Posts
46
Joined
11/25/2018
Location
Windber, PA
US
Edited Date/Time
1/7/2019 6:16am
How much more does a 125 teach you than a 250f? I am curious for my next purchase.
Reason's I ride one , and what the 125 has helped me on....
1.) corner speed.
2.) forcing you to use alternate lines on the track.
3.) Re-teaching me all about how important "momentum" is.
4.) Re-teaching me how to be and stay aggressive on a bike.
5.) Teaching me how to be as precise as possible on throttle / brake controls so I don't lose speed. ( You can't point and shoot a 125 worth a shit ) like you can a 250 2 stroke , 250F and a 450F.
Total different riding experience , and quite frankly....the best damn training tool a dude could have. I will say , that in my almost 2 years back on 125's ( after 30 years being off them ) , it's helped me in everything I mentioned above. And I'll always have a 125 in my stable because of it.
The Shop
125 teaches you great things, but they are not easy to ride. I feel you might take a step back as a beginner learning to ride a 125, learning to make great turns, learning the correct body position more then anything.
If I was in your position I would stick with the 250f and start working out and build some strength to overcome the heavier weight of the 250f.
Also people like to say how cheap 2 strokes are to run. A piston and rings is fairly cheap but you do them twice as often as a 250f. With you being able to do your own engine work I would think you would find the 250f either the same cost to run or cheaper than the 125 unless you blow it up, then the parts add up
Believe it or not......it's hard for me to explain here I guess. But I try and do almost all my practice on my 125 , but picked up a new TC 250 to actually race this next year. I will race my 125 in " 125 classes " , but when I'm lined up with 250F's , 350F's and 450F's.....kinda like bring a knife to a gun fight. It's by far my most fun bike , and best training tool type bike......but I would rather race my TC 250 once I get some things set up for myself.
My opinion is.....keep that 250F and practice on that. If you can afford to get an older 125 later down the road , then I think that would be a great training tool for you , and will do nothing but help you ride that 250F faster and better.
Pit Row
This is why the equal displacement rule is great in amateur racing, it allows you to be competitive for cheap. The 250 2 stroke is now equal to a 250f 4 stroke, same weight too but more torque from the 2 stroke. So if 2 strokes were brought back 450 2 strokes (smaller 500) would have to be created to compete against 450f’s as 250’s do not anymore.
125’s are great because theyre now a middle ground between supermini’s and 250f’s. Theyre a great step up from a supermini without all the weight and power of a 250f. Ask James Stewart if you can go fast on them too.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/motocrossactionmag.com/amp/bikes-yz250-two-stroke-vs-yz250f-four-stroke/
125's are fun though!
Thing is, I'm faster on the RM- based on racing against son on his KX125- than I was on the KX250F and I think that's just because I drive harder into corners and trust the bike more. I just never could get used to the top-heavy feel of a 4-stroke and the additional inertia of the things. BUT... if I were gonna be a Real Racer? Well, then, I guess I'd practice more and "righter" until I got it down because that's the way things are.
Actually, son got a '19 KTM 150 SX a few weeks ago and I think my days of keeping up with him are OVER.
To get to your actual question, though.... if you're gonna RACE, you'll have to ride what's competitive and a 125 isn't. Therefore, you need to learn to ride the 250F. To do that, you MAY find that cross-training on different bikes is helpful... a 125 can teach you certain things, a 250 2S will teach you certain things, a 450F will teach you certain things, trail riding a KDX-type bike will teach you certain things, and a trials bike will definitely teach you certain things. Obviously, you can't afford all of these but you will be competing against dudes who CAN, so you've got some work cut out for you. In the end, though, all of it has to distill down to the bike you are racing on and that's a 250F right now.
I see that you have two basic choices: 1) keep the 250F and learn to ride it the way it should be ridden. This is gonna cost a lot of $$$ in keeping top ends up, tires in good shape, etc, 2) abandon the dream and ride for fun. Then you can ride whatever you want.
They would allow you to get max hours/seat time for lowest cost I think.
125’s you’re changing rings and pistons pretty frequently and 250f’s are way too costly if they do go wrong and you’re riding three hard so chances are higher.
Just my thoughts
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