“yz250f most reliable bike” ???

MotoRard713
Profile picture for user MotoRard713
Posts
36
Joined
6/17/2021
Location
Miami, FL US
MotoRard713
So everyone raves about how reliable these yz250fs are but I’ve had atleast 6 different friends each blow there bike up within 30 hours, weather it be valve, rod or timing chain issues. had another buddy blow his bike up at 12 hours this past weekend from sucking in dirt, it’s also important to mention they all do the proper maintenance. I’ve had 3 250sxfs all over 100 hours and never had a single issue, I’ve been wanting to switchover to yamahas just to try something different but these yamahas blowing below 30 hours is kinda scaring me away. And I know some people have had plenty yamahas without issues, but I’m questioning that reliability quote.
2
16
|
MotoRard713
Profile picture for user MotoRard713
Posts
36
Joined
6/17/2021
Location
Miami, FL US
MotoRard713 5/27/2022 7:06am
5/27/2022 7:06am
Johnny Ringo wrote:
Do your buddies do maintenance or nah
They do. My buddy who sucked in dirt also has that aftermarket filter cage that’s supposed to help with dirt getting in aswell.
5
Hrzk75
Profile picture for user Hrzk75
Posts
278
Joined
1/8/2019
Location
SE
Fantasy
2095th
Hrzk75 5/27/2022 7:07am
5/27/2022 7:07am
Johnny Ringo wrote:
Do your buddies do maintenance or nah
do you read the whole post or nah

i had some big troubles with my 19 yzf aswell, well taken care off.
3
2
Joshracing 5/27/2022 7:14am
5/27/2022 7:14am
We have one here, 10 hours, engine KABOOM. Repaired at massive cost, now gone. No more motocross for it's owner. I have a photo, but out of respect to the owner, i don't want to post. He's upset about it. Dream bike, brand new... done.
2

The Shop

See All »
MotoRard713
Profile picture for user MotoRard713
Posts
36
Joined
6/17/2021
Location
Miami, FL US
MotoRard713 5/27/2022 7:19am
5/27/2022 7:19am
Joshracing wrote:
We have one here, 10 hours, engine KABOOM. Repaired at massive cost, now gone. No more motocross for it's owner. I have a photo, but out...
We have one here, 10 hours, engine KABOOM. Repaired at massive cost, now gone. No more motocross for it's owner. I have a photo, but out of respect to the owner, i don't want to post. He's upset about it. Dream bike, brand new... done.
Yup, what year was his bike by the way? 19-21 is what I see the most issues with
1
CraigCrashes
Profile picture for user CraigCrashes
Posts
215
Joined
8/13/2020
Location
Sacramento, CA US
Fantasy
1788th
CraigCrashes 5/27/2022 7:19am
5/27/2022 7:19am
Idk what you guys are talking about. My 2006 had a couple hundred hours on it.
1
davis224
Profile picture for user davis224
Posts
6250
Joined
8/15/2006
Location
Cornland, IL US
Fantasy
165th
davis224 5/27/2022 7:20am
5/27/2022 7:20am
They haven't been the same since they went to 4 valve. The old 5 valve design was bulletproof for a 250f.
1
1
OrangeJuice158 5/27/2022 7:26am
5/27/2022 7:26am
I read on vital that the KTMs are the ones that are unreliable, poorly engineered, with terrible customer service. Also something about a warranty.
5
3
Skerby
Profile picture for user Skerby
Posts
1254
Joined
4/9/2013
Location
Mayes County, OK US
Skerby 5/27/2022 7:30am
5/27/2022 7:30am
My 21 has been a reallly solid bike. Did a top end at 50 hours and everything seemed dialed. Probably do a bottom end before 100 just because of threads like these lol.
MotoRard713
Profile picture for user MotoRard713
Posts
36
Joined
6/17/2021
Location
Miami, FL US
MotoRard713 5/27/2022 7:41am
5/27/2022 7:41am
OrangeJuice158 wrote:
I read on vital that the KTMs are the ones that are unreliable, poorly engineered, with terrible customer service. Also something about a warranty.
Yeah I’m sure there’s a lot of people that have had problems with their ktms aswell, just from what I have seen personally yamahas have a lot of issues. Like I said I myself have had 3 250sxfs an 18 19 and 21 all over 100 hours and never had any issues.
vdrsnk04
Profile picture for user vdrsnk04
Posts
1084
Joined
9/5/2018
Location
IL US
Fantasy
4295th
vdrsnk04 5/27/2022 7:56am
5/27/2022 7:56am
“had another buddy blow his bike up at 12 hours this past weekend from sucking in dirt, it’s also important to mention they all do the proper maintenance.”

