2 stroke guys....V-force or Rad valve?

jeffro503
Posts
27442
Joined
7/22/2007
Location
St Helens, OR US
12/27/2018 6:34pm
On my 250 , I'm going to end up replacing the reed / cage on it and wanted some opinions on what you guy's though. I have the V-force on my 125 , which was way better than the stock crap that came on my bike. But for my RM 250 , I ordered a V-force and it was total crap compared to my stock cage ( with replaced reed pedals ). There was a big difference on quality between the cage setup I got for the 125 , compared to the 250.

So for my TC 250....Should I get another V-force , or try out a Rad Boyesen Rad valve?
|
downard254
Posts
4054
Joined
12/10/2012
Location
Bremen, OH US
12/27/2018 6:37pm
Dunno Jeffro, I have a stock ‘06 RM 250 and love it as is. Wish I could help you out on your conundrum.
BR8ES
Posts
1914
Joined
6/3/2018
Location
Bennett, CO US
12/27/2018 6:38pm
jeffro503 wrote:
On my 250 , I'm going to end up replacing the reed / cage on it and wanted some opinions on what you guy's though. I...
On my 250 , I'm going to end up replacing the reed / cage on it and wanted some opinions on what you guy's though. I have the V-force on my 125 , which was way better than the stock crap that came on my bike. But for my RM 250 , I ordered a V-force and it was total crap compared to my stock cage ( with replaced reed pedals ). There was a big difference on quality between the cage setup I got for the 125 , compared to the 250.

So for my TC 250....Should I get another V-force , or try out a Rad Boyesen Rad valve?
get the Rad Valve, works great and doesnt look or feel cheap like the VFarce.
2
tempura
Posts
2079
Joined
5/18/2015
Location
JP
12/27/2018 6:46pm
I’ve tried them both on my kx250 and prefer the rad valve. The quality difference is clear to see, and with the rad valve they tweak individual years to get the best out of it
1
1
pdub187
Posts
742
Joined
1/28/2013
Location
AU
Fantasy
2499th
12/27/2018 6:48pm
I have a vforce on my YZ. I've had no issues with it and it works as it should.
3

The Shop

AJ565
Posts
2075
Joined
3/12/2012
Location
San Antonio, TX US
12/27/2018 6:50pm
I’m going rad valve when I do mine. I’m still on stock reeds with 31 hours and no problems though.
12/27/2018 7:01pm
I've only used V Force and had good results except not as much from KX250's but am interested in the Rad valves. Lot of guys on here seem happy.
loftyair
Posts
2767
Joined
7/3/2009
Location
riverside, CA US
12/27/2018 7:06pm
Ive used both on several different 2-strokes. The rad valve adds mid and up, nicely. The vforce is more of a low-mid deal. So, if you go fast, want higher rpm scream, then its the rad valve! If you're just an old fart, that thinks shifting early is cool, or just out in the woods for a fun time, the vforce is good.
1
12/27/2018 7:07pm
I had the vforce 3 on my YZ 250 and put the stock back on it was the same model as your RM. I would try the rad valve out.
1
1
Yz229
Posts
437
Joined
8/22/2018
Location
San Diego, CA US
12/27/2018 7:11pm Edited Date/Time 12/27/2018 7:16pm
Tom Morgan told me VF3 was far superior so that's the route I went on my YZ250.

Me: Is the Radvalve better on YZ250 then my Vforce?

Tom Morgan: "The VForce is definitely better. I am 100% certain in my dyno and track results."
5
jeffro503
Posts
27442
Joined
7/22/2007
Location
St Helens, OR US
12/27/2018 7:11pm
Wow , fast replies tonight guys , thanks! I haven't tried a Boyesen rad valve in about 20 years ( only been back into the 2 strokes about 3 years though ). I am indeed very happy with my Vforce on my 125 , but I think I will try the Boyesen Rad valve on my 250. I have some other things I'm planning on as well , and it's getting close to the time where I need to make my mind up on some parts.
12/27/2018 7:12pm
I used to run the boyesen rad valve on my 03 rm125. The quality was good and it definantly had much better performance.
BR8ES
Posts
1914
Joined
6/3/2018
Location
Bennett, CO US
12/27/2018 7:16pm
I can send you a spare if you want Jeffro, just pay the postage and beers when I make it out that way, You may need a gasket... what other parts are you thinking about?
1
jeffro503
Posts
27442
Joined
7/22/2007
Location
St Helens, OR US
12/27/2018 7:30pm Edited Date/Time 12/27/2018 7:32pm
BR8ES wrote:
I can send you a spare if you want Jeffro, just pay the postage and beers when I make it out that way, You may need...
I can send you a spare if you want Jeffro, just pay the postage and beers when I make it out that way, You may need a gasket... what other parts are you thinking about?
Really? Well if your rad valve will fit my 18' TC 250 , I would gladly pay you a descent used price for it if it's all good?

