Question to 250f riders

[pyromaniac]

Im thinking about getting a 250f, probably '01 yz250f as im not that rich. Im going to testride suzukis new 250f next month and see if i like it. As far as i have heard it sounds good. I have a few questions though.

I've heard about people changing piston after 20 hours of hard riding while other after a season of trailriding. Im not a expert rider but i do ride WFO most of the time when im not braking so i wonder how many hours i can get out of a piston without risking anything.

A fourstroke should use less fuel than a twostroke, have you noticed this? Can you ride longer on a tank than on your previous 125?

Also do you have to use high quality oil or can i do as i do with my gearbox oil, use the cheapest i can find and change it every second hour or so? How expensive oil do you use and for how long?
Is it reparate oil for the gearbox? I'm no good on 4-strokes as you hear.

Finaly maybe the most important, do you ride any faster or longer and is it just as fun as 2stroke ripping?

 

[jsmith811]

The Oil is not seperate on the yzf250.. On the Honda CRF250 I believe it is. The manual says to change the piston quite often, but in reality I don't think 20 hours is any risk at all, unless your runnig at the national level. In my opinion the bikes are superior to a 2 stroke 125. I can clear alot more jumps on the 250F than I could on a kx125 I had and it so much easier to keep it on the pipe than a 125 due to the torque.. everywhere. Different strokes for everyone though uh.... You might just ride one and see what you think. The 01 YZF250 is a good year especially with a 03 cam installed.

 

[jsmith811]

And..... The oil is the life of the motor.. You'll need good quality 4 stroke specific oil... some people run Mobile 1 synthetic (Red cap only) and it must be changed often.. you'll pay anywhere from 3.50-5.50 a qt. depending on brand.....IMHO this is the life of the pistion, valves.. everything..this is the #1 maintenance you should do.. at a minimum of every 3 hours. I also like the convienance of using straight gas..no mixing.. and you'll get on average 25-30 mpg depending on how hard you ride. 4 strokes are the future it seems... so jump in.