Hey guys,
This is the bike I was gonna pick up for a good deal..
It's an 05 CRF250..
I was wondering if it was an X or an R

He says it needs bump starting when cold but when it's hot it starts right up fine. Says it's got 20-25 hours on it.

What do ya'll think since I'm gonna be new to big bike "thumper" scene.

That's a 250R. Looks good. Just do a search for maintenance threads and read some of those. By the way, how much are you paying for it?

It looks like an R

Well I'm actually trading this for it straight across..

http://img.photobuck...le/100_1171.jpg

04 CRF50 Stroked to 110 with Inner rotor etc etc.. Has over $6k in it.. But you know it will never sell for that.

check your valves, sounds like tight intakes

Yeah, a couple people said it may needs shimming and a couple said I might want to do the top end. I don't know enough about the CRF250 :(

Guess this is a good way to learn :)

learning is the key to owning a dirtbike, just take your time and have confidence in yourself, and invest into a manual if you dont have one, they work wonders!

it looks like an R

ha, if you get it, let me know if shimming the valves is whats wrong, cuz i have to do the same thing to get mine started untill its hot........ saturday nite, on the gates, downed rider in the moto before us, had to shut bike off and wait for ambulance, bike cooled off, wouldnt start. lol. oh and yea, thats a 250R.

Having to bump start when cold can be a symptom of tight intake valve clearances, but it could easily be a jetting issue or some other simple fix. If the valve clearances are tight and the engine truly has 25+ hours, you probably don't just need to shim the valves, you probably need to replace them. And you don't just replace valves, you also replace springs and guides and refinish the seats, among other things. And if you're that far in, you may as well throw in a new piston for peace of mind. A relatively easy way to go is to buy a new '06 R head which has revised porting as well as seats and guides installed. An '07 R head is also an option, but I don't have first hand experience with it. If you use all OEM parts, you can figure around $450+ in parts cost from good online sources; closer to $500+ if you use a JE piston. It's best if you can do all the work yourself. If you need to farm it out, it'll probably add $350+ to the final cost. RHC sells valves and springs that appear to offer a longer life compared to OEM stuff (+$). To be safe, I suggest deciding what you'd pay for a healthy bike, then deduct the cost of the probable repairs from what you actually pay.

BTW, if the owner is someone you'd like to buy from, they should be willing to check the valve clearances with you present; it takes less than 30 minutes for someone who's done it.

Thanks for the Advice guys..

So if the bike has 25 hours and is already showing these signs would you say that it's most likey been ridden pretty hard?

The bike looks pretty damn clean in person. Almost babied.. But who knows..

Its an R The X has a headlight

Indetrucks said:

Not necessarily. But I wouldn't put any trust in the 25 hours without an hour meter, even then I'd be skeptical. Like I said before, hard starting when cold can be a minor jetting issue, or it could be something more costly; you just don't know. BTW, you're really at an advantage knowing that the bike needs to be bump started. Once the valves need to be replaced, you can reshim them and make the engine run well for a few hours. So even if the bike runs great, you just don't know.

Don't let me get you too concerned though. Valves are a wear item in modern 4-stroke MX bikes. Valve replacement is a relatively easy maintenance item, and if you ride any 4-stroke MX bike long enough, you'll need to replace them (regardless of bike color, BTW). If the bike seems well-maintained (big bonus for maintenance records) and you trust the seller, factor in the cost of a top end and make an offer.

As far as a possible jetting issue, How do I start with diagnosing that?
I'm at sea level here in California where it's 75-80 degrees.

Obviously I should check valve clearance first. If that's ok what would the next step be (in your opinion) The seller lives up in the mountains in California with an elevation of 3,000 + ft
thanks for any and all help guys

Indetrucks said:

I think I speak for many people when I say jetting is almost always a work in progress and it would be tough to fully diagnose before you buy. If you do buy the bike, plan to spend some time jetting. A good place to start is the factory jetting chart (near the bottom of the page) in the owners manual. You can also pick up tips in the jetting sticky on the 250 X forum.

even though ten people have already told you its an R...im gonna go ahead and state that its an R just so i can sound smart....


its an R...





lol

i heart ridin said:

:applause: :applause:

b-4 you worrie about jetting check your valve clearances. it doesn't take long and sounds like thats probably it. oh yeah get the manual from him

The jetting doesn't change itself. If it's hard to start it's almost always the intake valves. Reshiming will get you by for a short while but, they probally need replacing.

It's your left intake closing up. Where are all the guards, like the brake disc and front sprocket? The R's do have these don't they? I have an X so it may be a dumb question.