New bike is a “lemon”

Goon126
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4/11/2020 6:52pm Edited Date/Time 4/15/2020 4:37am
Fortunately I’ve never purchased a brand new bike that instantly gave me issues. Anyone want to share some horror stories? Make sure you list bike brand and year.
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Kyle978
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Steers & Queers, TX US
4/11/2020 7:40pm Edited Date/Time 4/11/2020 7:42pm
04 KX250f. Literally the entire bike was a lemon. I was a 14 year old squid C rider and the thing blew up more times than I can count, and overheated nearly every time it started.

The only thing good I can say is the few times it ran, it cornered really well!
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JMR1976
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Aptos, CA US
4/11/2020 7:58pm
Kyle978 wrote:
04 KX250f. Literally the entire bike was a lemon. I was a 14 year old squid C rider and the thing blew up more times than...
04 KX250f. Literally the entire bike was a lemon. I was a 14 year old squid C rider and the thing blew up more times than I can count, and overheated nearly every time it started.

The only thing good I can say is the few times it ran, it cornered really well!
Same thing just a Suzuki 250f. When ran it was a great bike but it would just die mid MOTO 15 minutes later it was good to go.
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Goon126
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4/11/2020 10:07pm
Suzuki and Kawi were basically the same bikes at that time right?
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mattyhamz2
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4/11/2020 10:12pm
Goon126 wrote:
Suzuki and Kawi were basically the same bikes at that time right?
Yes. Although in over 300 hours on my 05 KX, I never blew it up or had any overheating issues. Guess I was lucky?
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The Shop

4/11/2020 11:18pm
mattyhamz2 wrote:
Yes. Although in over 300 hours on my 05 KX, I never blew it up or had any overheating issues. Guess I was lucky?
The 05 KX250F had bigger radiators and different ecu and other tweaks to help the problems
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mattyhamz2
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4/11/2020 11:32pm
mattyhamz2 wrote:
Yes. Although in over 300 hours on my 05 KX, I never blew it up or had any overheating issues. Guess I was lucky?
The 05 KX250F had bigger radiators and different ecu and other tweaks to help the problems
I’ve always heard guys talk about both years.
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4/11/2020 11:43pm
Yeah I had an 06 kx250f
Dropped a valve on the second ride.. Kawi wouldn’t replace it but fixed it.
I did everything right on that bike and it blew up about 4 times that year, always done by the Kawasaki guys (not a dealer) in the end they told me I just got a lemon motor And they gave me an entire new engine.
It’s no wonder I am a 2 stroke guy now, my 07 kx250 is bulletproof!
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GODZILLA
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4/12/2020 5:19am Edited Date/Time 4/12/2020 5:20am
Had one of the very first '88 KTM 600 LC4.
Thought it would be more reliable than a 510 TE.
Couldn't be any more wrong, lol...

A great bike for the time... that never worked, even it's probably the most "factory maintained" bike I ever had!
Laughing
Kick Ten Minutes syndrom, frame welded sideways, stock carb and ignition settings totally off, lots of backfiring that burnt holes in the air filter foam or made the carb come off, stock exhaust would get so hot that it melted the side panel, very weak front brake that needed losts of maintenance, stuck kickstarter, various mechanicals, the last one being the electric water pump that led to a terminal engine failure.
Next bike was a 250 CR which I raced two years without even changing a piston, lol...


