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Yes in reality very few people can ride a 250 to it's potential on a track. I got my first one when I was 15 and I think it probably made me slower than if I had got a 125 and learned how to hold it wide open. The 250 has so much power everywhere that I spend more time lugging around at 1/4-2/3 throttle than I do ripping!lol I learned those habits back then and it never went away so I never got faster.lol I like it though because I can ride around a gear high and not rev the engine. 125's need to be pinned just like RW said. This bike having 47hp compared to the 35 or 36hp my last bike had(07 YZ250F 4 stroke) is a big jump back up. I haven't ridden a two stroke of any sort for 8 or 9 years so it will be fun! I have that nervous excitement going on when I think about it.lol Baby steps can bite you. How many times have you seen someone eat sh!t when they are taking it easy and not giving it 100% focus. My plan is to ride like always but if I can only ride a few laps before I get tired then I will stop and rest. Nothing to prove, just want to have fun and be as safe as I can. If I can stick to that I will be healthier and happier!:) If I don't I will be hurtin and stressed out.lol

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you will love the YZ,
ive had mine for about 6 years , never had an issue apart from the rider....

and the faster you go , the less it hurts!!!!

and that's some nice welding on the belly pan, I have a gytr 6mm pan and it has saved me a few dollars many different times.

IF YOU ARE GOING TO JUMP , GO ALL THE WAY.. and don't case it.

cheers andy

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Yes it should be good. I hate to say it but I think their casting and welding quality has slipped a little. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't look bad but it just doesn't look as nice as it did a few years back. The last YZ250 I had was a 2002. I don't think the engine has changed a whole bunch but the chassis and suspension is much better. I guess this new bike is basically an 06 with upgrades. Yamaha hasn't had much competition from anyone other than KTM in the 2 stroke MX world so no desire/pressure to upgrade I guess. I think there is a resurgence in 2 stroke popularity as of late though and that may change things. The other Japanese manufacturers don't want to bring back 2 strokes into racing though so it may not change much. Pro racing has the deck stacked in favor of the 4 strokes and the enviro's like them too other than the noise.lol Oh well, I fell off the 4 stroke wagon because of the cost. I liked the bike but they are like dating a supermodel. If you can't afford the maintenance and to trade them in every year then you should just look and not touch.lol

I know what you're saying about the jumps! When we built this track we didn't make the area between the doubles very ramped out in order to save dirt(it was all trucked in). The jumps aren't very big but if you come up short you will most likely get hurt.:eek: It keeps you from getting lazy and putting around though.lol

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your not wrong, a mate got a new 4 stroke YZ $14000NZ, two years later sold it for $5000 and it was still like new...

Im getting too old ( don't heal fast enough )for my YZ 250 but I cant say enough for the WR450, tones of power ,battery start and Its road legal here in NZ .

cheers andy

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Yeah I was looking at the Aussie and NZ websites and saw the pricing there.:eek: It's funny how they sell things in different markets though. The bike I just bought is more money there retail but they sell it with a "race kit" that includes a larger front rotor, rear sprocket, after market pipe and some other goodies. I guess that offsets the pricing difference but I'm sure a lot of people would rather the bike just be $900 cheaper.lol You guys have a lot of off-road models that are road legal there too like your WR. They sell the same bike here minus the blinkers and there is no way to insure it for road use.LAME! I have a WR250R and that is all that Yamaha offers for a decent dualsport. Having a WR250F or WR450F road legal would be way more fun! My last bike was 9 years old, had 74hrs on the meter and looked like I bought it two months ago. I hope to ride this one more but like you, I am too old to be spending much time on the ground. I'm stiff in all the wrong places and out of breath just thinking about it.lol Gotta get back in a groove before I'm too old to do anything but build toys.:rolleyes:

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Nothing better then a 2 stroke lot less maintenance and cheaper to run and sounds awesome when on the pipe. Try and keep her on two wheels when ya hit the powerband lol :D

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No doubt!! I could rebuild the top end in less than 30 min. (Piston and ring) usually rebuilt the 125s once a month. Would not know where to start on the newer 4strokers!!

