RE:what would be better

[oldskool]

sorry not vmx related but ive been offered a 91 rm250 to swap for my 02 kx125.as i dont race just trail ride with my daughters just interested in what you people would think is the best out of these two bikes.you can see photos of the kx in show us your trail bike section it has a lot of good bits like sunline levers dep exhaust pwr radiator tallon rear hub stainless rear spokes pro taper fat bars.motor was rebuilt about 12 months ago by a bloke who builds motard race motors apart from exhaust dont know what else is done to the motor but it has emberrased many later model 4 stroke 250 mx bikes.with the rm ive seen photos of it and apart from knowing the expansion chamber is dented pretty badly and its a fairly tidy looking bike i know nothing about it.just honest opinions on what would be the best thing for general trail riding and a few rtcb rides as in handling and reliability.and the kx has also had a cast iron sleeve fitted so it can be rebored would 91 rm be cast sleeve or chrome bore?.thanx in advance.cheers gary

[Nathan S]

I'd keep the KX, if I was in your position.
Really, the RM's only advantage is the bigger motor - the KX will have better suspension, brakes, ergonomics and will be easier to get bits for. By the year 2000, the 125s were quite tractable, and generally pretty good for trailriding.
The other thing to remember is that the early 90s was when the manufacturers started speccing the bikes for supercross, and lots of them had super fast steering and stiff/harsh suspension that made them awful in the bush. If my memory is still working, Suzukis of that era had suspension that worked pretty well for average riders, but were prone to headshake.

The only times I could imagine the older bike to be the better option is if you're seriously heavy and/or if you do a lot of gnarly hillclimbs out in the bush.

[oldskool]

thanx nathan i quite like the kx to ride and it does give any 250 four stroke a good run its nice and light.never had it in top gear wide open yet and can still get it sideways in 5th at around 90k'swith no trouble .i was leaning towards keeping the kx just after some other opinions as i dont know that much about whats best.thanx again cheers gary

[AdamN]

Keep the KX, it's your's and you know all about it. If you swap you won't know what you'll be getting. If you like the KX, then to me it's a no brainer.

Adam

[Slakewell]

Buy a steathly flywheel for the KX and keep it.

[GMC]

Better the devil you know.
Mate had an RM 250 in the early nineties, maybe mid nineties.
It was like a sharp edged sword to ride, bloody quick but would bite you when you dropped your guard.
Swapping for another bike would involve lots of set up to get it to a state that you like, and I can’t see that being worthwhile for something that is 10 years older than what you already have.
If your going to swap for something in should be for something 5 years younger than what you have (or something 30 years old )

[oldskool]

thanx everyone im keepin the kx all the answers are what i was already thinkin.and i would rather stick it up some young fella on his late model 250 4 stroke on a 125 rather than a 250.also ive been asked by plenty of riders on 125 2 strokes if it is a 250 it suprises a lot of people.thanx again eveybody gary