250r reliability

For next summer im thinking of getting a 89 250R sence its my dream quad, but a few things scare me about this quad, first is that no matter what it will be like 13 years old, and im not sure what the motors been through. are the R's reliable? i know there 2-strokes and fours are much more reliable but i dont want a bike that will run one day and then not the next. is there any parts i could put on it to make it more reliable? and has anyone bought a 89 250r used? and if so how did it turn out. any and all help would be great, thanks guys Brent

as long as the motor is tuned right it will be fine. keep proper maintainence on it. chang the rings once or twice a year mattering on how much and hard it is ridden. keep the oil/gas mixture consistant and not to lean on the oil side. gap the plug right and change it every maybe 20-40 hours depending on riding style. if your not on the gas alot or ride in the ight gear it will foul easily. keep the air filter clean. pretty much if you take care of it right and don't neglect it it should be fine.

hey thanks for the help, but what ratio do you 250R guys run for fuel? and can anybody give me tips to tell what kinda shape the motor is in when i start lookin for one? lik sounds? or just any tell tell signs of engine damage? and would it be a good idea reguardless of what the person says to go ahead and put a new top-end in? thanks

depending on what brand oil you run it differs. if i was gonna run one i'd run maxima super m 2 strok oil between 35:1 to 44:1 deppending on conditions and what is the intent of riding. as fo te top end i'd run a compression check and from there determine what to do with it

[ESR250R]

i run 32 to 1 with super m i wont go any leaner than that

hey thanks for all the help guys but i still dont know what to look for when i buy one. im affriad im gonna buy some good lookin R with a POS motor. so any help would help, boy i cant wait!

and esr's 250 is a old *** turd.. it's like on the stock piston and it still has a **** of a lot of compression..just a slow compresion leakdown

[ESR250R]

u wanna find one with low hours on a near stock top end. make sure the frame isnt tweeked and try to get one without a crack on the frame. start the engine and listen to it run and ask to take it for a ride and make sure it doesnt pull toward the right or left. have someone lift up the back of the quad and let the tires spin slowly to see if it has a bent axle. ask the person details about the quad ie last top end job, last clutch job, if raced, how often riden, ever wrecked, etc.

if you do end up doing a topend and don't race get a honda oem piston. if you race go with anything but wiesco.

ive heard that lik on all R's where the swing arm piviot bolt goes through it always get cracked, can you have it like worked on to make it stronger?

yep. get a reputable welder to strengthen it

[Bean]

man, u guys rip on wiesco alot, i dont hav any probs wit mine, i think u jus spread the rumors around about ur uncles gramams stepmoms roommates crap, really, if u never had a bad experince wit em, dont talk crap about them, anyway, take care of the R, it will take care of u

whats so bad about weisco? i thought they made good factory spec pistons? what brand should i use?

[spliffy]

i always thought it was wiseco.... unless their the good pistons & the bad pistons are wiesco :p

[Bean]

nothins bad about them, some of these kids hear stories about someone breakin in a ppiston wrong, and it explodes, duh, take a pro-x and break it in wrong, see if it lasts, btw, i run my R at 24:1 wit turbo blue and amsoil

hey thanks for all the help guys, hopefully this next summer i can get an R, by the way whats the best year? i heard somtin bout the 86-88 havin a clutch problem? and 86 has a shorter stroke? and is there a probem with the 250R airbox? thanks

Originally posted by Bean
man, u guys rip on wiesco alot, i dont hav any probs wit mine, i think u jus spread the rumors around about ur uncles gramams stepmoms roommates crap, really, if u never had a bad experince wit em, dont talk crap about them, anyway, take care of the R, it will take care of u
well sorry but i have had 2 that the skirt was cracked in more than 5 places. everyone i know that uses them has problems with them . the problem mainly is the piston expands and contracts to slowly dur to the way they are made.

[golikesnot250r]

i run 40 to 1 in my 86 r and would never go less or more. Whenever 250rs are running, you can hear a slight knocking noise. this is always normal. it is the counter balancer which makes the engine run smoother, but when you can hear the knocking abnormally loud, when your riding, time to replace. too bad they dont make eem anymore. gotta get youre head mechanic to put in a bearing where the balncer was.

[spliffy]

I Wish I Could Goto A Honda Dealer & Find A 250R On The Floor.. That Looks Like The Pic Above Or Better Yet With Updated Graphics... Man Would That Be Cool.. I Would Have One Sitting In My Garage RIGHT NOW!!! :macho

so if i get one and my counterbalencer goes out what do i do? just sell it for scraps? and i still would lik to know witch year is the best. thanks

any year is good..i prefer the 88-89's. all of them can get the 89 clutch upgrade

[400exRacerX]

I run my premix at 32:1 and wiseco pistons blow, pro-x is the only way to go.

