need help, lets hear it!!!

[westsiderippa]

ok, found a dealer who actually likes 2t's. every call i made was the same old thing. "theres no more left but we have great deals on 09 450's" lol. anyway theres plenty 09 yz's left you just need to get off your a-- and find it. he wants 7300 OTD for it though. and said he wont budge on the price since he has to bring it in from the midwest. so its not like a loss to him if i dont buy it. if i buy one direct from the dealer who has it. it will be a wash with shipping etc. i could save money by not registering it and not paying taxes now but if want to sell it im hosed with paying it anyway. so it looks like my 450 should be gone this week then im pulling the trigger. im wiling to drive 4 hrs to this dealer just for his effort. one dealer real close to me said they dont make 2t's yz's anymore, HAHAH i just hung up on him. there are some real a-- clowns out there for sure. ill keep you all updated. thanks for the help, bryan.

[ferrahount]

Congrats westsider!!!!
I'm doing exactly the same as you. Looking a 250 2 stroke and getting rid of my piggy 450F.
Until now I was unable to find the bike I want. I'll keep searching.

[Chris2T]

as much as i love open 2T bikes they get harder to race the older you get.

Man, that is a true statement.  I have never been so hammered as I was after every open
class race I competed in.  Even if you are a naturally smooth rider, those bikes will beat you
up and it only gets worse with age.  I love riding the big two strokes, but if I ever raced one
again, it would be the only class I would enter that day - just for the extra recovery time
between motos.

dogger

 

remember, we're talking about 500's that are a 20 year old design. A new from the ground up 500 using 2010 technology i bet would be far easier to ride. Imagine a 2011 KX500 that didn't vibrate. Or a 2011 CR500 with multi-level power options, similiar to what the sportbikes have. It simply isn't fair to compare state of the art 4 stroke technology with 1980's 2 stroke technology. and that's just the engine, forget about frames and suspension

[msambuco]

As far as racing goes I ustacould. After many years off the bike I tried a 2000 YZ426. Heavy bike that was easy to ride and handled like a dream. So I think 4T is for me and I buy it (used). I use and love the bike so much I do the "smart" thing and get myself a shiny new 03 YZ450 since 4T is the way to go. Worse bike I ever owned. It did not break, it just sucked to ride. Forks harsh, front end slides and those were the good points. The biggest gremlin was the way the power came on. I rode CR500's back in the day and I never detuned a bike untill this POS. Anyway I suffered five years with the bike riding with my kids now and then without much interest in my own riding. Up in NY at Ace at the end of 07 Sales gut from D-Rec says we got one 08 YZ250, you want it? I buy it without knowing anything about it other than I am going back to 2T to give riding one more try. This is long winded so I will sum it up like this. This is the best powered, best handling, by far best suspended bike I have ever owned. I am a kid again and now my kids get to ride a lot. 3rd season is 1/2 over (FL we ride all winter) and not one thing has ever broken. I feel guilty about top end but all the compression is still there. Anyway this is Rock solid to ride stock or to build up to any level.

[dogger315]

A new from the ground up 500 using 2010 technology i bet would be far easier to ride.

 
I agree with you.  That's why I want to purchase a CR500AF, to test that theory out.

Anyway this is Rock solid to ride stock or to build up to any level.

 
Good move switching from the 450F.  That YZ is about as good as it gets these days. 
It was winning shootouts long before the others quit making theirs.

dogger

[admiral]

as much as i love open 2T bikes they get harder to race the older you get.

Man, that is a true statement.  I have never been so hammered as I was after every open
class race I competed in.  Even if you are a naturally smooth rider, those bikes will beat you
up and it only gets worse with age.  I love riding the big two strokes, but if I ever raced one
again, it would be the only class I would enter that day - just for the extra recovery time
between motos.

dogger

 

remember, we're talking about 500's that are a 20 year old design. A new from the ground up 500 using 2010 technology i bet would be far easier to ride. Imagine a 2011 KX500 that didn't vibrate. Or a 2011 CR500 with multi-level power options, similiar to what the sportbikes have. It simply isn't fair to compare state of the art 4 stroke technology with 1980's 2 stroke technology. and that's just the engine, forget about frames and suspension

there is alot of conjecture said about open 2T bikes on the internet, in bike shops, and at tracks. most of it is from people who have never ridden one much less owned one. or, my favorite, they rode someone's bike for 15 minutes and now and forever they are a 500cc expert. i have owned 6 different (3 of each) CR & KX 500's. they vibrate, they stretch your arms, there is tremendous centrifugal force of the engine, they constantly break traction. those things don't change with a modern frame or a new engine. i tested a Service Honda AF500 back in 2000 at a mx track for a full day. yes it handled better and had better suspension but i found that it vibrated more in the alluminum frame. i had my steel framed '00 model CR500 there to compare. i had my '99 KX500's crankshaft balanced by Surf n Turf racing. it cut the vibes by what seemed about 50%, but compared to a 250 it vibrated. there is no getting away from it. my hands and arms would have that feeling like when your foot falls asleep after a day at the track. this wasn't directed at you Chris2T, i just used your post for a quote. this is just a general statement about the realities that i think some people gloss over when talking about open 2T bikes.

