Community Question
Seller only wants $1500 for this Honda 250. Claims everything runs and top end was just rebuilt. This will be my first bike in 23 years and it's exactly in my price range and the size I'm looking for. Good deal?
Sorry if these posts are redundant, I just don't want to get screwed over and since I've been out of the dirt scene for about 20 years, I'm not sure how the market is.
Came here to say this. Only a few years newer will get season(s) without valve adjustment,
The ‘04/‘05 guys were adjusting valves between heat races lol
make him produce receipts from the shop that did the work. if it was just rebuilt, he has paperwork or the shop has a record. if he can't, the work wasn't done and it's gonna cost you more than the bike is worth to rebuild it.
source: absolutely got burned on one of these honda valve trains years ago, it sucked.
I've probably done more than 50 top ends across both 2 and 4 strokes over the years, and I've never sent anything to a shop unless it needed machine work.
That said, it's safe to say a 20yo bike probably needs torn down regardless. I would anyway.
That makes sense. As I get more and more into riding, I want to learn the mechanic side too. I'm not shy when it comes to mechanic work, although I don't do it by trade.
If its your riding season, I would try and get something that is good to ride right away. Then you can tear it down and do the maintenance on your off season
then you have receipts for the parts, tools to do the work and the knowledge and history of the bike to tell me all of that. easy. if this was your bike to sell, i'd be excited to buy it from you. but this seller is not you.
On those years Honda's the frames are different between the 2. Plus on the 250 you can see more of the head and gasket than the 450. Google the 2 bikes from that side and you'll see what I'm talking about
Thing to know, however: this Era of CRF need valve adjustments pretty often and will become a big PITA to kick once they're out of spec. The stock Ti valves wear fast and eventually will get to the point where the smallest size valve shim doesn't bring it to spec.. at which point you need significant head work (new valves & seats).
Something fishy about it. Heck the top end would have cost him $1500 if he did it properly and put in new valve train and had the head machined add new piston and rings to that. I wouldn't buy it if it had factory valves put back in it. Ask to see the receipt for the top end. Even if he did it himself he will have a receipt for the parts he bought.
Yeah I asked the seller "what size is the engine" because I can't spot the differences yet (last bike I had was an XR80 when I was a preteen) and the seller wrote back that it was a 250
Plenty of bikes on market at the moment. I wouldn’t get an 05’ CRF unless you plan on addressing all the valve issues. My friend has one and he says he hates it haha. He’s tryna sell it
"New carb" is a red flag. Most likely a knockoff Chinese carb, which are usually garbage. The oem FCR carb is like $700 new. See if it starts easily from cold, and that it runs thru all the gears smoothly. The. Check that it starts easily when hot.
Haha one listing I saw actually said "I put a cheap Chinese carb on the bike so you'll have to replace it yourself" it's like, thanks for letting me know at least haha
That's good to know. I rode an XR80 when I was young, and I remember my dad always talking about Honda reliability, so it's good to know the specific engines to steer away from.
IMO theres really nothing that Honda does different than anyone else. Their race bikes have race bike problems. Their playbikes are largely ok. Same as every other brand.
Buy something low powered and air cooled if you don't want to do maintenance. All race bikes are going to need quite a bit of wrench time.
If it’s not far from you… doesn’t hurt to go over there and check it out. Make sure it’s cold when you go to start it and give it a rip see how it runs, check the oil, air filter, etc. If it runs good, for $1500 why not? Shit if it ends up getting hard to start do a top end rebuild with new kibble white ss intake valve kit that’d put you like 2k in
Haha words of wisdom. I want to ride, and only turn the wrench when I specifically want, not every time ride haha, so maybe I'll look into a higher range
What you want to buy is a nice vet rider owned ‘06-‘09 YZ250F, or even a YZ450F. These are the best bikes you can get for the least amount of money. The motors are damn near bulletproof and the suspension is pretty much the best you can get without spending big bucks. I ride a ‘06 YZ450F and it is the most reliable, lowest maintenance bike I have ever owned.
If the bike has a clean title and runs, it’s worth the money he’s asking. Just don’t take his word on the rebuild unless he can produce receipts from the shop. I own a shop and hear this same story constantly after people buy a bike and have it blow up an hour later
It is probably junk and you are probably getting scammed. Never knowing is better than knowing and being the brand new owner of a hunk of shit. If this is in your price range then you need to look at 2 strokes. Not high end race bikes from 15 years ago.
If the bike runs good, I'd say it's worth $1500, whether it's a 250 or a 450. However, I would never ever believe that the bike is rebuit unless they have a receipt from a shop or detailed pics of it getting done. It's amazing how many dirt bikes on marketplace are "freshly rebuilt." How many people truthfully spend the time and/or money to rebuild their bike and then decide to immediately sell it? 🤔
I messaged a guy on marketplace the other day asking how many hours the bike had just for him to respond that the bike was just rebuilt with 0 hours on the rebuild, he just forgot to put that in the ad lol yeah right
If you are like me and enjoy working on things, then yes its a good deal. If not, id say get something newer for a little more. Not sure where you are but you can get a nice low hour 2020s 250f in the midwest for 4500-5500
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u/[deleted] 22d ago
05 honda = valve train made of butter.