It’s not often we willingly part ways with our lovely cash. For it’s not without toil that the tender comes our way. With this thought heavy on my hands, I typed an invitation to everyone on the Dirt Rider mass e-mail distribution list that went something like this:”Dear editors, ad sales staff and miscellaneous corporate weasels, please join me in celebrating the working man by accepting a challenge worthy of the true practitioners of our sport: Buy yourself a dirt bike, build it up in true project-bike trim for under $3000 and let us test it.”A flurry of responses followed, prompting me to send out another note reassuring the masses that it didn’t matter what they bought or what parts they used, as long as the total (bike + parts + labor + whatever) equaled no more than $3000. Moto. Off-road. Desert. It simply didn’t matter. The goal was to look into what the world of used bikes was hoarding, and how everyday throttle twisters would spend an economical slice of their income pie.As it turns out, a little motivation was just what some guys needed around here. Soon, we had nine bikes lined up to test; almost all accompanied by a significant other’s approval.So read. Enjoy. And don’t be scared to use any of these stories as your own 3000 reasons to enter the used-bike world.Like New
By Pete Peterson
Several months back, I got to take Dirt Rider ‘s 2008 RM250 out for a few laps. After about the second turn, I told myself I was going to grab that yellow machine as my ride for the year. Nothing else out there feels like a Suzuki two-stroke. To me, it’s more pure race bike than any four-stroke coming off any assembly line.When the ’08 bike’s test was done, it was snatched away from me by Chris “If It Ain’t Broke I’ll Fix That” Denison. He converted it into an EnduroCross bike and then dragged it across logs and bashed it over rocks from Guthrie, Oklahoma, to Las Vegas, Nevada.Then this budget bike story came along, so I went out and grabbed a pristine 2005 RM250. It’s unfortunate that the four-strokes are getting nearly all of the development attention and money, but on the positive side, that means a three-year-old smoker is essentially made of the same stuff as one in the showroom. It’s a terrible way of looking at the state of the two-stroke, but it is justification to shell out $2800 of my own cash.One side benefit of buying used is that bikes don’t stay stock for long. My machine came with a ProTaper bar, a ProTaper frictionless throttle tube, RG3 triple clamps, a Renthal rear sprocket (one tooth more than stock) and a Moto Tassinari reed valve.After I brought my baby home I did exactly what everyone should do with even a brand-new bike: I greased up the linkage and steering stem, put on a new chain, put on my favorite grips (after I trimmed the handlebar a bit) and stuck my racing number on the plates. Yes, I finally get to fly my own number on a Dirt Rider test bike (and it only cost me $3000!). The stock air filter was deteriorating, so I got a new filter, replaced the rear tire with a fresh one, changed the transmission oil, put in a fresh spark plug, threw on my project sponsors’ stickers and went out for a shakedown.After some timed laps, I can honestly say that I’m faster and more comfortable on this bike than just about any other bike I’ve ridden. Maybe pride of ownership has a little to do with that, but I think it’s more about finding that bike that gels with each racer’s riding personality, and the RM250 fits me like it rolled out of a Pete’s Racing factory rig.It’s a crime that the two-strokes are disappearing, and it looks like Suzuki is the next to go. It’s probably too late to reverse things, but if you love your two-smoke like I love this bike, maybe you should do a little write-up of your own-be sure to send it to American Suzuki MC/ATV Customer Service, P.O. Box 1100, Brea, CA 92822. They do read every letter.Opinions
Hands down, best bike in the test. The owner is a genius. Compared to the others, this bike has the best handling and throttle response. It also feels the freshest and the most modern (maybe because it is). The Taylor Creative YZ could give it a challenge, but if there’s a turn in sight, this RM won’t be. -Pete PetersonI was pretty confident that Pete’s bike was going to win this test if, in fact, I were to choose the winner (is that even up to me?). Then I rode the Taylor Creative bike (see my opinion). Don’t get me wrong, Pete’s bike is rad, and he proved if you have a budget, shopping around for the bike that’s the nicest you can afford and closest to your price cap is wise. Fixing someone else’s broken stuff is a harder route for sure. Besides his dumbly cut-down