These two sentences can’t coincide with one another lol. If you do proper maintenance, you use grease on the sealing surface when installing the air filter for a proper seal which doesn’t allow dirt to get in with proper filter oil in the filter on top of it.

There is a reason Yamaha is known by everyone for reliability, because it is.

Signed, your friendly KTM owner.
8
brocsdad
Profile picture for user brocsdad
Posts
922
Joined
8/9/2010
Location
Thompsons Station, TN US
brocsdad 5/27/2022 8:05am
5/27/2022 8:05am
If he was doing proper maintenance there's no way he could have sucked dirt. We've had a 19 and 21 and just picked up another 21. So far they have been great. Just clean the filter every ride and if you do happen to drop some dirt in the boot (with aftermarket screen elimination kit) vacuum it out and then wipe the boot out. A lot of guys will lay the bike on its side when removing the filter.

The only issue we had was a wire off the quick connect for the start button broke. It was due to a top over or the pressure washer? Not sure but its all good now.

The timing chain was upgraded in 2021 but its still a good idea to replace within 50 hours.

Good Luck!

1
NorCal1975
Profile picture for user NorCal1975
Posts
320
Joined
12/27/2019
Location
Northern California, CA US
NorCal1975 5/27/2022 8:07am
5/27/2022 8:07am
Seems like all the magazines talk about how reliable the YZ450 is compared to the others, but I don't recall reading as much about YZ250F reliability? I know historically Yamaha seems to be all about building quality across all of their products (they even make nice pianos, lol), but I wonder if the reliability reputation is built more off of the 450 and not so much the 250? I have owned 2 YZ450s and never had a single thing break motor wise in hundreds of hours (they were properly maintained).

I am curious because I have a 14 year old who is now almost 6 feet tall all of a sudden. He looks like Arminas Jasikonis on his supermini...
Hudd_421
Profile picture for user Hudd_421
Posts
645
Joined
2/17/2015
Location
TX US
Hudd_421 5/27/2022 8:13am
5/27/2022 8:13am
Meh, search any bike and you'll find a story about one letting go at 10 hrs, and another going 200hrs on a single piston.
Shit happens, people grossly overstate their maintenance/riding abilities, and sometimes you just get lucky/unlucky.

Only thing I'll ever say is stay away from Hot Rods cranks lol
8
lostboy819
Profile picture for user lostboy819
Posts
11509
Joined
8/16/2006
Location
Somewhere, CO US
Fantasy
1442nd
lostboy819 5/27/2022 8:14am
5/27/2022 8:14am
brocsdad wrote:
If he was doing proper maintenance there's no way he could have sucked dirt. We've had a 19 and 21 and just picked up another 21...
If he was doing proper maintenance there's no way he could have sucked dirt. We've had a 19 and 21 and just picked up another 21. So far they have been great. Just clean the filter every ride and if you do happen to drop some dirt in the boot (with aftermarket screen elimination kit) vacuum it out and then wipe the boot out. A lot of guys will lay the bike on its side when removing the filter.

The only issue we had was a wire off the quick connect for the start button broke. It was due to a top over or the pressure washer? Not sure but its all good now.

The timing chain was upgraded in 2021 but its still a good idea to replace within 50 hours.

Good Luck!

