How bad was the 04 RMZ/KX 250f really ?

JW381
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JW381 12/14/2013 11:33pm
12/14/2013 11:33pm
Wasn't the issue with the RMZ/KXF the tiny oil capacity? I had an '04 YZF, never had an issue with it, just didn't care for the way it rode. The motor was sort of weird and loud, and the suspension was harsh. I sold it and got an '06 YZF and it felt much more nimble, although still didn't want to corner for shit.

I just could never see myself buying a used 250F older than a few years. I see the way the majority of people ride them, and I want no part in keeping up on that clapped out hoe-age.
malachi177
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malachi177 12/15/2013 12:00am
12/15/2013 12:00am
Honda Uni-cam engines are notorious valve and cam eaters.....bike shops love them, keeps the mechanics busy.
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catatonic
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catatonic 12/15/2013 4:42am
12/15/2013 4:42am
I bought a new' 05 kxf after having an '03 yzf.......it was so much slower it was pathetic. A 125 with a pipe and mild port would be all over that thing.
I cant say much about reliability since I only kept it a month.
Sold it and bought a ktm 525sx.
Racer92
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Racer92 12/15/2013 6:16am
12/15/2013 6:16am
visser62 wrote:
I have an 04 RMZ 250, and I absolutely love it. Runs and feels great,
I had one for a while and it ripped. The motor had flaws, but they could be fixed.

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ATKpilot99
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ATKpilot99 12/15/2013 7:32am
12/15/2013 7:32am
Thanks for all the info. I'm not sure what I'm doing for the spring but one of these is an option. It would be my first 4 stroke mx bike.
Indy mxer
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Indy mxer 12/15/2013 7:43am
12/15/2013 7:43am
Save your money and go for a newer model. You'll be glad you did. Remember those 04/05 models were Suz and Kaw's first attempt at a 4 stroke mx bike. Lots of teething problems. They made huge improvements in the ensuing years.

As I said, my brother owns the oldest Suzuki Dealership in Indiana. Started with them in 1974.
Nobody is more loyal to the Suzuki brand than he is. That said, he would tell you to stay away from that model. I know because I've heard him say it.
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Socket946
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Socket946 12/15/2013 10:39am
12/15/2013 10:39am
Yes, they really were that bad. Had an older buddy that was always sooooo damn proud of his '05 or '06?...It was a great looking bike, I'll give him that. He let me ride it once, half a lap and I got off the track to give it back.

Motor felt weird, handling wasn't what I though a suzuki should handle like, and it just wasn't as "crisp" as I'd liked.

It blew up the next day. I was then told, they have a habit of blowing up, constantly.
njracer46
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njracer46 12/15/2013 2:52pm
12/15/2013 2:52pm Edited Date/Time 12/15/2013 2:56pm
malachi177 wrote:
Honda Uni-cam engines are notorious valve and cam eaters.....bike shops love them, keeps the mechanics busy.
yes that might be true to someone that knows absolutely nothing about bikes and doesn't maintain the thing. i'm not saying the stock valves don't suck because i know they do. But with a couple ss valves and get the seats shimmed it is a solid bike. like a said, my two friends have two 04's and they are still running good. i also had an 03 yz250f which was the worst bike i have ever owned. talk about a valve eater. and another friend had an 05 yz250f which was pretty sold. if i had to pick between an 05 yzf or crf i would go yamaha though. it's still sitting in my friends shed, he only raced it for 1 season and stopped riding. i had an 07 crf250 and same thing with the valves. after the ss valves i had them in their for 3 seasons and all but one were still in spec. i wish i still had my honda manual with every time i checked the valves just to shut you up.
Fearo
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Fearo 12/16/2013 1:46am
12/16/2013 1:46am Edited Date/Time 12/16/2013 1:47am
I remember seeing one of the TGO videos when J-Law was a rookie on the rockstar team with Mike brown as a teammate and they rode those bikes.. I think it was 04, or maybe 05.. Well, anyway, Mike Brown switched from an rmz250 to an rm 250 2-stroke mid-season becaue they could not get those bikes to last a single moto...
usp4u
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usp4u 12/16/2013 4:46am
12/16/2013 4:46am
I had an '04. Handled great, Boyesen water pump cover/impeller, stiffer rad cap, Engine Ice. Never had a lick of trouble with it. Shimmed valves once a year, that was it.
moore433
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moore433 12/16/2013 6:48am
12/16/2013 6:48am
mx757 wrote:
The 04 CRF250 was notorious for valve issues. Honestly I would go with a YZF if you had to get a 10 year old 250f. That...
The 04 CRF250 was notorious for valve issues. Honestly I would go with a YZF if you had to get a 10 year old 250f. That being said, a 10 year old bike is not going to be the most reliable ride no matter what color.
I bought a 04 crf 250 brand new and ran the Honda olis in it. I ran that bike every weekend for 3 years without ever even adjusting the valves. And I rode it hard and revved the crap out of that bike. In 05, I bought a new crf 450 and within 6 months had to replace the valves on it. The 04 crf 250 I had was a great bike, I wish I still had it....
jmx411
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jmx411 12/16/2013 7:56am
12/16/2013 7:56am
My friend of a friends uncles nephew said the bike was crap. So I wouldn't buy one. Trust me!!
Panic_Rev
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Panic_Rev 12/16/2013 8:06am
12/16/2013 8:06am
VET176 wrote:
I'm toying with the idea of buying a 250F.