bar, (what Internet rumor told you to do that?) Pete’s bike was grand, like a stocker, which it basically was. So I guess Pete gets credit for stealing Suzuki’s thunder. Good job, Pete. -Jesse ZieglerI never thought I’d say this, but I think Pete just won a shootout. His bike was clean, well maintained and refreshingly simple. I dug the Taylor Creative ride, but something about the Suzuki just clicked for me. Honestly, it’s hard to believe that he only spent three big ones on it! If any of you reading this are looking for an economical way to get into the sport, I’d recommend the Peterson method of buying for quality rather than rock-bottom cost-this seems to make more sense than nickel-and-diming yourself into a hole with a total roach. However, something about this bike is a little too “nice.” Pete doesn’t know this yet, but I’m secretly planning a follow-up story where I race his beloved Suzuki at EnduroCross and do 3K worth of damage to it. Stay tuned. -Chris Denison
Bart And The Amazing Levitator
By Bart Allan
While I ride a motorcycle on the streets of Los Angeles every day, I’ve wanted for years to get my own dirt bike to complete the two-wheel experience. Justifying money for these toys is always a challenge, but I’m good for the ole “Honey, I need it for work” excuse about once a year.My goal was to get a solid, reliable bike for about $2000, and then spend another thousand making it mine. After getting zero help from the “experts” around here, a visit to the Dirt Rider archives and some online searching led me to the ’01 YZ250. $2000 is probably a few hundred dollars more than some Craig’s List postings, yet I was willing to pay the premium to get a bike from the original owner and one that a coworker assured me was in “perfect” condition.My first actual purchase related to the bike was a winch I found on Amazon.com for $99. My garage is tight, and the wife refuses to park outside. Instead of parking my baby next to her car, I now park it “over” her car.This bike was set up to hit the track only, so my mods were to direct it toward a more universal ride. The FMF Gnarly improved the performance at the low-end, and mated with the Q silencer gave me spark-arresting qualities and a sound that should make Mr. Ranger happy when I hit my local OHV area. IMS was the obvious choice for a tank to extend my range, and a Ricochet skid plate would protect the belly for those off-road adventures. In the name of low maintenance, I picked up an air filter from Advanced Flow Engineering. Its new Aries AE1 is a totally dry system-no oil required. Cleaning is done by rinsing with water at intervals three times longer than normal filters require. They say it’s the “world’s easiest filter.” I can only hope. And for those off-road trips, and the rides with my soon-to-be-learning kids, I’m mounting a Pro Moto Billet kickstand and packing a Genuine Innovations CO2 tire repair kit. Spring-loaded Cycra hand guards round out my $1000 parts investment.I’m not really much of a mechanic, and I don’t plan on being one of those guys who can break down a bike with their eyes closed. But I was able to figure out how to install everything without much effort (the winch really helps here!). The gas tank was the exception. The instructions say it “installs exactly like the stock tank.” Not so much. The new tank uses only one bracket to mount to the frame (versus two), and even this mounting point is different from the stock point. More troubling was learning that the radiator guards the previous owner had installed had to be removed to get the IMS tank on.Opinions
This was my least favorite bike in the test. Take a bike that doesn’t turn, add a tank that punishes sitting forward more effectively than a Taser gun, and you have one bike I wouldn’t want in my garage. I’d love to be able to say riding Bart’s disaster around a tight motocross track was a pain in the butt, but the pain was elsewhere… -Pete PetersonPete’s a moron. Bart’s bike fits the owner perfectly. He wanted a do-it-all bike. One that’s just as happy cruising a track or ripping across the desert. Bart doesn’t blow berms up for a living, he sells sweet ads in the pages of Dirt Rider. And like a salesman, he needs to be versatile. So he built a bike that he could proudly float in the air above his wife’s car. It’s straight-line stable, turns OK for having a huge tank and is very comfortable at the hands and on the pegs. His kids will look up to it for years (yes, I went there). -Jesse ZieglerIf I were to go race a local enduro for fun, I’d gladly do so aboard Bart’s project YZ. The motor was solid, the big tank didn’t bug me and the bike still had that “tight” feeling that’s oh so easy to lose in the hands of a neglectful owner. The suspension felt a bit softer in the front than the rear and consequently thrashed me on a motocross track, but I don’t care. I’m confident that this machine will stay together for the next few years, and if it takes relaxing a little on my rigid setup preferences to notice the underlying fun factor, I’m down. The only thing I would’ve done differently is to park the bike in the garage and make my wife get a winch to hang her car from. Seriously, Bart, that’s like you telling her to hang the spatulas from the kitchen ceiling so you can put your tools in the silverware drawer. Not cool. -Chris Denison
