Am I Crazy?

[Chief]

I bought my new 01 rm 250 last August, and after some headaches I really have it running Beautifully. Leaps and bounds. I consider myself an experienced out of shape rider (5'9"- 190 lbs) not truly fat but not skinny by any means. and not 19 anymore. (it does make a difference) Hadn't been offroad in 20 years so I'm kinda rusty.

I considered a 125 but was talked into a 250 by friends (everyone rides one) and dealers.

I'm not afraid of my bike, I really don't think about it that way, yet I'm not fast enough to open it up as often as I'd like to. I ride woods, column dumps, railroad beds etc. Never raced, never will. To be honest, I find the 250 somewhat cumbersome although I am much more comfortable than I was a year ago. (I can walk normally after a 3 hour ride etc.)

My idea is to advertise my bike for a trade on a 125. I haven't really ridden any 125's to any extent for the last 20 years. I just think it would be a heck of a lot more fun (isn't that the whole idea?) to scream around on a bike that I can throw around rather than putt and struggle. I have a good place to ride where I could trade with a prospect for a few hours. Maybe a cr or yz, Maybe even the yz 250 f or wr (ok 'm getting carried away).

On the downside maybe I should just keep conditioning for the 250, and I wouldn't like the power loss of a 125. I generally ride one day a week and am 38 years old, so how used to it am I gonna get? I'm pretty sure there is an abundance of younger guys that would take me up on the offer, so it would be a good chance to try out a few bikes.

Also have ridden with a few guys (125's) that have more than kept up with the bigger bores.

I'm thinking about this too much to not do anything about it. But I'd really like some experienced feedback before I jump into my plan.

Thanks In Advance,

Joe Chief

 

[_j0kA_]

Joe,

I am 15 yrs old, 5'8, 180 pounds and I want an RM 250! But im not going to trade you, so hold that thought! :D

You should stick with your RM 250. If you get a 125, you will be dissapointed with the power.. You will need to be in better shape ( physically ) to make it go fast.. You will have to be more aggressive, and can't slack off.. A 250 has it all within a twist of the throttle.. A 125 struggles with a twist of the throttle and alot of clutch work..


At your weight ( even mine! 180 ), you shouldn't consider a 125 unless that is what you want. I am getting a 2001 ( or 2002 ) RM 250 soon, and to tell the you the truth, I might never ride a 125 again!!


( sorry if I didn't help, or worded sentences incorrectly.. It's 6:00am and I have PRE-RIDE/RACE JITTERs in my stomach :D.. I will have lots of pictures, so if anyone wants to see them, PM me later :) )

 

[_j0kA_]

Plain & Simple

Keep your RM!!! ( It's only 1 day a week.. How hard can that be? :) )

 

[jmics19067]

if you ride mostly woods and stuff I would definately keep the 250. less shifting!!!! if your last bike was an old 125 you might still have the idea of trying to go like a bat out hell and then slamming the brakes for the turns. you dont need to do that witha 250. relearn how to ride!!!! if I ride my 250 in the woods I try and think like I am taking my couch out for a spin. Do everything nice and smooth roll on the throttle smoothly and brake early and set up for the turns . I am just as fast as when I tried to race my 125 thru and a heck of a lot faster and eaiser than when I tried riding my 250 like a 125!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mackay]

Keep the Ride

Well hello there Chief...the similarties between you and I are astounding. Both of us out of off road riding for 20 + - years, both about the same height and weight and both with about the same ride frequency and conditions. I too have a 250 (1997 WR 250) but heres the difference. I used to race a 125 back in 80/81 and back then I was 165 LBS and a whole lot younger. The differences that I encountered were that for trail riding the 125 was significantly more difficult to manage as it didn't like the 1/2 throttle puttin' around stuff. Yes it was lighter than a 250 but not that much lighter and with our size I feel that a 125 would be overworked. The 250 that I have now is so incredibly different than the one that I used to borrow on occasion (1980 MAICO 250) I think that stickin with the 250 would be the best choice for you and with the 250 you can either putt around on the trails or "scream" on a track somewhere, I dont think the 125 would offer that kind of variety to you given (sorry about this in advance) our age and weight and riding styles.
Cheers

