Got back into riding about two years ago after a 7 year break. Offroad/enduro is mainly my thing but I've ridden the odd MX race here and there.
On the weekend went to a local track where they had an open ride day (no racing). Had a blast even though the bike is less than ideal for MX; it's a 2016 KTM 200 EXC set up for hard enduro. Also my 8 year old son is starting to get into riding as well and I'm thinking that a track day together once a month or so would be fun.
So now I'm starting to think I might buy a used MX bike. I've owned KTM's exclusively for the last 30 years but I'm open to looking at other brands. I'm a definite C rider, 80kg (175lbs), not super fast or hitting all the big jumps but I think with a dedicated MX bike I might improve a bit versus trying to ride an enduro bike on the track.
My budget in the local market is going to have me looking in the 2016-2020 year range. Are there any models/years that stand out that time period?
I wish I had my 2019 Honda 250f again, I loved that bike after an ECU and some reliable mods. Suspension was good, bike was reliable as hell, and just fun to ride. Worked great in Moto and Off-Road.
I think the 17-19 KX250f are easy to ride but I am not sure about reliability and the forks are not great. KTMs from that time have the not so great air fork but a reliable and fast engine. 18-21 Honda has good suspension, should be reliable, but a little harder to ride because they don't have very good bottom end snap. The 18 is especially bad. Have you thought about a YZ250? It will be harder to ride but should be easy to work on and get parts for. The YZ125 could also be a good choice if you just want to play around.
I didn’t like the kickstart but my 2014 YZF was a pretty good scooter. 14-17 were reliable and easy to ride.
16-23 YZ250f would get my vote. They updated the bike in 2019 but they are similar. The powerful bottom end makes it very easy to ride and the kyb suspension is the best in class. They are also very reliable if properly maintained
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As new as you can afford YZ250F.
Agreed.
I’ve seen 2023 kx250s in the 4-5k range, I’d think some thrifty shopping can get you a lot more than you are thinking.
We have a 2022 KX250 in our group and the guy that owns the bike is new to the sport. He must have 100+ hours on the bike and we haven't had so much as a leaky for seal. HE HASN'T REPLACED ANYTHING EXCEPT THE STOCK CHAIN. We change the oil and air filter....she keeps going. Underrated bike
The motor on the YZ250F is so good that it's an advantage. It actually has low end to midrange grunt. Suspension will be good.
out of the box its hard to beat the Yz250f
What makes the YZ your choice? From reading through a bunch of old reviews it seems like just a very good all round package.
Any years that stand out from the others?
I've ridden a bunch of them and I would pick from the three below:
YZ250F (2019+)
KX250 (2020+)
250SX-F (2021+)
The YZ250F is pretty damned good right out of the box if you're within the 150lbs to 180lbs range and you can re-map the engine with your phone to suit your power preferences.
The KX250 has a really good chassis and engine, especially the 2023 engine. I'd re-valve the fork if I bought one.
The 250SX-F really needs a fork change (KYB in my opinion) and if you have the budget, the REP linkage is pretty good.
As new and fresh as you can afford 2019- YZ250F or 2017- KTM/Husqvarna
If you go for a YZ250F. Make sure the cam chain is recently swapped (max 10 hours), if not swap it yourself it is not expensive.
I rode a 2017 yz250f back to back with a 2022 yz250f. I preferred the 2017.
I was going to say the same thing, I loved my yz 250f to ride but did get fed up of frequent cam chains and valve clearance adjustments.
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