I'm twice as fast on a 250f

[dannygraves]

thats right, I rode Danielle's '05 crf250r all day saturday out at Apex and was seriously like twice as fast as I am on a 500. on the rev limiter all the time, hitting whoops on the rev limiter in 3rd, hitting jumps, etc, I was flat out mobbin' it. I was right behind Justin when ever the dust level provided and still felt like I could comfortably go faster. The guy behind even commented on my "flicking the bike around like a mini".
I could turn 10 times better, I could pin it everywhere without looping and it still had the power to go everywhere.
The only problem I had was the lack of power down low. I hit one hill too slow like I would on the 500 and bogged it too much and stalled out. Otherwise the rest of the day I was mobbin' and didn't even get tired!

[AlisoBob]

Sounds like you own the wrong bike.

[dannygraves]

yeah... I'm shopping around for fo fiddys, my buddy ryan has a nice '03 yz450f I'm trying to get him to sell to me.
Of coarse, I still need cr500 power for the dunes.

[DesertCR]

My roommate has an 06 crf250 and it seems to be a good bike (that is until he sucked a valve $$$) but I can still get him pretty much everywhere except when it comes to turning, I think those newer bikes are just much better in the corners. l

[dannygraves]

my gen-4, which I hated, was the same chassis as this 250. the gyros make a huge difference in cornering, but the biggest thing for me was controlability, I was able to gas it hard out of corners without losing the whole backend. I was able to go WFO through whoops... the last time I went through some whoops wfo on a 500 I had to go to the ER.
I think it just comes down to the fact that I'm not a very skilled rider and the contorlability on the 4 sproke seems to work better for me.
although, I did miss the adrenalin of the crazy hit while ridiing, but replaced it with adrenalin from flat out hauling ass.

[Roostius_Maximus]

i'm faster in the trails on my 88 500, but when i get to jumping or mx track the 02 250 is better, i'd rather take 5 hp out of the 500 and have it more rideable than milk that 250 all day long and get into that situation where you realize Dammn thats all shes got!

[M.F.D.B.]

i'm faster in the trails on my 88 500, but when i get to jumping or mx track the 02 250 is better

You must ride some incredibly smooth,flat, straight trails for that statement to make ANY sense even at all. The first thing any intelligent bike rider will tell you to do is put your money in suspension. It will make you far faster than any motor mods ever will. And brand spanking new 88 cr500 suspension wouldnt do a shopping cart justice. Especially compared to an 02 250.

i'd rather take 5 hp out of the 500 and have it more rideable than milk that 250 all day long and get into that situation where you realize Dammn thats all shes got!

5hp "out" of a 500 wont do SHIT for handling. Its that HUGE heavy crank that hurts agility. If you are a guy out to "detune" or "tame" a 500 just buy a 250! The 500 was never made to be "tamed". When I need to clean the floors I use a mop, not a pressure washer...

What Danny realized the other day was exactly what Bob and any other smart, experienced bike rider can confirm. Power means SHIT without control and SUSPENSION is EVERYTHING. For little guys like Danny and us (sub 180 pounders) we simply dont need the crazy power of a 500 for tight trail work. Its like trying to take a top fuel dragster on a go-cart track. WHY??

[iggys-amsoil]

Nah your not going twice as fast,.......... the motor is.

[M.F.D.B.]

Nah your not going twice as fast,.......... the motor is.

Danny is right, he hit 40mph!!

[dannygraves]

I still wouldn't ride that crf250 in the dunes, I think I'd put a valve through the piston at 14,000 rpm after about an hour of riding. 450 would make a good all around bike for me, but I'd still run a 500 in the dunes as the primary dunes ride

[ISBB]

my XR400 is coming in 2 weeks.. That will be the reliable desert beater.. and the 500's will be for the dunes

[Roostius_Maximus]

You must ride some incredibly smooth,flat, straight trails for that statement to make ANY sense even at all. The first thing any intelligent bike rider will tell you to do is put your money in suspension. It will make you far faster than any motor mods ever will. And brand spanking new 88 cr500 suspension wouldnt do a shopping cart justice. Especially compared to an 02 250.

5hp "out" of a 500 wont do SHIT for handling. Its that HUGE heavy crank that hurts agility. If you are a guy out to "detune" or "tame" a 500 just buy a 250! The 500 was never made to be "tamed". When I need to clean the floors I use a mop, not a pressure washer...

