Keep my YZ250 or KTM 300 SX?

I’ve got a 25 300sx and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  I had a 16 yz250 with lots of bolt ons and suspension but my 300 is so much better.  Less vibration is the biggest piece for me, but the linear power delivery, electric start, and lack of tuning the carb are all amazing.  The KTM is much better for me than my built up Yamaha was. 

Sure my 25 300sx doesn’t rev out like any of my 350sxfs did. But with a pipe and silencer it revs out just as good as any 250 2t I’ve ridden. It just feels more linear since it has so much midrange power. Exactly where the power is most usable. 
This is only with the new 23+ engines, I was never a fan of the older tpi engine. And the old KTM 2t SX engines were rockets but not as usable. You would have to seriously build, and run radical fuel to get a YZ anywhere near as usable. I put pump gas and 50/1 in my mostly stock 300, hit the button and go. 
Just my real life experience, yours might be different 🤷🏻‍♂️🍻

I would buy a new YZ250 and just move over any parts that you have, to the new one. The updated body plastics, airbox and suspension settings will at least add to the new-bike feel, aside from being totally fresh. Over the years I've come to realize that the changes that I want are pretty minor. I love the chassis and everything about how the bike runs. I personally don't need more power. It's just a nice bike to have if you want to keep it for a while, with all of the parts and info out there on them. I actually found the carbed KTM 250s to be almost too much for me. I would make mistakes and just couldn't find my groove on those bikes. The only FI one I've ridden was a new TX300. It was a cool bike, but the YZ just feels like home for me. I like the suspension as-is. Really just upgrading the clutch is the only area that I would address on a new one, but only once it needs it. The vibration never bothered me. Being a repeat Yamaha owner sort of gives me that perspective, so you may be the same way. If so, I'd get a new YZ. But for the right person, there are plenty of reasons to try the KTM too. I guess it's all preference.

I would not be opposed to getting a yz250 if it wasn’t for the oversized tank market for them. My races are 45-60 minutes so I only need a 2.5gal, which someone could definitely make for the yz and not have it as tall as the damn bars. Flatter seat and 2.5gal on a yz would make me ok with spending new tech ktm prices on one 

I REST MY CASE....🤣

Yep, this thread.   Primer:  Yes, you have to do it all.  The slide, needle-jet, needle, jet block gasket, etc.   Don't bother if you are not going to commit to all of it.  Don't begin this process if you are not comfortable taking the time to rip the bike apart a few times and do a little fine tuning to get it perfect.  

https://www.vitalmx.com/forums/Tech-Help-Race-Shop,42/KTM-HUS-125-150-250-jetting-thread,1363394

When my bike was a 250, I ended up very close to the first 250 specs AJ lists in the thread.  Only difference was I use 40:1 and a 35 pilot and sometimes even a 37.5 pilot when the temp would dip down in the 40's or so.  I would use a 42-75 needle on clip-2 when it would get extra hot and/or humid.

That's my biggest complaint with getting another YZ also. Well that and the vibration. Don't want a huge nutbuster fuel tank but the stock 1.8 gallon isn't quite enough. Really yamaha should be making a 2.5 gallon tank for the YZ250X but they refuse to put any effort into their two strokes. 

So I switched to a ktm. 

I think you’d be really surprised how good the YZ could be with some porting, and some more compression. From my perspective this is ideal because you are already accustomed to riding that bike. You won’t be starting all over and learning the quirks of a completely different bike. Porting and head work is significantly cheaper than getting a whole new bike. It’s worth a shot, just improving the platform you are already on. 

Why don’t you guys ask a welder to build an aluminum tank for your YZ?

Im sure you can find an Euro guy from France, Belgium, Holland to do that as they do a lot of sand racing.

GP teams in the 90’s or 2000’s used alu tanks.

I’ve actually considered that. I wish twostroketaliban was still around, I know he had his made from a guy in India i believe 

YZ has the weird shaped oversize tanks and the TBI bikes have the fuel pick up issue on the oversize tanks.  I saw where IMS has a replacement pump setup to address this.

 

What’s the scoop on these RRs for mx and off road gp stuff? That is such a good looking bike 

I currently own a 23 YZ 250 and I’m gonna sell it to get this beauty. This is the 300 RX. I’m sure actual owners could better testify to this bike but the spec sheet looks incredible. The 25 has been fully updated frame up. 5 speed, KYB sticks, Keihin carb, etc. EFI and TBI is a great jump in 2 stroke tech, but I love a nicely tuned Keihin 😁

I really wish they made a 250rx (for my class). Because i think that’s the way I’d go. I may have to look into the RR race addition to see if it got the same updates 

The 300 doesn’t have that classic two stroke feel to it in my opinion, but it’s a great and fun bike to ride. With that said, the yz250 is just hard to beat. I have a 24 yz450f and a 09 yz250 with a Reynard engine. The 250 is such a blast and a great change of pace to hop on from the 450. It really comes down to what you’re looking for in a bike. I couldn’t be happier with mine and the nostalgic itch it scratches. 

