Lowest maintenance 250cc+ street legal dirt bike?

sk8norcal

Well-known member
it's a '97 on cl... but a friend might let me have his non-operational '83 YZ250 project so ... can you say sidetracked? ;)

cool, i don't know much about 2 strokes,
my friend has a 02 300 exc that i have ridden once, need to ride it some more, wasn't all that excited about it when i rode it last time, spent half of my energy just trying to kick start that thing. :laughing
 

evermore

Well-known member
cool, i don't know much about 2 strokes,
my friend has a 02 300 exc that i have ridden once, need to ride it some more, wasn't all that excited about it when i rode it last time, spent half of my energy just trying to kick start that thing. :laughing

yeah, we will see if this works out and just how bad an idea this will turn out to be but I'm willing to roll the dice first ;)
 

sk8norcal

Well-known member
yeah, we will see if this works out and just how bad an idea this will turn out to be but I'm willing to roll the dice first ;)


roll that dice!

have u take that class with garahan yet?
my friend took a couple of class from garahan before, i think he suggested a CRF150F to him. He had that for a while.

I think you should also look into a sur ron light bee or an oset 24, it allows you to practice everyday around your house. no clutch though, the EM has it, but more $$
 

evermore

Well-known member
roll that dice!

have u take that class with garahan yet?
my friend took a couple of class from garahan before, i think he suggested a CRF150F to him. He had that for a while.

I think you should also look into a sur ron light bee or an oset 24, it allows you to practice everyday around your house. no clutch though, the EM has it, but more $$

The class had been reschedule for the 21st but with rain the day before, I hope it does not get cancelled again. :(
 

planegray

Redwood Original
Staff member
I think you owe it to yourself to own a 2 stroke enduro or mx bike at least once. Words don't really commute the experience :)

My thought process is: if you aren't laughing when you're rolling on the ground and your bike is going off a cliff....your dirt bike was too expensive :laughing

I have to admit though, those ktm 350's have always been tempting
 

banshee01

Well-known member
Beta 200!!! I am really curious about a beta 200. I think you should buy that one so I can try it out sometime


Ktm also made a 200cc 2 stroke till like 2016 then went to a 150xc-w instead
 

evermore

Well-known member
I think you owe it to yourself to own a 2 stroke enduro or mx bike at least once. Words don't really commute the experience :)

My thought process is: if you aren't laughing when you're rolling on the ground and your bike is going off a cliff....your dirt bike was too expensive :laughing

I have to admit though, those ktm 350's have always been tempting

they say every car enthusiast should own an Alfa at some point too ;)

Outlook for the class on Sunday looks good, no rain so I think it will take place. A green sticker 2stroke is probably a good and cheap way to start.
 

Dmitriy

ㅅ
Outlook for the class on Sunday looks good, no rain so I think it will take place. A green sticker 2stroke is probably a good and cheap way to start.

Brian is an awesome dude, you'll have a great time.

If your ultimate goal is to finish Dakar or a similar rally you want seat time. Lots and lots of seat time. Probably so much that your friends will call you crazy. Its up to you to decide if that seat time can be achieved on older YZ250 (green sticker) or a plated KTM/Husky 350 or anything else that's in there (literally tons of bikes to choose from).
I personally would pick something lighter (after many years of sound advice from OaklandF4i I think I listened at some point :rofl). Go out and ride all the parks / BLM & National forests we have around here. Get really comfortable. Come race some D36 races - see how your endurance stacks up. You'll be pleasantly surprised how well you'll ride a heavier bike after all that.

Then go give https://jimmylewisoffroad.com/ some time to get those roadbook skills up (afterall he did train that last American Dakar Champion).

Take lots of pictures and videos and post them up because man that's heck of a plan and a ride :ride :thumbup
 

banshee01

Well-known member
they say every car enthusiast should own an Alfa at some point too ;)

Outlook for the class on Sunday looks good, no rain so I think it will take place. A green sticker 2stroke is probably a good and cheap way to start.

Green sticker ktm 200!!!! They are around for a little under $4k
 

evermore

Well-known member
Brian is an awesome dude, you'll have a great time.

If your ultimate goal is to finish Dakar or a similar rally you want seat time. Lots and lots of seat time. Probably so much that your friends will call you crazy. Its up to you to decide if that seat time can be achieved on older YZ250 (green sticker) or a plated KTM/Husky 350 or anything else that's in there (literally tons of bikes to choose from).
I personally would pick something lighter (after many years of sound advice from OaklandF4i I think I listened at some point :rofl). Go out and ride all the parks / BLM & National forests we have around here. Get really comfortable. Come race some D36 races - see how your endurance stacks up. You'll be pleasantly surprised how well you'll ride a heavier bike after all that.

Then go give https://jimmylewisoffroad.com/ some time to get those roadbook skills up (afterall he did train that last American Dakar Champion).

Take lots of pictures and videos and post them up because man that's heck of a plan and a ride :ride :thumbup

Yep, one step at a time! Ultimately, avoiding or keeping injuries to a minimum while accumulating seat time will the key to progressing along this path. Looks like Sunday's class will happen now, step 1 :)
 

banshee01

Well-known member
Yep, one step at a time! Ultimately, avoiding or keeping injuries to a minimum while accumulating seat time will the key to progressing along this path. Looks like Sunday's class will happen now, step 1 :)

How was class? What bike did you ride?
 

evermore

Well-known member
How was class? What bike did you ride?