 

[bluerider125]

i dont have much say here, but........

keep the 250!! with your weight/hight (no offense) you will soon get bored. you can still peter around, or flat out fly on the railroad beds. just get conditioned for it. youll thank us all later.:)

Rob

 

[Suzuki Joe]

If you do a lot of trail riding i would lower the shoks because it is hard to turn if your bike is jacked up.

 

[BunduBasher]

Suzuki Joe, you mean the forks right - he would only need to do this if he has trouble turning in the tight stuff.

Chief, keep the 250, wonder if a bigger flywheel will help.

If you want to go smaller, you would be better off considering a Gas Gas 200 , KTM200 or KDX200/220. Better to go with an enduro oriented bike.

 

[kudzukudzu]

If the two stroke wears you out, but you don't really want to lose power, I think what you're saying is that you want more controllable power. I was in the same situation myself two years back. I really wanted a two stroke 250 (or more!), but I couldn't stand the chainsaw-like power band. Almost got a KTM 300 or 380, but it was just too uncontrollable. You might want to try one of the handful of four strokes that are reasonably light but still have great, controllable power.

Just a thought...

 

[stangmata23l]

Chief,

I'm 6'3 and a 180 lbs and still a young guy (no offense), but trust me you'll grow into the 250. A lot of my buddies run around with me on their 125 MXers through the trails. I have an RMX 250 and let me tell you, on the straights im pullin them and in the woods I am too. The nice thing about the 125 is the weight, grant it that, but you need so much throttle and clutch control. In the woods they will wind right out and spin like crazy every time. Give it some more time and patients and practice. It may sound stupid but do real low figure 8's in your yard. Or set up a course where you wind in and out of trees like road cones. i promise you'll love the 250 much more.

 

[Chief]

Guys,

Thanks for the Great Replies. I kept them in mind today when I went out for a ride.

Jmics, I like the couch comparison, I do a ton of tight stuff and it applies. But it really does bog around nicely when I demand it to. It has not stalled on me in a long time, and that was pretty much last lear on the super tight q*u*a*d rock gardens. (I've made it thru quite a few since then.)

Mackay, definetely no offense taken :) :)

I guess I have a great bike, I think the age thing is making me think a 125 is the ticket.

Everyone having basically the same opinion carries a lot of weight, so I'm kinda set I guess. Don't get me wrong though, I'll offer trade rides to the 125's when I get the chance.

Thanks Again Everyone. Sincerely, Happy Riding!!!!!!

Joe Chief

 

[Mike Hubert]

Check out the YZ250F. small and nimble like a 125 but lots of power.

 

[Chief]

Hey Mike,

I'm REAL curious about that bike, that and it's cousin, the wrf. Hopefully I'll get the chance to check one out someday soon. Back in 01' Yamaha didn't publish the dry weights on either of these bikes, (not in the brochure anyway)It would be interesting to know.

Joe Chief

 

[Mike Hubert]

They claim the YZ250F is about 225 lbs but who knows. I have tried many bikes looking for the perfect combination of MX and woods and I think the YZ250F may finally be the what I'm looking for. I tried a 98 KLX300 and loved the bike but broke the frame twice so figured I better try something different. I went from there to a 99 YZ400F and it seemed so big, high, and heavy that I didn't like it in the woods and couldn't really control it the way I liked on the track. My next move was to a tricked out 2000 KDX220, it was better than anything I can tried before but I missed the feel of a 4 stroke. I picked up a used 2002 YZ250F for $4,200 and love it on the track, it is by far the easiest bike to ride and jump on a track I have owned, I haven't really put it through it's paces in the woods but I am confident that it will perform well. FYI, I'm 48 and just took up MX 4 years ago, I weigh 190 in full gear.