Buying used 250f’s/450f’s?

My biggest problem with buying from someone I don't know personally is that all people treat assets differently. Some treasure there bikes like their own children but some are hammer mechanics and just ruin a bike and move it down the road because the market or KBB say its worth x.

Some things are easy to spot and walk away from and some things arent. Just make sure if your buying used that the depreciation offsets the risks.

There’s pros and cons to buying used bikes regardless of what you get 2 or four stroke. I’d just say look for the lowest hour, newest bike you Can afford. It’s a buyers market for sure. At least in CA it is.

nick610s wrote:

There’s pros and cons to buying used bikes regardless of what you get 2 or four stroke. I’d just say look for the lowest hour, newest bike you Can afford. It’s a buyers market for sure. At least in CA it is.

Thats what im after. A 250f with no more than 45hrs and 2016 at least.... if it has more than 45-50hrs i would like to see paperwork or similar on any work done since thats about the hoursge for valve adjustments, cam chain replacements, etc. i found a 16 250f with 48hrs stock i beileve. Pics show it to be in really good shape. I may go check it out if the guy answers back.

People against buying used 4 strokes are overly anal about their bikes. Find one that looks like it has been taken care of, youll be fine. Ive never had a bad experience. Throw a piston in and go. Not bad

Don't impulse buy. Any leftover new bikes at the dealers ?

kb228 wrote:

People against buying used 4 strokes are overly anal about their bikes. Find one that looks like it has been taken care of, youll be fine. Ive never had a bad experience. Throw a piston in and go. Not bad

Although true im the same way. I tear my bike completely apart after almost every ride to remove all the dirt especially after mudders. If i ride sand i dont worry to much until a few rides. Anyways, I always look for really nice bikes and check over them a lot. Im lucky to find some nice 16s for 4k or less around here and readily avaliable too.

project racer wrote:

Don't impulse buy. Any leftover new bikes at the dealers ?

Not for no 4k. I hate even going to my dealer around here because they half ass everything they touch.

Just talked to a guy with a 16 250f. Has 30hrs he says all stock with a hole shot device and some plastics. $3200. Going to search around but thats pretty cheap for a 16’.

It's not easy with second hand bikes. My best advice would be:
-Every bike should start 1st or second kick
-Idle perfectly
-Good response and once the throttle is released, the revs should plummet way down to idle very quickly
-Ofcourse check all bearings and suspension
-Very clean looking

Hour meters mean nothing, claimed history means nothing, past works again mean nothing

It's very basic but it's all you can do. When I was 17 I made the mistake of swapping a bike with a guy and he travelled a distance to swap bikes. When he arrived he told me "the bike doesn't idle. Never has". Being a stupid and being too scared to back out of the deal, I swapped bikes.

Tore the engine down and it was fucked

There are leftover rmz, kx, and yz250fs for 5-6k. Unless you find one with 5-10 hrs or less, i wouldnt buy one with 30+ hrs when a new one is 5ish. Thats just me at this point.

But if you find a really clean one with 5hrs or so for 4k or less now we're talking

mingham97 wrote:

It's not easy with second hand bikes. My best advice would be:
-Every bike should start 1st or second kick
-Idle perfectly
-Good response and once the throttle is released, the revs should plummet way down to idle very quickly
-Ofcourse check all bearings and suspension
-Very clean looking

Hour meters mean nothing, claimed history means nothing, past works again mean nothing

It's very basic but it's all you can do. When I was 17 I made the mistake of swapping a bike with a guy and he travelled a distance to swap bikes. When he arrived he told me "the bike doesn't idle. Never has". Being a stupid and being too scared to back out of the deal, I swapped bikes.

Tore the engine down and it was fucked

X2.... on a added note. If you will be going to the sellers house, look at the sellers surroundings. You can tell a lot by his shop/garage space. Is it clean and organised. Look at the yard. Look at the attention to detail he puts into mowing his lawn and keeping the outside of his house up. Some people don't like strangers in their house. If you get to go inside, again, pay attention to how clean and organised things are. These things are a true indication on how the bike was maintained.
When people on Vital post pics of their bikes, the first thing i look at is everything around the bike. Its also shocking sometimes what people don't realise is in the background. Without meeting, knowing, or talking to them i can pretty much get an idea of who they are.