I survived! The class went from 10am to 3pm. Brian and Brandon were excellent about explaining and then correcting technique. The terrain is challenging so I learned a lot even if most of what they explained to us evaporated as soon as I hit a tough section. The trails were steep but surface consistency was close to perfect I'm told. Scrambling up these trails I would struggle to walk up was eye opening.

Brian put me on a (4stroke) KLX300R. I realize now that on a lot of these uphills, many other bikes would have stalled whereas this thing kept on going despite my mistakes. I'm sure there are other bikes I would have had to pick a dozen times instead.

I do recall and tried to apply many if not all of their lessons but I think it will just take more seat time. One thing that is completely new to me of course is shifting while standing up. Not a huge deal but strange.

As for next steps, we rolled out my friends '87 YZ250 out of the barn yesterday and we can probably get it to run within a few weeks. New air filter, brake lines, tires, chain, other misc rubber parts should do it so figure $500 to have it ready to ride. It would have been useless to learn on on this terrain but to practice technique, single tracks and for getting some seat time at Metcalf, it'll be fine.
 

OaklandF4i

Darwin's exception
:applause :thumbup :ride

Any bike and anyplace to get seat time is good. I've seen some coaches even remove seats to get new riders to stand. Truth :laughing

While there isn't anything terribly technical at Metcalf, you can still learn a lot there by putting in a ton of seat time.

My piece of advice riding that old YZ at Metcalf, you learn a ton by going slow, literally slower than you may be comfortable with. Stand up, grip the bike with your knees, weight the pegs, and go slow, real slow up and over anything you can find vs just ripping up using momentum. You'll learn to keep rpms high enough to not stall, and fan/slip the clutch to keep the wheel from spinning.... traction, shifting weight, and controlling the bike with your lower body.

It doesnt take high rpms to go up steep stuff, its about clutch control and keeping traction. Watch Graham Jarvis videos, he just torques along on his two stroke.

Heck even doing figures eights slow in the parking lot is good. I haven't been to Metcalf in YEARS but they used to have a trials section there. Don't be afraid to take the YZ on some of the smaller easier stuff in the section. Also watch and ask questions of anybody riding it, trials bike riders has some of the best technique and bike control skills. They are going slow, but it will translate directly to offroad, and eventually rally bike stuff.

Spinning up the rear, digging a trench with the rear, or using nothing but momentum while sitting down, bouncing about, feet off the pegs, rear swapping back and forth because you aren't gripping the bike with your knees are a sure signs of a goon squid with no skill. :twofinger
 
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WoodsChick

I Don't Do GPS
Brian put me on a (4stroke) KLX300R. I realize now that on a lot of these uphills, many other bikes would have stalled whereas this thing kept on going despite my mistakes.

Yes, many other bikes you would've been riding would've stalled, because you don't yet know about finding and maintaining traction. This very clearly illustrates what we've been telling you about smaller-bore 2-strokes being better learning tools. A big 4-stroke motor can lead to lazy habits, as they tend to mask deficiencies in skills. Yes, it would've been a lot harder to learn how make it up on a 2-stroke, but once you know how to do it, you can take that easy-riding 4-stroke and go anywhere you want.

I'm glad you had a good time and are stoked to learn! I'm enjoying following your progress. And I hate to sound like a broken record but a big YES to what CJ is telling you. I will do teeny tiny circles on my bike in both directions before heading out for a ride, full lock - as tight as I can, as slow as I can, just as an exercise in balance and clutch control. I'll do figure 8's, too. I'll try to go as slow as possible up steep hills just to feel the nexxus of traction and momentum, and try to hold it there. It's a very helpful exercise for those times when the going is so steep that you will be frantically searching for traction because you've lost all momentum. You won't freak out because you'll know how to find it.

Good luck and have fun! :ride
 

evermore

Well-known member
Present state of the what we think is a 1987 YZ250:
153126335_106159158188760_3031153446411128106_o.jpg
 

OaklandF4i

Darwin's exception
Looks like a fun project! :thumbup

There is a specific forum for Yamaha two strokes over on Thumpertalk.

Figuring out what year bike can be helpful in ordering parts, not unusual for an old bike to have an engine in a frame of a different year. Been there...... Search for a vin/engine number decoder over on thumpertalk or elsewhere. Engine number should be on top of the case behind the kickstarter and vin on headstock for YZs.

Definitely a late 80's YZ of some year.

Reach out if you want any suggestions of what some of us old timers would do to get and keep an old two stroke running. :thumbup

Edit: Might even be fun whole new thread to let us follow along getting the bike running and your offroad riding experience.
 
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sk8norcal

Well-known member
Brian put me on a (4stroke) KLX300R. I realize now that on a lot of these uphills, many other bikes would have stalled whereas this thing kept on going despite my mistakes. I'm sure there are other bikes I would have had to pick a dozen times instead.

sounds like a fun sesssion. I wonder how steep those hills are.
Btw, does Brian recommend the KLX300R as a starter? it seems like a good bike, except it weighs 290 lbs! same weight as a WR250R.
 
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