Rolling History
By Karel Kramer
This bike has actually been in Dirt Rider before. It was a test bike that Kawasaki factory rider Jeff Matiasevich rode for photos in 1989. After the usual round of testing, DR ‘s then editor Tom Webb used the Klemm Research-modified KX285 to attempt to qualify for the ISDE in Germany. Current Extreme Kawasaki team manager and former DR ad sales guy Bill Keefe designed the 285cc kit, and it was ported and assembled by current DR publisher Sean Finley. Webb ended up riding chase in Germany for Danny LaPorte. LaPorte, on another 285, finished second in the Open class behind French ace Stephane Peterhansel. So when I say rolling history, I really mean it.Webb’s bike was a close replica of LaPorte’s top American ISDE race bike, and after Tom was done with it the used machine was purchased by enduro rider Sam Bell. He raced the bike regularly at first, but eventually the 285 languished in his garage. His wife Dana (of the NOHVCC) heard he had a $500 offer and pushed it out of their crowded garage before Sam knew what hit him.Sam doesn’t keep bikes pretty, but he’s great at required maintenance. At some point, Sam had pulled the entire bike apart and nickel-plated the frame, so the bearings were in decent shape. The oil looked good and the coolant was clean. He included a box of plastic parts, new seat cover and the original tank. Most of my work was cleaning and replacing parts that had been doing their job for 18 years. I saved money doing the chore myself, including rebuilding the shock. The shock bumper crumbled off like an old cookie! Race Tech had all the shock parts I needed. A call to Rocky Mountain MC netted disc rotors and a Primary Drive O-ring chain and sprockets. I spent a lot of time dialing in the controls to make the bike feel fresh. The most important changes were a Sunline vibration-reducing bar from SixSixOne and a late-model KX500 clutch perch and lever. After lubing the cable, the clutch pull rivals that of new bikes. FMF had a pipe and quiet S/A in stock, so those went right on.When it came time for photos, I called Danny LaPorte. He was jazzed at the opportunity of riding a replica of his ISDE bike. He went amazingly fast on the bike, and he praised how well both ends handled square edges compared to a modern bike. I took the bike out riding with guys who rode brand-new bikes, and it’s for sure down on absolute power, but I had no trouble staying right with them. I rode two trail rides on the KX, and then switched to a KTM 450 XC for the day’s final ride. The old KX isn’t at the level of the XC but is plenty capable, comfortable and affordable. Check out the parts total. Every part that touches the rider is new and fresh, yet the total outlay is well under $2000.Opinions
This two-stroke big-bore was jetted way rich so it ran poorly, and I only rode the bike out of its element, on a moto track, but the thing was comfortable and the oversize tank hid its girth pretty well. When the motor cleaned out, the power felt smooth. Budget in for a few more carburetor jets and this would be a nice trailbike with a great history. Bummer, I really wanted to make fun of Karel. -Pete PetersonAs I rode his bike I was instantly whisked away into one of Karel’s awesome stories. I could feel the German breeze blowing across my cotton jersey as I raced at the notorious ISDE alongside my teammate Danny LaPorte and my chase rider Wolfman. “Guten Tag,” I’d say to a sassy Fraulein waiting in the staging area. “Guten Tag,” she’d say back, winking and waving as I wheelied my trusty KX285. Just then, I’d drop into a ravine and pick up a special test section where the increased boost of my Bill Keefe- and Sean Finley-built motor would tug me around effortlessly. And my suspension? Well, it’s just plush with a touch of bottoming resistance for when I have one too many Wienerschnitzels. Wheeeeeeee! I’m having so much fun I forget about all those new bikes back in reality and high-five Karel and give him my gold medal. -Jesse ZieglerI may have been playing my PSP at our planning meeting when Karel announced his 3K bike purchase, but I could’ve sworn that he said “KX500.” Whatever the case, I was under the impression that he’d bought a five-hundo and not a bored-out 250. Now, I do my push-ups every night like a good little freestyler, but I’d rather strap myself to a SCUD missile than mess with a 20-year-old heavyweight two-stroke. Later, I found out that I’d been avoiding Karel for no reason, and I still haven’t ridden his bike. I feel stupid. -Chris Denison
Cheap Fun For The Squirrelly One
By Brad Banister
When whispers of a “$3000 dirt bike story” began floating around the Dirt Rider office, I was already looking for a cheap, fun and, most importantly, reliable motocross bike that I could also ride off-road. After riding several 250Fs, I craved the fun and versatility of a 250 four-stroke.The general consensus is that used, high-revving 250Fs are ticking time bombs waiting to blow up your wallet! But when an unloved $1200 2002 YZ250F floated across my bow, I ignored the warnings and dove on it! I reasoned that even though the bike looked rough, there was still life left in it-and the 2002 model is California green-sticker-legal for year-round off-road fun!Still sporting sportsman-class supermoto racing trim, it was clear the bike had lived a hard life in the uncaring hands of the teenage seller I bought it from. Fortunately, I’ve seen the inside of a lot of engines, so I was prepared for the work I faced.I had a decent base for the project with a good chassis, oversize brake rotor, carbon-fiber airbox, silencer and other bits, plus a beefy aftermarket top triple clamp and oversize handlebar. The downside was a questionable motor with marginal compression, beat plastic, leaky fork seals and just overall maintenance neglect. It basically needed everything!A quick spin through Chaparral’s website netted me the cosmetic parts needed to buff out the bike, and for the top end rebuild, L.A. Sleeve served up a 292 big-bore kit. The final touch was the auto-decompression Hot Cam to eliminate the annoying starting “procedure.”Unfortunately, what I couldn’t buy was time! It was a mad scramble to disassemble the bike, paint the frame, redo the engine and suspension, change tires and get it all together in time for the test. Even with the help of friends, it took an entire weekend to get it all handled. Fortunately, I didn’t run into any surprises like bad bearings or damaged, out-of-spec engine parts.Once completed, the bike looked cosmetically awesome, and with the exception of an easily fixed cam timing error, the mechanicals all checked out. All that was left was to ride it!On the first lap, the “natty” carbon-fiber silencer turned “ratty” on the first trip through the whoops when it broke in half! Thankfully, I was able to bolt up the stock muffler and still keep my costs down!In hindsight, the bike accomplished the goal of being fun to ride and green-sticker-legal. But knowing what I know now, I’d rather take my $3000 and hunt for a cleaner, later-model 250F over fixing up an older-generation bike. It was just way too much work, and in the end I still have an old bike.Opinions
This bike felt old and tired, but it was still running at the end of the test. The lesson here is don’t buy an abused 250F. But you have to admire Brad for showing up with a time bomb. Brad’s a real optimist, even when holding the two halves of his “trick” carbon-fiber muffler. In fact, he always reminds me of Wile E. Coyote just before he realizes his plan has backfired. But Brad pulled it off this time. So far. -Pete PetersonBrad wins most heart. Why? Because he walked into this test at the last minute with fire in his eyes and grease under his fingernails and a clapped-out YZ250F. What did he do for three Gs? Well, he took a supermoto-thing and built a pretty cool YZ290. Sure, the bike is far from perfect and his neighborhood friend that put the cams in sort of did one backward. But Brad was always quick to straighten out any oddities, and in the end his bike was far more than what I expected it could be when it oozed out of his truck a mere two weeks prior. Yes, it needs some suspension work to get up to speed with today’s bikes, but with that and some fine-tuning on the big-bore kit, he’s in biznass. Basically, Brad’s not scared. -Jesse ZieglerSeeing as Brad is the only guy in our office who has A.D.D. as severely as I do, I have to cheer for the guy. I literally laughed out loud when I saw the YZ-F in the back of his truck on his way home from buying it, but I can honestly say that he whipped it into shape quite well, given the time and price restraints set for the test. In the real world, a bike like this wouldn’t be thrown together as it was, but would probably receive steady bits of smart, gentle maintenance until it was back in shipshape. I’d like to add that the absolute best part of the test was watching the silencer come off in Brad’s hand-it was like he got an F on his report card but somehow cheated an extra bag of chips from the vending machine, all in the same moment. Goodness, that was funny. -Chris Denison