What Danny realized the other day was exactly what Bob and any other smart, experienced bike rider can confirm. Power means SHIT without control and SUSPENSION is EVERYTHING. For little guys like Danny and us (sub 180 pounders) we simply dont need the crazy power of a 500 for tight trail work. Its like trying to take a top fuel dragster on a go-cart track. WHY??

Sorry to make you reconsider things, but my 88 500 is a dream in the trails and with the fork raised 3/8" in the tripple its handling is far superior to even my '00 with Mikkelson suspension, OR my 02 250. We spent an afternoon testing the bikes in a mile long trail thats tight up and down hills, tabletop style jumps and berms in a bush that prooved on the clock that the 500 was faster than a 250f or a cr250, in power delivery under throttle controll it could be rode with 4 shifts and clutch work where the 250 needed 14+ shifts and a popeye arm on the clutch.

Now to consider the 5hp out comment, I'm riding this bike wtih an 86 shortrod engine thats bridgeless and rangy like nothing you've likely ridden, BUT If you know it and can ride just over the rang in the big power and keep it there with clutching and shifing it is rediculously efficient to ride and doesnt thrash you.
IF it had less power you yourself could dumb it down and not have to over-ride to use the engine. and yes the 5hp will do exactly what you need to sort out handling because it will completly change the way the suspension is loading coming out of a corner, and make it controllable.

The mx race on the weekend was a prime example of the engine beeing tammed with exhasut to make less power so it would be faster and more controllable.

I'm not going to get this anywhere near questioning YOUR intelligence, i know you ride track and trail possibly in a differt frame of mind than when i ride. If i'm on a trail thats bar width i'm still trying to stuff the guys i'm riding with in every corner, out pull him on the straits, and try to set myself a new record for getting down that trail. If your not out there with stupidly overpowered bikes that are scaring you into beeing unsure of surviving the next corner and getting the adrenaline pumping i dont see the reason to ride.

Having said that there are days where i'm faster on the 250, like when i've been up all night with a kid that was puking, or farming til 3 in the morning and riding at 6am before field work starts again, OR WHEN I"M JUST PLAIN LAZY/CALMER/TIRED. It simply demands less on your body to ride the smaller 2strokes and deffinately the 4 stroke bikes.

[MojoScojo]

I have one word for you Danny.

Longevity.

How long you think that 250F will last with you treating it like that?
I know I'm faster on small bikes. Problem is, I blow em up in a heartbeat trying to make them do the same stuff my 500 did for me for 9 years without needing so much as a top end.


$$$$$$$

[hoofarted]

I have one word for you Danny.

Longevity.

How long you think that 250F will last with you treating it like that?

$$$$$$$

X2. On the rev limiter the whole time...yur just lucky you aint rebuilding that motor.

I think you just "feel" faster cuz that motor is working a helluva lot harder to get it up to speed. Remember you were "fast" on your old 125 too....then you got a real bike.

[M.F.D.B.]

Sorry thumper haters, Danny WAS much faster. Its not hard to tell when you ride with the same guys on the same rides every weekend. I cant comment on longevity much as we just got the 250. But I can tell you that the motor had nearly ZERO oil in it when I bought it. I filled it up and rode the shit out of it, no issues yet. It does need a ring/piston but it is an 05 so thats nothing abnormal.

Danny admitedly said the 250 was working too hard and he plans on a 450. Now if you wanna talk longevity on a 450, go ahead, I have PLENTY of info for you on that one, and none of it negative...

Suck it up haters, facts are facts no matter how deep your head is burried in the ground! HAHA

[dannygraves]

well, I'm not talking about buying a 250f, that would be a terrible idea, it would suck a valve in no time with me riding the rev limiter.
I'm looking at 450s becaiuse they are rediculously cheap right now and would make a great trial/track bike for me.
I mostly started this thread to see if I could get other opinions/similar experience.
and yes, I was going way faster because I was infront or passing a dude who is usually quite a bit faster than me and all day Justin didn't shake me back any further than the end of his dust cloud.
normally even if I keep up with justin and jason, I get too tired after about an hour to maintain.

and andy.... I was never fast on that 125 on any scale

[redrider]

Sorry to make you reconsider things, but my 88 500 is a dream in the trails and with the fork raised 3/8" in the tripple its handling is far superior to even my '00 with Mikkelson suspension, OR my 02 250. We spent an afternoon testing the bikes in a mile long trail thats tight up and down hills, tabletop style jumps and berms in a bush that prooved on the clock that the 500 was faster than a 250f or a cr250, in power delivery under throttle controll it could be rode with 4 shifts and clutch work where the 250 needed 14+ shifts and a popeye arm on the clutch.