Other parts I have in mind are a lot like what I did to my 125 , which I'm super happy with because it freakin' rips! But what I have planned is definitely the reed cage , and then I'm taking this Mikuni off and getting myself a new PWK 38 , along with a Derek Harris STIC mod. I'm also going to get myself another Scalvini pipe ( because i simply love the two I have for my 125 and RM 250 ). The silencer.......probably another FMF 2.1 powercore , but not 100%. I have to check the Squish on this thing , but I will probably mill the head slightly. At this time , no plans for any porting. And other misc things are a new aluminum throttle tube and a taller seat. There will be other thing's here and there depending on how I feel on her.
1
BR8ES
Posts
1914
Joined
6/3/2018
Location
Bennett, CO US
12/27/2018 7:36pm
BR8ES wrote:
I can send you a spare if you want Jeffro, just pay the postage and beers when I make it out that way, You may need...
I can send you a spare if you want Jeffro, just pay the postage and beers when I make it out that way, You may need a gasket... what other parts are you thinking about?
jeffro503 wrote:
Really? Well if your rad valve will fit my 18' TC 250 , I would gladly pay you a descent used price for it if it's...
Really? Well if your rad valve will fit my 18' TC 250 , I would gladly pay you a descent used price for it if it's all good?

Other parts I have in mind are a lot like what I did to my 125 , which I'm super happy with because it freakin' rips! But what I have planned is definitely the reed cage , and then I'm taking this Mikuni off and getting myself a new PWK 38 , along with a Derek Harris STIC mod. I'm also going to get myself another Scalvini pipe ( because i simply love the two I have for my 125 and RM 250 ). The silencer.......probably another FMF 2.1 powercore , but not 100%. I have to check the Squish on this thing , but I will probably mill the head slightly. At this time , no plans for any porting. And other misc things are a new aluminum throttle tube and a taller seat. There will be other thing's here and there depending on how I feel on her.
it was installed on the 125, but clearance issues with the carb made me pull it off, never run or anything. Good plan on the 250, I think you'll like the STIC, may want to consider a taper bore set up from George, but consult Derek. I ran that set up on my 250, along with a RK Tek head and the bike went pretty good.

try pm'ing here..I would gladly send the Rad Valve out to you.
JBecker 72
Posts
1738
Joined
3/25/2014
Location
VA US
12/27/2018 7:44pm
I’ve ridden both on the YZ250 and I preferred the smoother midrange feel of the VForce3. The Boyesen definitely pulled harder but it also felt like it made the bike harder to ride.
1
tempura
Posts
2079
Joined
5/18/2015
Location
JP
12/27/2018 8:36pm
The 01 kx250 already has a pretty good bottom, so adding the rad valve made the whole bike feel good.
I’d definitely go with the rad valve, as I feel they put more R&D into individual years. People using the V-force on the YZ is really a mute point because that bike hasn’t changed in over a decade and a half, and all parts for it are on point at this stage.
1
CPR
Posts
4312
Joined
10/4/2018
Location
AU
12/27/2018 8:37pm
Vforce for throttle response, Radvalve for grunt. Both thoroughly researched via my ass dyno.
1
Jrewing
Posts
2866
Joined
1/4/2014
Location
AU
12/28/2018 1:48am
Radvalve with custom reeds to get rid of the dual reed thing. Thinner reed on top, stiffer on the bottom for case reed engines
H4L
Posts
2499
Joined
3/18/2016
Location
CA US
12/28/2018 7:24am Edited Date/Time 12/28/2018 7:28am
loftyair wrote:
Ive used both on several different 2-strokes. The rad valve adds mid and up, nicely. The vforce is more of a low-mid deal. So, if you...
Ive used both on several different 2-strokes. The rad valve adds mid and up, nicely. The vforce is more of a low-mid deal. So, if you go fast, want higher rpm scream, then its the rad valve! If you're just an old fart, that thinks shifting early is cool, or just out in the woods for a fun time, the vforce is good.
My experience has been the opposite. I believe RC4 was using a VF on his 02-03 HRC CR2's.
The 1st time I tried them back to back was in 2001 on a CR250 & ended up sending the Rad Valve back to Boyesen. I've used the V-Force on a couple of different models & prefer it due to the mid-top being enhanced. They're not major gains, but slightly noticeable with good jetting specs..
1
SKIDLID
Posts
971
Joined
4/9/2013
Location
Fairmont, MN US
Fantasy
918th
12/28/2018 7:26am
I had a rad valve on my yz125 in the past. I had problems with jetting, it seemed too picky with the rad valve . One day it worked great the next horrible.
12/28/2018 3:06pm
Rad is metal (AL). V-force is plastic and those have known breakage issues especially with a little age on them. I use RAD valves when I need to replace a manifold.
YZed250
Posts
1041
Joined
11/9/2014
Location
Costa Mesa, CA US
12/28/2018 5:18pm
Which brand works better is totally dependent on who did the most R&D. If you want it for the cool sticker on the side of the block, they both work well.