Marty the Party and His Kewl KX
By Marty Estes
I bought this bike because I wanted a two-stroke in the garage, plain and simple. The challenge was that it needed to be cheap, as the wife simply wouldn’t understand why I needed a seventh motorcycle. I pulled a little extra out of the ATM every time I visited one for a few months, and presto, I had a small budget to work with. At 210 pounds (plus gear), I knew stiffer springs and a revalve were a must for any bike I were to buy. So in order to afford the anticipated $600-plus in suspension work, I looked for something a little older. That’s when I spotted an interesting eBay listing titled, “1999 KX250 Thrash.”For sure, this bike was clapped-looking, but in dissecting every photo, it looked like it hadn’t been ridden all that much. I hoped the auction’s title would scare off much-smarter folks, and I went to bidding. I ended up winning for a price of $1130, a tad more than I would’ve liked. When I picked up the bike, I saw it was definitely beat, but she fired right up. It was a repo-type deal, and the previous owner may’ve been Seth Enslow. I’m going to assume that it was indeed Seth since it had a sweet cut-off rear fender. Seth’s not much for maintenance. Nothing was done to this bike, ever (except tires). Luckily for me, the bike did end up having fairly low hours, and the repair work, while significant, was straightforward. It just needed a ton of new parts to replace what was mostly factory stock and worn-out or crash damaged.I had to make sacrifices to stay within budget because it needed so many new parts. But I kept costs low by using Rocky Mountain MC brands Tusk, Primary Drive and Lexx for the majority of the hard parts I needed. The savings here helped me afford other necessities, such as a fresh Wiseco top end, Race Tech springs, K5 suspension work, Pivot Works fork kit, Acerbis plastic, SDG tall seat, Maxxis tires and an FMF Fatty pipe. I needed quite a few parts from Kawasaki, too, which added up to nearly $200.My KX is a little older but has a lot of new stuff on it, due to the relatively low buy-in cost. After taking it completely down to the frame and regreasing everything, bolting on fresh suspension and tightening up every piece, it looks and feels like a new bike. Well, a new, older bike. Looking at it one way, I got a pretty “new” old bike for $3000. The flip side is that putting this much cash into an older bike doesn’t necessarily make sense from a value/resale perspective. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how it does against the newer bikes in this test.Opinions
The bike sits way, way too high (who’s the freak of nature who set up this thing?), whether you’re climbing on in the pits or riding the track, yet it still handled nicely and remained balanced. I’ll take a page out of the Mini Rider kids’ test pilot notebook and also add that the front fender looked dorky. -Pete PetersonWhen I started to think about it, I realized that Marty’s bike-the oldest moto-specific ride in the test-was five years newer than my first motocross bike: a 1994 KX125. Holy cr@&! If I went as fast as I think I did back then, I was a badass! I personally liked the Party’s bike. Sure, mostly because it was black and flo-greenish like Mickael Pichon’s fancy Pro Circuit 125ers. But Marty’s bike ran strong and clean for what it was and made a fun, predictable track bike for sure. It was fun to jump and corner, and the brakes predictably never worked. But at least you knew it going in. -Jesse ZieglerIn my opinion, all of the work that Seth didn’t do to this bike is being atoned for by Marty. When I first pulled up next to Mr. Estes at the track, I offered to give him an opinion on the machine. Marty was just putting some finishing touches on her and told me that she’d be ready after five minutes of quick maintenance. Ten minutes later, he was borrowing tools from me and after 20 more, Marty was uttering words that would embarrass a sailor. I went out for a moto on another bike, and when I came in, Marty asked if I knew anything about bleeding brakes. I mentioned that I didn’t know jack about brakes but cut fenders were my specialty. He didn’t laugh. -Chris Denison
