All I can say is wow

[MetalMike1982]

A few months ago a friend of mine purchased a 2004 kx250F for $1500 thats looked super clean and was babied its whole life . The prev owner had just had the topend done and had the service records to show . Well my buddy 's ridden it 4 times and he's a novice by the way and now it has no compression and has to be towed behind a truck to cold start it and after its running it turns the entire exhaust from head pipe to muffler glowing red in a matter of seconds .   The bike ran great when he brought it home and had no issues other than over heating on trails  "which really sucks but thats a whole nother 4 joke problem" and now its effed  and effed at the worse possible time . Were going to durhamtown next weekend and now he cant go .  .

Its funny because both my 03 rm125 and my girls 91 yes I said 91 cr125 still run awesome and are both going this weekend .  cheers to all you fellow 2 strokers , we are without a doubt a good bit smarter than the rest 

[twosmoke595]

ok i can understand why some poeple buy 4 strokes, but your buddy bought the absolute worst 4 stroke you can possibly buy, a early model kxf,rmz 250, they had transmission issues, overheating problems, overall engine life was terrible on those things

you should tell him to part it out on ebay, or shoehorn a kdx200 motor into that chassis (which would be the best option i think)

[Shawn36]

Those old KawiZuki's were the absolute worst bike ever built.  They fell apart on the starting line and not even the factory race teams could keep them together. 

[MetalMike1982]

I tried to tell him he was making a mistake but for some reason the $1500 price tag screamed good deal to him even with all of what I was telling him .  The day he picked it up I found a 2006 yz125 for the same price that looked so clean but he was set on the kawi .  my other buddy bought a 04kx250f as well but also has a 07rm125 and he rides the rm most of the time due to the 250f having carb/valve/4 stroke problems constantly . 

I dont understand why the new 4jokes cant be like the ol xr's reliability wise .  I mean I understand that the xr250 is no comparison to a mx 250f but it seems like there could be middle ground somewhere to keep the bikes somewhat reliable.

[msambuco]

Dtown has some 4 strokes he can rent. We are going in 2 weeks. 

[eprovenzano]

That's why when my cousin wanted to get into riding (his 1st bike), I suggested a TTR 250.  It like the ol reliable XR's, with some modern upgrades.  Last season we ran it bone stock.  Over the winter we added a pipe, opened the air box, and rejetted. He can't wait to try out the upgrades.  He thought he needed a YZF, but the TTR has has given him the ability to learn some skills, and still has a lot left in her for him to increase his skills.  When he's ready, I'll point him towards a KTM 200 for his next bike.   

[michwoodsrider]

And to think i used to want one of those bikes...yikes

[twosmoke595]

I tried to tell him he was making a mistake but for some reason the $1500 price tag screamed good deal to him even with all of what I was telling him .  The day he picked it up I found a 2006 yz125 for the same price that looked so clean but he was set on the kawi .  my other buddy bought a 04kx250f as well but also has a 07rm125 and he rides the rm most of the time due to the 250f having carb/valve/4 stroke problems constantly . 

I dont understand why the new 4jokes cant be like the ol xr's reliability wise .  I mean I understand that the xr250 is no comparison to a mx 250f but it seems like there could be middle ground somewhere to keep the bikes somewhat reliable.

because the old xr's didnt' rev up to 14k rpm

[factoryX]

I had an xr250r for about 2 months, the bog was incredible(Lean from factory, still there after jetting it correctly). The rip in the accelerator pump diaphragm was also fun, as was the coil failing due to a little water(Common issue).

