best year for cr250?

i've had the first three generation frames and i can tell the difference between them and i like the 3rd much better. i prefer the motor on the 2000 over all of them. i believe it to be the best all-around.

regarding my '02, the pipe is not stock. it is a dep with an fmf shorty silencer (the dep silencer broke). i have switched the carb to a keihin, i highly recommend this. as far as shaving the head goes, i put in a half thickness head gasket which is available from cometic.

regarding the electronic pv, i had to replace the cables once. other than that, no issues.

i think any cr from 2000 on up will/would be satisfactory.

1997 CR250 .... I like it...

JohnF said:

i was just reading the "best 250 motors" thread and alot of people seemed to think the '01 is a great motor and the '02 is a turd. whichever one i get wont stay stock for long so im not sure if it really matters, but i do like the idea of getting the best year to start with. it would be nice to have the 3rd gen frame and i was reading they also switched to alot of light weight components for that year. but atleast i think its down to 2001 vs 2002 now.

i have the mikinui tmx carb on my 250r and alot of people prefer the keihin, i believe them because i still havent gotten mine dialed in yet.

Click to expand...

Well it won't be very hard to turn a "turd" 02 motor into a monster, but It's about impossible to upgrade the 01 frame... I personally love my 02 cr250. Mine is stock except for a bills pipe , vforce reeds, and simple carb mods. It has been very reliable. I use it for woods racing and MX. Whatever you get, you won't be disappointed.

my 02' has great low end power and i use it for woods riding etc.. i have got a vforce reed block,gnarly pipe with shorty silencer, and a flywheel weight. the carb is still the mikuni but i havent had any issues with it other than leaning off the pilot and using the leanest honda needle. i find it makes a great woods bike as its light and has lots of power when needed but its also easy to ride and doesnt rip my arms off. the suspension on mine is stock other than changing clicker settings, but it seems fine when trail riding and i dont get too much arm pump which is a problem ive had with other mx bikes. as for the r/c powervalve issue... dont worry about it! its a great idea that honda used and there is less to go wrong with it than a normal powervalve setup. also it can be easier to fix as the actuator is on the outside of the motor which means less disassembly for maintainence etc..

I have an '02 CR250 that I absolutely love. I wanted the 3rd gen frame and something that I could easily get plastics and graphics for in the future ('02 to '07 plastics will work).

I currently run the A/S carb out of an '00, 13 tooth front, 50 tooth rear, FMF Gnarly pipe, FMF Shorty exhaust, Boyesen Rad Valve, Maxxis IT tires f&r and an RK Racing X-Ring Gold chain.

(I am adding a Rekluse Z-Start this weekend!!!)

I love this bike, lots of torque in the bottom, could use more overrev, fast fast fast (can keep up all day with all my buddies on their 450's), wheelie all day long.

I heard some bad rumors about the '02 engine but changing a few small items (maintenance items even, sprockets, reeds etc), make a big difference.

One more thing, keep the RC Valve adjusted! Made a huge difference on my bike. :cool:

Sushi.