2000 rm250 lack of bottom end

[250girl]

My 2000 rm 250 seems to have an abnormal lack of bottom end. It's got an FMF Gnarly on it, wiseco piston, runs awesome, never had any engine problems with it. I'm currently riding it, and it is perfectly rideable. It's been like this since I got it. I am used to it and don't really see a problem, it gets me everywhere I want to go. But Dad really complains that it has no bottom end, and so have a few other people. Today I rode a yz125 wich I hear don't have the best bottom end as bikes go. I was utterly dismayed at how much more bottom end it has than my 250!

So I am wondering what the problem could be. I thought the Gnarly was supposed to give it more bottom end? Dad is suggesting that the powervalve may not be correctly adjusted. Could this be the case? The bike has an explosive top end, goes like stink, no problems there.

Any tips or suggestions on what might be wrong, or what might give it more power would be appreciated.
Thanks agian,
250girl

 

[spark250]

could be the powervalve.

 

[Rich Rohrich]

Along with powervalve operation, incorrect jetting, lack of compression from worn parts, and worn reeds are all common causes of problems like this.

 

[250girl]

Allright, when Dad gets home tonight I will allow him to mess with my powervalve.(He's been wanting to do it for a while.... but I am afraid of him dialing back my top end). I may get new reeds.... maybe Boysen or V-Force. The top end was done not too long ago, so low compression and wear aren't too likely to be the cause. As I said it has no problems on the top end, just lacking on the bottom. Most worn out bikes I have ridden seem to be lacking the power all the way through the range.

 

[rmc_olderthandirt]

Like Rich said, you should also check the jetting.

I have recently been experimenting with jetting on my bike. Like yours, it lacked bottom end but otherwise seemed to run OK but my biggest complaint was that it would foul plugs frequently (several hours of riding) and the "spooge" was just making a mess everywhere.

I ended up dropping the main jet three sizes and the needle jet 6 sizes. What surprised me the most is how much I changed it without any dramatic change in how it ran. After the last needle jet change I finally had a change in performance, a slight bog which was corrected by raising the needle two clip positions.

Now I am not fouling plugs any more. The spooge is much less. I seem to be getting much better gas mileage. And my bottom end is better!

Before I changed the jetting if I didn't downshift when it started slowing down on a hill it would just stop. Now I seem to have a lot more torque at the bottom end so I am not slipping the clutch as much as I used to.

Rod

 

[250girl]

Thanks.. I will ask Dad about the jetting, he's changed it in a few of my other bikes. I never really considered it in this case. My bike has very little spooge, and has yet to foul a plug. I was quite impressed with setup, you can lug it along for a while without the fouled plugs I have experienced with other bikes. I think it runs a bit lean though. At about -3 it gets really canky and tempermental. It starts fine, but really doesn't want to run, leans out, screams and tries to stall. Like it's running out of gas. Past -3 I ride the old WR, it's a little cranky, but will run better than mine at that temp.