LOL I lauged at that line too. Laughing

had another buddy blow his bike up at 12 hours this past weekend from sucking in dirt, it’s also important to mention they all do the proper maintenance

If he sucked dirt then he's not doing his mantaince correctly and who knows what else he screwed up. Laughing
7
MotoRard713
Profile picture for user MotoRard713
Posts
36
Joined
6/17/2021
Location
Miami, FL US
MotoRard713 5/27/2022 8:25am
5/27/2022 8:25am
brocsdad wrote:
If he was doing proper maintenance there's no way he could have sucked dirt. We've had a 19 and 21 and just picked up another 21...
If he was doing proper maintenance there's no way he could have sucked dirt. We've had a 19 and 21 and just picked up another 21. So far they have been great. Just clean the filter every ride and if you do happen to drop some dirt in the boot (with aftermarket screen elimination kit) vacuum it out and then wipe the boot out. A lot of guys will lay the bike on its side when removing the filter.

The only issue we had was a wire off the quick connect for the start button broke. It was due to a top over or the pressure washer? Not sure but its all good now.

The timing chain was upgraded in 2021 but its still a good idea to replace within 50 hours.

Good Luck!

lostboy819 wrote:
LOL I lauged at that line too. :laugh: [b]had another buddy blow his bike up at 12 hours this past weekend from sucking in dirt, it’s...
LOL I lauged at that line too. Laughing

had another buddy blow his bike up at 12 hours this past weekend from sucking in dirt, it’s also important to mention they all do the proper maintenance

If he sucked dirt then he's not doing his mantaince correctly and who knows what else he screwed up. Laughing
He cleans his filter and uses grease around the seals every ride. He rides a sand track. If that’s the case he’d need a filter every moto
1
2
Zycki11
Profile picture for user Zycki11
Posts
5947
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Ankeny, IA US
Zycki11 5/27/2022 8:30am
5/27/2022 8:30am
They are phenomenal bikes. Don't be hesitant and just enjoy it. The stories seem like they weren't particular about doing maintenance.
Richy
Profile picture for user Richy
Posts
2901
Joined
7/18/2020
Location
UK GB
Richy 5/27/2022 8:40am
5/27/2022 8:40am
I've seen a handful with front brake issues, either getting stuck or being real weak and then a seal packs in.

Is that pretty common or just random? I've not seen it happen to another bike personally, in the real world.

Pit Row

See All »
GD350
Profile picture for user GD350
Posts
219
Joined
2/23/2021
Location
Plymouth , MO US
Fantasy
1525th
GD350 5/27/2022 8:50am
5/27/2022 8:50am Edited Date/Time 5/27/2022 8:58am
Ive heard of Timing chain issues. The air intake location sucks ALOT of dust/water aswell. The last round of gncc last year was a Yamaha graveyard, like 10 of em blown up around there
1
1
AH387
Profile picture for user AH387
Posts
1337
Joined
8/29/2019
Location
Bridgeville, PA US
AH387 5/27/2022 8:51am
5/27/2022 8:51am
I would be willing to bet most of the failures are filter related, whether it be stock or especially the aftermarket cage systems. You have to be extra careful when you do filter changes, as it's so easy to get dirt down into the intake. Also, you have to grease the ring/contact area of the filter. And I also like to use No Toil filter oil but I do not like using it on the new YZFs. So I use it on my 125 (and when I had my Husky) but I use spray tack filter oil on the YZF filter because It just seems to be easier to get enough oil on there w/i any dripping or residue. And I pay extra attention to make sure I have the whole filter covered. Things happen with all bikes, but I believe in general the new YZFs are good bikes but you need to be extra attentive to the filter/intake, especially if you run the aftermarket set-ups.
6
Timo
Profile picture for user Timo
Posts
781
Joined
1/9/2021
Location
Wichita, KS US
Timo 5/27/2022 8:54am
5/27/2022 8:54am
Like everyone else said, proper maintenance should keep dirt from getting into the engine. I've been running the stock Yamaha filter setup, with the rubber grommet in the center of the filter, since 2019. I ride 60% sand, never had an issue with anything getting past it. I'd have to guess the aftermarket filter wasn't installed correctly. I've even sucked water into my engine (it's a 450) during a river crossing, and static locked the engine. I waited 15 minutes for the water to drain past the rings, started it back up, and rode 2 miles back to my truck. 1 gallon of diesel oil later and it was good to go. This was 40 hours ago, no issues yet, knock on wood...