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creature654
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4/12/2020 5:44am
2015 sx250....others didn’t seem to have as many issues but wow every time I came off the track it seemed like something was broken/blowing up/hanging off. Blew up after just a few rides apparently because of being too lean (what the dealership claimed)but I ran 40:1 just like every other 2 stroke I ever owned, then it blew up again right around the 20 hr mark. A hole was punctured in the gas tank somehow, which the dealership did warranty however I still had to drive a few hours each way to get a new one. Had the linkage bolt snap in some whoops where I somehow managed to not wreck. Crashed once and the mud flap broke off. Had issues with the lower header mount, after fixing it multiple times the frame cracked right next to it which was the final straw. Dumped it off for 4 gs after buying it for about 7 the year before.
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sandtrack315
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4/12/2020 5:52am
Kyle978 wrote:
04 KX250f. Literally the entire bike was a lemon. I was a 14 year old squid C rider and the thing blew up more times than...
04 KX250f. Literally the entire bike was a lemon. I was a 14 year old squid C rider and the thing blew up more times than I can count, and overheated nearly every time it started.

The only thing good I can say is the few times it ran, it cornered really well!
JMR1976 wrote:
Same thing just a Suzuki 250f. When ran it was a great bike but it would just die mid MOTO 15 minutes later it was good...
Same thing just a Suzuki 250f. When ran it was a great bike but it would just die mid MOTO 15 minutes later it was good to go.
These were perhaps the worst bikes ever made.
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MZ193
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4/12/2020 6:29am
I owned a KX 85 2004, 160 hours. (Bought it with complete new engine, never did a top end in 160 hours...).
YZ 125 2008, 200 hours. Bought it used, 40 hrs mark the engine exploded. Complete rebuild, in the other 160 hours i did 3 top ends.
KXF 250 2011, 80 hours. Bought it used at 80 hrs with fresh top end. At 160 hours i sold it, nothing but oil changes every 5 hours.
KXF 250 2015, 70 hours. Bought it at 50 hours, at the 120 hrs mark the tranny said bye bye. Sold the bike.
Bought a brand new KXF 250 2019, 50 hours on it right now, no problems yet.

I can say i’ve been lucky.
DynoDan22
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Victorville, CA US
4/12/2020 6:41am
Kyle978 wrote:
04 KX250f. Literally the entire bike was a lemon. I was a 14 year old squid C rider and the thing blew up more times than...
04 KX250f. Literally the entire bike was a lemon. I was a 14 year old squid C rider and the thing blew up more times than I can count, and overheated nearly every time it started.

The only thing good I can say is the few times it ran, it cornered really well!
JMR1976 wrote:
Same thing just a Suzuki 250f. When ran it was a great bike but it would just die mid MOTO 15 minutes later it was good...
Same thing just a Suzuki 250f. When ran it was a great bike but it would just die mid MOTO 15 minutes later it was good to go.
These were perhaps the worst bikes ever made.
Yep. The '04-'06 RMz 250's were horrible in terms of reliability. They would grenade all the time. The valve train was junk. Oil galley running straight trough the exhaust port led to super high oil temp. They also ran so hot and the cooling system was inadequate to say the least.
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4/12/2020 6:53am
08 KX 250 twostroke. From my understanding Kawi built the last year from scraps they could find around in their shop. We could never get that bike to rund properly, and it kept blowing up. Sold it after having ridden 12 hours on it and having the topend replaced four times. The guy who bought it, couldn't figure it out either. Got a used 07 as a replacement, and that ting was bulletproof while I had it.
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4/12/2020 6:56am
Naver had a complete lemon of a bike but I did get a lemon of a motor.
Pops was working for Honda UK at the time. And he got me a 1991 CR80. It was the Honda UK test bike, and it came straight to me from DBR magazine, (complete with the slipping clutch mentioned in the magazine test) After a year or so on it, pops got a "new" 1990 engine as a spare. It came straight from the training school at Honda UK. It had apparently never been stripped and was "as new", delivered directly from Japan.
On the stand it ran perfectly. However, first time out on it did not go well. Under load it wouldn't rev out. It would just bog all the time and then finally at the very end of the start straight come on the pipe... When we got it home and stripped it... There was a cir-clip missing and the piston pin had come out and gouged and chunk right up the barrel....
Afterwards we bored it to 100cc and it was an absolute rocket ship!
mark_swart
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Chapin, SC US
4/12/2020 7:08am
88 KX 80 big wheel, bought brand new and within two months there were multiple cracks in the frame as well as the footage mount. Keep in mind I was super slow, not really airing it out, and not oversized for the bike. Dad welded the frame, painted it, and we got rid of that thing.
vetmxr
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4/12/2020 8:43am
mark_swart wrote:
88 KX 80 big wheel, bought brand new and within two months there were multiple cracks in the frame as well as the footage mount. Keep...
88 KX 80 big wheel, bought brand new and within two months there were multiple cracks in the frame as well as the footage mount. Keep in mind I was super slow, not really airing it out, and not oversized for the bike. Dad welded the frame, painted it, and we got rid of that thing.
It was nothing for an 80's kx to have welds all over the frame and footpegs broken off.......you had to get used to racing with your foot on the engine cases......
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Tbteam
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4/12/2020 8:54am
I had the first YZ250F in eastern Florida. First time out, on the third lap at Pax it blasted a rod through case as I approached a long table. Luckily, it coasted to a rest before I got there.

