'97 cr250?

[aaron7e7]

hello,
I am about to by a 1997 Cr 250, but before i do i wanted to know what everyone thinks about this bike. It has a procircut pipe(i know not the greatest) and is said to be in good maintenance condition. The only problem listed is the seal on the right fork seal started leaking and needs replaced. So what do you guys think about this year of the cr 250s? I am a new rider that is 6'4 150lbs... but i have rode my brothers 1999 cr250 and loved it. (oh yeah and he has set a reserve price at $1500.. is that cheap or too much?)
Thanks!
-Aaron

 

[mtk]

The 1997-99 CR250s have a horrible reputation, much of which is blamed on the aluminum frame, and the 1997 has the worst rep of them all. Lots of folks have put CR500 engines into the first-generation alloy CR250 chassis and a suspension revalve solved the "harshness" problem quite nicely.

But that bad rep will make resale difficult.

Personally, I'd look for a 2000 model since it has the newer chassis and better suspension. Used two-strokes are cheap right now so I think you could do better.

 

[Xtremesports445]

i agree with mtk

 

[aaron7e7]

so what exactly is wrong with the '97? whats wrong with the frame? And i have read some places where the '97 engine is better then the '00 and up... but thats just what i have read. I am not going to be doing any racing, mostly trial riding stuff and riding around on the hills around town.

 

[mtk]

From what I've gathered, it had seriously harsh suspension. But since it was the first alloy chassis, they blamed it on a too-stiff chassis. The fact that the suspension is orders of magnitude more compliant than the frame on ANY bike is a fact conveniently glossed over by the pundits. In other words, a suspension revalve should fix the "frame harshness" problem.

No matter, as the reputation stuck. As such, the bikes are worth little compared to the later models. Kind of like the Audi 5000 fiasco; one old person drives one through a wall, through sheer incompetence, and the next thing you know the cars went from being $25,000 used cars to $1500 used cars virtually overnight.

Another factor to consider is that plastics and such for the 97-99 are harder to find than the later models. The 00-01 stuff is better, but the 02 & up models have the best support on that front. Graphics kits for everything prior to 02 is tough to find with the 97-99 being the worst.

I'd look around a bit more if I were you. The 2007 models are only weeks away and the prime used bike selling season is past. I'm sure you can find lots of bikes at the $1500 price point that aren't ten years old. Because with a dirt bike, newer is definitely better.

 

[aaron7e7]

well correct me if im wrong, but im just a 'beginner' i guess you could say... i have rode a little old yz80 but now im WAY too big.. im only 16 and this would be my first real bike, so suspension being too harsh wont bother me much right? i can get used to things fairly quick but if its going to be a huge problem then i will not buy it.. as far as the price goes, i MIGHT be able to get it for 1,400 which is my ideal budget because my parents are paying for this and i am only chipping in a little bit. So does anyone know about engines being better or worse in these older bikes?

 

[Asrith]

I had a 97 CR 250, it has great power, i had the suspension redone and that helped a lot.
It was a screamer, very powerful..
The thing is that the cornering sucked on it, when riding in the woods and on track I noticed the cornering just wasnt there.
If you are just play riding, it will be good, but if you want to get something a little better, I would save some extra bucks and spend around 2k for a much more satisfing bike.
I wouldnt buy a 97 again unless I was just riding dunes.
Sounds like a good price, but how much are you into riding?
If it was me I would look for a YZ and save for it. You will be happier.
I will put it this way, I like my 96 ktm more than the 97 cr 250 I had
Not a bad bike, but not to hot. I also had that same seal go on my fork too.
The 97 engine was very strong.

 

[aaron7e7]

alright thanks guys! well i passed up the 97 and got a 99 cr250 that was just here locally, i paid a lot more then i thought i should have (but my parents paied for most of it).. So far i have only rode it twice but just on the rodes... my dad is just making me leave it sitting in the garage until i get my eagle project finished ( its torture) But anyways.. thanks again for all of the input