CR250 Advice

[mideastrider]

I found and purchased a mint 2004 cr250 for my son. He wants to do some indoor mx this winter. He rides a crf450r and he wanted something a little lighter and more nimble than the 450 on the short indoor tracks. I may have jumped the gun a little by buying the 2 stroke but I was jacked up at the fact I may get him off the 4 stroke. The big problem is he doesn’t like the power or the lack of. Handling is not just right and it doesn’t have that planted feel of the 450 but I’m not too worried about the handling, my suspension guy can take care of that. I just need some advice on how to proceed. Is it worth spending the money to get more power and hope he likes it or will he never be satisfied with the 250’s power? The bike seems plenty strong to me but he rides at a way higher level than me. Best case I may have a replacement for my old kdx.

 

[whenfoxforks-ruled]

How was he on a 250f? What year 450 does he have? I was part of this very thing with my oldest, but, he was able to ride the 250 some outdoor and get used to it. It is doable though. A few more cc's, ported, and sprocket change, good to go. The 450 is a lazy bike, the 250 is not. Vintage Bob

 

[mideastrider]

He was good on the 250F won many races. He has an 08 450 got new in march this year. He races harescrambles he wants do the mx thing this winter to stay in shape and improve corner speed. It starts the weekend after thanksgiving i'm afraid he will want to ride the 4 stroke.(pretty sure)

 

[whenfoxforks-ruled]

Take both for a practice day? How old is he? There are a LOT of racers that can not deal with indoor racing at all. How much has he rode smokers, in a really tight areas? 125 or 250's?

 

[wake_rider]

Tell him that the throttle is not his throttle, his clutch is his throttle. He will have more than enough power if he would keep it out of the low rpm's. How do you do that? Keep the throttle pinned through turns and feather the clutch to keep your rpm's up while getting your bike to squat and burst through the corner.

He's just going to have to learn how to ride the smoker how it's built to ride. It's not a tractor, nor will it ever feel like one...

 

[_JOE_]

Our local indoor track is best suited to a 250f. The corners are sharp, the straights are short and the surface is slick. I've ridden an 02 rm250, 06 crf250 and 08 kx450 on this track. The rm hit so hard it slid out every time you got on it. The 450 was so damned quick though the revs it wanted to out ride me, a little bobble made things hairy. The 250f was where it was at for me. It felt alot lighter than both of the big bikes but hooked up better. The power was plenty to get over all the jumps and it actually torques through the coners better than the smoker. I'm getting a bit older and have alot more responsibilities so I'd choose a 250f for the best balance of rideability and safety. Your son might actually want to stick with his 450 if that's what he's used to. With good throttle control and the right gearing it should work fine.

 

[mideastrider]

He just turned 18. His last ride on a 2stroke was cr85 in 06 went with 150r in 07. I think he will do fine on the 450 I just jumped at the chance to get him on 2 stroke. Will practice more this weekend I really hope he will like it. My other excuse for buying was he can race it in XC2 next year if the rules don't change.

 

[whenfoxforks-ruled]

He does not have enough 2 smokes time on the saddle, especially the bigger bikes. When Ryan raced the EGCR450 indoor, it pretty much stayed in 3rd gear. The 00 EGRM250 was a little different, kids adapt quicker than us fossils. Ryan sure noted the lighter top feel of the 2 smokes, and I could tell by how much he moved the bike in the air. Honestly though, we had no choice, our bikes got stolen, the 2 smokes was all we could afford! A good racer can make anything run.