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I am looking for a lighter bike around or under 2000 dollars and my state has a green/red sticker program where basically you can only ride older bikes during mid spring, summer and beginning of fall. I am pretty small, around 5'5-5'7 and i am currently just using a Honda XR600R with an aloop gas tank+seat and a lowering link. It is just way too big and heavy for me and any mistakes i make i cannot correct, i pretty much always let the bike do what it wants. Steel frame YZs are cheap and fall within the year gap i need to ride this summer, And i am wondering if that is better or worst than the Honda XR line up as far as seat height and ergonomics go. Since they are readily available and lighter than my current bike i am very interested in them. I know the steel frame 4 strokes from 1998-2004 are just huge and stupid heavy a lot like my xr600 which is why they are off the table.

Just got my fresh cylinder and topend kit in the mail and when disassembling the old topend there is wear on power valve. Wondering if I should clearance it or if the stops may be worn. Will post picture soon just need to clean it up.

Just acquired a CR 125 and found it may not B the best for off road racing (have very little in it and will rebuild it and resale it). But I also ran across a 02 YZ 250, engine is in the shop being rebuilt now but the price is good for me. Good for the woods or not? I did notice he's putting a Nervana piston in it so I'll likely pull that and install a Vortex asap. post up any good wood moad's you recommend.

Is there other good places to find project bikes other than Craigslist, Offerup and FB Marketplace? I am looking for 2strokes frome the year 2000 or newer. Yamaha, Suzuki, kawasaki, Honda, KTM ect.

First off I don’t post on here a whole lot but sometimes I just need a little guidance haha. While changing my oil I noticed a bunch of real fine filings of metal. I was reading up on it and people were saying I could be clutch plates failing so I just changed the oil and ran the bike about 30minutes. The bike ran perfectly fine so I just thought it may have been clutch plates. Drained the oil right after the ride to check it out and there were the same filings. Decided to take the clutch side of the case off and found chunks of metal (not aluminum) at the bottom of the case. I’m just wanting to know if chunks of metal could make their way from the inside transmission part of the case to the clutch side of the case. Would people recommend completely splitting the case to inspect or just tear down the clutch side?

Hey guys, I’ve been searching and know the answer pre 2015, BUT, will the 2015+ yz250 rear shock fit the pre 2015 (my 2007)? Just found out my brothers bike came with new 2015+ forks but has a 2003-2004 rear shock want to match if possible. I promised I’ve searched, thanks -Jay

Hey so I just purchased a yz 250 which needs a bottom end the rod bearing was froze to the crank. And the guy I purchase it from said he installed years ago a long rod stroker in the engine. It had the 5mm spacer plate in it and everything. So I need to get a new rod now and I’m just wondering where I can find one, I searched the internet and it seems what I found is that the 1988 yz had a 5mm longer rod. So I was wondering if that would work in my 94 yz with no problems? And also what is the advantage of running a long rod? And if that rod won’t work does anyone know where I could find a 5mm longer rod for a 94 YZ? Thanks for you help.

So I have a 2002 YZ 250 that’s torn down for full restoration. I just had the bottom end rebuilt and when I got the motor back from the shop decided to clean it up. I used a dremel and brass wire wheel to clean it up and it looked great till the oxidation started. I wasn’t thinking about whatever protective coating Yamaha had applied 19 years ago. What can I do at this point to make it look right?

Need some feedback on front end preload, '20 YZ250: Something that has bothered me for as long as I've had this bike, is that the front end only settles (sags) about an inch when I sit on the bike - doesn't seem to preload as much as I think it should. I expect it should settle at least a couple of inches, but this bike being my only experience with the SS forks, I'm not sure these are designed to behave the same way as other bikes I've owned. I'm happy with the feel of the forks when riding, and I've played with the damping enough to be satisfied I've got it set where I want it. I'm not bottoming the front end (save for my occasional crappy approach to a roller section) , but I'm using 95% of the travel. Rebound is where I want it - doesn't top out, but it never packs either. But the lack of preload bothers me because I do have to be very deliberate about weighting the front end in turns to avoid push out, which lines up with the front end not being compressed enough through a turn. My question is; should I expect the SS forks to preload roughly the same amount as others, or is there something different about the SS system that I should not expect much preload (sag)? I can't find anything in the manual that addresses static preload of the front end - manual only addresses the rear. I'm thinking it may be time to play with different front springs, but I welcome opinions before I do that.

