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Joined
2/14/2016
Location
Motor City, MI, USA
Been a pipe dream of mine for a while to get a ragged out late 80’s- late 90’s 250 2 stroke to restore and do some vintage racing on. My question to you is, what are some good years to look for and which are some to avoid? I’m open to any color. I know the 92-96 CR’s are a common build, but man I think they are sweet.
99 yz 125/250. Good parts availability. 96 cr 125 would be my next choice.
Whatever you decide to buy, make it the lowest hr example you can find. The more original the better. Many hard parts are NLA, before you buy a bike, do an oem/ aftermarket search for transmission gears, clutch baskets, cylinders ect. Every model has some hard to find parts but there is usually a work around.
All I can say is research parts availability before deciding and buying a bike.
Restored a 83 YZ125, some parts were easy, some were a pain as it was partially a 1yr only bike. Tried to find a certain pipe for 3yrs with no luck even after offering multiple people stupid money to get one.
Restored/modded a '75 TY175 trials bike, parts were easy to get whether OEM or aftermarket for most everything. Plenty of shops stock and support these bikes.
Currently in the process of a ~'80 Fantic 240 and parts are an absolute pain to get for random bits that nickel and dime you. Many mods are a figure it out yourself type of thing. I'm a bit surprised as these things pull a premium $$ wise but have a pretty good following. They just don't have the support of the TY I'm guessing due to lower volume production numbers.
The Shop
Free shipping: VITALMX
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Hey, at some point in your life, haven't you dreamed of a specific model? So buy that one.
Dirtbikes from the late 80s and early 90s are incredible, and each one has its charm (in its own way)
As mentioned above, look for the one that is in the best condition, and before buying it, look for availability of spare parts.
Cheers.
I wanted a 96-98 YZ 125 or 250 for the longest time. Those were my favorite years/bikes growing up. Finally a buddy was selling his 250 so I jumped at the chance. As for the 250s, I know the 99+ is essentially the same as the new bikes but that was actually part of the reason I sort of wanted the 98. Just feels like more of a bike from a different time, being the old motor (if that makes any sense.) I didn't have to do too much but I found everything I was looking for, relatively easily. Obviously a 99 would be easier though. Anyways, got this thing done up and ready to go. It's not meant to be a show bike or anything. Just a bike to play on and race in some vintages races, when I get time. As a bonus, at like HP Vet National, 98 is the last year before cut-off for the next class up. So just something to consider. Also, I did a 98 MC theme since that was my fav year of him on a YZ.
Avoid KXs. Hard to find parts, particularly powervalves. Shoddy built quality back in those days. Lots of stripped fasteners under the gunk you’ll have to clean off
Hondas are solid through the 90s. Suspension is where you’ll spend more money getting them up to speed, particularly early 90s. Expect to pay top dollar for parts
YZs seem to be the sweet spot. Easy to get parts for. Not as exotic or sexy IMHO, they seem to me to have been the same looking through 2021.
Haven't done any yellow bikes
Condition is everything on old bikes. Take condition over anything I said above and you’ll have a great time 👍🏻
I'm going to go against the grain a little here as far as recommendations of finding something in good condition. The reality is that if you are going to race an old bike, you are most likely going to rebuild the motor and replace all of the plastics and wear items anyway. So if you find something that someone has been riding down the road or in cow trails guess what -- that frame has actually had less abuse than a track bike or a racer.
What you want to shoot for is a COMPLETE bike, or if a part is missing check for availabilty before you buy. Stuff like powervalves, clutch parts, transmissions can be very hard to come by.
You really can't go wrong with a Honda 125 up to 97, or 250 up to 96. Yamahas also take a beating but the 125s before 96 were slow (the 250s were pretty good the whole time). I did a 93 RM 125 a few years back, dog slow but fun to ride. Replaced it with a '93 CR 125 and added Showa Twin Chamber (1998) forks and the thing was damn near competitive with modern 125s. And the 94+ KXs actually feel very modern ergonomically. So you have lots of cool choices in there!
Something else to consider is the rules of the sanctioning body you will be racing with. It seems like they all have different year cutoffs. So for example, I have to race my '89 YZ 125 against 97s when I go to Daytona or race with SEVMX, but with SSVMX or AHRMA there are different cutoffs. Depending on the rules, you can have a pretty big technology deficit (although in my experience the talent gap in your average vintage field is so big that technology isn't usually the deciding factor.)
Me and my father have done plenty of vintage builds from 70’s to early 2000’s.
If you just want to build a bike the easy way Honda is the way to go. Parts are easy to find and oem parts that are hard to get a hold of are being re-produced by aftermarket companies.
Some people enjoy the hunt for parts and a build can take years to complete if you choose to go with a Kawasaki for example or a early 90’s ktm.
so it all depends what your goals are.
