Anyone have a CR250 or CRF 450?

[Big Darn Mike C]

This spring I am going to look into getting a bike and I have decided on either a CR250 or CRF 450. Lately I have been digging the two strokes and I spent some seat time on a CR 250 and loved it. But I hear that 450 is a real rip snortin piece of equipment. but it also costs alot more. I could sway either way as far as 2 and 4 stroke is concerned, and I'm not going to race it, just play ride and jump. So any opinions?

[NOS_350X]

ive rode both and i ride hard i would go 450 all the way no doubt it dosnt weigh much more but when your on it it has twice the power i would say its comparable to the cr500r

its defintently worth the extra money

[Kilborg]

As far as tractable power goes, the 450 is unbeatable. In reality, the 250 peaks nearly as high. The 450 has more torque, and a nice broad range of power. I'v ridden a 450 and can say firsthand its a great bike.

[theeechozen1]

The 450 is the way to go, it's a whole lot easier to get the power to the ground and it will eat a stock 250 out of the whole. But if price is an issue then don't look past the CR, I've had quite a few 250's and the 2002 that I've ridden is the best track and MX bike I've ever threw a leg over -- and there only selling for around 5100.00 out the door around here! If price is not an issue then I'd look into the KTM 525 either sx or mxc, my best friend picked up his and that bike is a cadillac at 100 mph over everthing :-D

[Kilborg]

Yeah, the ktm 520 bikes are phenomenal. Gobs of power and suspension.

[Big Darn Mike C]

How much does the KTM go for?

[Kilborg]

i dont know off the top of my head mike c, but theyre fairly costly. Ktm's have always been more expensive.

[Big Darn Mike C]

Well I looked at one and they are nice bikes but I don't like that it's only a 4 speed and I'm a honda man anyway with the exception of my banshee. I think I can hear the CRF calling my name, if you listen closely you may be able to hear it to. :D

[theeechozen1]

Mike,
The ktm 525 mxc is the one you want, it's got the electric leg and a 6-speed wide ratio transmission--the honda will pull it off the line through a few gears but after that it's all ktm. The bike is a little heavy at about 245lbs but when you ride one you can't tell it feels much much lighter. I think you will be around 7500.00 OTD on this bike but if you want the best(the hydralic clutch is like butter!) it's well worth every penny. Hope this helps.

[350Xrider]

My advice to you is to get the CR 250. The 450 is ok if you get your jollies out of working on a 4 stroke and the expense of them when something does go wrong. They are also heavier and pound for pound the two stroke will always have the power to weight ratio. I know the 450 is only like 12 pounds heavier than the 250,but most 4 strokes like that KTM everyone on here is talking about, and you sure don't want that for where you ride If I remember correct you ride in the flat or sand with a lot of speed behind your riding.If you want a bike like a 620 or 520 4 stroke, you should really look into buying a good used CR500, you can't beat the power of those bikes and there isn't a 4 stroke made to keep p with it. The 2 stroke is also very easy to get the power out of and easy and cheap to fix/work on. I wouldn't hit a bull in the ass with a 4 stroke dirt bike,if I'm getting a dirtbike, it's gonna flat haul ass from the bottom to the top. I've played the 4 stroke game before and you couldn't run fast enough to stick me with another one. I know they have came a long way with the new 4 stroke bikes but seeing as how you got a banshee and quit messing with your X, I think the same would apply to this, you would be much better suited with the 250.

[theeechozen1]

I can't disagree with the cr500 being the fastest thing on 2 wheels, I was once totally against the 4 stroke thing, but after riding a few of the new bikes I strongly support the new breed. It's not that there that much faster, It's just plain easier to go faster on a four stroke, less shifting and alot more power being used to move you forward. I like the the KTM cause after riding it I felt like god, I ran over every kind of bump, jump and tricky terrian you could think of on this bike pinned out at close to 100 m.p.h. Very smooth-- but if all out ballz is your preference the FIVE DOUBLE O' is the way to go.--just my 2 cents

[350Xrider]

I'm not saying that they are the absolute fastest on 2 wheels. But they dam sure are about the quickest, I mean there isn't a bike that I know of that can hang with it from the bottom to the top, the 500 will be as fast as anyone will ever want to go, and will get there quicker than any 4 stroke.

[Jeroboam7]

Big darn Mike C,

Get whatever your most comfortable riding on, working on any of them is easy after you figure out where to put the pieces! Comfort and Control, thats what you should focus on!

Oh ya here this is what my two wheeler looks like!

I have some more pics at home if ya want to see them.