I went back to the dealer, they called Yamaha, who freaked a bit and asked us to ship the motor to them ASAP. They overnighted me a brand new motor. Didn't have a problem after that.
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davermz450
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Lexington, KY US
4/12/2020 9:48am
I bought a brand new 2005 yz250 and first ride it blew up. Took it back to the dealership and they said the powervalve wasnt cut correctly and had been hitting the piston rings.
crusty_xx
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4/12/2020 9:55am
Kyle978 wrote:
04 KX250f. Literally the entire bike was a lemon. I was a 14 year old squid C rider and the thing blew up more times than...
04 KX250f. Literally the entire bike was a lemon. I was a 14 year old squid C rider and the thing blew up more times than I can count, and overheated nearly every time it started.

The only thing good I can say is the few times it ran, it cornered really well!
gosh that bike was horrible
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foreman52
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4/12/2020 10:20am
18 YZ450F. This was my 9th new Yamaha (going from 85-450). Most likely will never buy another Yamaha in my life after what I went through with this bike. Motor went at 6 hours and replaced with a complete new crate motor and that went again at the 20ish hour mark. Also went through 2 starter clutches, valve issues, and the timing chain skipping.

To make matters worst a vet riding pal of mine went through almost the exact same thing as I did with his 18. Two complete lemons.