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Yes I am happy not to have to worry about checking/setting the valves and changing oil every few hours anymore. I still have one 4 stroke with a bucket shim valve train but it only needs valve adjustments every 10000km because it's not very high strung. Yamaha has been selling it's 2 strokes with a complete gasket and top end rebuild kit for years so when the time comes I won't need to spend more on parts and I have all the tools and experience to do the job myself. I kinda laughed because the sales guy said to bring it back after the first hour to hour and a half for it's first service. I thought to myself "you are never going to see this bike again unless I trade it in on another one down the road". My main reason for wanting a 2 stroke was maintenance required or lack of it. What it will need I have done before so no worries! I wanted to ride it yesterday but the ground is so saturated here now that it is very soft and muddy. I haven't had time to tear it down for a full greasing so I don't want to filth it up much before that's done. One thing I will add as soon as possible is an O ring chain. The stock chain looks pretty(gold) but feels cheap. $100 spent on a good chain will save the sprockets from premature wear.

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I found this picture of Reg, Cooper and Mario when they were younger. Mike http://i1374.photobucket.com/albums/...psjoosovlh.jpg

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Whoa! What are those?

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Mini bikes there must be dirt on them somewhere.

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Just wondering what brand they were? The look like mini Motoguzzi's

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Nope. More like merry go round guzzi's. Had me going till I noticed the pipe they're bolted to. :lol: I'm the one on the far right. :D:lol:......not looking where I'm going. Lol

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Haha I was looking at the weird engine and didn't even notice the pipe underneath! They look very authentic but I guess even fake stuff looked the part back then. Now everything has to be idiot proofed and be shaped like a bar of soap:mad:.

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I've had lots of distractions over the last week or so. We have been trying to put up our Christmas lights for about a week now butt he weather has been all over the place with tons of rain and wind. Whenever the sun comes out I try to rush around and get stuff done. Just a few more things to put up now and hopefully we can sit back and enjoy it for the next three weeks. My wife got called into work at 6:30am so I was left on my own to handle things. Good thing I kept this "deluxe" wooden spool holder I made last year!:rolleyes:

115 works awesome for this! I'll get some night time video once all of our stuff is setup.

https://youtu.be/O_pznHwmG0E
https://youtu.be/NVGxSCi1rOc

Take a look at the hood in the background of the first picture. It looks kinda familiar...

http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/...pslzoh2qoe.jpg
http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/...psa3ryaejh.jpg
http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/...psocbzwudj.jpg
http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/...psm1w583w8.jpg

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Putting the rig to work looks great Reg where's the snow at ? :D lol None here yet either which is quite surprising considering it usually hits once November comes around.

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LOL, we have had rain, wind, some more rain and wind, a little bit more rain and wind, half hour of sun and then more rain and wind for the last couple of weeks. Did I mention the rain and wind we've had? It might not be cold but it sucks about the same.:(

I finally had enough waiting so I put down the trailers I was working on and headed out to start breaking my new bike in. 10 days of having it and not riding it was p!ssing me off so now I feel better. Got the nerves out of the way and I am very happy with my purchase. I need to get used to the type of power and the amount of it again as well as get in better shape but that will all come...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HONuuI6wha4

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cool ride!!

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Cool ride reg,,

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Was that an RC bike with a GoPro and you hiding in the bushes ? That what I would have done ! Mike

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Thanks for the ride Reg! Pretty painless from the armchair :lol::lol::D. But when you suffer from vertigo watching that it still makes you dizzy :p

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Reg, Reg, Reg,
If you prefer to be in the AIR you should have bought something with WINGS ! It has been a few hundred years since I raced those machines, the only thing I could think about watching that video is "make this thing stop" as I was getting tired just watching. That is a good work-out.. Every lap you took I could see that the track was getting GREASY ! You probably lots 10 pounds of sweat..... Fly safe :cop:

p.s. I must have good suspension not to bottom out hahahah

greg

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THANKS for the ride Reg!! This brings back memories when I was younger and CRAZY and ran motocross!!

-Terry

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i notice a pattern here us older smarter guy would rather
watch you beat yourself up then kill ourselves. LOL!!