Now to consider the 5hp out comment, I'm riding this bike wtih an 86 shortrod engine thats bridgeless and rangy like nothing you've likely ridden, BUT If you know it and can ride just over the rang in the big power and keep it there with clutching and shifing it is rediculously efficient to ride and doesnt thrash you.
IF it had less power you yourself could dumb it down and not have to over-ride to use the engine. and yes the 5hp will do exactly what you need to sort out handling because it will completly change the way the suspension is loading coming out of a corner, and make it controllable.

The mx race on the weekend was a prime example of the engine beeing tammed with exhasut to make less power so it would be faster and more controllable.

I'm not going to get this anywhere near questioning YOUR intelligence, i know you ride track and trail possibly in a differt frame of mind than when i ride. If i'm on a trail thats bar width i'm still trying to stuff the guys i'm riding with in every corner, out pull him on the straits, and try to set myself a new record for getting down that trail. If your not out there with stupidly overpowered bikes that are scaring you into beeing unsure of surviving the next corner and getting the adrenaline pumping i dont see the reason to ride.

Having said that there are days where i'm faster on the 250, like when i've been up all night with a kid that was puking, or farming til 3 in the morning and riding at 6am before field work starts again, OR WHEN I"M JUST PLAIN LAZY/CALMER/TIRED. It simply demands less on your body to ride the smaller 2strokes and deffinately the 4 stroke bikes.

I totally agree with you and danny. I am faster on a 250f in most places as the lack of power definately gives me more confidence...except in the trails. Thats where it scares me. I was riding in the sandwash in maybell, CO recently when we switched bikes. Coming up on big roller whoops in 5th isn't so much of a big deal on the 500 where i can still get the front up, but on the 250 I nearly ate poop the first time as it was much more difficult to get properly set up at those speeds, not to mention the hills and extra shifting you have to do on a smaller bike. The 500 can pretty much be left between 3rd and 4th all day on a desert trail.

[dannygraves]

yeah, that was my biggest problem, I couldn't just blip the throttle to pick up the front, and didn't have the grunt to lug it up the hills.

[nmdesertrider]

Danny, how much do you weigh? I loved 250s but they just couldn't do it for me in the sand since I am up to 220#.

[dannygraves]

185 after a big breakfast before the large dump that follows

[NightBiker07]

Suck it up haters, facts are facts no matter how deep your head is burried in the ground! HAHA

maybe you should drop into this thread and take a look around.....
plenty of the "elusive bad" reports/

http://bannedcr500riders.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=3466

[M.F.D.B.]

Suck it up haters, facts are facts no matter how deep your head is burried in the ground! HAHA

maybe you should drop into this thread and take a look around.....
plenty of the "elusive bad" reports/

http://bannedcr500riders.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=3466

Thanks for pointing that out to me...enjoy

http://bannedcr500riders.com/board/view ... c&start=45

[kdizzle]

If your not out there with stupidly overpowered bikes that are scaring you into beeing unsure of surviving the next corner and getting the adrenaline pumping i dont see the reason to ride.

I am with you brother! that is why i keep coming back to the 500. I own an 04 450 and still would rather ride my AF. however i am 235 LB's and feel the 5 hundy has more snap to yank me over jumps and pull harder out of the hole than the 450 when hitting the inside line on the MX track

I did get a chance to ride an 08 rmz250 at the track last night and have to say that it had a great chassis, but the motor sucks! it would loose rpm going up the face of a jump! yuk! i had to rev the daylights out of it to get anywhere and swear it had a top speed of about 45 mph.

My good friend who rides pro, (i ride intermediate) took a apin on the AF as well. When he got off the bike the first thing he said was "dont ever sell that bike" and commented on how the handling was "perfect" needless to say i love my AF

[Roostius_Maximus]

[M.F.D.B.]

Dude, I respect your opinion, but Suzuki makes the worst thumper on the market, and the RMZ250 is a TURD!! =)