[ESR250R]

88 and 89 are a little more expensive but they are worth it. they have shorter swingarms than the earlier years so u dont have to worry about changing that unless of coarse it breaks or cracks. 86's are supposed to have stronger frames. but 89's have the clutch update already. 89 have more torque than the 86's but the 86 reves faster and acclerates a little faster.

thanks for clearing that up

[golikesnot250r]

Its a 250r, any year you go with is awesome. When my counter balancer went, the head mechanic at my dealership pulled off the cb case and just put in a bearing where the balencer used to be. They dont go too often, i was just unfortunate.

oh and guess what?? took a huge jump, bent my front hubs. so i order some from honda. i get a phone call. "congratulations ryan, you will be receiving the last 2 hubs ever made for the 250r"
thats right, honda quit making front hubs for the 250r.

[ESR250R]

how did u bend the steel hubs?

[Evan]

The most reliable thing I did to my R was send the motor to ESR and have them totally rebuild it from top to bottom. They made sure everything was done right. The previous owner of my R had not assembled anything right in the bottom end, and they fixed it. The piston had cold seized at some time so they put a new one in and the 89 update kit along with various other nick nacs. The cost? under 800 dollars including shipping. I provide them with new cluctch plates just b.c I had bought them and hadnt had time to put them on. Now depending on the condtion of your motor it could be more or less. Most likely less, since I needed a new gear and piston along with other things. It was by far the best money I have ever spent. Its a whole new motor now. Now the only thing I have to worry about is fouling a plug but I have since re jetted and hopefuly its cured but just incase I will be purchasing one of those plug and wrench carriers for insurance.

[dabombdale]

hehe, golicksnot cant even jump, his farthest jump was 5 feet, he didn't bend the hubs, there were owners before him that raced it, hahahahaha, that is too funny, i witnessed his biggest jump at a riding spot the other day of about 5 feet.but the hubs were bent, i will give him that much.

[stocktires]

An R can be almost just as reliable as a 400ex, and MUCH easier to work on.
But you MUST find a really nice R. Dont buy a "fixer uper" and expect it to be a really nice quad without $2000+. Dont jump at the first one you see.
As far as years. Some like 86-87, some like 88-89. But the point is, you can take an 86 and make it exactly like an 89 kinda easily. The 86-87's will be cheaper though. Each year has its good and its bad traits.
Make sure you want an R before you buy one, test ride ever quad you can. And remember, an R will need ALOT of matinence and care.

And as far as the wiseco piston issue. I have personally seen 4-5 wiseco's cold sieze and crack the skirts. They take a much longer time to warm up. And PRO-X makes the Honda OEM (ARK or something is the name) pistons, and I havent ever seen a HONDA or pro-x piston cold sieze (same pistons). Their much more reliable, even though the Wiseco's are just barely lighter.

[Bean]

well, here is about the reason of ur cold seizing probs

u run it to fast, to soon, gotta let the pistons warm up, my pistons hav never fallen apart, jus my crank explodes all the time, and cycles up and down, and destroys the whole motor wit it, if u warm them up, they will work, start a pro-x, and jus start full blastin around and see what happens, JMO

[Teufel]

Originally posted by S.M.A416

well sorry but i have had 2 that the skirt was cracked in more than 5 places. everyone i know that uses them has problems with them . the problem mainly is the piston expands and contracts to slowly dur to the way they are made.


Really I have used Wiseco for the last 20 yrs in both 2 an 4 strokes. I have had excellent service from them. Check out the number of pro riders that use Wiseco, especially on the motorcycle side. Barry Hawk Ran Wiseco and I can't remember him ever Dnf'ing with Piston problems??????
The ones that you had with broken skirts, were they sent to you like that ?? What did the cylinder mic out at, was it worn, tapered ect. I don't care who made the piston any of them will fail under the right conditions. Also you might want to take a look at who puts the most $ into the quad racing.

what do you mean really high mattenance? i mean i know how to change oil and air filters and stuff lik that, i have yet to put new rings on a bike but ive done it to a car so im sure i could do it, this is my main concern with R's is that i would spend more time mantaining one then riding it. im not saying i dont want to do any work on it but i mean if R's are completly unreliable and hard to mantain i just might not get one. i dont really want to sit around all day tinkering with sh*t when i could be riding. but i donno if there that kind of bike, you 250r guys tell me.

hey X-rider, what all did they to do the motor? did it make it almost bullet proof?

