ATV Florida Forum

i might get a 250R in the beginning of the year and need to know if they can be used in FTR events and at mx tracks. please help. thanks in advance.

   We are not FTR and we are not MX but you are welcome to race with us on your R  :)


www.southernflattrackleague.com

i dont have one yet but im really interrested in flat track racin. it looks extremely fun. i might just give it a try when i get one. it will be a 450R or a 250R i havent decided.

For the money you can spend on a new 450 plus getting it setup for whatever your doing you can get an awesome 250R that is ready to roll and still have some $ left over. Heck even the CRF/YZF hybrids are getting dirt cheap lately. Unless your buying new strictly for a warranty I dont think you can go wrong with a 250R or one of the hybrids. Just my opinon

I second that! I still really like my '88 250R. It has always been a good bike.  :ThumbsUp.gif

are they as fast as a 450 and are they legal for FTR and mx races? im not sure cause of 1 it is a 2 stroke and 2 they are loud. can you get quiet pipes for them to meet FTR and AMA regs?

 :o A 2 stroke is gonna be way quieter then 450 if its piped. They have just such a low tone to them it carries and is just over all louder.

are they still legal for those events though? im gonna be usin it for FTR mx races and quad scrambles probably. my cousin races and he wants me to race with him. i have one year to get in peak physical shape and get a bike in great shape set up for next season.

The quads made on or before 1988 or 1989 I think are exempt from the sound testing that FTR is doing now so you wont have to worry about the DB issue....

are they as fast as a 450? and what is the best year?

I think so, but it really is a matter of preference. For MX you NEED bottom end power and I would suggest a Paul Turner "Race 2003" pipe with a 350cc powervalved engine and 14/36 gearing. Get the suspension tuned in right and you have a very good MX machine. I don't know if they are still legal for MX races but they are still fast. The best years are '88-'89 models but really the 86-87 are so close that you can't really go wrong.

You see that I still race flattrack with my old '88 250R. It really is a great bike, and I will stay on it until it is no longer competitive. By that time, I will be old and it will probably be me that is not competitive anymore...LOL  ;D

it will be more for trails and quad scrambles. im thinkin the torque and smoothness of the 4stroke will be better.

I see you have never ridden a 250r before...  :-\

well............no. i havent ridden a cr250 either. im not the biggest fan of 2 strokes. i have always ridden 4 strokes. the only 2 strokes ive ever ridden were a pw 50 (lol) and various 80s and 85s. im willing to give a 250R a try though cause its not a bike. i love the thrill of the power band when it hits you but i also like the smoothness of a 4 stroke. i would love to ride one b4 i buy but i dont know anybody with one. :( anyway im probably goaan get one cause of price for one thong and ive always wanted a 250R to have as a collectors item one day.

250r's RULE!!!
They are still the best thing out there. I have owned quite a few. My son has a Roll Design Lobo II with a 295 powervalve, and I have an 88, converted to a no link rear with a 330. We keep a couple of stock engines for spares, just in case. The problem with them is they are like Daddy's teen age princess. They liked to spoiled and carressed. In other words, they are high maintenence. But the rush from a top performing 250r is worth it. When you start putting alot of power into the engine is when you start spending alot of time working on them. A good suspension will make you faster and more comfortable when you race. I have won races with the "OH MY GOD" horsepower, and with a bone stock engine. I also have spent countless hours working on them. If you are not mechanically skilled, find a good friend or mechanic who is. I think the 250r is funner than my YFZ. If you are a 4 stroke person, you will have a learning curve with a 2 stroke. You can't drive them like a tractor. It's throttle pinned.
In the quad scrambles, you can race in the AA, 0-400 A,B, or C classes, womens, beginner, or in one of the age classes. Wherever you fall into. At the last quad scramble, there were a handfull out there. There were a few stock framed, and a couple aftermarket framed. As for the noise issue, my son's 295 came in at 95 db with a Paul Turner quiet silencer at the end of the race. The FMF Q Series will probably be even quieter. I hope I didn't get too carried away here for you. I just have a passion for 250r's. I hope to see another R out there.
RJ

like what kind of maintenance? rebuilding them often or what?

High maintenence? Um...somethings wrong here...
I rarely work on any of our 250r's and 2 strokes are the easiest engines to work on...
"a alot of time working on them" is your boy blowing them up all the time or what?
wheres scott and derek?

What are some of the names of hybrids you are refering to? What was the last year the Honda 250R was produced? Thank you
Teej

1989 was the last year Honda made the 250Rs but the aftermarket has been very strong in reproducing almost everything up until a year or two ago.