Another thing to note, iirc the YZ250F is the sales leader in racing dirt bikes in the USA, so there are lots of them that run without issue and you never hear about them.
2
c0ncEpT
Profile picture for user c0ncEpT
Posts
1269
Joined
5/13/2015
Location
Harrison Twp., MI US
c0ncEpT 5/27/2022 8:59am
5/27/2022 8:59am
brocsdad wrote:
If he was doing proper maintenance there's no way he could have sucked dirt. We've had a 19 and 21 and just picked up another 21...
If he was doing proper maintenance there's no way he could have sucked dirt. We've had a 19 and 21 and just picked up another 21. So far they have been great. Just clean the filter every ride and if you do happen to drop some dirt in the boot (with aftermarket screen elimination kit) vacuum it out and then wipe the boot out. A lot of guys will lay the bike on its side when removing the filter.

The only issue we had was a wire off the quick connect for the start button broke. It was due to a top over or the pressure washer? Not sure but its all good now.

The timing chain was upgraded in 2021 but its still a good idea to replace within 50 hours.

Good Luck!

lostboy819 wrote:
LOL I lauged at that line too. :laugh: [b]had another buddy blow his bike up at 12 hours this past weekend from sucking in dirt, it’s...
LOL I lauged at that line too. Laughing

had another buddy blow his bike up at 12 hours this past weekend from sucking in dirt, it’s also important to mention they all do the proper maintenance

If he sucked dirt then he's not doing his mantaince correctly and who knows what else he screwed up. Laughing
MotoRard713 wrote:
He cleans his filter and uses grease around the seals every ride. He rides a sand track. If that’s the case he’d need a filter every...
He cleans his filter and uses grease around the seals every ride. He rides a sand track. If that’s the case he’d need a filter every moto
In heavy dust or sand you literally do need to change the filter every moto. Poor filter maintenance will blow anything up.
1
1
lostboy819
Profile picture for user lostboy819
Posts
11509
Joined
8/16/2006
Location
Somewhere, CO US
Fantasy
1442nd
lostboy819 5/27/2022 9:02am
5/27/2022 9:02am Edited Date/Time 5/27/2022 9:03am
brocsdad wrote:
If he was doing proper maintenance there's no way he could have sucked dirt. We've had a 19 and 21 and just picked up another 21...
If he was doing proper maintenance there's no way he could have sucked dirt. We've had a 19 and 21 and just picked up another 21. So far they have been great. Just clean the filter every ride and if you do happen to drop some dirt in the boot (with aftermarket screen elimination kit) vacuum it out and then wipe the boot out. A lot of guys will lay the bike on its side when removing the filter.

The only issue we had was a wire off the quick connect for the start button broke. It was due to a top over or the pressure washer? Not sure but its all good now.

The timing chain was upgraded in 2021 but its still a good idea to replace within 50 hours.

Good Luck!

lostboy819 wrote:
LOL I lauged at that line too. :laugh: [b]had another buddy blow his bike up at 12 hours this past weekend from sucking in dirt, it’s...
LOL I lauged at that line too. Laughing

had another buddy blow his bike up at 12 hours this past weekend from sucking in dirt, it’s also important to mention they all do the proper maintenance

If he sucked dirt then he's not doing his mantaince correctly and who knows what else he screwed up. Laughing
MotoRard713 wrote:
He cleans his filter and uses grease around the seals every ride. He rides a sand track. If that’s the case he’d need a filter every...
He cleans his filter and uses grease around the seals every ride. He rides a sand track. If that’s the case he’d need a filter every moto
I guess not, or he would not have sucked dirt. Laughing and extra filters are a hell of a lot cheaper than blowing up a motor.........................DUH!!
TheGetFresh
Profile picture for user TheGetFresh
Posts
1658
Joined
8/12/2015
Location
COOL GY
Fantasy
2551st
TheGetFresh 5/27/2022 9:12am
5/27/2022 9:12am
MotoRard713 wrote:
He cleans his filter and uses grease around the seals every ride. He rides a sand track. If that’s the case he’d need a filter every...
He cleans his filter and uses grease around the seals every ride. He rides a sand track. If that’s the case he’d need a filter every moto
Do you watch him do it every time?
1
MotoRard713
Profile picture for user MotoRard713
Posts
36
Joined
6/17/2021
Location
Miami, FL US
MotoRard713 5/27/2022 9:17am
5/27/2022 9:17am
lostboy819 wrote:
LOL I lauged at that line too. :laugh: [b]had another buddy blow his bike up at 12 hours this past weekend from sucking in dirt, it’s...
LOL I lauged at that line too. Laughing