Talisker wrote:

X2.... on a added note. If you will be going to the sellers house, look at the sellers surroundings. You can tell a lot by his shop/garage space. Is it clean and organised. Look at the yard. Look at the attention to detail he puts into mowing his lawn and keeping the outside of his house up. Some people don't like strangers in their house. If you get to go inside, again, pay attention to how clean and organised things are. These things are a true indication on how the bike was maintained.
When people on Vital post pics of their bikes, the first thing i look at is everything around the bike. Its also shocking sometimes what people don't realise is in the background. Without meeting, knowing, or talking to them i can pretty much get an idea of who they are.

That’s not always true. I know of more than a few situations where things are completely opposite of what you said.

A 450 may be a better bet. They are typically owned by older riders and not revved to the moon like a 250f.

The engine parts will last longer as well. Get the suspension set up and they are typically good to go.

That said, it is hard to beat a 250 2-stroke for a fun bike to ride and bang for the buck.

mxracerjohn250 wrote:


I will make you a hell of a deal on a low hours 2018 YZ250F. Clear title in hand.

I live in Dayton and saw these on Clist. Good looking scoots ???? GLWS

mingham97 wrote:

It's not easy with second hand bikes. My best advice would be:
-Every bike should start 1st or second kick
-Idle perfectly
-Good response and once the throttle is released, the revs should plummet way down to idle very quickly
-Ofcourse check all bearings and suspension
-Very clean looking

Hour meters mean nothing, claimed history means nothing, past works again mean nothing

It's very basic but it's all you can do. When I was 17 I made the mistake of swapping a bike with a guy and he travelled a distance to swap bikes. When he arrived he told me "the bike doesn't idle. Never has". Being a stupid and being too scared to back out of the deal, I swapped bikes.

Tore the engine down and it was fucked

Talisker wrote:

X2.... on a added note. If you will be going to the sellers house, look at the sellers surroundings. You can tell a lot by his shop/garage space. Is it clean and organised. Look at the yard. Look at the attention to detail he puts into mowing his lawn and keeping the outside of his house up. Some people don't like strangers in their house. If you get to go inside, again, pay attention to how clean and organised things are. These things are a true indication on how the bike was maintained.
When people on Vital post pics of their bikes, the first thing i look at is everything around the bike. Its also shocking sometimes what people don't realise is in the background. Without meeting, knowing, or talking to them i can pretty much get an idea of who they are.

T-Fish wrote:

That’s not always true. I know of more than a few situations where things are completely opposite of what you said.

Exactly...case by case scenario when buying used.

I’m not afraid to buy used but the reason you see so many 250f’s with 30-60 hours for sale are that guys are fearing its time to look into possible up keep/maintenance. So instead they just sale them. I avoid those guys usually because that thought process makes me fear how well they maintain their scooter.
Good luck!

Ghost

Ghostrider145 wrote:

I’m not afraid to buy used but the reason you see so many 250f’s with 30-60 hours for sale are that guys are fearing its time to look into possible up keep/maintenance. So instead they just sale them. I avoid those guys usually because that thought process makes me fear how well they maintain their scooter.
Good luck!

Ghost

It's crazy the thought process of those because a piston / gaskets can be had fairly inexpensive ($150ish). Imo that's the only "major" expense at 30-60 hours and a motivated person can do the work themselves rather easy.

mingham97 wrote:

It's not easy with second hand bikes. My best advice would be:
-Every bike should start 1st or second kick
-Idle perfectly
-Good response and once the throttle is released, the revs should plummet way down to idle very quickly
-Ofcourse check all bearings and suspension
-Very clean looking

Hour meters mean nothing, claimed history means nothing, past works again mean nothing

It's very basic but it's all you can do. When I was 17 I made the mistake of swapping a bike with a guy and he travelled a distance to swap bikes. When he arrived he told me "the bike doesn't idle. Never has". Being a stupid and being too scared to back out of the deal, I swapped bikes.

Tore the engine down and it was fucked

Talisker wrote:

X2.... on a added note. If you will be going to the sellers house, look at the sellers surroundings. You can tell a lot by his shop/garage space. Is it clean and organised. Look at the yard. Look at the attention to detail he puts into mowing his lawn and keeping the outside of his house up. Some people don't like strangers in their house. If you get to go inside, again, pay attention to how clean and organised things are. These things are a true indication on how the bike was maintained.
When people on Vital post pics of their bikes, the first thing i look at is everything around the bike. Its also shocking sometimes what people don't realise is in the background. Without meeting, knowing, or talking to them i can pretty much get an idea of who they are.

T-Fish wrote:

That’s not always true. I know of more than a few situations where things are completely opposite of what you said.

Agreed. Some of the best mechanics i know have messy ass garages. Look at 722’s mechanic. His garage is messy as hell.