The hybrids are just customs, dirtbike engines in either factory ATV chassis (like a 250R or 400ex) or the high dollar specially made ones from companies like Walsh Race Craft, Laegers, Lone Star Racing, Arens, Roll Design, etc. Some common hybrid engines are Honda CRF450, Yamaha YZF400/426/450 Suzuki DRZ400, KTM 520. They were made by relatively small racing shops back before the factories were making the 450s like they are now.

Chris,

I don't get that one either. My '1988 250R has the original bottom end (18 years old) and the crank replaced in 1997 (9 years old, raced ALOT) and the Top end will be 2 years old if it makes it to December (Piston/bore) The 330 Kit has been totally reliable, never breaks, but is not a "Oh my God Horsepower" engine. I don't want one that is taken that for, just far enough to be competitive, which it is. My results so far should prove beyond any question that 250R's are competitive with the new 450's. Just ask anybody who races me if they think my 250R is no good, and I'm sure (Outside of Gary..because he hates 2 strokes.. ;)..Just kidding man) they will tell you they are competitive bikes.

Not a reflection of all 450's, but my 450R had a brand new head, piston...ETC. Blew up on its first race ever. So I don't think there is much difference in reliability between the 2. Get whatever you want, they are both great bikes, so take it for what its worth, this is just my $.02.  8)

Gee, no wonder I do not comment here much. Try to give a person some advice and the wolves come out to mark their trees. Our 250r's were built to run to the limits, and that is just what we do with them. If you are going to race one of these, or any other quad, and be competitive, expect to work on it and maintain it. Maintenence includes every nut, bolt, fastener, bearing, bushing, the shocks, and every other part. Not just the engine. It is no fun to drive 300-400 miles to a race and find you had a bad axle bearing in practice and you can't race. They will last a long time if you ride them and race them occasionally, or if you have not mastered a full throttle. I am thrilled a few of you can get longevity out of your R's. I have had one of mine since '94 and it still runs great. FOX17, best of luck on your decision. 

thanks man. i wont be racin it all the time. more just to have fun with the family on and go fast in the woods. i like the WOT thing. i never mastered it on a big 2 stroke but on other bikes i have. im leanin towards one now but we will have to see.

Yeah OK!   :tsktsk.gif :-\

I was asking as I know a kid that has a 99' 250 sitting in a shed. A teen messed up the engine and this kid picked it up thinking he could fix it. He got an estimate from Honda of $1000 to rebuild the engine. Not wanting to spend that much, this 250 has been sitting in a shed for a couple of years. I can pick it up rather cheap. A 99' 250, would that be an ES? What would you do with this engine? Rebuild it? Put another engine in it? Would a 250R engine swap in there easily? What can I put in it without having to switch out alot of other parts?
Teej

it would be either a recon or a 250ex. i have no idea what you could do to it though.

I recently bought an '86 ATC250r. After riding it about four times at Croom, the piston blew up. I'm rebuilding the engine now. I'm putting in new crankshaft bearings, crank, seals, piston and a new bore. I'm still on the fence as to if I should replace all the bearings inside it. My engine has many, many hours on it and I could only find that out by taking it apart and inspect every part inside it.

When you buy an older atv, you never know how many hours are on it or how it was maintained over the years. As with any Honda engine, if it was cared for, would last you a very long time. Mine, unfortunately for me, was quite neglected.

Not meaning for my earlier post to come out sounding offensive in any way. My engine has been very reliable so far, that's all I was trying to say. And that the 450R's I don't think are any more reliable than the 250R's are.

On another note, its refreshing that there are still a few of us left, I still love the 250R and always will.

Ok Scott, quit marking your trees.. enough is enough..  ;)

That sounds like a 250ex...not much you can do with those. Its pretty much a Honda recon (utility quad) with different fenders. Not good for racing and definitely not good for putting a 250R engine into ;)

Yeah if its a 250EX that is a totally different bike altogether. That is NOT a good racing bike but moreover just a sport bike. A 250R is a 2 stroke 6 speed racing bike from the 80's, none were made after 1989.

I have a 86 TRX250R with a 330PV topend. It has been together for over 3 year of abuse just with normal piston replacement. It finally broke a rod a couple months ago. It cracked the cylinder sleeve. It will still be cheaper to fix the R than any of the newer 4 strokes that are out. I have herd of the 450R and YFZ's blowing up and costing anywhere from $2000 to $4000 to fix. sometimes more. :'(

I love 250R's.  I actually built one about a year ago.  I ordered all of the parts online, starting with a frame off of ebay.  I sent the frame to Mike at ATP and he did a killer job on the frame.  I got it all put together, took it to his shop for some final tightening and stuff and sold it before it left his shop. :(  I got talked into buying a 450r.

Now today............I got another 250R!!!!!   ;D  This bike has a 350 non PV motor and is just sick!  It is set-up for XC and woods which I really like.  Just can't beat a dinosaur.

(http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/7825/350rr00127ks0.jpg)

Mike