[DIGGER DOG]

LOL nice bike i think the med. kit is a good addition to the pic back in the day when I raced it was all 2strokes and I do like them 2nd gear half throttle at the foot of a hill grab the clutch real quick and let it go rrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnntttttttt POWER BAND launch white knuckles I would like to have another 2 stroke woods weapon maybe a little 125 but im a thumper fanatic and would go for the 450 crf if i had the money it would be cheaper for me to get an old 2 stroke though.

[DIGGER DOG]

ooops thats a 500 I just noticed I would kill my self if I did that at the base of a small hill on that thing but I bet it would be fun a friend of mine had an old maico magnum 490 or 400 cant remeber it was a four speed at the time i weighd about 120 lbs it was all i could do to hang on to that thing and never even thought about feathering the clutch on it. all you had to do was roll the throttle instant power band felt like it was coming out from under me SCARY i loved it i think ill look into getting another 2 stroker .

[Big Darn Mike C]

The KTM's are out of the question due only to the fact that they cost so much. That is a nice CR 500, what year is it? I had actually been considering the CR500 but I had dismissed it because i wasn't sure if I could use all that power. But tell me, whats it like to ride it? Does it hit hard and is it hard to control? Does it get fatiguing after a lot of seat time? The CR 250 is a great bike but right now it's probably my last choice. I have wanted a CRF since the day it came out. Doesnt a 50 horse motor in a 220lb bike sound attractive? Plus i watched a bunch of CR and YZ 250's get smoked by the 450 and 426 at the dunes this summer so I know the new 4 strkes are for real. I don't know i can't make up my mind but I have a couple months to figure it out. Please keep adding any input you may have.

[Jeroboam7]

I don't think they are hard to control, Actually there isn't the noticable light on light off powerband that a 250 cc two stroke has, and there is always power there so shifting in and out of gears isn't as neccessary as with the 250 cc machines.

I belive a CR500 to be the best machine for myself but you really need to ride one to see if you would be happy with one, they are in a class of there own!

That one is a 1990 and Like the CRF450 it is a 50HP machine in a 224 lb frame to be exact.

89-01 where virtually Identical the earlier ones where just flat out scary to ride.

I think actually the CRF was the CR500s replacement! So either way I don't think you could go wrong, if I were to get a 250CC machine I think I would look very heavily at the YZ, but again thats just me!

[Kilborg]

I would not go as far as calling the 450 the 500's replacement. I would look more along the lines of the 450 replacing the 250. The 250 and other 2 strokes are being phased out. Within the next few years, they will be gone entirely except perhaps for competition use.

That 500 (1990) made about 60 peak horsepower. Honda mellowed them down a little since they were so brutal on the midrange and lowend in the '87 and older machines. Still a great bike, even with the slightly less power. There is loads more potential in the 500 engine (90 horsepower, while still being a fairly reliable motor is no problem whatsoever). Honda basically dropped the cr500r becuase it has had no real market. Ama axed the 500 class in the early 90's. The last major update on the 500 was inverted forks (between 1989-1991 im not quite sure, which is about the time ama dropped 500's). The 500 has been basically a funbike since then, and not one of Honda's hot sellers. It makes sense they dropped it.

The newest cr250r makes about 47 peak horsepower. While this is very comparable with the latest 450, Honda is an engine company, and strives to use technology to it's fullest. 2 strokes are being phased out for numerous reasons, which I won't delve into, but I think it's for the better. While 2 strokes have always had the horsepower to displacement advantage, I'm happy to see the thumpers finally using all the exotic techology that has been around for the past 20 years. The future looks good.

[Jeroboam7]

89 was the first year with inverted forks.

We all know where the manufactures are heading with the two strokes, but wasn't it kinda funny that the CR500 was dropped when the CRF450 came onto the seen and the cr250 remained?

In a few years the two strokes will be gone and I will still be riding a dinosaur but, thats kinda the way I like it, if it isn't scary why mess with it, we can all see the wave of the future, all the manufactures of two stroke bikes have replacements for them on there show room floors, I'm not sold on them yet, but I'm sure that my mind will be changed when it is time for something different.

[350Xrider]

I could've had a CR500, and I wanted one real bad, and I am a diehard honda man, but after riding this RM 250 I bought I said to hell with the 500's the 250 is more marketable, and the 250 is about all one can handle where I ride.

[theeechozen1]

Unless you are going to spend 80%++ of your time on the track, and are going to do a bit of dune riding the FIVE-DOUBLE-O is the way to go. I'd go with 98-99 model, they go for around the 2800.00-3000.00 in my area for an extra clean low hour bike, good luck

[NOS_350X]

in my oppinion the crf is better and has just as much power as the cr500
and who ever said the hydro clutch was great on the ktm's well THEY SUCK there way too much much work use one for 2 hours of rideing and you hand will be beat now back to the guys original post the 450 is definently worth the extra money you cant beat it in a bike