Can anyone recommended a good year reliability wise?? Any brand.
2006 or newer Yamaha 250f. Known for reliability and great suspension.
burn1986
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burn1986 12/16/2013 8:48am
12/16/2013 8:48am
They're all pretty good from '07 - present.
defeatist45
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defeatist45 12/16/2013 2:36pm
12/16/2013 2:36pm
mx757 wrote:
The 04 CRF250 was notorious for valve issues. Honestly I would go with a YZF if you had to get a 10 year old 250f. That...
The 04 CRF250 was notorious for valve issues. Honestly I would go with a YZF if you had to get a 10 year old 250f. That being said, a 10 year old bike is not going to be the most reliable ride no matter what color.
moore433 wrote:
I bought a 04 crf 250 brand new and ran the Honda olis in it. I ran that bike every weekend for 3 years without ever...
I bought a 04 crf 250 brand new and ran the Honda olis in it. I ran that bike every weekend for 3 years without ever even adjusting the valves. And I rode it hard and revved the crap out of that bike. In 05, I bought a new crf 450 and within 6 months had to replace the valves on it. The 04 crf 250 I had was a great bike, I wish I still had it....
Thats nuts. I had an '04 and '05. Did not have the '05 long, but I wanted to set the '04 on fire. The bike was awesome when it ran, but seems like it literally needed a valve adjustment after every ride lol.
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mx836
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mx836 12/16/2013 3:30pm
12/16/2013 3:30pm
mx757 wrote:
The 04 CRF250 was notorious for valve issues. Honestly I would go with a YZF if you had to get a 10 year old 250f. That...
The 04 CRF250 was notorious for valve issues. Honestly I would go with a YZF if you had to get a 10 year old 250f. That being said, a 10 year old bike is not going to be the most reliable ride no matter what color.
moore433 wrote:
I bought a 04 crf 250 brand new and ran the Honda olis in it. I ran that bike every weekend for 3 years without ever...
I bought a 04 crf 250 brand new and ran the Honda olis in it. I ran that bike every weekend for 3 years without ever even adjusting the valves. And I rode it hard and revved the crap out of that bike. In 05, I bought a new crf 450 and within 6 months had to replace the valves on it. The 04 crf 250 I had was a great bike, I wish I still had it....
The valves on the Honda were even worse the the Kaw/Suz!!
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Geoffrey
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Geoffrey 4/11/2022 1:59pm
4/11/2022 1:59pm
I'm looking at a 04 KX250f right now, it needs an engine rebuild and the guy is selling it for $700. (he has a new in box cylinder that comes with it). I only ride maybe 10-15 hours a month on trails on my dad's farm. Is buying and rebuilding the engine worth it?
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harescrambled 4/11/2022 2:33pm
4/11/2022 2:33pm
Geoffrey wrote:
I'm looking at a 04 KX250f right now, it needs an engine rebuild and the guy is selling it for $700. (he has a new in...
I'm looking at a 04 KX250f right now, it needs an engine rebuild and the guy is selling it for $700. (he has a new in box cylinder that comes with it). I only ride maybe 10-15 hours a month on trails on my dad's farm. Is buying and rebuilding the engine worth it?
I'd have to say yes for that price and the intended use. I'd replace the cam chain while you're there. (I raced a 04rmz250 for several seasons in GNCC....found the cam chains tend to wear out pretty quick on those bikes.) If you buy it and you need some spares, I've still got a few things lying around. Couple shifters, cylinder head cover, main wiring harness, CDI box, partial transmission (complete input shaft I believe)and a few more odds and ends
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chasetwo79
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chasetwo79 4/11/2022 2:41pm
4/11/2022 2:41pm
I raced an 04 and an 05 yellow version. I honestly loved it in comparison to the YZFs I tried out back then.

I did switch to the CRF in 06.

I raced A and pro sport. Qualified for Amsoil arenacross mains on it. It was one of my favorite bikes.

It wasn’t fast stock, but we worked on that and I think it was pretty fast once modified.

It turned great. In every type of turn. Obviously we changed the suspension. But stock it still turned well.