Okay im not sure if this is a problem or not but it kinda bothers me. I have a 2004 yz250. I had jetting problems with it but I believe I have fixed it (in a way) the stock main jet was 178 and pilot was a 50. Stock needle at 2 clip position. That jetting ran fine for 2 years at 500ft elevation. Earlier this month it seems to sputter and bog at high rpms ans not hit the powerband and it would bog just riding bumpy trails too and hitting hills it would bog BAD! I checked reeds ans they are fine. I repacked the silencer and I checked power valves for carbon build up ans they seemed fine and it all moved good ans smooth. So I bought a JD jetting kit and the pilot jet i have in now is a 45 and it called for the main jet to be 172 and red needle at 3rd position for my elevation. I took it to the trails and it still was bogging at high rpms and riding bumpy trails. So I changed the main jet to a 168 it had in the kit and the top end power was fine after that it hit the powerband and stuff but low end it wasn't great so I moved the clip position from the 3rd to the first at the top to lean it out and it seemed to help. It doesn't bog low end or anything but it seems the first 1/4 throttle it tends to bog just a tad. So my question is how can I fix that little bog and is my jetting okay for what elevation im at? Is it too lean?? It seems to me some other people run their main jet at 172 for 500 ft elevation. Thank you for reading and your responses! I'll be sure to check here every now and then to get the problem fixed.

I have a 2000 yz250 i grabbed in pieces. Its a real POS. PO had 2004 forks, trees on it with both nuts 1-2 turns on only ! Danger. Anyways i bought a 2000 model lower clamp to swap the stem to the longer one i need. Just curious as to what kinda force it is going to take to do so, anybody out there done this?

Will 250x clutch springs make my clutch pull lighter on my 05 yz 250?

2015 yz 250. Just putting my bike back together and when trying to hook up the clutch cable I find that the mount Is not in the right place and am unable to hook the cable together. I’m thinking I will have to split the case in order to correct.

I was wondering how far i can get on a full 8 litres of gas on my 2013 yz250 i run 40-1 with motul 800 oil and premium gas im not sure how much of a difference the oil and all that would make i also have v force 3 reeds and pro circut header fmf silencer but again i cant imagine those parts make any difference.

I have a 2008 YZ250, and my lower fork lug is damaged. I can get a set of outer tubes with lugs of of a 2017, will my internals From the 2008 fit?

Hey everybody long time no post ! Stoked to have a bike again after having to sell my ‘15 125 to finish my bathroom remodel. Anyways, I bought the bike the guy said he had just replaced the top end. Never said why and I didn’t ask. So I take the bike out and it doesn’t really want to run right unless the choke is on until it’s realllly warmed up. I also notice the power is suuper on or off, very hard to be smooth with the throttle. I know it’s not right because I used to have a brand new ‘07 YZ 250. Then, I also noticed too much oil coming out the pipe, and thought oh that’s probably a crank seal. So I take the bike out last weekend and did a full day riding and right at the end the RPM’s went up briefly then bog and shut off. Well I’ve been here before so I knew it was the top end. Sure enough no compression when I checked the kick starter. Took it home and opened it up. Probably about one or two cups of coolant came out when draining (so basically none). The piston has major wear, cylinder seems fixable, it got so hot the cylinder head o-rings MELTED and started squeezing out the sides. I’ll try to attach some photos. So basically I’m trying to avoid this happening again so I’d like to figure out what happened. Leaking crank seals can cause a lean condition right? Then if it ran lean for 3 rides I probably burned all the coolant out? Then the excessive heat caused premature piston wear? My plan is to replace the crank seals, fix cylinder, and new top end. I also confirmed no vertical slop in the crank. I also checked coolant level when I bought the bike and it was full. I also notice there was clearly trans oil on the crank lobes. Would love to hear your guys’ thoughts! Greg

Hi guys ,,I’ve been keeping an eye out for a few years for a 94-97 wr 250z motor or gear box to swap into my 97 yz250 ... I finally found a bought a complete 93 wr 250z motor ( by accident , I thought it was 94).. will the 93 wrz transmission swap into my 97? Or have I wasted my money a quick parts search revealed the only difference in gearbox parts in the main trans axle. all cogs etc are the same. thanks