[westsiderippa]

a 500 is out of the question fo myself because like the 450 it is a lot of power i dont need. the reason is now that i can ride in the 250f class with the 250 2t im all over that. and as for riding vet class where i will be handicapping myself, im all for it.

so i found another one witch is in fresno. he said 7k. its another 1-2 hrs of driving but the cost of fuel and the 300 dollar savings is a little better. also the guy was very helpful and really wanted my business, you could tell. he never once questioned my purchase of a 2t or tried to slip a stupid comment in like "you know i have these 09 450's for...." god that was getting so irritating.

got a guy coming sunday to pick up my crf, i left a deposit on the yz. so its a done deal. ill be racing that thing in 2 weeks. woohoo, i dont think i would pick the gate next me my first moto, gonna be a little squirly out of the gate, lol. man i cant wait.

[dogger315]

i found that it vibrated more in the alluminum frame.

That's not what I wanted to hear.  I still plan to buy one mostly
because I don't know how much longer they will be around.

My goal is to do everything I can to make the bike easier to
ride fast and for a long time (30 minutes).  Crank balancing,
250 ignition and flywheel, foam filled frame, lower compression
and higher gearing to smooth out the hit, etc.  The bike will be
an open class test bed.

There is no getting around the power to weight ratio (that's the
best part).  The trick is to get more of that power to the ground
without overly abusing the rider.

Should be an interesting and fun project.

now that i can ride in the 250f class with the 250 2t im all over that.

Amen to that.  Let the fun begin.

dogger
 

[Chris2T]

i tested a Service Honda AF500 back in 2000 at a mx track for a full day. yes it handled better and had better suspension but i found that it vibrated more in the alluminum frame. i had my steel framed '00 model CR500 there to compare. i had my '99 KX500's crankshaft balanced by Surf n Turf racing. it cut the vibes by what seemed about 50%, but compared to a 250 it vibrated. there is no getting away from it. my hands and arms would have that feeling like when your foot falls asleep after a day at the track. this wasn't directed at you Chris2T, i just used your post for a quote. this is just a general statement about the realities that i think some people gloss over when talking about open 2T bikes.

no offense taken, my point was that even a late model Service Honda CR500AF or KX500 AF uses an engine whose design goes back many years. Sacreligious i know, but it's an outdated engine design. Not that 60hp is outdated, but imagine a 2010 CRF450R used an engine based on the XR400? A modern 500 designed from the ground up with the very latest technology/electronics thrown at it could perhaps have rideability that is currently unheard of in a big bore 2 stroke. Unless of course there was no advancement in 2 stroke technology for the past 16 years or so, in which case there'd be no reason for a new engine.   

[admiral]

i found that it vibrated more in the alluminum frame.

That's not what I wanted to hear.  I still plan to buy one mostly
because I don't know how much longer they will be around.

My goal is to do everything I can to make the bike easier to
ride fast and for a long time (30 minutes).  Crank balancing,
250 ignition and flywheel, foam filled frame, lower compression
and higher gearing to smooth out the hit, etc.  The bike will be
an open class test bed.

There is no getting around the power to weight ratio (that's the
best part).  The trick is to get more of that power to the ground
without overly abusing the rider.

Should be an interesting and fun project.

now that i can ride in the 250f class with the 250 2t im all over that.

Amen to that.  Let the fun begin.

dogger
 

those AF 500's are very cool bikes. i look forward to hearing more. i want to try out one of those AF KX500 models sometime. btw, the comp. ratio on a CR500 is only 6.25-1. i wish someone was building KTM 380SX motors in a modern KTM chassis. that would be my idea of the perfect open bike. my trusty '99 380SX is ready and willin'.

[westsiderippa]

so just a little update, i am officially without a bike in my garage right now, feels weird when i walk out there. got $3800 for my 450 yesterday and i will be picking up my new yz on thursday. thanks for all the motivation from everyone and all the tips. ill have pics up asap.

[msambuco]

When you over jump your first table or double and land on that little bump after the downside and are ready for crunch-ouch-my wrists-hope I make it and then somehow nothing bad happens you will love this thing. Give us a bike test report.

[Hondacrrider]

good luck with your new bike, it sounds sweet