Posts
10
Joined
4/29/2020
Location
Wareham, MA
US
Edited Date/Time
5/28/2020 11:49am
So as the title says im getting back into dirt bikes after riding only road bikes the last 12 years. Currently in mass but moving to Phoenix. I want a do it all bike. Single track, mx track (probably only vet track), Technical rocky stuff, whatever adventure i see and decide to tackle basically! Ill probably only get out once a week or so realistically
Yz250x Pros are : Should be plenty of power across the rev range
Lighter
Easier to work on, less tech to potentially go wrong, top ends [never done a bottom end] are
very easy and cheap
Can save a bit of money
Yz250fx Pros are : More advanced
Can tune from an app or the Yamaha tuner
more fuel efficient
Assuming valves are no longer really an issue, should be less wrenching
*One con is more expensive, given i wont be riding a lot every week, this may be a factor.
P.S im picking Yamaha because im comfortable with them. if after reading this you think i should look into a different bike, suggestions are welcome!
Yz250x Pros are : Should be plenty of power across the rev range
Lighter
Easier to work on, less tech to potentially go wrong, top ends [never done a bottom end] are
very easy and cheap
Can save a bit of money
Yz250fx Pros are : More advanced
Can tune from an app or the Yamaha tuner
more fuel efficient
Assuming valves are no longer really an issue, should be less wrenching
*One con is more expensive, given i wont be riding a lot every week, this may be a factor.
P.S im picking Yamaha because im comfortable with them. if after reading this you think i should look into a different bike, suggestions are welcome!
Poll
A couple weeks back I found a good deal on a 2019 yz250x with about 5 hours on it. I love the x so far. Well, only 2 rides on it and blew out my knee and have been on crutches for a week, but don't really want to talk about that.
Theoretically, the x should be better in slow technical terrain compared to the FX (4 strokes more likely to stall) so that may be a consideration if that is the riding you are after. On the flip side the FX has electric start, so getting going again is easier if you stall on a side hill where you can't easily kick start. 4 stroke also supposed to be easier to ride on the mx track.
One more pro for the 2 stroke is that it will hold its resale value better than the 4 stroke.
The 4 stroke, I can ride it all day, it feels planted and doesn’t do anything unexpected. It’s no fuss, literally put fuel in it and ride. I don’t get to ride much at all, so when I do, I just want to start it and go, it’s smooth on the odd dirt ride between trails and not have to override the thing to get the best out of it.
That’s my 2c. 2 strokes, while fun for a blast, aren’t all they’re cracked up to be when they’re your full time steed.
There are ton of parts for yz250’s and it’s still hard to beat the chassis/suspension setup. It also depends on what type of riding you will be doing as well.
It’s like picking between 2 women, blonde or brunette - all about preference. 😀
The Shop
So, I vote for the YZ250X.
or ride a gear high and lug it. Has the power and torque to do both. Can also ride tight techy steep stuff(like you’ll find in PHX) and not have the stalling issues you’d most likely experience with the FX. I did throw on a 13 tooth front sprocket for our Colorado trips. Made some of the super high elevation, slow steep trails a little easier.
I did find the jetting to be a little finicky initially, but after having the squish set correctly, it was a breeze. I’m super anal regarding jetting and know what a properly jetted 2-stroke sounds and runs like. Most people would probably be just fine with the factory jetting and think nothing of it. I’m not one of those folks. Also, an electric start would be nice. Other than those few items, the X is pretty tough to beat.
I say get the X, mostly for the fun, but also the simplicity and reliability. Would be a great bike for the PHX area.
If you get the FX, you’re going to want a radiator fan. It gets wicked hot in AZ and you will boil over in the slower trails if you don’t have one. Two strokes run a lot cooler than a four stroke.
That being said, if you will be riding the track more than trails, I’d probably go with the 4 stroke. If you’re doing primarily trails, I’d go with the YZ250X. I sold my TX300 when I moved here a little over a year ago and I regret it. Just my opinion.
They are both excellent bikes, but each suits a different rider and owner type. I think you need to ride both and find which fits you.
It's been a long time since I've ridden a 250f on a track but even back then it put down fast lap times consistently and they've only gotten faster since then. I still prefer my 2 stroke though.
You won't go wrong with either one, just depends if your a 2 or 4 stroke guy
One day my next bike will be the YZ250FX.
Get the 250X! You'll love the bike.
Pit Row
Ever ridden the trails around the Phoenix area(where OP says he'll be riding)? They can be extremely nasty, rocky and technical. A straight 250F is not set up or designed for that type of riding. It's set up for MX and would be one of the worst bikes to ride the trails around Phoenix. Stalling, overheating, clutch abuse, etc all come to mind. Can it be done? Sure, but a 250 X of FX, (especially the X) would make it much easier and much more fun. The 250X and FX are much better MX bikes than the 250F is a technical single track slayer.
But, I was honestly shocked at how good it is. Suspension set-up, power, low end grunt - just plain awesome. It is simply the most user friendly and least tiring to ride bike, that I've ever been on.
The loop I ride the most is 9-10 miles & has lots of rocks (many soft ball to football sized) and a few rock slabs in the trail - the technical rocky 1st gear stuff. I used to dread these sections as it's always so easy to stall it and crash - rock slabs are always slick with no traction. And of course the 1st time through, I did make some mistakes bad enough that the bike couldn't save me from. But after realizing what not to do in these sections, the rest of the time through was very good.
There were a couple times going up a slow 1st gear hills, I'd hit a rock/root/rut just the wrong way, have to totally let off the gas to regain balance/control. Normally a stall out, kill it, restart & try again. But this bike is the most stall proof thing I've ever seen. It never died once in those situations - I could literally crawl up these hills at incredibly low rpms.
I've been watching some of the Hard Enduro racing on YouTube. Some of the stuff these guys do is pretty amazing. And I couldn't help but wonder some about their bike setup.
But then after experiencing what even I can do on a YZ250X in some technical rocky sections, some of what I see in the hard enduro series, made a lot more sense.
And I'm pretty sure for this type of riding, 2 strokes rule due to lower weight and that forgiving almost stall proof 1st gear low end power.
I've yet to spot a 4-stoke in the Hard Enduro series or a Japanese bike for that matter.
I did add a flywheel weight (12 ounce) to my YZ.
Over the last several years I've ridden a couple MX 250s (2T) and a couple MX 450s (4T) on these trails & I'm so glad to have this YZ.
So, yes buy the YZ250X and check out the Hard Enduro series on Youtube.
The 1st 10 mile loop the other day had my hands screaming - What Are You doing? Not used to holding on to handlebars like that.
Took a short break, gassed up.
And then did that loop 3 times in a row and was ready for a 4th, but realized I was running out of time to ride that day.
I never had that situation riding any MX bike on these trails.
A tip - The FWW did come with a gasket - didn't know it would so I bought one as well, which worked out well.
Steahly says the 13 oz FWW won't rub on the FW cover, but I could tell mine was going to. Using 2 FW cover gaskets made it to where you can't tell if FW is rubbing. Mine still does just a little, but not enough to matter, so I'd say use 2 gaskets there.
I believe four strokes have resurrected a lot of old peoples riding careers.
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