Hey guys, my son and I are going tomorrow to look at a 96 YZ250 for him. I’m a big bore thumper guy so what are the positives and negatives of this year? Aside from the normal stuff we always look for on a used bike, is there something I should be aware of to look closer at? Also, what is the power like on these? Does it come on strong or is it a bit more linear? Some back ground as to why I’m asking.....my son is 13 but about 6’ tall and built like a farm boy. He started with a little XR70, then bumped up to a RM65 and he hated it. Didn’t like the aggressive power band and likes to play on trails and open fields. So, ditched that when he got bigger and got a TTR230 thumper that fit him well and was perfect for the woods etc. now he’s outgrown it by a lot and is on the two stroke kick again. He is not interested in racing but likes to mess around with track stuff as we have a big play ground at my in-laws. My point is that he changes his mind and interests a lot and I’m a little worried that he might miss the woods riding. Can the YZ be capable of being an all round bike? Also, he’s a cocky kid and his attitude exceeds his ability at this point. He handled the RM just fine to my surprise but 🤷🏻‍♂️ Jerry

I’m putting together my 96 YZ250 and can’t figure out where the clutch and throttle cables should be routed. I am in able to find it a n my service manual as well

06 yz250. I am looking for an aluminum throttle tube. Who makes them at a decent price? I also need to be able to run barkbusters. Thanks.

Anyone run 90 octane? There is a place near me that sells 90 octane ethanol free. That’s the highest octane I can get in ethanol free.

The warranty situation with Yamaha is dragging on. At this point, I am heavily considering just buying another bike. Theres an oil leak, might be the crank case, might not. I don't know anymore- not the point. I had a talk with my wallet because I just wanted to have fun on a motorcycle, and that's not happening. Full price, tax, fees, I paid 8500 OTD. What is something like this worth? What would you pay? SS brake line, 9 oz fww, braking cm46 front pads, FC springs for ~200 lb, 0.6 hours.

How do I stop a lean hanging idle? My bike runs lean and has a hanging idle only if it’s tipped over and some fuel drains out of the carb. Jetting is perfect at 175/45, n3ew 2nd clip, 1-1/2 turns out at sea level and 90 degrees with apex sx head and full pc pipe.

Have a notched clutch basket in my '02 YZ250 dinosaur. Planning Rekluse Core manual clutch with factory fibers. Want the smooth, consistent, controllable action of the anodized billet hub and smooth edges on the laser-cut steels. Like the open pressure plate for improved oil circulation. Rekluse seems to be the most cost-effective option for all that, and it's good enough for Cody Webb's Sherco, so it's good enough for my slow arse. Need to pick a basket. These are the options as I can sort them out: OE: Crappy die cast with no anodizing and will notch again fairly quickly. Haven't priced it out, but it seems unlikely to be much cheaper than better aftermarket parts. Hinson/GYTR/Moose: All the same, just different logos. 6061 billet anodized. GYTR is definitely the lowest cost version, ~$220. Generally lasts very well, but no financial protection against wearout. Wiseco: Forged (alloy unknown) anodized with PTFE sealer. Lifetime warranty, including against notching. Reports from 10+ years ago suggest that might be less than stellar in fulfillment, but didn't find any recent complaints. ~$240. Pro-X: Catalog mentions forging and 7075 alloy, anodized with PTFE sealer. Sold by Wiseco and looks a lot like a Wiseco, but no lifetime warranty. Cheapest option at ~$175, but assuming it inevitably wears, will have to buy again. Might actually be a better option than Hinson if just using the basket. Barnett/MSR: MSR is private label Barnett. Includes replaceable steel inserts on the basket, so it's unlikely to wear notches and if it does, it can be rebuilt inexpensively. Some worry about the inserts coming loose, but zero reports of it actually happening that I can find. To the extent that the steel adds back in some inertia, the flywheel effect is fine as the Rekluse will be lighter than stock and I run a Steahly anyway. Cost is on par, ~$230 for the Barnett brand. I think that covers all the credible options. I don't think any of the aftermarket options are going to be bad. I'm leaning toward the Barnett due to the cost, resistance to wear, and strategy for dealing with wear if it does occur. Any wisdom out there that I have missed? Anyone with hundreds of hours on a Pro-X and no notches?

I recently found this advertisement around my area on kijiji for a keihin carb for 50$ canadian. The owner states it’s off a 1984 cr 250. I was thinking for this price it would be worth it to have a spare. I’d obviously have to change the jetting and tune it. The carb itself looks exactly like the one on my bike at the moment. I was looking for a float for my yz 125, called the dealer and they said it was going to cost 90$, so I’m thinking it would be worth it to buy this carb for my yz 250 If it fits.