[Teufel]

Hey Bro, Look around if the R wasn't reliable how would you explain the fact that it is still the premier quad at the track 13 years after they quit Manufacturing it? I have race a number of quads for longer than I care to mention and pound for pound the R is the best quad ever built. The last mint 89 that I had I sold for more than $2000 over what it sold for brand new in 89.
Of course if this dude abused it ....well that's another story. :D

[Bean]

what he said

i think its still the best quad ever built so far, c-dale comes in at a close second

ok, i just i have one more thing to ask, one of my buddies told me that the rear axle bearing on R's wear out really fast. will a tapered bearing carrier stop that? and i would still lik to know more about that ESR rebuild that X-rider talked about. and i read about som coated sleeve that helps lower friction and heat, they used it on thoes CT desert racing bikes, does that help reliablity? thanks

[Evan]

well I cant say how fast the bearings wear out, I havent had mine but so long. But when I got mine the bearing carrier was cracked so I got a LSR double row from denton racing at a good price. The bearings are just like anything else, if you take care of them they will last, if you ride in mud and water I am sure they wont last nearly as long. I wouldnt get a tapered, but thats just me, I have heard they are not that great and that they dont always work with everything. Give denton a call when your carrier bearings go out, he can hook u up. I dont know about the CT thing, I am sure it would help but really, a good built motor will last, you will still have to change the rings every so often, dependin on how you ride, and its no trouble to put new rings in. ESR did several things to my motor and I belive it was well worth it. They completely tore it down and inspected everything, called me and told me what was wrong, what was missing, and what routes I could take on parts, what needed to be replaced and so on. I told him to get me a list and estimate of everything that had to be replaced and things that needed to be done, and anything that would help. He called the next day and gave me an estimate. I told him the stuff I wanted done. They rebuilt and called and told me when it was done and shipped it the next day.
Heres what all I can think of.
89 clutch update kit-mine clutch had melted the ball bearing into the shaft and the whole thing would have needed to be replaced so I got the update kit instead
2nd gear- wasnt that bad really but to be on the safe side, its the most abused gear, they put a new one in
all new bearings, seals and what not
I sent them new clutch plates and they put them in
new piston and rings, and bored over, my piston had cold seized at some time so compression was shot Pro X went in, I am pretty sure a wiseco came out
case saver- not nesscary but mine was real flimsy, nice case saver btw
re jetted the carb and cleaned the slide and everything, new throttle cable to fit 38mmAS, new vent hoses
welded a crack in the front of the case for no charge
I am sure there are some things I am forgettin, I wanted it ported but that would have been 300 bucks extra that I didnt have at the time, and I figured, thats 300 towards a new cylinder like a 310 kit or PV cyl.

Now heres the kicker, this is a few comments from the guy that took it apart.
"I am surprised it didnt lock up, it was missing a spacer between the gears"
"Another thing that was wrong was the clutch was incorrectly assembled, there was metal rubbin on metal, thats why you could pull the clutch in and it would still move"
"I tell ya, it looks like a damn monkey put this thing to gether, whoever built it didnt know what they were doing"

I am really pleased with what they did to the motor, its a whole different motor now, b4 I had it rebuilt I was thinkin, man the R motor is a dissapointment now its kick*****. Well worth the money. Wish I could have built the EX this easy instead of sinkin 1700 into it for half the power the R has.

lol, does sound lik a monkey put that thing together, well after i sell my 300ex next summer and get an R ill probibly save thoes buckaroos and send mine into ESR. sounds lik they know wut there doing, thanks alot guys, i cant wait to get that R!

hey X-rider, i went to your pictures page. is that your R with the graphics and chrome engine? cause if it is that one sweet ***** R man, u lucky SOB

these guys telling you they are high maintaince are the ones making them high mantainence! i dont do anything but change filter and oil! lube the chain and ALWAYS let it warm up good before i ride. i can let mine set and idle for hours and not foul a plug. i trail ride it and race it and i have very few probs with it. like they said you take care of it and it will take care of you.


i rum belray 50:1 on amaco pump gas with a wiseco piston and no probs. there are horror stories about every brand of every thing.goo luck man if y aget one you'll love it. but ou'll prolly have to stick some cash in it before its all good if ya know what i mean.

yeah so i figured, but i jus hope i can find a half way decent one around Kansas City missouri, but if i find one im gettin it!

[Evan]

Heres my R, I think you are lookin at another one, LOL those are some of the Rs I wish I had, the one with EX plastic is my favorite but I would take any of them. The one that says MY R is what my R looked like when I got it. This is what it looks like now

[R-Crazy]

i have heard good things about JE pistons. i thought they were just a better built wiseco. o well.
i would get every seal on the bike replaces. i had a friend that just go one and all the seals were shot. he ran castrol927 and it ran great. 32:1. so different from the 300. i am a 4 stroke man thought. it will be a blast when i get my Z.

dave

[stocktires]

madbomber,
I dont really ever tell people about bad spelling and mis-typing, but that was pretty bad!!! :D :blah

JE makes 4-stroke pistons

Maybe my R is high matinence cuz Im kinda crazy about having my quad very very clean, and running perfectly!


