Brand new '15 YZ250 to do list

[DerickYZ]

Hello all TT'ers! After buying used bike after used bike I finally decided for myself to buy a brand new 2015 YZ250. Funny because the dealer didn't think I would be able too being that I'm only 18 years old, money talks LOL.

Just brought it home today, will upload pics this weekend! I plan on taking it apart to grease all the bearings with a water proof grease and anti-siezing some important bolts!

I'm going to break it in this weekend (3 heat cycles, then 3 ride break ins with a gas mixture of 30:1.)

I want to buy a skid plate. I hear that cycra makes a...hard plastic? It's held on by heavy duty zip ties. Thinking of biting the bullet for $30-$40 bucks! Whatcha guys think?! Also, I plan on buying a $30-$50 dollar hour meter to keep up on maintaince, mainly pistons and such.

Any other recommendations? Don't have an unlimited credit card or anything, so let's keep everything simple!

Edited May 22, 2015 by DerickYZ

[BoxcarWilly]

Well you wasted about $3000 buying a 9 year old bike, and you're about to spend $1000 more to make it on par with a 250sx soooo.

 

? 

 

I'm just messing, YZ's are great stock bikes. Do NOT buy that skid plate, they do not take impacts at all. an Hour meter is good, some Acerbis X-Force hand guards would be a good first step whether you're on the track or in the woods. 

 

You don't need to run it 30:1 either, 40:1 is sufficient. Make sure jetting is correct for your location. 

[not_again]

I agree with BCW on a lot of things but not on that oil ratio. It as been proven that more oil makes more power, all the way down to 20:1 being most HP output. Another factor is, when have you heard of someone wearing out their motor from too much oil? I run 32:1 and don't even work my bike hard. It's jetted for it and it doesn't spooge or foul plugs. The only negative is the extra money you spend on oil. That's peanuts compared to maxing out the life of your crank.

 

Grease is better than anti-seize on bolts you remove often. I use grease or Loctite on bolts depending, they always get something. There isn't a single dry bolt in my bike. Save the anti-seize for the spark plug and axle shafts.

 

In my personal opinion, Cycra makes junk. If you want a high tech plastic guard, go Moose or one of the better HDPE units. I had one on my CRF250R and I beat it on the rocks often. Considerably more expensive than $30 but you get what you pay for. Aluminum still works well for less $$.

 

Heat cycles are worthless. Ride the bike at medium to upper pace, don't scream the motor. After an hour you're done breaking in the rings. Change the transmission oil and your break-in is complete.

 

Re-oil your air filter before riding.

 

Set your sag before the first ride and check it again after. It changes when the spring settles in. 

 

Check your spokes after the first ride or so, they settle in too.

[BoxcarWilly]

All good advice, I mix almost all of my bikes to 40:1, KTM recommends 60:1 I believe in the manual, but NO thanks. I do run 26:1 in 125's because I'm very hard on them. the 150 I own takes it a little better. I should try 32:1.

[Tony477g]

I used to mix 40:1 on a 05 yz125 as well, no problems and no splooge or fouled plugs.

[nicko-31]

What ever the Yamaha Manual says is what I would start with. 30:1 is recommend for my 125 and I've tried different ratio's with lass than stellar results.

[johnk408]

I run the cycra, but for moto only. I would not recommend it but not because of how it protects, but how it mounts. Mine, at least on the 125, doesn't have a hole cut to drain the oil. You are supposed to cut the zip ties and buy new ones for each oil change. I just drilled my own hole, but then had to remove the back mount and make my own as it was in the way of the hole. Lots of work if you ask me. Maybe the 250 one is different, but I don't think it is.

[Woodzi]

Congratulations on your new ride. 

 

Some suggestions on where to spend some money, somewhat in order of priority:

 

premix so you can actually ride it

correct springs for your weight, if necessary

front tire that suits your terrain, if stock doesn't

flywheel weight

oversize front brake

[cwtoyota]

YZ250 doesn't need much.  This is my must-have list:

 

-You already mentioned grease. (Good call, Yamaha factory grease is minimal.)

-My new 2010 came with the forks flushed with the top clamp... Set the fork height at the groove (5mm down the tube).

-Set the sag to your taste.  (I like about 103mm on the YZ.  I think 98-107 is the workable range).

-I like 14:51 gearing for most MX tracks.

-Jet the bike so it runs crisp and clean in your location.

-The stock brake levers have a cast pivot piece that can snap if you tip over.  Get a folding lever (Renthal, Sunline Vince, Arc, ASV, WC, etc) or keep a spare on hand.

-Ditch that giant stock euro silencer and get a PC, FMF or the 2010 and older stocker.

 

I'm not much for break-in on a two stroke.  I start it and let it warm up and then shove it in the van.  Start it and warm it up at the track in the morning, go line up on the gate and wring it out!

Everyone has their theories...  Do what makes you feel comfortable.

 

Well you wasted about $3000 buying a 9 year old bike, and you're about to spend $1000 more to make it on par with a 250sx soooo.

 

?

 

I'm just messing, YZ's are great stock bikes. Do NOT buy that skid plate, they do not take impacts at all. an Hour meter is good, some Acerbis X-Force hand guards would be a good first step whether you're on the track or in the woods. 

 

You don't need to run it 30:1 either, 40:1 is sufficient. Make sure jetting is correct for your location. 

 

 

I was at Horn Rapids a few months ago, on the gate next to Lance Smail...  I looked over at his skid plate and said "Hey Lance, that looks like the side of a 55 gallon plastic drum and some big zip-ties".  He replied "It sure is!"

