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Having been a ‘big bike’ rider since 1999 (KX250) it’s been a long long time since I’ve spent any kind of time on a ‘lites’ (yeah, I have that term too) bike.
I had very short time on a 125 in 2003 & a 250F in in 2005, but aside from that it’s all been 250 two strokes or 450s for me.
Recently I find myself wanting change. I’ve got a bit of a thing for a modern KX250F. I just can’t decide whether to pull the trigger in case I regret it .
i don’t race any more, so laptimes aren’t a concern. But I do worry I’m going to be uninspired if it doesn’t have enough power.
Are you a vet who rides a 250f?
why did you choose a 250 instead of a 450?
I ride a 250f. 165lbs and carries me around fine. Sometimes on deeper softer dirt you give up some but once the track gets harder packed and rutted you can go just as fast with more control and much easier cornering. Just my experience
I'm a Vet rider who loves the 250F. I also have a 250 two stroke. I never feel down on power with the 250F. They are certainly not slow, and they just keep getting better.
I can ride more aggressively on the 250 vs a 450, and ride/hold onto a 250F way longer than a 450 (or 350 for that matter).
As the Elliot above pointed out, more control and easier cornering.
I'm currently on the latest gen KX250.
54yrs, 2020 rmz250
450 was not exciting. I rode around at 1/4 throttle, no clutching and not much shifting.... and landing awkwardly from jumps scared me. 250F I can at least turn the throttle all the way to the stop on a track and it feels more fun in the corners (speed).
I ride a 250F cause its all the power I need, and I can still ride it with nasty arm pump. Just picked this up, first ride was on Monday.
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For me it became about injuries. From the late 80's to 2005 I was on 250 2-strokes. My last 3 summers on 2-strokes were spent mostly on the sidelines with injuries. Then a friend let me try his 04' blue 250F and I had an awakening. I had so much more control over traction, jump attitude and corner speed...I felt safer and faster and for me it was a win/win. For the next 15 years I rode 250F's. I test rode a few friend's 450's and couldn't give them back fast enough...they all felt like a wheelbarrow full of bowling balls to me. I did switch to a 350 in 19' for a couple years. I loved that bike...the engine mainly, just a magic power plant. But in couldn't get along with the suspension & chassis even after dropping a lot of $, and the crashes and injuries started coming back after a 15-year clean streak. In 21' I reluctantly went back to a 250F and I've been healthy since. I miss that 350 engine but modern 250F's are pretty amazing in their own right. It's plenty exciting unless I'm in deep sand.
Where I am the 450 is the vet bike of choice.
However, I am 6’ 195# and have no issue with being on a 250F and being at a lack of power. Rode 450’s from 04 to 17 and had a bad crash. Made a small mistake and having too much power at hand made it worse and broke me up pretty good. Don’t need that kind of power for what I do and my 250 never leaves me with the thought of “damn, wish I had a 450” ever. On a 2020 KX and will be looking for a new one soon.
350 is the real way to go. Best of both worlds but a 250 does have plenty for pretty much all of us.
63 Yr old vet novice hear. 225 lbs.
I race a ‘24 250F. It has all the power I need. 450s are just more than I want - easier to get into trouble, harder to hang on to, and more tiring to ride. I usually race at Glen Helen. Typically 12-15 in my class, and occasionally up to 25. I am usually in the top 5 going in to the first turn, and have even gotten the holeshot. No one pulls me going up Mt St Helen either.
Considering you don’t race a 250F will have enough. Even if you did it would likely still be enough.
Modern 250F’s are making just as much power as late ‘80’s 250 2 strokes.
I have both - 50A (40
The 450 gets to places before i'm ready to get there - it's just always a step ahead of me. The 250 makes me plan and execute better and the "until death do us part" part of the contract doesn't get discussed as much. Love my 250F. PS-I'm 6'7" and almost 250 lbs
I'd say 90's ones too.
Damn, I’m jealous 390. Ohh..and the bike is nice too!!
The MSO was 50.x on my 1990 KX250. MY '21 is 46HP.
Most vets are biting off more than they can chew with a 450. IMO nobody needs a 450, but top intermediates to pros should be the only guys on them. Wanted to be a lazy rider is no excuse and often leads to bad injury
I’m a 33 year old vet. Switched to a 250f for 2023 season after riding a 450f for 10 years. There’s definitely a learning curve. Gotta hit the corners fast to downside jumps. Also have to seat bounce sometimes to make the jumps as well. It really does improve your technique. Biggest positive is that I don’t get as tired and it’s fun being able to hold it wide open. Then, when you get back on a 450, you’ll flat land everything. Best option is to have both.
Interesting, more juice than I thought.
Also if the front drops on the 250 in the air. Panic rev doesn’t bring it back as much as it does on the 450. Commitment and planning are emphasized on the 250f
I’m a old guy but still ride tracks open during the week. My racing days are long past. Late model 250 Honda R’s and YZF’s are very Vet friendly, easy power band to manage. I’d guess the KX is too. Can’t say for the Austrian bikes, but probably. I’d like to have a 450 just to have one but most people young or old can’t ride a modern 250 to its potential much less scratch the surface of a 450.
I had 2014 250 YZF mapped to what I called an old guy map. Stupid easy to ride and would still haul ass.
My Beta 300 RX is fun but can’t make many laps, get tired real quick. It’s not a 450 buts it’s wicked to ride.
With all that said. I kinda see two kinds of Vet riders. Many of us old guys let life, families, jobs and injuries quit riding. Then came back to the sport many years later. There are Vet riders that never let life get in the way and they never quit riding. They can ride a 450 and never miss a lick.
Pit Row
Everyone talks about 125s being such a blast or 250 smokers. I’m in the rare minority that thinks nothing is more fun than revving the crap out of a modern, predictable, relatively safe 250F ESPECIALLY when you’re getting up there in age. They rip.
Exactly. Go to Pala on a weekend and it’s a ton of vet guys with factory edition 450s, sprinters, and multiple jugs of VP.
When I do the swap moto series, I feel old AF being 35 on a 250 because everyone I’m racing is a teenager. All the older guys are on 450s.
At least 3 kinds. Took 20 years off and still prefer a 450.
Funny stuff. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen the sprinter people, young and old, filling up VP cans with 93 at the Pala gas station. Don’t know if there are cutting it or strictly posing. Lots of people with “the look” everywhere but on the track.
Everytime I go to the track I realize how poor I am.
Everytime I go to the track I realize how old I am !
The VP can is good for a season….dont judge a book by its cover. There’s a ton of old guys that kept riding or came back to the sport after a break. Motocross wasn’t as expensive and most of us were poor as fuck anyways. Then….coming back years later…..we are posers because we remember how cool it was to have something as simple as an enclosed trailer. Our bikes look good…..we are proud of our equipment……an unfortunately we get slower by the year
I rode 450s for for over 10 years and now 350 . The smaller bikes are just more fun and won't spike in the dirt as easy . Now the new kx450 does seem cool with the mellow engine
LoL I work the gate at NESC races for the local track I ride at. I scope out the vet bikes as they're prepping their gates. Bikes are so blinged with cone valves, A-kit, exhausts, all the goodies. I don't hate. You can afford all that stuff at that age. Do it up
You still hit Pala every Monday?
TM
I’m really digging the new KTM 24.5 FE250, but not sure I can give up the 350 life just yet.
Any vet guys go from 350 to 250?
Because it’s the bike I have the most fun on.
Post a reply to: Vets and their 250Fs.. why 250?