Making the 2000 CR250 a suitable woods/trail bike

[James]

What are the best things to do to make this bike more ridable in the woods, rocks, and tight stuff. I also will continue to make an attempt at riding it on motocross tracks (newbie) so I would like it to be good at both. I will adjust the clickers but don't mind the stiff springs on the trail. My XR 400 is too heavy and too tall in my opinion...besides, would like to get down to one off road bike.

I am not real interested in major motor work (porting). Some things I thought of:

FAtty pipe - increased low end
Larger Rear Sprocket - currently have 13/50 (stock?)
I already have the RAD valve - more low end? (bought it used and it was already in there)

Am I on the right track? Any other tips would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[dell30rb]

yeah, that sounds good, also, try getting some tires for your application, and mabye some bark busters. A heavier flywheel weight will smooth out the engine hit

 

[reynome]

The $120 on E-Gorr proting is your best bang for the buck. He will ask you what kind of riding you do. If you tell him you want a great low end and mid that is what you will get. This is the cheapest and most effective tuning I know of. Besides I have found that his porting helps the piston to last longer as he cleans up all the port edges.

 

[evenslower]

Couldn't agree with dell30rb more. Flywheel weight, flywheel weight, flywheel weight. I've also seen a powervavle adjuster that moose makes but I don't know much about it. Might ask here and see what results folks have had. Kind of curious myself.

The porting thing is good idea especially if you can time it with top end replacement. You've already got it apart and its only a few bucks more than a flywheel weight. I've believe I've seen Eric suggest both

If you enjoy the full use of your fingers make sure you get some good aluminum bark busters. My last bike had a pair and I'll be putting some on the CR as soon as its back together.

Enjoy!!!

 

[srgnz]

Hang the biggest flywheel weight you can fit behind the cover. Soften the suspension up (I run mine on almost the least compression damping possible). I geared mine up with a bigger front sprocket and this will also reduce the urgency with which it hits. The idea is to make it tame enough to ride all day - not just 15 minutes of all-out warp speed.

Barkbusters are essential. Another handy product is the brake snake (make your own with bowden cable for $1) - a bit of wire to stop branches getting between the brake lever and the frame (do the gear lever too). An O-ring chain is a great investment and will last way longer than anything else. I make handles out of tiedown type material and fit one like a seat strap and one sticking out above the front fender - these work great for hauling it out of deep bogs.

In an enduro I carry spare levers, a clutch cable, a gear lever and a throttle cable in the airbox. I wear a bumbag with enough tools to fix most things - including a flat. It pays to get as many bolts as possible to have matching sized heads to cut down the number of different tools you need to carry.

 

[CR 250 MXer]

Do you know where I can find a flywheel weight for my CR 250. And if so, How big of a pain is it to take off if I don't want it on for MX? Or won't it be that big of a deal?

 

[evenslower]

I'm pretty sure that MXSouth (drn sponsor by the way) sells a few steahly weights for your cr and I don't think they require any spacers for your flywheel cover which is a plus when the riding is wet. They really aren't hard to put on or take off, make sure you ask about the little tool to stop your flywheel from spinning during installation. It may even come in the kit. If I remember correctly the thread pattern is reversed so lefty becomes tighty and vice versa.

 

[Bobt250]

Just one long time CR250 owner's opinion. I ride woods and occasionally race MX.

In my humble opinion suspension is the key to a pleasant riding experience. Most japanese bikes are overdamped for the woods. So much so that simply turning the clickers out all the way isn't enough for my tastes. It depends on how much you want to MX and how fast you are on the track but I would suggest revalving for the woods, specifically softening the compression damping. I revalve myself since I have seen and been a victim of a couple of the more well known suspension tuners. Specifically....paying for a revalve and only getting an oil change (more than once), That's another story though. As for the engine, I wouldn't mess with a good thing. Honda has a great motor. I tried a flywheel weight and didn't like it. It made the bike sluggish and I didn't find it to help in any noticeable way. The bike I currently ride was ported for low end by Eric Gorr. I bought it used that way and I've spent the better part of 6 months trying to undo it. The cylinder base was machined to lower the ports and epoxy was added to the transfer ports to increase the velocity of the mix at low RPM's. The motor did have great low end power but ran like it had a sock stuck in the air intake at any RPM bove midrange. As a matter of fact I like soft bottom power for the woods anyway since you can "short shift" and keep the power more manageable. I think the biggest key to traction in the woods is a fresh tire and throttle control. Throttle control is in your right hand.

I like to run the larger optional rear sprocket in the tight woods to lessen the need to slip the clutch. I agree with the others that an O-ring chain and barkbusters are a must.

Best piece of advice I can give you is: Don't mess with the motor and revalve the suspension SOFT, especially the compression damping. That will make the bike much nicer over the rocks and roots. When you get good enough to do the 80ft triples revalve back to normal japanese settings.

 

[howard rossington]

As another long time Cr woods rider I would recommend some aluminum rad guards,and running some water wetter for the slow going tight twisties. Another cheap idea is a 12 tooth countershaft sprocket is available for your bike and will be equivalent to several teeth on the rear. I also ride a 2000 and love it in the woods and I agree with Bobt250 that the motor is great with just some gearing changes,flywheels and lower rpm porting seem to spoil the snap and power delivery for me. I usually also revalve for softer compression on my cr's ( a must for a 95 ! ) but at 195lb I am happy with the valving stock. One last comment would be to be sure your silencer is well packed ( I run an old Answer Sneaker ) to keep us welcome in the woods. Good Luck

 

[JTT]

Bobt250 is right on about the suspension thing. This is the limiting factor, particularly when dealing with rocks. The motor is good. A flywheel does "mellow" it a bit (in fact I use one for woods and MX). As for the pipe, and this is just my experience, don't waste your time and money. The stock pipe on these bikes is as good as it gets, particularly for woods riding. Better spend that money on the forks (revalve). Extra exhaust gaskets (the little metal o-ring, between the pipe and cylinder) do help gain a little bottom end. You can stack 3-4 easily, they cost virutally nothing and can be removed if you don't like the power. A bigger tank would be a nice addition, as the range is not great, but this is minor.

Summary....suspension, suspension, suspension (particularly the fork).

from a 2000 CR250 owner/rider

 

[zio]

Ditto the last few. I soon got used to my stock motor, and even decided against adding a flywheel weight. I rarely stalled it once I got the hang of it (and i'm a slow rider, too). Suspension was my biggest gripe. I'd buy another CR for off-roading again, and just have the suspension revalved by someone who has a lot of experience with the showa's. Larger tank, maybe. handguards- definately. pipe? why bother. even when you dent the stocker, just have it repaired. I added a turbine-core s/a, that's it.

 

[James]

Well this is sounding more affordable by the minute. Thanks guys!

Now I am starting to wonder if I should have one for motocross and a different one for the woods?

 

[Farmer John]

How to make a CR a trail bike.
1) install hand guards
2) install S/A
3) wear a hydration system
done.

 

[125rider]

You should call steahly for a flywheel weight, and you might want to get acerbis moto guards like shane watts runs if you're gonna be ridig mx tracks a decent amount.