I'm about to start riding/building a 2017 250SX. I'm going to start by sanding the reed block to improve the reed seal.
If you search youtube: 2017 KTM 250EXC Tokyo Offroad, they talk about their setup. Very informative.

FYI, there are a lot of threads about this topic, and sadly, there are a lot of guys that say the V4 or the Radvalve doesn't do anything for our bikes.
1
cb477
Posts
76
Joined
10/11/2019
Location
Middleburg, FL US
10/16/2019 10:15pm
BR8ES wrote:
I can send you a spare if you want Jeffro, just pay the postage and beers when I make it out that way, You may need...
I can send you a spare if you want Jeffro, just pay the postage and beers when I make it out that way, You may need a gasket... what other parts are you thinking about?
jeffro503 wrote:
Really? Well if your rad valve will fit my 18' TC 250 , I would gladly pay you a descent used price for it if it's...
Really? Well if your rad valve will fit my 18' TC 250 , I would gladly pay you a descent used price for it if it's all good?

Other parts I have in mind are a lot like what I did to my 125 , which I'm super happy with because it freakin' rips! But what I have planned is definitely the reed cage , and then I'm taking this Mikuni off and getting myself a new PWK 38 , along with a Derek Harris STIC mod. I'm also going to get myself another Scalvini pipe ( because i simply love the two I have for my 125 and RM 250 ). The silencer.......probably another FMF 2.1 powercore , but not 100%. I have to check the Squish on this thing , but I will probably mill the head slightly. At this time , no plans for any porting. And other misc things are a new aluminum throttle tube and a taller seat. There will be other thing's here and there depending on how I feel on her.
Jeffro,

Old post, but how did the Rad Valve work out for your bike? I have a 18 TC250 and am trying to decide between that and the Vforce 4R. Thanks.
10/17/2019 12:56am
A mate of mine had a KTM 250SX with the stock V-Force 3 reed valve. We don’t know why but that thing used to EAT reed petals! We used to joke that he was running it at 32:1 (32 reed petals to 1 litre of fuel!)

Anyway, he decided to buy a Boyesen rad valve & honesty he never touched the reed petals again & had no more problems. The bike ran better also.

On a different note, anyone have an idea why the bike would break so many reed petals with the v-force?
cb477
Posts
76
Joined
10/11/2019
Location
Middleburg, FL US
10/17/2019 3:01am Edited Date/Time 10/17/2019 3:01am
A mate of mine had a KTM 250SX with the stock V-Force 3 reed valve. We don’t know why but that thing used to EAT reed...
A mate of mine had a KTM 250SX with the stock V-Force 3 reed valve. We don’t know why but that thing used to EAT reed petals! We used to joke that he was running it at 32:1 (32 reed petals to 1 litre of fuel!)

Anyway, he decided to buy a Boyesen rad valve & honesty he never touched the reed petals again & had no more problems. The bike ran better also.