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Well I must have stopped at the right time yesterday because I was tired when I quit but not sore this morning! I only rode for about 15 minutes total so that's pretty lame but I'm old and fat.lol It's been a long time so I would rather ride often for a short time than try to over do it end crash because I was tired and made a big mistake. I was pretty nervous for a couple of laps yesterday too which makes a guy hang on too tight. Greg is right about the track as it was getting greasy. I didn't ride long enough to sweat but I'm sure the fat was oozing off of me somewhere.lol It actually was slippery though. Usually this time of year is really good when it isn't frozen but we've had so much rain that the ground is very soft even though there isn't much standing water on the track itself. It doesn't help that the bike comes with intermediate to hard pack tires installed. When the rear is worn it will get tossed in favor of a soft to intermediate tire which will work better here for most of the year. Last night it froze so we'll see if I get to ride later or not. At least the sun is out today so frozen or not, things will start to dry out a little. Too bad there is another storm in the forecast...

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that's a nice track you have there, and the bike goes well . showed the wife the video and got a very quick "NO."
so I guess she knew my next question, "can I build a track in one of the paddocks ".

one day it will happen.

cheers andy

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Thanks Andy. I think our wives are just trying to protect us even though it seems like they are sucking all the fun out of life.lol Actually mine is very supportive as I'm sure yours is as well. She takes xrays for a living and I don't think she wants to see me at work.lol

We started building the track around 1989. It only had a couple of jumps pushed up by the farm tractor and an oval track for the Honda Odyssey we had back then. I started to hang out with a kid my age that lived just down the road around that time. He raced MX, was/is very good on a motorcycle(me not so much) and was riding all the time. We became besties in a very short time and he got me more interested in MX. It wasn't long before the track started to grow and my parents were helping to support his race efforts. In the spring of 1991 my parents bought a 955K and we got the old Euc going so that we could haul in more material for the track. The unfortunate part of having flat property is that everything has to be made and you can't take advantage of any natural terrain. Anyway, the track wasn't the best practice for high speed but it was always filled with jumps so it taught us a lot about technique and timing. I never really got into racing but I have done hundreds if not thousands of laps around this track.lol My friend retired from pro racing in 1995 when he landed a full time apprenticeship as a heavy duty mechanic. He was #3 in Canada that year in both 125cc and 250cc classes. Unfortunately even with his talent, at that time there wasn't any money in racing here and it cost a lot to travel across Canada for several months on top of maintaining the bikes. A few years later things were a little different and with his skills he could have made some good money racing. Timing is everything I guess:(. Since then over the years the track has sat dormant most of the time but I try to keep it maintained. I got back into riding around 2001 when I started to hang with some younger guys. We rode a lot on mini bikes as well as the full size stuff until around 2008. The Fiddy fad passed and my riding buddies moved away for work leaving me with no one to ride with on a regular basis. In November of 2010 I almost bought a new bike to replace my 07 but my wife and I decided that to build our shop instead. We all know where that has lead me...:cool: Now I'm at home all the time in the shop so I need some fresh air now and then. My ex pro friend bought a new bike in the spring and another one of my old riding buddies has just got back into riding in the last month or two(has been racing carts for a couple years). He has it bad and even though he bought a new enduro bike in October, he just ordered new MX bike last week after hearing I got mine.lol Hopefully we get some good rides in together over the next few months and it will all be worth while!

Reg

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http://i1357.photobucket.com/albums/...psdj4j5hnu.jpg
Oh that does bring back memories,, this is/was one of my memory boxes, some big wins or big hospital bills in that box :). My sister always asks after all the staples, hardships, and now developing post injury aches and pains , would you do it all over? Answer is always a big yes!!!!! Lol!! Probably trained harder/smarter!!! Lol!! My hats off to ya buddy!! Had a tough year in 2001, keep trying not to look back but guys like you make it hard!!! (In a good way).

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Nice box of goodies RW. I have a few of those somewhere but not that many. My bikes usually ended up with 2 stroke drool coming out of the silencer because I never revved them enough. The new bike won't be any different probably.lol You can use me as an excuse to get back in it if you like. It wouldn't be the first time I've been threatened by a friends wife when they bought a new bike because I did.:cool: I have always just enjoyed riding and pushing myself within my comfort zone. I've broken and dislocated some body parts over the years and I didn't like it back then so I really wouldn't like it now. I know it's a risk involved with the sport but I do my best to stay safe. I'd like to think I ride about the same speed as before(never was fast) but if I don't feel comfortable now I just back off because I'm not trying to get faster. The major difference for me is that I used to be able to ride for hours and now I can only ride for a few minutes.lol In my mind I'm still 15(ask my wife. she calls me Peter Pan) but my body is 40:eek::rolleyes:. I played hooky from work this afternoon and groomed the track for a couple of hours instead of riding. I figure if the track is well groomed it is more fun and also safer. It also has the added bonus of making you feel like a superstar because the setup looks professional.:rolleyes: It's starting to look more like how it should now but it will take a while. The last major grooming it had was in 2010 and then it didn't see a bike from Nov 2011 until early last year. It was starting to disappear under 4' tall alder trees so I had to clear it off before I could even ride on it in 2014.
http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/...psgesshiix.jpg
It doesn't look anywhere near that bad now so if I put in a day or two worth of time in it should be lookin good again!