Talisker wrote:

X2.... on a added note. If you will be going to the sellers house, look at the sellers surroundings. You can tell a lot by his shop/garage space. Is it clean and organised. Look at the yard. Look at the attention to detail he puts into mowing his lawn and keeping the outside of his house up. Some people don't like strangers in their house. If you get to go inside, again, pay attention to how clean and organised things are. These things are a true indication on how the bike was maintained.
When people on Vital post pics of their bikes, the first thing i look at is everything around the bike. Its also shocking sometimes what people don't realise is in the background. Without meeting, knowing, or talking to them i can pretty much get an idea of who they are.

T-Fish wrote:

That’s not always true. I know of more than a few situations where things are completely opposite of what you said.

kb228 wrote:

Agreed. Some of the best mechanics i know have messy ass garages. Look at 722’s mechanic. His garage is messy as hell.

True. He has like 10 projects scattered throughout lol. Plus he just picked up a kx125. Im probably going to pick up a 250f because out of the 3 250fs we have bought used we havent done anything to them for 4 seasons and they are still running incredibly well with oil filters/oil changes and filters.

Look for a seller that has multiple bikes and a vet rider. We generally won’t ride a bike if it’s not completely looked after and safe. We are old and everything hurts........

Moto520 wrote:

Look for a seller that has multiple bikes and a vet rider. We generally won’t ride a bike if it’s not completely looked after and safe. We are old and everything hurts........

True. All the bikes we have gotten have been from older guys who woods ride which is all we do. The bikes usually look good and are beat less because no one is wide open through the woods. Especially an older rider.

This is easy, buy used from the oldest, slowest, most OCD guy you can!!

Moto520 wrote:

Look for a seller that has multiple bikes and a vet rider. We generally won’t ride a bike if it’s not completely looked after and safe. We are old and everything hurts........

Alec138 wrote:

True. All the bikes we have gotten have been from older guys who woods ride which is all we do. The bikes usually look good and are beat less because no one is wide open through the woods. Especially an older rider.

I will take a well maintained motocross raced bike over a woods bike. Most motocross bikes actually have much less time on them, dont get beat to hell as much, and less load on the engine a lot of times.

Moto520 wrote:

Look for a seller that has multiple bikes and a vet rider. We generally won’t ride a bike if it’s not completely looked after and safe. We are old and everything hurts........

Alec138 wrote:

True. All the bikes we have gotten have been from older guys who woods ride which is all we do. The bikes usually look good and are beat less because no one is wide open through the woods. Especially an older rider.

mxracerjohn250 wrote:

I will take a well maintained motocross raced bike over a woods bike. Most motocross bikes actually have much less time on them, dont get beat to hell as much, and less load on the engine a lot of times.

I agree with this 100%. My XC bike get beat way worse than my MX bikes do. When you walk into my garage my MX bikes are pristine and my XC bikes look like they been through a war. And they're both maintained the same way.

I have to admit, my bikes don't 'look' good. But, they are a '10' on the inside. Dirt on tires and pegs? I could care less. Clean air-filter? Hell yeah! Chain and sprockets in good condition? Yep! Plastics ripped or battered, yep! Fork seals in good condition? Yep. Rear shock linkage greased, yep. Scratches on the filter box and bars? Yep. I know a guy who treats his stuff like crap, but, puts brand new plastics and grips, paints stuff, then sells for premium. His stuff is trash.

Check the usual wear parts. Chain sliders, sprockets, spokes, ect. If a bike is well maintained those items will all be in good condition.

Anyone can dress up a clapped out bike to make it look decent on the outside with some new graphics and some SC1. So checking normal wear parts is usually a pretty good way to tell if it was actually taken care of or not.

loftyair wrote:

I have to admit, my bikes don't 'look' good. But, they are a '10' on the inside. Dirt on tires and pegs? I could care less. Clean air-filter? Hell yeah! Chain and sprockets in good condition? Yep! Plastics ripped or battered, yep! Fork seals in good condition? Yep. Rear shock linkage greased, yep. Scratches on the filter box and bars? Yep. I know a guy who treats his stuff like crap, but, puts brand new plastics and grips, paints stuff, then sells for premium. His stuff is trash.

Reason why i tear all my used bikes completely down minus removing motor and suspension stuff. And go through it before i ride it.

I’ve only had used bikes and only had one issue (Yamaha frame which was warrantied). All of my Hondas, 250s and 450s I bought with less then 20 hours from friends or people I somewhat knew and ended up with a great bike that I paid way less for. Back in dec of 2014 I bought my 14 Crf250r for $4800 and put over 150 hours on it with no issues.