Question regarding 2004 RM and YZ 250

PAULRY · Jul 24, 2004

The last 2 stroke I owned was a 2003 CR250. This bike was a quality made motorcycle, but was not the easiest bike to ride. Had plenty of power, but did not have a good spread of power making the bike difficult to ride and to make the most of it you really had to work on keeping it in the sweet part of the power.

I now plan to change brands to either a 2005 RM250 or a 2005 YZ250, but I am concerned about the quality of these bikes. Both bikes I am lead to believe are similar in performance, being class leaders in power delivery and ease of use.

To current owners of these bikes, what has your experience been with these bikes. Are they reliable? What broke? Would you buy another one?

I would appreciate your comments to assist me in making my decision.

qtrmiler · Jul 24, 2004

quality build Yamaha-Suzuki, stability Yamaha-Suzuki, turning-Suzuki-Yamaha, traction Yamaha-Suzuki, corner to corner accelleration suzuki-Yamaha, basically it comes down to what your needs are. Supercross quick rev and handling go Suzuki. Outdoor MX long good torque range and stability go Yamaha. This is based on 04-back not current 05's you're a bit early for the 05 report. Yamahas just arrived in dealers this week. Haven't heard anyone riding the Suzook yet. It's getting tougher each year to make this buying decision. Honda's claiming to have reworked the cr250r for more bottom and mid range without too much top end sacrifice :laugh: , if this holds true it's going to be more colorful at the tracks this year. Any 05 owners have any feedback yet?

84 Hon Cr500r gone
85 Hon Cr500r gone
87 Hon Cr250r gone
90 Kaw kx500 gone
92 Hon Cr250r gone
94 Yam Yz250 gone
98 Yam yz400f gone
00 Hon Cr250r gone
02 Hon Crf450f gone
04 Hon Crf450f current
01 Suz gsx1300r Hayabusa current
05 Yam yz250 05?06? Hon Crf450x on order

CRspode · Jul 24, 2004

Transworld and RacerX have ridden the 05 RM250 if you haven't seen the articles yet:
http://www.transworldmotocross.com/mx/bike_test/article/0,13190,664667,00.html

http://www.racerxill.com/071504_Suzuki_Intro.cfm

Sounds like it's going to be a tough decision in 05. I've never owned a Yamaha but have had several Suzukis. They were very good bikes IMO.

qtrmiler, I notice in your sig you have a CRF450x on order. Do you actually have cash down on one? I haven't heard of their release yet.

Scott

AWjames · Jul 24, 2004

well I am leaving in about 1 hr to go ride my 05 YZ250. i will let you know how it is

PAULRY · Jul 25, 2004

One of the reasons I am not to keen on purchasing a YZ250 is the problem people are having with gearboxes. The bike (02-04 YZ250) seems to eat third and fourth gears and wear out the dog in no time. Seems to have a soft gearbox. A pity since the bikes engine performance is very good for a wide range of rider abilities and is easy to use. Quite suprised no one mentioned the gearbox problems.

qtrmiler · Jul 25, 2004

CRspode:

I actually put a deposit down on a crf250 back in Jan 03 so I'd get one of the first batch. Then wisdom settled in and before getting the phone call that it was here in Mar 04 I decided :bang: I didn't want a first year bike and bought the 04 crf450 moving the deposit to a 05 crf250x. After really enjoying the lighter feeling, better suspended 04 450 I decided with the 05's coming out with the crf250 type frame change I'd switch the deposit to a 450x. May not be produced until 06 but I'm willing to wait. here's some talk in thumper talk on the 450x possible availability as an 05. http://dirtrider.net/forums3/showthread.php?t=100655

I know I said I wanted to wait and buy a second year production bike but the 450 has been around a few years so I'll chance it. Can't wait forever. The YZ 250 with a wr426 5th gear was a thought but the Honda just seems to fit and give me the confidence I was looking for in a bike.

_j0kA_ · Jul 25, 2004

hey, i have a 2004RM250 and had the same descion to make as you but for 04.. i rode both bikes as well as their 03 counterparts and went with the suzuki, i could not be happier.. my friend has an 02CR and he rode my bike about 1 month ago, he purchased a 2004RM250 last saturday.. he says he wouldn't be happier with any other bike, he to was thinking of a yami..

so far i have had no problems with my bike, stock top end and she still runs great (compared to my friends brand new 04 yesterday), its actually easier for me to ride since its not so peppy.. the suspension is great, they are great quality, they corner amazing, jump awesome and feel comfortable..

in my opinion you should go with the RM, however for 05 the aluminum frame on the yami might be good or bad, we will see..