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Enjoyed watching the ride....wish I was there doing the same thing...once you have a dirt bike you can't get it out of your system...even after crashing...riding a street bike it ok but just doesn't compare to a dirt bike....took my sons dirt bike for a ride this summer...one ride and you get hooked again, didn't want to give it back to him that day...heehee. I did notice that I rode a little bit more on the tame side, crashing always did suck but now that a fella is slightly older the time to heal up would be years not weeks...:lol:

KP

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Over the last few years I have made excuse after excuse not to go riding but on the occasions where I did go I loved it! Every time it would leave me with a big smile and looking forward to the next time. When the next opportunity would come however, I would make excuses again because I was building a model and couldn't stop.lol I got my street license a few years ago and like you said it is OK but if I never rode on the pavement again I wouldn't really miss it. I find it very boring but it could be because I'm riding a dualsport and it's not very comfortable. It's a fun bike to ride 5 min up the road and into a trail though so I keep it. I am definitely more afraid of getting hurt now than 20 years ago. Gotta stay on the bike now and not under it! I think you should get yourself a bike KP. Then we can complain about being old and out of shape together!lol

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Playtime again today!:D:D:D:D https://youtu.be/wDqc_S0YBOE

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So you must be getting used to the new bike, the lines are deeper in the curves, the hang time has increased and the over all speed seems higher:D:D:D:cool:;) Keep the videos coming its a fun ride!

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You're spot on Truckmaker and the best is.......it does not hurt at all.....sitting in my recliner with popcorn....ride on reg. ride on

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I found an old video of me on a trail ride here in NZ on the trusty YZ.
not so many jumps but a truck load of really steep hills to climb.


https://youtu.be/Qyu7T1taCRw

cheers andy
ps sorry about the average sound track

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Looking good Reg she sounds great! Always been a dream of mine to have a track in my backyard :D

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Yes, I am shedding some of the rust. I think I'm down to a heavy tarnish now after putting 0.4 of an hour on the clock.lol I'm not riding at my best that's for sure but most of the basics came back right away. My biggest thing is how bad of shape I'm in! I know if I can improve that then the rest will come and I can resume my former glory of being a fast C rider.:lol:


LOL. You're going to have something else to play with soon so it will be my turn for the popcorn while you're entertaining!

Nice Andy! Looks pretty dry there?

Yes it's music to my ears! I am a very lucky guy to have a track right here that I can ride on. It was a lot of work to build it and a bit of work to keep it up but much nicer to do that than drive to the closest track and then pay to ride. I've always enjoyed building the jumps and grooming the track anyway.:) It's even sweeter now that I am working at home most of the time. I can take a break, go for a quick ride, clean everything up, put it away and be back working in an hour!

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Always fun when it's your own track you can do whatever you want with it :D

https://www.facebook.com/mastersofdi...2708189371796/

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That guy is a million times faster than me! Some great elevation changes on that track and huge jumps that's for sure. I would say the worst part about having your own track is worrying about people getting hurt on it. First and foremost I don't want to see anyone get hurt including myself but also it could be a big problem. I can probably count the number of people I've let ride here over the years on my fingers and toes. They were/are all good friends and everyone signs a waiver but... In a perfect world where no one ever gets hurt and everyone is having fun it's great! As you said, you can make changes whenever you feel like and you only ride with guys you enjoy spending time with. It seems like for the most part though, guys show up, ride/BS until they're tired and then go home. I'm left with a rutted, beat up track that needs to be groomed... Maybe this isn't so great after all?lol

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Don't see much grass left on the track now! lol Getting your rhythm back I see your clearing those table tops nicely. Have you thought about building up the corners higher so that you can exit them quicker ? Looking better then your buddy out there :P