Posts
780
Joined
10/4/2010
Location
Gaithersburg, MD
US
Edited Date/Time
2/18/2016 4:00am
Hey fellas i'm really interested in the RM250, I want to go back to the two stroke. In your opinions and experience what year(s) do you feel were the best for the RM250 and why? Any input from you guys would be such a help, thanks.
You ride at Budds or Easton? I'd let you try my CR out this spring and it'd probably change your mind.
1 tooth to the rear sprocket and really enjoyed it.
The Shop
- best year is 2006 so if you can find a real low hours 2006 then get it! the 06 has slightly more bottom end power than the later models (i think the carb intake boot is a different angle and slightly different porting to the later models) any of them 04 onwards you cant go wrong with though. currently have a couple of 2010 (k8) ones in the garage. Selling one of them for a new 450 though!
they come jetted very rich on the main as stock (as most bikes do nowadays) - as far as pipes etc stock is very good and probably the best set up for most people. I run mine with either the stock or fmf fatty front pipe and pro circuit r 304 silence, v-force reed block. Boyeson rad valves work really well too. Instead of the stock gearing (13-50) we go to 13-51.
alot of slower riders actually want to tame the power down from stock and go with reed spacers/ flywheel weights, i found that these tend to deaden the power too much (make it feel flat) and preferred the stock set up with minor mods like light porting work/ pipes etc.
- 3rd and 4th drive gear and 5th driven tend to wear out on the dogs about every 60 hours running time (on average)Theres a shim washer and circlip on the back of 3rd drive gear thats a little too thin and allows 3rd to 'float' a little too much. We add a thicker shim washer there, and also a more heavy duty circlip- the stock circlip can concave (or pop off all together) if you stomp on the gear lever too hard, allowing the gear to move where it shouldnt. This will make your gearbox last alot longer!
Also, when you check your clutch you might want to check the gear selector pin as we have had these work loose after a few hours- we normally remove them and loctite them when we get the bikes, same with the screws on the selector barrel.
They really are great bikes, handle like nothing else! we tend to set ours with the sag set so the back end is real low- i feel that this helps in the corners.
I still ride my 2004. You can win at the Vet amateur level on this bike pretty easy. Very light and flickable and nutty fast.
http://houston.craigslist.org/mcy/3452427719.html
I think there was a couple changes made between '05 and '06 but not sure what they were.
I love my RM250, wish they were still selling them here, I'm gonna be bummed when mine wears out.
I had a 2000, great bike...but you need to be a rocket scientist to figure that carb out
04+ is the way to go, as they upgraded to Showa
>>> Have cash in hand. I used http://www.bikefinds.com/
Took 2 weeks checking at least once a day
I picked up my 05 for 2k w/ a lot goodies. PC pipe, v3 reeds, etc & in good shape. About 5-$600 later new bike.
BNG, revalve, top end,clutch,new plastics (rmz plate and fender bolt right on)
(now i use my rmz for sight laps then the fun begins)
http://www.thumpertalk.com/topic/994699-what-year-did-suzuki-stop-developing-the-rm-250/
http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/77-suzuki-2-stroke/
I can't help but feel that MXA article (which always gets posted in threads about this bike) overstates the aggressiveness of the power curve a bit. Yeah they have plenty of grunt and an exciting delivery, but I never found it was difficult to manage.
One thing that always bothered me about my 2-stroke RM's was how narrow the fuel tank and front part of the seat were in relation to the frame and airbox. It just felt strange and made it difficult to grip the bike with my legs.
Pit Row
Oh, Suzuki two-strokes basket creep like no other. At least my 05 did.
they completely redesigned the cylinder in 04- then 05 onwards just made minor porting changes, different crank weights etc to try and copy the yamaha basically!
think the 06 has a different shaped carb boot and slightly more crank case compression than the later ones- other than that they didnt change much at all reallY!
having said that one of the guys i race with (who wins local expert races) found it much easier when he fitted the flywheel weight to his rm 250. He was noticeably faster (he really struggled with the bike at first)- he spent alot of years racing 125s though, and is pretty small, which would probably explain why he couldnt get on with the abrupt power delivery!
all down to personal preference really. The suzuki engine is basically a clone of the yam engine (well the cylinder is anyway) but the yam has a heavier flywheel- so has a broader, easier to use powerband
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