03' RM250, buyers remorse

[tonyromero]

Took the RM out for the first ride today. I didn't really get to open it up because of the break in ritual but for the type of riding I do I think I would have just as soon stayed with the DRZ which made much more usable low end torque than the RM seems to. The RM seemed to be unhappy unless the throttle was wide open while the DRZ was content to chugg along up hills and through twisty tight trails. Since I do not race motocross and ride strictly trails I think perhaps I made an error in judgement. I will give it another try tomorrow. Also the whole mixing gas and kick starting was a chore after coming off the electric start. I think perhaps a better choice for me would have been the WR450 or WR250. Would a flywheel weight help me come to terms with the bike? Oh, by the way, the bike DID come with the real service manual!

 

[marcusgunby]

Sounds like the low speed jetting may need altering-however it maybe just as you are running in the plug is not getting upto temp and causing low speed issues-once ran in and opened up it may run alot better.

 

[DEANSFASTWAY]

Yeah you goota get used to that type of powerband also . Wait until the next few rides . Suzukis 2strokes always seemed a bit light on power but easy to ride and feel light. Maybe its just so much easier to ride than the thumper being so much lighter and all .

 

[Rcannon]

It took me thre or four rides before I stopped missing my Dr 350 as compared to the YZ 250 I bought. The low end power and torque were very easy to manage as compared to the YZ.


I dropped one tooth on the front sproket. I ended up going back to stock eventually, but this helped eliminate that feel like the engine was going to stall all the time. I finally learned to trust the engine. It does not have the low end torque that the old 350 had, but it has enough.

Take the bike off of a jump. This helped me forget abotu my DR. My back did not hurt the next day! Enjoy loading the machine without getting a hernia.

I was all set to get a flywheel, but I put it off. I may try one sometime, but it is no urgent deal.

The change is tough, but for me, I could not go back to my old 350 after 6 months on the YZ.

 

[tonyromero]

I have done some research and have read up on the FMF gnarly pipe to improve the low end. Any of you guys try this out with any success?

 

[Vytas]

Send your cylinder to Eric Gorr and tell him you want all kinds of low end power.  I am sure that he can accommodate your needs, and it will cost less thana FMF pipe.  I have a '02 DRZ400S and a '01 RM250.  Even though the DRZ is fun to ride and does have a different power delivery, lots of low end torque, if I had to chose one bike to ride all the time it would definately be the RM.  But then again I race MX and love the hard hitting 2 stroke power band.  Give it some time.

 

[The^^Rock]

I thaught the same after comming off the XR250 to my new 03 CR250.

Just ride it and it will come to you how to ride it.  The bike should be good for you, you just need to let your body figure out how to ride it.  I know you probally know in your head that the power is up high etc but you need to teach your body that so that you do it without thinking. If u get what I mean :)

The Novalty of pre mixing does wear off quickley, what I seem to do these days is go down to the servo and fill up a 20 litre can with 19 litres and then mix in the amount when I get home.  Just give it a shake before you ever use it.  It makes the process alot quicker doing it in "bulk".   Kick starting is not very hard at all on a 2 smoke, you'll get used to it :)

I think you made a good decision.  I love my CR twice as much as the XR, its just basically a hell of alot more fun.   But remember when I first got it I was thinking the exact oppisate thing?  Stick with it

 

[dunebiker]

I put a Bills Pipe on my RM250 and the low-end power is better, actually power is better everywhere. Ride it for a while, you will adapt to it and learn to like it better the longer you ride it. I just rebuilt the top end (piston & rings) after having four strokes I really love the simplicity of the two stroke motor.

 

[Nevada Sixx]

whatever you do, dont just jump up and sell it cheap cause it freaks you out to own one, give it some time, set it up for woods,, i am thinking of the rm also,, but i'll be adding a flyweight, low gearing, a tall soft seat, kick stand, and hand guards, and a reed spacer to make it woods ready.

 

[lencode]

i added a fmf gnarly pipe + silencer,stealy 8ounce flywheel,steel clutch plates and a vforce reed valve with these mods my 03 rm has the best woods power ever!

 

[Bazooka Joe]

I own a 02 RM250, so my input won't be 100% applicable, but here is some info I can offer after owning a 01 and 02 RM250.

1) A FWW will make a world of difference to reduce stalling and increase tractability. My current 02 has a 13oz, but your 03 will likely need a lighter FWW since the 03 have a heavier flyweight from the factory.
2) The FMF gnarly pipe smoothed the power nicely on the 02. Also the G pipe tucks in + upwards much better than a stocker.