AWjames · Jul 25, 2004

from what I have heard the new frame on the YZ has actually been out for a while on factory bikes. They just had it painted blue. no problems what so ever. Because thats what i thought about because i remember when the CR's came out with the aluminum frame and waht a disaster that was

PAULRY · Jul 26, 2004

Thanks guys for the continued information. I am leaning heavily towards the 2005 RM250, based on the regular gearbox failures I know about on the Yamaha's.

bclapham · Jul 26, 2004

my 02rm144 has been thrashed every week to within an inch of its life and it still comes back for me. it has held up a lot better than my 01yz250.

its insane how many people i have heard taking out the gearboxes on the yz250- one racer had three go in a season, one other guy had 2 go and 2 other guys had 1 go- i dont know anyone else with them bikes and they were only vet riders

bedell99 · Jul 26, 2004

Same here. The bottom end of my riding buddies 03 yz125 went this winter. The bike is an absolute blast, but for a bottom end to go catastophically after 1 season was iffy in our books. It took the right side case with it also. It was not a crank failure but a transmission failure. Then to add insult on injury. After the bike was all put back together he actually sucked the clutch crank seal spring thru the bearing.(there is a tiny spring on the inside of the seal, similar what is on fork seals) and into the crank, which then needed a new crank and messed up his cylinder. I also have friend who has a 2001 rm250 and the nikasil/plating was flaking off by the exhaust ports and cause dthe rings to start chunking away at his cylinder. Everything is relative, sometimes things just break. I love rm's, but the only thing that scares me is the price of the parts. It cost him over 400 for a cylinder and 350 for the crank. I know CR's might not be the best, but the money you save on OEM parts actually makes them a bargain. Buying any machine is a crapshoot., but on a performance level i would go with the RM.

Erik

Redrider · Jul 29, 2004

I currently have a 2004 yz 250 that is having gear box problems of some kind. ( who knows) There is not a mechanic in a 100 miles that can tell me anything. They all say "IT SOUNDS LIKE THE CLUTCH" The Yz was the worst purchase of my life. I went to the local dealer today to trade it in and they wouldnt even take trade in it. Take my advice do not buy the yz ....buy any other color.
Redrider.

motojonny · Jul 30, 2004

Joka,

Do you ride woods or track and what mods have you done to your RM250? My 01 YZ250 has been bullitproof. I use it for track and woods with stock suspension, I have had many bikes over the last 10 years and it's my favorite. I like it better then my 250X in the woods. I've also owned ...01&03 YZ250F, 03 YZ450, 00&98 YZ250, 96 RM250 and a few others. I've kept the 01 YZ and still have it cause it works everywhere. The X is for sale on TT. Another favorite was the RM250. It brought home a lot of trophies in SX, but still was fun in the woods.

My point being, for 05, YZ or RM? RM's have always fit me well and turning is unmatched. I have a Scotts Damper to handle any headshake. Up until yesterday I was pretty sure about the YZ, but TWMX didn't give it the writeup I was expecting. It wasn't bad, but wan't stellar like the RM write up. As far as gearbox problems, I have never had any problems with any of my YZ's. Ironically, my 96 RM had a ghost nuetral between 3rd and 4th. I know the RM's have come a long way, but the clutches are still a little funky(grabby) from what I hear.

Anyone have any thought/input on my babble?

MJ

_j0kA_ · Aug 1, 2004

hey, i do mx and i have a twin air filter, renthal sprockets/chain, pc shorty and renthal fatbars.. bike works great,just did a top end on thursday and rode friday-raced saturday and raced sunday, runs like achamp!!

i would go RM without a doubt, i wouldnt even wait to see what mags have to say about the YZ as the RM is a solid machine

GhostRider32 · Aug 1, 2004

They're mostly all good bikes, everyone makes an occasional lemon but I have heard about the Yamaha's excessive gearbox problems. Seem's like Yamaha needs to figure it out.

I have an '03 KX250 that I love, I know a lot of people complained about a supposed lack of power but I'm very pleased with mine. I trail ride not race and it's got great bottom end power. Haven't been on a single trail yet feeling underpowered and I weigh approx. 230 pounds.

Don't look past the '05 KX250, supposed to be quite a few improvments (that's what every manu. says) so it may turn out to be the sleeper that wins it all.

Thing is, only 1 out of 1000 can actually ride any of these bikes to their fullest potential so pick a color and have fun. :)

Question regarding 2004 RM and YZ 250

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