can rm250 be cool for TIGHT woods?

[Nevada Sixx]

ok.. i like the deal i saw on a rm250..i have a 125 now that has nice manners in the woods, but its still low on power.
i always hear people on here say a 250 is a handful in the woods, but i was thinking of gearing it down, and adding 13oz flyweight, and a reed spacer.
i like the kdx, but i need one that can jump as well, but im worried about the weak bottom end and violent hit of a 250,, kinda a bad situation isnt it....i'd like to hear some input from people who ride a 250 in eastern woods if any are out there....???

 

[beer_stud_76]

nevada -

for the reccord, i do not ride an MX 250 in eastern woods, but I know a number of guys who ride them here in western Washington (dense forests, tight single track, clay).

the woods modifications you have described ought to smooth out the RM power nicely. the only down side is that MX bikes don't have steering geometery for the woods - but if you are riding a 125 MXer in the woods now than you have obviously overcome the steering geometery limitation.

if you like the bike and are willing to retune it as you described then i think an RM250 will go through the woods just fine.


jeremiah

 

[woodsy]

I wont be critical of the RM's cause you didnt specificly ask for it. I will say this - both my 95 and my 96 were AWESOME in the woods!!! They were extremely nimble, tractable and power was right - stock! The only thing needed was narrow the bars to 29 1/2 and add rally pro's/fool with the comp /rebound and raise the forks 5mm!! Personaly I thought the RM was one of the better MX to off-road conversions out there (as far as handing/even power).
Whould I buy another, that wont happen (ooopss I wasnt going to go there)...
What year are you looking at?
Woodsy

 

[Nevada Sixx]

its a 03.. but what is it about narrowing the bars? does that really help?
and if you dont mind, tell me why you wouldnt buy another? and what would you get instead?

 

[beer_stud_76]

MX bikes need wide bars for clipping other racers and hard cornering in deep ruts (or so i've heard). narrowing the bars is no big deal. some people like it, some people don't. you'll lose some leverage but your bike will handle quicker and you'll tend to hit fewer trees. i say ride a few times with the bars the way they are. maybe you won't need to narrow them.


jeremiah

 

[Reesknight]

I ride an MX bike in tight eastern woods and the mods your talking about should work just fine.  The biggest drawback is the narrow gearing.  It makes it a bit jumpy but that can be handled with good throttle and clutch control.  Make sure you get good handguards....I recommend Enduro Engineering.  Cutting the bars are just for getting through the tight trees.  I don't have mine cut because I also like to ride MX sometimes so I just wiggle through and bounce off a few! :eek:

 

[OldassKDX]

MX geometry?

 

[mackay]

I'm with the others here that state that a 250MX bike would be fine in the woods. There will always be some small compromises but with a little time on the machine you will adapt. Look at CNCC racers many use modified MX bikes, enduro riders some use modified MX bikes and at the same time I've heard of people in Dirtrider.net using enduro bikes on a MX track. Familiarity with the machine is what wll make it usable in the woods, so don't sweat it. If you want more power and you found a great deal on a RM250 then you should go for it, ride it and modify the machine based on your experience.
I like narrower bars in the woods (but not everyone does) I like handguards (but not everyone does) I like to gear my bike a bit lower (but not everyone does), can you see the pattern?

 

[Matt90GT]

250 MX bikes are great in the woods. Manufacturers have been taking them and making woods bikes out them with mods for years:

Wr205Fs
WR250s
RMX250s
KDX250s

What the manufacturers typically do is kill the power with less compression and bad exhuast intake, destroy the jetting and then add lights and a WR gearbox. All these can be swapped out to the more aggressive MX version settings with a little money and time.

I have a KDX that is basically a KX motor now and have had several CR 250s in the woods. The low end power of the 250 is really nice on steep climbs vs say a 125 bike. The only thing that I did not like about the CRs is the close ratio gearboxes on open fireroads. You topped out the bike about 60-65mph. Never an issue in the woods, but eastern oregon it is. That is where the WR gearbox shines.

 

[Nevada Sixx]

hey matt90,, tell me what all you did to you kdx motor to make it like a kx.. and did you ever have your cr250's try to loop out more often than your kdx?