3) As stated, give the bike some time for you to adapt. Once you get the hang of a motobike in the woods, you'll wish you'd done it sooner.

4) Kickstand is not needed. The woods are full of kickstands already.

 

[Studboy]

I like the kickstand (bolt on) on my KX. 4 bolts and it is on, 4 bolts and it is off. How can you complain? Life off-road is great with a kickstand.

 

[bclapham]

tony: work with you jetting and set up and go have fun. after this point you can think about the porting for low to mid, it worked well for me, maybe even better on the RM since they are reknowned for being top enders! i am about to put the flywheel weight on mine, ive read a bit and a lot of people are wrongly believe it adds more bottom end but it doesnt it just helps to stop wheelspin and thus, aid hook up.... i will let you know how this works out. in the mean time, why not takr it ouut to an MX track and have some fun cutting up the guys on the big thumpers

 

[JMD]

Hey, there are just some riders who are better off with four-stroke power. The RM250 can be ridden in the woods, but it's not the ideal enduro bike, no matter what mods you make. The 250F is really more like a 125; you won't be happy with it's meager low-end power. You might want to look at the YZ450 (though I hear they're heavy and have pretty brutal power) or a KTM 400 or 450. The pumpkins are easy to ride, have the magic button, and are reasonably light. But get the bike that suits you best; don't stick with a mistake just because you feel you have to "get used" to it. Give it a little more time, but then, if you still feel you want more trail-friendly power, look around for something else. There is a big world of motorcycles out there. Why settle for less than you want?

 

[Chief]

Not Happy unless it's wide open. My exact words after I bought my '01. Words could not express how tough it was to ride in the woods especially. Bucked like crazy unless I was on it hard. Things are much much better now and I really like my bike for woods. For awhile I thought I was going to have to give up on it.

Send the top end to Eric Gore. He has been through this with others and for a very good price will make your bike run as you want it to. (I unfortunately had to seize mine up before I sought his services.) When I got the top end back I was able to work things out for myself (w/drn of course).

The Flywheel weight would be a great addition. I have always intended on getting one, but put it off. It's to the point for me where I know it would be a great asset for woods, yet I've gotten used to it enough to where I don't mind the hit. Another thing I did before I got used to the hit was reduce the tension on the PV spring. It ran flatter at low rpms, but a lot smoother. I now have it set to stock. Everything on the bike is stock and I like it.

The forks on my 01 are great for mx, but a nightmare offroad. I am having them re-valved very soon. If that works out as well as I'm hoping, I'll have absolutely no complaints about the bike. It will be perfect for my riding. My bike runs well on amoco 93 and either amsoil or mobil mx2t at 32:1.

Kinda sucks to have to send out for work when you are dying to ride, but it's better than what happened to me. I jetted until it ran pretty good, but the jetting was too lean, and the fuel I was using caused detonation. So I basically blew my new bike up after a month and had to have the bore re-plated as well.

Good Luck, Don't be too disheartened. You'll get the results you want with a little patience.

Joe Chief

 

[Nevada Sixx]

hey, now that you had your rm a while now, did you begin to like it?,did you fix the jetting? give us an up to date report on owning a new rm...

 

[GeoffM24]

While I don't have an 03 RM I do have a 99 and from what I have read the 99 was the most powerful until the 03 motor. Mine is also known as a mid to top end screamer.

Because I ride both woods and tracks I added a FMF Gnarly exhaust, FMF Shorty silencer, a RAD valve and leaned out the jetting a bit.

How did it change the bike? I have no idea LOL :laugh: right now it is sitting downstairs in my basement waiting for the snow to melt.

Since I learned to ride in the woods on a YZ125 I know what a MX bike does in the woods. If you think a 250 is tough try a 125.

I will say once you get used to a MX bike a 4stroke enduro bike feels like a tank.

 

[MX2_motorex]

thats the difference between a forstroke and a twostroke

 

[Camstyn]

I just saw his 03 RM250 for sale at Thumpertalk.

Great price for anyone interested.

 

[Lissa]

Life with a 2str is not hard, just different.  The riding style are rather different and will require time and patience on your part to adapt.  Next thing is set-up.  I have converted MX bikes for off-road use with great results.  Have your suspension revalved and resprung(if needed) by an off-road suspension expert (like WER),  purchase a 10 ounce fly wheel weight to help with stalling at low RPM's, and add two additional teeth to the rear sprocket (to help put the power lower in the gears). 