had another buddy blow his bike up at 12 hours this past weekend from sucking in dirt, it’s also important to mention they all do the proper maintenance

If he sucked dirt then he's not doing his mantaince correctly and who knows what else he screwed up. Laughing
MotoRard713 wrote:
He cleans his filter and uses grease around the seals every ride. He rides a sand track. If that’s the case he’d need a filter every...
He cleans his filter and uses grease around the seals every ride. He rides a sand track. If that’s the case he’d need a filter every moto
c0ncEpT wrote:
In heavy dust or sand you literally do need to change the filter every moto. Poor filter maintenance will blow anything up.
I wasn’t aware of that, I’m pretty sure 24 is gonna be the new model yz250fs, maybe they’ll make improvements to the filter cage so that you don’t have to do that. hopefully a hydraulic clutch too
1
Crash217
Profile picture for user Crash217
Posts
244
Joined
6/24/2014
Location
Tulsa, OK US
Crash217 5/27/2022 9:19am
5/27/2022 9:19am
My 250FX is at 148 hours and I've never even peeked inside the valve cover.

Fresh Rotella every couple rides. Clean/re-oil the airfilter as needed.

I put in a set of clutch plates at 83 hours, the OEM looked great.

The only thing I've had fail/wear out prematurely in my opinion is the starter system. I've rebuilt the starter 3 times. Glad I have the kickstart backup.

Figure I'll continue riding and racing as I have been until it starts making noise or won't start. Then I'll rebuild it and start all over.

I don't moto much at all, just A class off-road racing.
1
ACBailey89
Profile picture for user ACBailey89
Posts
328
Joined
2/10/2021
Location
Bend, OR US
Fantasy
2553rd
ACBailey89 5/27/2022 9:58am
5/27/2022 9:58am
MotoRard713 wrote:
They do. My buddy who sucked in dirt also has that aftermarket filter cage that’s supposed to help with dirt getting in aswell.
Usually those aftermarket air filter cages get rid of the back screen and let get dirt in EASIER not harder.
Zycki11
Profile picture for user Zycki11
Posts
5947
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Ankeny, IA US
Zycki11 5/27/2022 10:16am
5/27/2022 10:16am
MotoRard713 wrote:
He cleans his filter and uses grease around the seals every ride. He rides a sand track. If that’s the case he’d need a filter every...
He cleans his filter and uses grease around the seals every ride. He rides a sand track. If that’s the case he’d need a filter every moto
c0ncEpT wrote:
In heavy dust or sand you literally do need to change the filter every moto. Poor filter maintenance will blow anything up.
MotoRard713 wrote:
I wasn’t aware of that, I’m pretty sure 24 is gonna be the new model yz250fs, maybe they’ll make improvements to the filter cage so that...
I wasn’t aware of that, I’m pretty sure 24 is gonna be the new model yz250fs, maybe they’ll make improvements to the filter cage so that you don’t have to do that. hopefully a hydraulic clutch too
For what reason is a hydraulic clutch needed on the Yamaha? Cable has better feel, less expense, and the Yamaha in particular has a great clutch with a great pull.
4
2
Luke_Richards 5/27/2022 10:34am
5/27/2022 10:34am
Is he one of these younger guys just holding it wide open, clutch half in, and then in the air unleash the rev limiter from holy hell. Keefer called it B class fast 😂
2

Post a reply to: “yz250f most reliable bike” ???