Putting my ego aside,stepping down

There's no 'stepping down'.

It's just trying something different.

Have fun!

If you are doing it for fun...

450s are too much for most mortals. Have you considered a Stark?

Get a 450 

 Rocked a 16 fc250, 17 rmz250, 19 crf450 & on a 23 GG mc350. Been having lots of fun 45+, have fun man!

I understand completely, however it's great to short shift a 450 around the track, or just leave it in one gear.

Also it will last forever.

Get a 2 stroke bud!

The late, great Marty Moates once told me the most fun he’s ever had on a bike was on a 250F. Go for it.

The most fun I've had comes from riding bikes that I'm faster than, as opposed to riding bikes that are faster than me.  And it's more enjoyable to pass someone when I'm riding a bike that's slower than the one they are riding.

Super Hunky in the mid 80's wrote an article....when I was 15 ish...in Dirtbike magazine advising vet riders that the older they got the slower their bike should be to prevent injury.

It isn't about the glory at our age but just enjoying the ride with our friends. 

I'd rather ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow.  Give me a full sized super-mini and I'll be grinning ear to ear. 

After my injury I sold my Ktm 450 and went to a yz250f for the sake of an easier bike to control. I started racing again a year ago and I’m still on the same bike. A lot of fun riding something different and very rewarding when you’re fast on a smaller bike. 

Considering a 250f now has basically the same HP of the 250 2-strokes in the past it’s plenty of bike to ride/race. All depends on your riding style. Get it and have fun, or buy a 350 for a little “more”

I ride several different size bikes, 125, 250, 300, 350…everything but a 450….Love riding them all…I enjoy trying to master each one…smaller displacement bikes force you to keep corner speed up and are definitely easier on your body….

The most fun I have his passing vet riders on my modded KLX 170. For 55 years old, I'm the size of an 8th grader so I can get away with it.😎

What happened to the Husky 125 you were posting about earlier this year?

I have sold a lot of bikes that I regret, but none more than my last 250 2 Stroke....Something breaks? Usually their isnt a comma in the repair bill. Easy to diagnose, dependable, plenty fast, and most of all they still sound and smell as a bike should!

At our age, isnt riding just about fun anyways?

250fs are GREAT vet bikes. You can add power if you desire, but they are really good bikes to have in general 

I'm blessed to still be going at 61.  Love a 450 as I'm built like a football player 6-2 250....BUT.... not as strong as once was and most importantly my reflexes are not what used to be.  Sold the 450 and bought a Beta 300RX, plenty to haul me around and the fun factor....ear to ear

I have a YZF450 in the garage and bought an FC250 because the clearance price was so low.  At first…I would bring both to the track and ride both some.  Now…the 450 collects dust in the garage.  The 250 is more fun and less likely to bite me.  Still unable to sell the 450 though for some reason….lol.  BTW…the red machine in the garage sits so long between rides I have to drain the old fuel and charge the battery before I start it…still haven’t sold it for some reason.

There is a guy around 65 ish that rides the local moto tracks on a really nice 1975-80 DT75 with dirt track tyres. My first though was, man that can't be much fun getting around on that with hardly any suspension or traction, especially at that age. But then I realised its actually a perfect way to limit the risk and keep the fun. It doesn't have much power, so it cant get away from him, he can rip around the hard flat corners, but is more cautious in the deeper rutted ones, and he doesn't even entertain the idea of jumping most of the jumps (even though he could easily on a modern bike). 

All of these factors reduce the speed that things can go wrong at, but it feels just as fast because you are near that bikes and your limit. Plus he is doing it on bike he would have dreamed of owning as a teen or maybe that he associates with falling in love with the sport. Great way to stay active rather than just hanging up the boots. 

Now imagine if tracks were built around bikes closer to that limit, and we all were on equal footing. We would all be pushing so hard, and having an absolute blast.

We are our own worst enemies in some ways.

We all “need” 450s for the start. Tracks grow to suit the capabilities of the 450s in the a riders hands.

I wish 125 only vet classes would become a thing. That’s peak moto. Nothing more nothing less.

😂😂

In regular dirt it’s not harder . In super deep wet sand it might be corners you keep the r , s at 12,500 then it drops into the mid pulling out of corners.  Set up a yz125 with a LL type of responsive engine setup for c12 . Buy it in bulk it’s much cheaper.  If you ever race the 12+ 125 class is a blast .  Being around 14-18th of 25 you,ll hv 3-4 coming off of corners . Nothing beats that sound & fun. My DBP threw the mid is a little stronger than mod yz,s . It really comes down to who hooks up better off of corners . 

I second the YZ250 2 stroke recommendation above. Easy and Fun

Agree 100%...60-year-old here that is a regular gym guy and sold my last 450 and now enjoying riding much more. 

The 450 could occasionally want to go its own way, where the 250 tracks and handles much easier and I ride longer.

In my youth, raced mostly 500cc two strokes, so no stranger to HP

Why are we acting like modern 250fs are slow?  You guys must absolutely rip.  

Thats my point, you can get great starts still on the 250f unless you are in +25A then you are going to struggle wee bit