I:

-Change my oil every other ride (its a 16 year old tranny!)
-Clean my filter atlease every other ride
-Check my radiator fluid
-Clean my entire Quad AND detail it
-Grease anything that needs greaseing
-Lube the clutch cable
-oil my chain
-clean my plug after every other ride or so
-do a full check of the entire quad and makeing sure everything works perfectly and smoothly

yeah stock tires, my 300ex is spotless and i change the oil alot to but i though they all ment lik really really high matnece but what you listed that aint bad.

[stocktires]

its not too bad.
But then you have the top-end needing to be replaced kinda often. And then jetting, but that doesnt take much time at all on an R.

[Lil90man!!]

one question for you guys, how long will you guys wit r's, bikes run on a tank of gas?? we just got my bros "new" 86 r tuned back up, we TOTALLY fill the tank and in less the an hour n a half were on reserve:eek: :confused: also if this is just normal then how can we extend the "gas mileage" of an r? other than a bigger tank??

my 250r used alot more gas..i can run all day one the 400's tank but i spent alot on my 250...oil isn't cheap

[ESR250R]

i usually need to fill up about every 3 to 4 hours of actual ride time and i have never been on reserve

is there sumtin wrong with his R for it to us that much gas ESR? cause that alot of gas and $$$

[400exRacerX]

I empty my gas tank after about 2 hours of wide open riding, my buddy bob miller empties his gas tank in a hour of hard riding.

I'm running the 38mm lectron carb and hes running the 38mm airstryker carb.

[airheadedduner]

I can get an 1 1\2-2hrs out of my R on the dunes which is a lot of wide open riding. There is not a lot you can do to get better mileage. Maybe raise the gearing or (gasp) go back to a mostly stock motor.

well who wants to go back to a stock motor?

[Lil90man!!]

someone who would rather ride there r home, rather than push it home where there outta gas:rolleyes: :D

[ESR250R]

i'll tell u what i have almost everything completely stock. i run the stock 34 carb, airbox lid on with a k and n airfilter, .20 over original honda piston, with a esr trx 5 pipe and esr silencer and my 250r runs strong. i went up to silverlake last year and the only 250r what beat me (and he beat me pretty bad) was a red 250r (88 i believe) with a ftz pipe and he was on alcohol. at attica i ran side by side with a ct 330r. but i think the 330 had a crappy driver because i have heard that those motor are bad. i dont know if my r has been ported or not but i will be checking on it soon. when i am not getting too anxious and holding up the gates (lake county) i can usually get a real good holdshot. i went up to a local track called mederaville and the last race i did there it was 23 quads on the starting gate all decked out banshee's, 250r's, raptor's, 400ex's, and even 2 cannondale moto's. i came out on the holeshot in 2nd right behind one of the cannondale moto's.

[Evan]

I can vouch for ESR too, I have just a stock rebuilt motor, no porting or anything. At the race the other night there were several 310 kits there and some other bad R, well I was 2nd in the holeshot only b/c I hit a patch of mud, the R that beat me was stock also, just rebuilt by local shop but it ran really strong. Mines 16 years old and still winin trophys.

[400exRacerX]

Originally posted by stocktires
its not too bad.
But then you have the top-end needing to be replaced kinda often. And then jetting, but that doesnt take much time at all on an R.

Do you even know what your talking about?? You make it seem as if you gotta rebuild the topend everytime you ride.

You can get 2 pistons out of one bore, and sometimes three. Just replaced the piston, run a hone through the jug and reinstall.

And a average person that races wide open goes through 1-2 pistons a year.

Its not that bad.

yeah. as long as hone lines are still visable i think it would be fine to run that bore

[stocktires]

Wha?
I said KINDA OFTEN.

The kid is riding a 4-stroke, so im basically comapring it to his 300.

Jetting is a snap. Loosen the boot screws and unscrew the flowt bowl and their's you main jet.... wow that was hard.

re-built means nothing specific. re-built could mean putting in a new wrist pin bearing and rings. Or it could mean totally re-building the top-end (bore and new piston kit).

I normally run 2-3 piston's out of one bore. Just gota hone it everytime. You dont Always have to re-place the piston either, just rings.

I ride every weekend and throughout the week.


I make it seem like he's gota re-build it everytime he rides? d*** dude, All i said was it needs to be replaced kinda often! nothing specific. Somebody's a know it all....:rolleyes: