So i'm buying a four-stroke...

[Blitz393]

went out for a day of racing today, felt good, better than ever. ringing my 125 out all around the track, most notably passing (consistently) a rider that i am normally neck-and-neck with, without too much trouble. my skillz are coming back.

fast-forward to the 2nd 20-minute practice "moto"... after 3 laps, coming down the back stretch my bike feels "weird"... just a little different vibration than normal. i decide to check it out when i get to the end of the track, which is just a straight and a half away. shift into 4th and power on the gas for the last double before the home stretch, and on the face of the jump everything goes to hell. the vibration doubles in amplitude, my bike gets louder, and after i'm airborne, the bike seizes up in midair. now, this doesn't sound good, but at the same time, i'm about 15 feet above the ground with a dead engine, and a locked rear wheel- my nose is pointed directly into the dirt. after some luck and help from above, i land and don't get spit off. i frantically kick into neutral and heave the bike off the track, as there are still bikes behind me, oblivious to me sitting in the track. after a quick check of the kick starter, it is affirmed that yes, indeed the motor is toast. kickstarter won't even budge. after much head-shaking and mumbling of 'words' i finally tear into the engine to find that somehow, somewhere, the engine ingested a good amount of Dirt. not dust or silt, but full-on particles of sand and DIRT. still not even a hint of rolling the engine over.

so, after a quick word with a friend of mine, he finds someone willing to let me ride his bike, so i can stay in the series. i've already missed one race, and if i miss another, i won't qualify for the awards. so, i go over to see my new steed, and it is a brand-new looking Kawasaki 250F. only it is a 2004, and with a new engine with about 3 hours of run time on it... the owner is a 51 year old man with this 250F, his 07 450F, and his daughter running a KX85. he doesn't race, just has two very large, quote-on-quote, "pit bikes" and of COURSE i could ride one! now, i have never ridden a newer-generation four-stroke, other than a 2003 450 honda back at the GMB-2 in Houston, so i was definitely in for a treat. i've already missed all the regular practice, and only have the 5-minute 'late practice' before i race. after a few laps up and down the cow pasture, i pull onto the track for my late practice, and just TRY to get used to this new beast. -The bars are weird, the grips are Hard full-waffle (i run medium half-waffles...) the rear brake pedal is in a completely different spot than i'm used to, which i found out while executing a perfect boner-air and trying and missing 3 times for the rear brake... it turns different, feels weird in the air, the front end pushes and the rear end spins out, also known as '2-wheel drift' whereas i was pretty much planted on the 125. i never felt out of control, it was just SOOoo different to what i had been riding since 2005, that i was beat-up just after 4 laps of riding. after the 65s and then 85 class went, it was our turn to race, and i get on the line... stick it in Second... and wind up 2nd into the first turn, and all the way down the straight. i'm having trouble, but the torque of this thing just won't quit... if i screwed up in the turn, which i did a lot, i could just power out and still clear all the obstacles without much of a problem. i stay up front for 2 laps around this 1.4-mile track, when i boggle a turn and nearly spin out, causing me to get passed, so now i'm riding in 3rd position. i'm wearing out BAD. sitting down, not holding the bike with my legs, just pretty much forgetting all i have learned, and once again, i screw up, this time i couldn't seem to get my pumped-up arm to squeeze the brake, or to slide up on the seat, and end up jumping out of the inside rut, and 2 more bikes pass me with less than a lap to go. i finish in 5th, thoroghly P.O.'d at my crappy performance. after some recuperating, and after getting made fun of by old men (the old farts that always give me crap, even if i win... haha) i gear up for the 2nd moto, armed with some knowlege about how to NOT ride a four-stroke.
1. definitely no clutching. unless i really mess up in a turn. come in with even throttle, and roll it on coming out. NOTHING like my two-stroke, where i come in like a crazy person, clutching and screaming the engine, locking up the brake and slamming into the berm and taking off like i just snorted a few lines of Coke....
2. Bad idea to chop the throttle on the face of jumps. it's OK to 'let off' but no slamming the throttle back closed like i did on the 125 to keep me from over-jumping, and to stay low. panic rev count: 0 but i was close.
3. more power=more distance. on this bike, i don't have to hold it wide open all the way up the jump face, but if i do i'd better be scrubbing to keep me from flat-landing! felt the frame-rails for sure after flatlanding the finish line tripe. i went somewhere close to 120 feet on a Hundred-foot jump. it hurt.

so 2nd moto, and i'm on the gate, waiting for it to drop... once it does, i take off but can't squeeze inside like i want, so i shift up to 3rd around the outside of the first turn, hit 4th for a little while and blow past the guys trying to slow down for the inside line on the 2nd turn, lock up the brakes, shift to 3rd and slam into the outside with the power on, and pass 3 dudes in the 2nd turn! i'm now sitting in 4th, chasing these fellas down and pick off one guy on a honda that, for some reason, shut the throttle down WAAAY before he needed to after a long, whooped-out straight, and move into 3rd, keep riding and finish the 1st lap in 3rd. after i land the triple, i take the outside, smoother, faster line and again the outside line for the 2nd turn, come over the hump side by side with 2nd place, stay on the gas for the triple, and land it a little better so i move up a little, but he's on the inside and i'm on the left, he passes me back in the next turn, i pass him back on the straight because i went through the turn in 3rd when he took the inside, slower line... i decide to not be nice, and cut him off before he can pass me again, and just kind of rode over until he moved, so i got 2nd place now, i'm holding it and the guy behind me falls back some more, because i can't hear him nipping at my heels any more. this is 3/4 of the way through the 2nd lap, and we run 4-lap motos. leave it to me, to be in 2nd place, and fall over in a flat, slick turn of course, the bike dies, but i jump up like my pants are on fire, the bike starts 2nd kick and i'm off again after THREE bikes pass me... one of them even bumped my rear tire with his footpeg... i pour it on again, and get passed again by one guy... i pass him back again 2 turns later, but can't get those other bikes for the life of me. by this time, my Legs are Jell-o and my arms are like Melted jell-o i pull off the track with a dissapointing 5-5 for the day. after loading the bike up in the trailer and BSing with the guys, someone mentions the fact that i was in 2nd place, and apparently "you had it! until you fell, though..." up until then, i had completely forgotten i fell, and this realization hit me- i need one of those crazy Moto-Dads, the ones always getting on to their kids for every little mistake. i'm old enough now to appreciate some criticism, and i feel i need that extra push and side-of-the-track input to help me along... every other race before, i got up on my own, made breakfast on my own, mixed my own gas, lubed my own chain, prepped my own bike, and raced without anyone telling me what to do. now, i have friends i ride with and buddies that we sit around and bench-race around the fire, but they either race my class or are racing in another class and aren't paying attention to how i'm riding... didn't ever have that trackside input until today. it really helped, because it felt like i was much faster, even though i got the worst finish of the series so far. it's the 'little' mistakes that screw you up, big time. i'm talking to John, (the guy who lent me his bike) to work out a deal where he watches my races and tells me what a dumb move i did in "this" corner, how bad of a start i got, or mabye that i need to watch how "this guy" approaches "this obstacle" and copy his moves. he also said that if my RM wasn't running by Round 4, on January the 5th, that i could run the kawi again. i told him i didn't want to be a 'user' any more than i already have been, but he just waved me off... i think he enjoyed calling me a Spode and informing me of how much faster his mother's grandmother is, in comparison to me

after that ride, i am definitely in the market for a thumper. they're just so unfairly fast, that i can't help myself i need to ride some others though, to get a feel for how each bike rides. all in all, i definitely like the 04 KX250F compared to my '03 RM125!

any suggestions?? (ooh i can hear the brand-bashing already!

[jhendrix]

So you liked the 04' KXF250??

I'm thinking of selling my 02 CR125 (After i get better at riding that is) and buying one of those.

Any things you DIDN'T like about it?

Thanks

[char393]

Rob,

I think you have the right idea...try all the colors and pick the one that best suits you. I've ridden each of the big-4 bikes and liked each just fine. The Honda felt good, turned well and the power was very smooth. I rode the suzuki just after I started riding mx, so I couldn't give you much feedback on that one. The kxf was a nice bike as well and I've read that they're even better now. I have an '07 yz 250f and while it was quite a learning curve for me (going from a 125 to a thumper), I really do like the bike. She handles well for me, turns where I want her to and has great power. I feel more at home on that bike than any other bike...which could very well be because it's a yamaha and that's what I prefer...the ergo's just work for me.

Just my $.02 ...and then some.

[Blitz393]

Originally Posted by jhendrix

So you liked the 04' KXF250??

I'm thinking of selling my 02 CR125 (After i get better at riding that is) and buying one of those.

Any things you DIDN'T like about it?

Thanks

no, there wasn't anything that stood out as far as 'dislikes' go, but if i was REALLY picky, i would say that it was harder for me to grip the bike with my knees, because i'm kind of short-legged. On the Suzuki, i could grab the seat with my knees and hang on really well, but with the four stroke i was sliding off due to me grabbing mostly plastic. all i needed to do (and i did) was adjust my body position to where i gripped more efficiently. other than that, i loved it. take that with a grain of salt, however, because i have no other bike to compare it to other than my 125 two stroker. i haven't ridden any other brands yet.

Rob

[crfjedi393]

Originally Posted by Blitz393

they're just so unfairly fast,

This is true. There is a reason 4-strokes have proclaimed SX and MX. Every time I see a thread touting the 2-stroke, I know it's coming from a guy who doesn't want to spend the money on a 4.

[jhendrix]

Originally Posted by Blitz393

no, there wasn't anything that stood out as far as 'dislikes' go, but if i was REALLY picky, i would say that it was harder for me to grip the bike with my knees, because i'm kind of short-legged. On the Suzuki, i could grab the seat with my knees and hang on really well, but with the four stroke i was sliding off due to me grabbing mostly plastic. all i needed to do (and i did) was adjust my body position to where i gripped more efficiently. other than that, i loved it. take that with a grain of salt, however, because i have no other bike to compare it to other than my 125 two stroker. i haven't ridden any other brands yet.

Rob

Well, i'm going to have to try a four stroke out.

Thanks!

[Blitz393]

Originally Posted by crfjedi393

This is true. There is a reason 4-strokes have proclaimed SX and MX. Every time I see a thread touting the 2-stroke, I know it's coming from a guy who doesn't want to spend the money on a 4.

absolutely. by no means am i bashing the two-stroke, because for 4 years i have been (semi) competitive on the 125. it is just impossible to ride lazy on the two stroke and be competitive, the opposite is true on the four stroke, at least to a point. there is less of a need to be hyped up and hard-charging, clutch-abusing, jump-scrubbing, slide-into-turns-sideways, gear-jamming kind of riding when on a thumper. you enter turns with an even throttle, and roll the power on as you hit the apex, and exit with the throttle wide open and the front tire inches off the ground. the two-stroke can't be "half-throttled" into turns due to the powerband. this is less of a problem on the 250s, however the pipey 125s and 85s just respond more to a rev-and-clutch it style. i also like the way the four stroke tracks better on sweeper type turns, with the rear end stepping out a few inches and STAYING PUT. the RM would have been squirrel-hopping and swapping with all the wheelspin that is accustomed to two-strokes.

i will never forget the sound of a 125 two stroke, with full power on as it goes through a set of whoops and then up the face of a jump. i love watching older Motocross videos of RC and Stewart on the two strokes.

-Rob

[2001hondacr125]

i would go for a crf250 but yet when u want to rebuiled that 4srtoke ur looking at like 850bucks compaired to ur 2stroke for like 200bucks...

[Shoei_391]

Originally Posted by 2001hondacr125

i would go for a crf250 but yet when u want to rebuiled that 4srtoke ur looking at like 850bucks compaired to ur 2stroke for like 200bucks...

EXACTLY. Thats one of the very few things keeping me from buying a 4 stroke..