Used 4 stroke repair costs/risks?

roninho
Posts
1622
Joined
7/14/2015
Location
IT
Edited Date/Time 7/15/2015 12:56pm
Hi,
New guy on this forum, and also new on a MX-bike.

Big mx fan when i was a kid (mid 80s, early 90s, i'm 35 now) but not allowed to ride by my parents and slowly lost track of the sport.

Raced 125cc 2 stroke shifterkarts untill my late 20's and quit that a few years ago.

Now my girlfriend rented a mxbike and arranged a day riding 'coached' by a professional trainer as a surprise for me (yes, she's a keeper). Needless to say that got me thinking of (finally) starting with the sport and buying a bike.

Anyway, my question is regarding what bike to get:
I'm 6''3, 220 lbs (with not much more to lose then probably 10-20 lbs after some cardio), so i would imagine that eventually with that size a bigger (450 F or 250 2 stroke) bike would be were i should end up with.
However as of today i believe such a powerfull bike would be way to much to handle for me as a noob, and i would like to take a year on a smaller bike (250F or 125 2 stroke) to learn to ride and then decide how and what to upgrade. Might look a bit silly as i'm to big for such a bike, but i'm not looking to change my name to Jean-Michel anytime soon and just want to learn to ride decent and i believe that's probably better on a smaller bike.

So i'm thining of buying an older 125cc 2 stroke or 250cc 4 stroke, as in the 2.000-3.000 euro range (not sure what that means in the US market, but over here i can get a couple year old bike for that). I know how to repair and maintain a 125cc 2 stroke engine so i see that as an advantage. I have no experience with 4 stroke engines. On the other hand the 4 stroke is probably 'easier' to ride with the power delivery so that should fit me better (and probably the 250 has a bit more power which is handy with my weight.

So now on to my question: How comfortable would you guys feel buying a couple of years old (and raced) 250 4 stroke. I am a bit worried on the likelyhood of engine damages and the costs involved when getting a 4-stroker that is a couple of years old (and with relatively little knowledge how those years it has been maintained). With a 125cc i'm confident i can do the repairs/replacements myself and that the costs will be somewhat reasonable when replacing, but any advice on the 4 stroke?

Any help is appreciated!

Ron
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imoto34
Posts
3781
Joined
1/28/2010
Location
TN US
Fantasy
3174th
7/15/2015 7:48am
a 250 2 stroke isthe way to go. You lucked out with your woman
Justin345
Posts
644
Joined
6/26/2014
Location
Southern MD, MD US
7/15/2015 12:56pm Edited Date/Time 7/15/2015 12:58pm
I wouldn't recommend buying a used 250 four stroke - the reliability isn't there for those motors since you have to run them really hard and you roll the dice on having to rebuild something soon after your purchase ($$$$). I personally wouldn't buy a used 250F. A 125 is going to be pretty low on power for your size. A 250 2 stroke would be a good choice and cheaper to rebuild/maintain. Good luck!

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