None of the bikes back then would compare to todays bike, but it wasn’t some totally awful bike like some people are saying.

That said, you had to check the valves often. But again, that was kinda the case in the early days for all thumpers.
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mattyhamz2 4/11/2022 3:19pm
4/11/2022 3:19pm
I still have my 05 KX. Amazing reading all of the horror stories with these bikes since I never ran into any of these issues. 200+ hours on the OG crank and only did 1 top end and 1 clutch in all of that time. The slide wore out before anything else on that bike. Rebuilt it from top to bottom a few years back and it runs just as good as it did the day we brought it home.

The only issue we ever had was with 3rd gear going out, but that looked to be way more of a rider error type of issue than quality of the part itself.
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mxrose3
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mxrose3 4/11/2022 5:16pm
4/11/2022 5:16pm
Bought a used one back then with 90 hours on it. First race on it... it jumped timing and ran like garbage.
Put a new timing chain on and it still jumped a few rides later. The worn out timing chain hooked the teeth on the crank sprocket. New crank was needed.
Now the previous owner could have been lying about when he put the hour meter on it and it may have had more than 90, but the rest of the engine didn't look that worn out.
walent215
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walent215 4/11/2022 5:41pm
4/11/2022 5:41pm
Geoffrey wrote:
I'm looking at a 04 KX250f right now, it needs an engine rebuild and the guy is selling it for $700. (he has a new in...
I'm looking at a 04 KX250f right now, it needs an engine rebuild and the guy is selling it for $700. (he has a new in box cylinder that comes with it). I only ride maybe 10-15 hours a month on trails on my dad's farm. Is buying and rebuilding the engine worth it?
I’d say no more than $300
If it needs a rebuild then I’d be inspecting everything very close
Probably go stainless valves and Boyesen water pump and good rads
To make that bike “ right “ would put you in the ballpark of a much newer , better performing bike.
moto162
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moto162 4/11/2022 7:08pm
4/11/2022 7:08pm
Great bikes in my opinion. Had a 05 and 06 rmz and still to this day my favorite bike. Buy a yz250f cam chain they are much cheaper and better durability. All of the engine parts on that bike interchange with a 08 kx250f. Every part on that motor fits on your bike. Ost of the stock parts are superceded to this year. Some parts might even be on newer models. I'm probably gonna find a 06 rmz frame and build one up using my old practice 08 that's chillin in the shop.
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user760a
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user760a 4/11/2022 7:14pm
4/11/2022 7:14pm
Every small independent fix it shop has two or three RMZ250/KX250F models from 04/05 laying in the back, abandoned junk. They were piles of junk when new....I doubt they are much better 18 years later
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Geoffrey
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Geoffrey 4/11/2022 7:14pm
4/11/2022 7:14pm
walent215 wrote:
I’d say no more than $300 If it needs a rebuild then I’d be inspecting everything very close Probably go stainless valves and Boyesen water pump...
I’d say no more than $300
If it needs a rebuild then I’d be inspecting everything very close
Probably go stainless valves and Boyesen water pump and good rads
To make that bike “ right “ would put you in the ballpark of a much newer , better performing bike.
Yeah, I'm not sure I'll go for that after all. I was originally looking at yz125s, but here in Canada (and probably everywhere) the prices have gone up so much. Not only that but almost nobody is selling anything anymore. The last yz125 I saw here was an 06 for $5400! A couple years ago when my brother bought his, he got a 2012 for $2500 :/
Not a good time for buying bikes.
bichwolf
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bichwolf 4/11/2022 7:50pm
4/11/2022 7:50pm
How Bad?
Well, gave me an STD and a sinus infection.
cmotodad
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cmotodad 4/11/2022 8:49pm
4/11/2022 8:49pm
That 700 dollar roller would be a great candidate for a 2stroke motor swap. i have one with a KX500 in it and it handles great and is a blast to ride with it's good handling
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moto162
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moto162 4/11/2022 11:33pm
4/11/2022 11:33pm
user760a wrote:
Every small independent fix it shop has two or three RMZ250/KX250F models from 04/05 laying in the back, abandoned junk. They were piles of junk when...
Every small independent fix it shop has two or three RMZ250/KX250F models from 04/05 laying in the back, abandoned junk. They were piles of junk when new....I doubt they are much better 18 years later
Hey if you know of any "abandoned junks" let me know. I'll gladly take a decent frame off their hands.
LoudLove
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LoudLove 4/12/2022 5:11am
4/12/2022 5:11am
Minimum $2K investment to make it “road worthy”, probably closer to $3K for a 17 year old bike with a questionable history and below average resell value.

$3K+ is a nice down payment on a new bike. This not only buys 2022 technology, it also provides peace of mind when approaching that big obstacle. When a 4 stroke bites the dust, it tends to do so in dramatic fashion.
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