 

The MX bikes I convert are for competeing in nasty tight Eastern Enduros.  The bikes that we've (my boyfriend in on this too) built are capable of almost anything.  Our bikes have even done two-day dualsports (all I did was change the final gearing a little) without any fuss, just remeber to bring a little bottle of oil for the gas stops.  IMO any properly set-up MX bike can be every bit as good if not better then any currently available off-road bikes, at least for what I do with mine.  I have ridden alot of bikes and if I wanted to set-up a DRZ, KLX, KDX or EXC to my liking I would still spend just as much altering it as I would for converting a MX bike.  But thats just me, for your situation you should at least give the bike a proper set-up and get use to riding it.  If you still feel uncomfortable then call it a loss and find a bike more suiting to your needs.  I have spoken to many riders who are uncapable of being able to ride a MX bike off-road (most of them never bothered to set it up correctly either...).  A converted MX bike is alot of fun for a fairly aggressive rider.  If you prefer to cruise and soak in the surroundings then maybe a milder bike like the DRZ would be better for you.  The DRZ and bikes like them are alot of fun to ride.  They just have trade offs depending what you want do with them (competeing or dual sporting?).  Seriously consider a proper set up before giving up.  Good luck and I hope it works out! :yeehaw:      

 

[Rcannon]

Lissa, how about building a bike that is decent for both??? Is this really possible. I ride about equal offroad and tracks.

I have two fuel tanks, so this is not a problem. What mods cross over well to both conditions.

I know this is asking too much. I want a factory YZ 250 that is also able to follow my nephew on his XR 50.

 

[Lissa]

When you start a build up on a stock MXer, its like a blank canvas. As you add and adapt the bike it becomes more specialized. You can adapt one bike for both, but then its like a dualsport bike. Not great off-road or great on a track but it can do both. Meaning: You'll still get arm pump off-road because the suspension will have trouble soaking up the little stuff and the bike might be still too plush on the track. It's easier to just dedicate one machine to one purpose but it doesn't always work like that.

To create a jack of all trades I would as always first start with the suspension. Find a reputable suspension expert and explain to him the terrian, your skill level, and types of riding you plan to do. He will then revalve and respring (if needed) to best suit your specific situation. A good suspension guy will also give you a sheet of recomended rebound and compression clicker settings for your shock and forks. If you tell him that you plan to do a little of both he will valve your suspension middle of the road and provide clicker adjustments for both MX and off-road. You will proabably have to fine tune the settings to your liking but his shouldn't be far off.

A steering stabilizer is one of my favorite additions to my bike. Bolting on a stabilizer is like adding power steering. The front end dances around less and is easier to control resulting in less rider fatigue. A lot of freestyle guys (no-hander lander...) are using them now as well so I see no reason where it couldn't be a plus on a rough outdoor track.

A flywheel weight is almost a must off-road on most machines to help prevent stalling, but on my boyfriends '02 YZ 250 we haven't needed to add one. The bike is so tractable stock (even in PA's nastiest rock sections) that we've haven't even thought about it. Some riders would still feel the need to add one and it doesn't hurt to have one. Both my KX and CR(f/s) are equipped with flywheel weights to aid with low rpm stalling. It would be a matter of your opinion if you would require one or if you would want to use it or lose it while at the track. They are cheap enough that if you don't already have one that it wouldn't be too costly to try.

Final gearing is important too. At home here in our nasty stick farms I prefer adding two teeth to the back sprocket to bring the power and the hit on sooner in the gears. This combo feels fine to me even when I have ventured on a track to goof off. Again , this would be your personal preference on what will work best for you.

I like doing 18in rear wheel conversions as well for off-road use. Your less inclined to get a flat tire with a 18in rim then a 19in. I would explain how and why but it while gobble up too much space. I would tamper with motor mods if you feel it needs a improvement somwhere. I personally can overlook small performance flaws as long as the suspension works well. I worry about the motor more or less after my suspension feels good. (can't ride hard if your arms are pumped up, power is useless then) Start with your suspension and go from there. Suspension work isn't very cheap but it is the most cost effective mod.

 

[Rcannon]

Lissa, thanks. Great post.

 

[kev_rm]

lower the gearing (a lot, like 12/52 if you don't need any high speed stuff), get it jetted right, add a FWW. If you don't like that, then get it ported. I haven't done the porting yet, the FWW made the biggest difference. I also added torque reeds, but those were a big compromise in my opinion.