Needless to say we are both on different brands now.
1
dedi684
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Ravena, NY US
4/12/2020 10:33am
2015 sx250....others didn’t seem to have as many issues but wow every time I came off the track it seemed like something was broken/blowing up/hanging off...
2015 sx250....others didn’t seem to have as many issues but wow every time I came off the track it seemed like something was broken/blowing up/hanging off. Blew up after just a few rides apparently because of being too lean (what the dealership claimed)but I ran 40:1 just like every other 2 stroke I ever owned, then it blew up again right around the 20 hr mark. A hole was punctured in the gas tank somehow, which the dealership did warranty however I still had to drive a few hours each way to get a new one. Had the linkage bolt snap in some whoops where I somehow managed to not wreck. Crashed once and the mud flap broke off. Had issues with the lower header mount, after fixing it multiple times the frame cracked right next to it which was the final straw. Dumped it off for 4 gs after buying it for about 7 the year before.
Same bike same stuff. I swore it was jinxed. Ran out of gas twice. Shock bolt fell out and airbox broke. All while new so i sold it and bought another yz.
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crusher773
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Coweta, OK US
4/12/2020 12:26pm
97 Honda CR125. Terrible cylinder design and it just ate pistons and cylinders. That thing was junk.
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Flatliner
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4/12/2020 12:34pm
04 crf 250. Went through valves like crazy.
zippytech
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4/12/2020 12:36pm
Mine was an 89 ktm 250. I cannot type enough to list the problems with that thing. 2 years and 20 gallons of gas. It almost made me quit riding bikes.
NorCal1975
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4/12/2020 2:59pm
The KX 85 and KX 65 frames are super weak if your kids jumping anything longer than a piece of plywood. I would suggest picking up a welder at the same time you buy the bike. We had a 2015 KX 85 and once the frame started cracking it became an endless cycle. The bottom ends and top ends on those things just don't hold up either. On the KX 85 I was replacing pistons at 6 or 7 hours (start to lose compression and power), and bottom ends at 20 hours. When I would go in to replace the 3rd piston there would be too much play in the bottom end, so out it came. I can do all of my own work, but replacing a bottom end every month or two is not my idea of fun. I even ran the bike a little rich from a jetting perspective (and used good oil) and it did not seem to help. Switched to KTMs and top ends and bottom ends have lasted roughly 3x longer, not one single frame crack yet. Fingers crossed....
GODZILLA
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4/12/2020 3:38pm
zippytech wrote:
Mine was an 89 ktm 250. I cannot type enough to list the problems with that thing. 2 years and 20 gallons of gas. It almost...
Mine was an 89 ktm 250. I cannot type enough to list the problems with that thing. 2 years and 20 gallons of gas. It almost made me quit riding bikes.
Just like my 600.
Those were real terrible years to own a KTM.
Dizzy
Barrett57
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4/12/2020 3:40pm
Another vote for the 05 kxf250, couldn't do more than half a lap without laying down a smoke screen.
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soggy
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4/12/2020 4:03pm
2015 sx250....others didn’t seem to have as many issues but wow every time I came off the track it seemed like something was broken/blowing up/hanging off...
2015 sx250....others didn’t seem to have as many issues but wow every time I came off the track it seemed like something was broken/blowing up/hanging off. Blew up after just a few rides apparently because of being too lean (what the dealership claimed)but I ran 40:1 just like every other 2 stroke I ever owned, then it blew up again right around the 20 hr mark. A hole was punctured in the gas tank somehow, which the dealership did warranty however I still had to drive a few hours each way to get a new one. Had the linkage bolt snap in some whoops where I somehow managed to not wreck. Crashed once and the mud flap broke off. Had issues with the lower header mount, after fixing it multiple times the frame cracked right next to it which was the final straw. Dumped it off for 4 gs after buying it for about 7 the year before.
dedi684 wrote:
Same bike same stuff. I swore it was jinxed. Ran out of gas twice. Shock bolt fell out and airbox broke. All while new so i...
Same bike same stuff. I swore it was jinxed. Ran out of gas twice. Shock bolt fell out and airbox broke. All while new so i sold it and bought another yz.
hahaha i think running out of gas is not the bikes fault.
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TeamGreen
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4/12/2020 4:06pm
Goon126 wrote:
Fortunately I’ve never purchased a brand new bike that instantly gave me issues. Anyone want to share some horror stories? Make sure you list bike brand...
Fortunately I’ve never purchased a brand new bike that instantly gave me issues. Anyone want to share some horror stories? Make sure you list bike brand and year.
1991 KTM MX125...push the rear-end down...?
It STAYED DOWN!
Laughing
Goon126
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4/12/2020 4:10pm Edited Date/Time 4/12/2020 4:10pm
foreman52 wrote:
18 YZ450F. This was my 9th new Yamaha (going from 85-450). Most likely will never buy another Yamaha in my life after what I went through...
18 YZ450F. This was my 9th new Yamaha (going from 85-450). Most likely will never buy another Yamaha in my life after what I went through with this bike. Motor went at 6 hours and replaced with a complete new crate motor and that went again at the 20ish hour mark. Also went through 2 starter clutches, valve issues, and the timing chain skipping.

To make matters worst a vet riding pal of mine went through almost the exact same thing as I did with his 18. Two complete lemons.

Needless to say we are both on different brands now.
Uh oh thats the bike I have. So far so good at 30hours 🤞🏼

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