I would keep the yz. If I wasn't happy send it out for porting and a bore if you really want a 300. Never really felt good on a ktm. The 300 rips but I agree with others it lacks the over rev. You can make any of these bikes feel how you want just depends how much you want to spend. I regret getting rid of my last yz250 but I had 4 bikes in the garage at the time. Can't beat the simplicity, weight, and low cost parts/availability for the yz. I want another. Best all around bike ever imo. 

I think he is still on instagram. I remember that too with the guy from India.

That would be trick to get one made. Maybe CRM is making a slightly oversized carbon tank for the YZ250?

I’ll look into that. I know cmts carbon tank is a tad bigger than stock (I liter), but I don’t believe they have one for the new body

This one from Clarke doesn’t look like too much of a nut buster?

https://clarkemfg.com/catalog/yamaha/yz250125-2002-2016-3-1-gal/

I’ll give my two cents. To preface, moto only, have only little off-road experience. I own a YZ250 and my friend owns the 24 300sx. We both rode the bikes, YZ250 and 2024 300SX, back to back on two separate occasions. The YZ is more playful, more abrupt power, etc, the 300 is the most luggable 2 stroke I’ve ever ridden. 300 is smooth, less vibration (except in feel in foot pegs), very linear power and allows much more roll on power. Suspension wise, if not electing to change to a spring fork, like a 6500 kit, the YZ is very noticeably better. The 300sx since has a 6500 kit installed because of this. Both bikes have their quirks handling, we find the yz has sharper turning. The ktm “feel” of the current generation is still similar in the 300, if you have ridden any of them. Up a tooth on the rear and adding a pipe has made the 300 more exciting but still not the same as the YZ. For someone who is play riding and not racing, our vote is on the 300sx, if your wanting to race your local series every other weekend, you may prefer the YZ or want to ride a 300 for yourself before making a decision. Good luck.

Saw the 300 and 450 that Munn is offering daily to clear out the 24 models. It also includes a really good % off on parts too thats included with the bikes.

Smoking deals and I am sure they will ship the bikes also. 

So much of this is subjective. I've owned a 2003 and 2009 YZ and just couldn't get along well with the bike. Specifically, I just couldn't get it set up to turn properly on the sand track that I usually ride. On the other hand, I thought the bike was excellent in the bush. With a flywheel weight on it I could torque it around easily and the handling felt just fine. With the last YZ, my other bike was a TM (that I still have) and after riding the YZ, I'd almost put myself over the bars when I went back to the TM and hit the brakes - the difference was huge. The clutch on the TM felt magically good compared to the YZ. The last KTM 2 stroke I owned was a 2016 250 SX (pre counter balancer). It's hard to compare that KTM to the YZ directly because I didn't own them at the same time so never rode them back to back. But as a general impression, I thought the YZ had better suspension and a bit easier to use power - that KTM was a rocket. I But I preferred the KTM chassis. That generation KTM chassis wasn't as good as the new ones, but I still found that the bike was just easier to put where I wanted it - It just plain cornered better. Could it be that the KTM has a larger margin of error in setup so that if you're clueless and don't set it up well, it still handles OK whereas the Yamaha has a narrower window and I just never found that sweet spot? Given how much others like the YZ, I'm inclined to think that the problem was with me more so than the bike. 

1 thing that I noticed the last probably 2 years now, is that locally in some of the Pro money classes where guys are running 2strokes, most of them are running YZ250s. And that is alongside their 450 which is not always a Yamaha. Not saying that means anything but I just happened to notice a bit of a resurgence lately on the YZ250 in our local racing, with the fast guys. I thought that was interesting. Granted, it doesn't really influence my decision much but I was just a little surprised.

I've said it before, but IMO YZ250 is by far the best dirtbike ever made. Stick with the YZ, use the money you are saving for not buying the 300 SX to buy VFORCE reeds and a decent aftermarket exhaust for your YZ and you are dialed brother.

The YZ is just too good out of the box, especially in regards to suspension. Endless parts and knowledge makes it a no brainier. If anything goes wrong it is easily pinpointed and fixed.

I was seriously considering the 300 before I bought my '23 YZ last year. All of the initial media reviews were so positive of it (which is annoyingly typical of any new model). As soon as I saw all the additional feedback piling up of ECU issues and it being locked I was out. Maybe in a few more years... 

I'm not buying a bike I potentially have to take back to the dealer to fix. Or pay $350 off the bat for a tune. Nothing on my YZ has been worked on outside of my garage.

I'm actually at the track for the weekend and was talking to a guy yesterday about his 300. The more we talked the more he started to voice some frustration with it. One being that it idles super low and no amount of turning the idle screw changes anything. It wants to die in every corner. It's stock and he's running 60:1 per the manual. "It'll be great once I get the Twisted tune done!"