On a different note, anyone have an idea why the bike would break so many reed petals with the v-force?
I had the Vforce 4R in my 17 KTM 250SX and didn’t have any issues with it breaking petals. I just know the stock reed cages have known issues with having gaps between the cage and the reed petals right out of the box. I just inspected mine and they have big gaps. I ran a Rad Valve on my YZ250’s last year and liked them. Just haven’t ran them on KTM or Husky.
jeffro503
Posts
27442
Joined
7/22/2007
Location
St Helens, OR US
10/17/2019 8:35am
BR8ES wrote:
I can send you a spare if you want Jeffro, just pay the postage and beers when I make it out that way, You may need...
I can send you a spare if you want Jeffro, just pay the postage and beers when I make it out that way, You may need a gasket... what other parts are you thinking about?
jeffro503 wrote:
Really? Well if your rad valve will fit my 18' TC 250 , I would gladly pay you a descent used price for it if it's...
Really? Well if your rad valve will fit my 18' TC 250 , I would gladly pay you a descent used price for it if it's all good?

Other parts I have in mind are a lot like what I did to my 125 , which I'm super happy with because it freakin' rips! But what I have planned is definitely the reed cage , and then I'm taking this Mikuni off and getting myself a new PWK 38 , along with a Derek Harris STIC mod. I'm also going to get myself another Scalvini pipe ( because i simply love the two I have for my 125 and RM 250 ). The silencer.......probably another FMF 2.1 powercore , but not 100%. I have to check the Squish on this thing , but I will probably mill the head slightly. At this time , no plans for any porting. And other misc things are a new aluminum throttle tube and a taller seat. There will be other thing's here and there depending on how I feel on her.
cb477 wrote:
Jeffro, Old post, but how did the Rad Valve work out for your bike? I have a 18 TC250 and am trying to decide between that...
Jeffro,

Old post, but how did the Rad Valve work out for your bike? I have a 18 TC250 and am trying to decide between that and the Vforce 4R. Thanks.
It seemed to work very well. It's hard to say exactly how much of an improvement it had all on it's own , because I did quite a few other mods all at one time , or in a short amount of time over a couple rides. I will say , I was impressed by the overall quality of the rad valve compared to the V-force. It just looks so much more refined and well put together. I did however make a mistake , which was that I created a monster which was to scary to ride hard on a track. My 06' RM 250 has a lot of motor work done and it friggin' rips....but that TC 250? It made my RM feel like a moped! That's why I stripped most the hop up parts back off of it and am selling the bike. To much for me now days , and I'm sticking with the 125/150 bikes. Way more fun for me anyways.
jeffro503
Posts
27442
Joined
7/22/2007
Location
St Helens, OR US
10/17/2019 8:39am
A mate of mine had a KTM 250SX with the stock V-Force 3 reed valve. We don’t know why but that thing used to EAT reed...
A mate of mine had a KTM 250SX with the stock V-Force 3 reed valve. We don’t know why but that thing used to EAT reed petals! We used to joke that he was running it at 32:1 (32 reed petals to 1 litre of fuel!)

Anyway, he decided to buy a Boyesen rad valve & honesty he never touched the reed petals again & had no more problems. The bike ran better also.

On a different note, anyone have an idea why the bike would break so many reed petals with the v-force?
cb477 wrote:
I had the Vforce 4R in my 17 KTM 250SX and didn’t have any issues with it breaking petals. I just know the stock reed cages...
I had the Vforce 4R in my 17 KTM 250SX and didn’t have any issues with it breaking petals. I just know the stock reed cages have known issues with having gaps between the cage and the reed petals right out of the box. I just inspected mine and they have big gaps. I ran a Rad Valve on my YZ250’s last year and liked them. Just haven’t ran them on KTM or Husky.
Mine had large gaps as well ( on my 125 and 250 ) , but I also feel the stock reeds are just extremely fragile and chip easy. Been quite a few guys that didn't get 5 - 10 hours on the stock set , only to have a corner be chipped off. It was just " piece of mind " for myself.
Three7one
Posts
31
Joined
10/17/2019
Location
Powhatan, VA US
10/17/2019 9:01am
1st post for me guys..I had vforce on 05 cr250 and didn’t notice any changes, was the same with an 01 rm250 I had as well, then I had an 04 cr125 that I used rad valve, with the rad valve I had to lean the jetting because it pulled so much more fuel through the jets, and jetting was pretty dialed before installing it, so for whatever it’s worth I’d go with the rad valve...
1
Justin_P
Posts
64
Joined
6/13/2019
Location
Hollis Center, ME US
Fantasy
3937th
10/17/2019 11:43am
Have a rad valve on my rm250 and it is a great quality piece, would definitely recommend it.

Post a reply to: 2 stroke guys....V-force or Rad valve?

The Latest