Most bikes from this era have been gone through and command money or are going to be total roaches. You are better off buying two of the most beat bikes you can find to make one.
The exception to this is the survivors in decent condition that have little wrong and are readily apparent but are rare.
Everyone has their own experiences. I've had no issues with Kawasakis and rebuilding them. I bought the '99 KX below last year to "save" and as a project to work on with help from a friend (he ended up doing most of the work). I had a set of forks and new shock from my previous '99 KX build so that saved me a lot of money on rebuild. It had been sitting outside under a tarp for close to 20 years and the "before" picture is after a good wash and degrease. No stripped bolts were removed, everything came apart easily except axles and swingarm pivot which required a lot of penetrating oil. Turns out it needed a cylinder replate and that was done well by Power seal (again, everyone has different results). Ordered up a bunch of stock Kawasaki parts and nothing else was hard to find including one powervalve part I dropped in the garage and spent hours looking for it...Got it used online, no problem. Biggest issue was radiator shrouds screw seized in the insert in the fuel tank (common Kawasaki problem).
But, you are absolutely correct about condition...Pay more for a good bike.
Think the bike was a 90 with a 91 seat, same bike anyway. It had a rusty pc pipe I sold it. The fmf was similar, installed a rad valve great engine bottom to top. Handled great I would race it today if I still had it. Noleen did a great job on the revalve forks where much improved. The 89 250 forks r hard to improve. Local Harley dealer had New 89 cr125& cr250 and 90 rm250,s. 4,500 for the Hondas 5 yrs ago.
That looks great! Those KX’s are probably my favorite models of all time
The small local dealership had those era Kawi’s lined up side-by-side in front of the building, and Kawasaki green has had a place in my heart ever since
I got the kx60 for Christmas and loved it
My friend had a 96 CR125 with a high comp head and that thing was almost on the same level as my stock 2016 125sx. Brakes and the rider triangle were the only things that really felt dated.
That thing got TPS and a power jet?
None…. Two strokes were the cats meow back in the day. It’s was the best technology, but so was reel-to-reel, 8 track, cassette tape, and cd’s. After spending countless hours finding parts and working on the project, you may not enjoy riding it as you may think. Truth be told, I grew up on two strokes and was fast on them, but after years off of them, they are difficult and not as fun to ride as I remember. New model four strokes are more reliable and easier to ride than two strokes ever were. Not to mention, any new showroom bike will blow the doors off of any factory two stroke.
Have you ever put them on the stopwatch? I have. The difference is not more than a few seconds a lap for most riders if you know how to ride a 2 stroke.
1997 CR250. Historically significant as the bike that halted Mc’s championship streak.
Pit Row
This will be my ride for this year.
You bringing it to Zoar in ‘24?
Cool bike!
There is some validity to what you are saying but is the 90s bike being purchased to be the only bike? I took it as a fun bike to do on the side but maybe I missed that. I personally bought mine for that reason. It's my 3rd mx bike, so by no means is it my main ride. If that were the case, then parts availability becomes a much bigger priority.
As far as performance, yes there has been progress. Mainly the 250Fs. But keep in mind, just last year at least 1 guy was making SX mains on a bike with an engine developed in '99, sitting in a chassis developed in '05. That's pretty impressive.
Yep, along with this one. I already bought tickets.
Here me out.. a late 90's TM 125 or 250. Parts availability is amazing, the bikes were built solid. And they have the cool factor.
This issue is finding one
Only thing I will say is I had a really bad experience building a 97 KX250. The PV was totaled and had to get the guy in England to make and send me all new parts. It was expensive and was one of many build issues with that bike
He’s just angry at the world because he lost his edge to be able to ride a 2-st. And wants to talk about 4-st. The op wants a 90,s 250 that would be a 2-st. I would race that 90 cr250 today if I had it. I launched it 4 wo up a ski flying ramp. That’s confidence in a bike. Trespassing to so ya better not get hurt. Throttle stuck wo 1 time I bailed the bike cartwheeled and snapped the bars off. That’s an Answer silencer.
Yes sir, just went out and verified.
OP: Restoring or just saving an old 250 2 stroke MX is a fun project if you have the time and money. Take your time, find the right bike, and start hunting for the parts. To be honest, hunting for and finding the parts is a big part of the fun! Good luck with you project!
Ive got two 2000 KX 250s that are probably in identical condition to your top photo as of right now. Going through and rebuilding both of them and every thing seems easy to find other than cylinders and powervalves. Luckily both of mine just need replated all other motor internals seem OK for the most part. I think im gonna build one as a woods machine with a 18 inch rear and a oversize tank. The other ill probably throw a TX Race restyle kit on it and go full moto spec.
You guys just be very careful assembling and tightening the power valves and never use an impact, the teeth on the timing gears are very fragile and impossible to find.
It can be habit forming
I've been riding my 03 case Reed for a while now and really miss my 90s engines...
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