[twosmoke595]

I had an xr250r for about 2 months, the bog was incredible(Lean from factory, still there after jetting it correctly). The rip in the accelerator pump diaphragm was also fun, as was the coil failing due to a little water(Common issue).

we've had 3 xr's all between 1998-2004 year models and none have had any issues, and we've swamped them, and literally rode the wheels off of them, they're dead reliable, and even moreso when you ride them like they're intended, my brother started bottoming it out (he was riding mx) so if they're used for what they aren't built for, they will fail bc they aren't meant to be ridden like a mx bike

as far as the engine stuff goes, the xr's are complete turds, you wont be able to snap the throttle like a regular mx bike (which they are not) all of ours were jetted as good as they could possibly get, they felt sluggish but that's just the way the bike is supposed to feel

[factoryX]

Guess I had bad luck.
https://www.google.com/#q=xr250r+problems&hl=en&prmd=imvns&ei=SRlpT_DJFqPQiAK9sNiuBw&start=50&sa=N&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=433ac409f622857f&biw=1920&bih=967

[motoman356]

I would have the valves checked. Also check your buddies jetting. it might be running really lean. can you tell more about whats happening with the bike? like when giving it gas or letting off does it pop/ backfire? I've had an 04 KXF250 and i didnt have issues with overheating though i was moving on a track instead of slow trail riding. plus i always played with jetting to make sure it ran right. still have to with my rm125. O and little known trick to get rid of that bottom end bog. turn your idle up a bit. 1 this makes it a little harder to stall 2 this takes the carb off of the idle circuit so its not running as slow. 3 dont worry about it. the bike is ridden at more than 1000 rpms on trails and track and if your worrying about over heating on a start line dont sit there revving the crap out of it while you wait for a whole moto to pass.

[streaks383]

Rode my 2004 KX250F all over Alaska for a year, then Hawaii for a year.  Rode 3 days a week on trails in AK and raced once a month.   Rode twice a week in Hawaii and raced once every month.  At a B level.  After a boyseen water impeller never had a problem and never blew it up.  But the starting problem does sound like a tight valve and the hot pipe is probably from running lean.  Bikes don't break because they are 4 strokes, they break because they are not properly maintained or cared for.  Every now and then someone gets a lemon, my only lemons we 2T's.

[MetalMike1982]

i have no doubt that the bike is running super lean but it literally went from running great and being ridden by a rider that dosent rev it passed the halfway mark to popping and running like crap in a matter of days . 

Rode my 2004 KX250F all over Alaska for a year, then Hawaii for a year.  Rode 3 days a week on trails in AK and raced once a month.   Rode twice a week in Hawaii and raced once every month.  At a B level.  After a boyseen water impeller never had a problem and never blew it up.  But the starting problem does sound like a tight valve and the hot pipe is probably from running lean.  Bikes don't break because they are 4 strokes, they break because they are not properly maintained or cared for.  Every now and then someone gets a lemon, my only lemons we 2T's.

He's got the boyesen water pump imp and aftermarket rads and it still overheats like crazy  and this is not a rare problem . Everyone I know that rides a 4 joke has overheating problems .  Bikes brake due to many different factors , but poor design is right up front IMO .   

I would have the valves checked. Also check your buddies jetting. it might be running really lean. can you tell more about whats happening with the bike? like when giving it gas or letting off does it pop/ backfire? I've had an 04 KXF250 and i didnt have issues with overheating though i was moving on a track instead of slow trail riding. plus i always played with jetting to make sure it ran right. still have to with my rm125. O and little known trick to get rid of that bottom end bog. turn your idle up a bit. 1 this makes it a little harder to stall 2 this takes the carb off of the idle circuit so its not running as slow. 3 dont worry about it. the bike is ridden at more than 1000 rpms on trails and track and if your worrying about over heating on a start line dont sit there revving the crap out of it while you wait for a whole moto to pass.

it will overheat after about 60seconds of idleing . this bike dosent get the crap revved out of it thats whats sad.

 
 

[MetalMike1982]

 

Dtown has some 4 strokes he can rent. We are going in 2 weeks. 

Yeah he knows but he's pissed and dosent wanna go now . Besides the dtown rental bikes are clapped!
He told me if he gets it fixed and it dosent run good for more than a few weeks its history .


I cant agree with Xr's being bad bikes , one of the older guys thats going with us to dtown has an 86XR250 thats been ridden hard with minimal maint since 1986 and still runs like a champ . Starts first kick dosent smoke or make funny noizes and its the original motor thats never been cracked in to .