Seems like a good material for a skid-plate to me.  HDPE from a barrel is durable, cheap, simple and easy.  I think you can get HDPE flexible cutting boards too.   I have a very thin cutting mat for use on my YZ125.

[Treesmacker]

Ship it to Me! I will PM you my address.

 

Great bike you will love it.

 

Grease the steering head bearings.

[Shawn250]

I would grease the steering bearings , linkage bearings and swingarm bearings , grease the axels and adjust the chain tension . 

 

Adjust the bars and leavers to your liking, check tyre pressures .

 

I use the Hyde engine guards they not the best looking but do mount properly and can take a beating . 

 

I mix 33 : 1 as its the easiest to calculate , 300ml per 10 litres fuel or 30ml per 1 litre . 

 

As mentioned ride the bike as normal but keep it out the high revs for the first hour . 

 

Enjoy it 

Edited May 23, 2015 by Shawn250

[numroe]

Get a 17mm socket and turn the high speed comp adjuster out to full soft. The shock will still be harsh on fast hits, but that mod is probably the best bang for your buck thing you can do to your new bike.

[rpt50]

I never understand why people suggest that you run an oil ratio different than what the manual says. The engineers that designed the bike know more than we do. Your jetting will likely be spot on unless your altitude is above 1500 feet. It comes from the factory jetted for the ratio in the manual.  32:1 is not significantly different than 30:1, and most premix bottles in the US have graduations  for 32:1.

I have the Cycra skid plate. It works well for mild rocks and logs, but it is not for hard core rock crawling.  It does not have a drain hole for oil (the bracket is in the way) so you have to cut two zip ties to change the oil.  Replacement zip ties can be bought at Home Depot for a fraction of the Cycra price.

 

The Twin Air filter is smaller than stock and easier to get in and out without knocking dirt down the intact tract. 

 

Buy a hardened steel high grade replacement bolt for the shift lever and keep it tight.  The Yamaha shift levers get really sloppy.

 

If you are going to use the bike for MX, the suspension will be great.  Just make sure the springs are right for your weight.  If you are an offroad guy, save your money for a proper offroad revalve (you could probably just use the specs for the new X offroad 250f).

 

If you need a pipe guard, I much prefer the heavy aluminum ones (Moose) rather than the CF ones.  Cheaper, better protection, and can be re-fit to multiple bikes. 

 

Don't spend a cent on the motor.  It is a perfect "braaaaap" smoker motor as is.

 

Maybe a FWW if you are an offroad guy.

 

Basic Moose hand guards if you are an offroad guy.

 

Ride and enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Not many 18 year olds have the financial savvy to get the money for a new bike! 

Edited May 23, 2015 by rpt50

[Sheriff245]

Swap the chain with a quality one. Your sprockets will last longer. Keep the stock chain for resale.

 

Also, do the 2015s still come with the Dunlop D755 tires? If so, change them also, they're crap. You can resell them or keep them for resale.

 

I also like to have a braided steel front brake hose on YZ's, as the stock one gets mushy quick.

 

Other than that, just basic maintenance as stated before. Great bike stock.

[Chevy_97]

I don't have much to add to everything listed above, but I don't think anyone mentioned setting the squish. This will save you a lot of headache when it comes to dialing in your jetting. Stock squish clearance is usually around 1.8 to 1.9mm .. I would recommend 1.3mm squish, and have the dome reshaped to maintain the stock comp ratio.

 

If you want linear power with more bottom end, consider having the base of the cylinder shaved and leave the head stock (you'll probably still want to have the dome reshaped). This will narrow the squish band while also lowering the ports and boosting the bottom end. So if you're stock squish is 1.8mm you would just want to shave 0.5mm off of the base. This was recommended to me by the user "numroe" who commented above, so I thought I would pass it along. Hopefully it will help someone as much as it helped me.

[Wyatt]

Remove the chain slider on the front of the swing arm. Put a bead of clear silicone under it and reinstall. This will keep it from wearing away the swingarm as it ages. That is always one of the very first things I do to a new bike along with a full greasing.

[numroe]

Hopefully it will help someone as much as it helped me.

So you did it? Lowered the cylinder and corrected the head? And it feels way better to you? What jetting?

I cannot feel a drop in peak power with my ports lowered 0.45mm. I suppose the more efficient squish clearance makes up for it. But from low to mid RPMs and at part throttle it's a much faster motor. So much roll on usable power - on demand. Good gains to width of the power by fine tuning the spark timing.

[DerickYZ]

Swap the chain with a quality one. Your sprockets will last longer. Keep the stock chain for resale.

Also, do the 2015s still come with the Dunlop D755 tires? If so, change them also, they're crap. You can resell them or keep them for resale.

I also like to have a braided steel front brake hose on YZ's, as the stock one gets mushy quick.

Other than that, just basic maintenance as stated before. Great bike stock.

My '15 came with MX32's I believe.

[DerickYZ]

Well I went for the first actual ride today, and wow! I had a decked out 06 RM250 and that was nothing compared to this YZ250. Power everywhere, no bog. Not too comfortable on it yet because I'm just starting to ride it but I will be soon!

If you can get a '15 Yami 2 smoker get one, or buy the suspension to swap onto your current YZ! The suspension is absolutely unreal, I couldn't imagine getting valving on it!

Just applied for my blu cru rebate so it shall be on the way soon to buy some bearings, tires and a top end kit for it! Not going to touch the motor at all. Might get a FMF shorty to get rid of the abnormally long silencer on it now but other than that, it's race ready.

Ordering a WC skid plate next week along with 2 extra filters and unbreakable levers w/Handguards.

[adam8781]

read faqs, fix the head, set timing.