 

[woodsy]

Hey Nevada Matt90 is going to come back on and tell you what he did (he is very reliable so I know he will). I will just tell you that what he did/says WORKS!! My 91 KDX250 has the his mod suggestions done to it (thanks Matt) and the bike is a screamer with a WR tranny!!
Oh by the way, as far as the narrow bars go, I shorten ALL of mine - the way I fiqure it the less chance of bumpin a tree at speed the better off I am!! I have tried narrower then 29 1/2 and found that width to be PERFECT for me...
Woodsy

 

[flying W]

If you run trails mostly in 3rd gear or higher then the RM should be a fun ride. If the trails are technical and you spend a fair amount of time in 3rd gear or lower then without a alot of modification the RM will be a handfull and will wear you out. Plan on spending a minimum of $500-1000 to make it a good trail bike (but then it might not jump well).

 

[Nevada Sixx]

on my old 125, im usually in 3rd or under...so should i just get a kdx and hop it up for light duty mx? man, why does buying a bike have to be so hard...

 

[ktm033]

you could always buy a KTM EXC or MXC already to go out of the box for off road riding, save yourself some money, know that its done right, just a thought.

 

[yzeater]

Yes.

 

[beer_stud_76]

nevada -

don't loose your nerve. you're headed in the right direction with the RM. IMPMFO, its easier to make an MX bike trail friendly than to make a trail bike (like the KDX) a good track bike.

what KTM033 said is true, but what you're thinking with the RM would work too.


jeremiah

 

[ktm033]

beerstud, agreed, RM is a very nice bike, I think too often people have it in their minds that the KTM's are just too expensive, not true! Same price, sometimes less, sometimes more but for a bike built for a specific need in this case woods racing can't go wrong with orange! No longer the big four, big five, although with Suzuki/Kawasaki working jointly now they are sort of one so you have the big four again; Yamaha, Honda, KTM, Kawa/Zuki.

 

[flying W]

The fact is that there is not a bike that does both MX and trails well. A stiff MX suspension will not soak up the rocks and roots that are found on trails. This forces your body to absorb the shock of all those little bumps and it drains your energy. On the other hand, a plush enduro suspension will not abosrb big jump landings and again the shock gets transferred to the body.
I would say that it's best to decide what type of riding is most important to you and go with that type of bike.

 

[tigerowner]

This is a little off subject but I have to clear something up. The "wide bars for MX and narrow for woods" is a bit misleading. While it is true that cutting your bars down helps get you through in tight situations it is not the reason to cut your bars down. Bars are intentionally made wide so you can cut them to fit your natural arm spread (made that term up). To determine proper bar width have somone measure the distance between the inside of your hands while you are doing push-ups or bench presses. THat is the distance your hands should be apart on the bars. Take into account the length ogf the grip and cut off the extra. To prove my point try doing pushups with your hands too far apart or too close together and see how much harder it is.

 

[Nevada Sixx]

that is a good tip about doing bench press to find out how much to cut a bar..thanks...
But getting back to the rm in the woods,, wouldnt letting the clickers out a bit help make the bike soft for roots?

 

[beer_stud_76]

nevada -

i'm a bit confused now...do you want to ride/race in the woods AND MX? or do you want a woods bike that you can jump at the gravel pit every now and again? the way i understood your question was you want a bike for spirited trail riding that you could launch occasionally. if this is what you are going for then you're on the right track.

however, if you are MXing too, well...i still think you are on the right track though you might have to compromise some of those trail mods you mentioned.

as for bars as wide as a bench press grip? thats pretty damn wide. i can see maybe the pushup spacing but i don't think i can even get bars as wide as my bench grip.


jeremiah

 

[flying W]

"But getting back to the rm in the woods,, wouldnt letting the clickers out a bit help make the bike soft for roots?"

This is the experience that I have had trying to tune a MX suspension (CR500)for trails. I softend the compression to the point where I thought it absorbed the small hits well but then the turning and stability were now bad. It became apparent to me that I could tune for turning ability or plushness but I could not get both at the same time.

 

[Nevada Sixx]

i ride 50/50 trails/mx,, on a fast beginner level,,so when i say jumps, i mean about 30 feet or so on the doubles that are allowed on the beginner class races.

 

[flying W]

Do you race?

 

[beer_stud_76]

navada -

in that case you are going to have to sacrifice performance on one or the other for the benefit of one or the other.

why not keep the 125 for the track and make the 250 a woods bike?