we be talking about hopping it up? Maybe its time to thank them for building it so strong.

“You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to RCannon again.”

ftball90...

BEAST!

[BDubb106]

LOL not quite...

Sad thing about these old bike is that by the time you replace the piston and replate the cylinder your not gonna get your money back outta the bike unless the absolutely right person comes along. Im an honest seller and would never sell a bike thats not 100% mechanically sound when it leaves the garage. So it comes to the point where you say, why not make this bike as good as it can possibly be. Maybe Im stupid for my thinking, but it sure is fun.

Dont know why this never crossed my mind but maybe why Ive never gotten rid of any bike other than my 450 as well...? Collecting them is an easier pill to swallow, since your technically giving money away!

[RCannon]

You know whats even crazier than them being 17 years old? I'm not sure you could do this with a 96-98, but for sure you could with a 99. Actually, you could with a 96-99 but it would take a 94 cylinder, Noleen pipe, and long rod kit.

But once you did this to the engine, and had the suspension revalved, the bike could arguably be as good as a 2012. Is there any other motorcycle you could say this about?

[USED YZ426F]

All I know is that my bikes in the garage right now are light years better in the reliability department when compared to the crap that was around in the '70s and early '80s.

I remember going camping with the bikes when I was a kid and we literally took a complete set of tools and several spare parts and hoped that the bikes would run the whole weekend. Ride for a couple hours and then break out the wrenches and work for a few hours.

When I got back in to riding a few years back, I created another complete took kit to take with me to the track along with a bunch of miscellaneous parts. I have since pared my traveling tool kit to a couple wrenches, some screwdrivers, a few sockets, and a couple sparkplugs and inner tubes. I haven't had a flat or fouled a plug in over four years. But I know the moment I take those out of the kit, I'll be stuck somewhere.