Best Year YZ250

S1ick
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S1ick
I'm looking to build an early 2000's to mid 2000's yz250 2t but I'm having trouble coming up with the best year to base my build off, so I was wondering if I could get some pro's and con's on the bikes through out the years. I was actually looking around 2005 and 2006 as I've seen decent posts and reviews on these bikes in the past years. Thanks in advance.
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mattyhamz2
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mattyhamz2 5/8/2018 7:39am
5/8/2018 7:39am
Can't go wrong with either one of them. I have an 05 that I'm rebuilding. Biggest difference between 05 and 06 is the forks.
captmoto
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captmoto 5/8/2018 8:11am
5/8/2018 8:11am
I think I would look from 02 on up. I would look first at parts availability if you really intend to ride the bike.
mattyhamz2
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mattyhamz2 5/8/2018 8:37am
5/8/2018 8:37am
captmoto wrote:
I think I would look from 02 on up. I would look first at parts availability if you really intend to ride the bike.
I'd go 03 and up. 03 up uses the same cylinder and a bunch of other parts. 02 was a different cylinder, but not sure as to what was changed. 03 came with 46mm forks though and 04 came with 48's making the sss swap much easier if that's the route OP wants to go.
SmokinJoe439 5/8/2018 8:44am
5/8/2018 8:44am
06 is the same as the 18 the 06 got the sss forks and 18mm shock shaft and kashima coated shock body.

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S1ick
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S1ick 5/8/2018 8:55am
5/8/2018 8:55am
So have there been any major motor improvements within a certain year? I'm definitely looking for more of a better base of the bat, so what I'm hearing is I'm gonna want the sss forks even though I'll probably send them out. I'm just looking for reliability after the rebuild to be completely honest, and from what I've seen so far the after market support is best from 06 and up, would I be correct?
H4L
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H4L 5/8/2018 9:23am
5/8/2018 9:23am
You will get different opinions on this. Have owned a few YZ's & the 04 model was the one I liked the most due to the steel frame. I didn't like the AF chassis on the 05 + bikes due to how they vibrated. Even though the chassis was suppose to have the same dimensions (from steel to AF) I felt the 02 & 04 steely bikes owned handled better in comparison.
kyle-vick
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kyle-vick 5/8/2018 9:26am
5/8/2018 9:26am Edited Date/Time 5/8/2018 9:27am
Go 06+ for sure, if you can. Best to just start with the SSS stuff and everything else minus the bodywork is the same on the new ones.
H4L
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H4L 5/8/2018 9:36am
5/8/2018 9:36am
S1ick wrote:
So have there been any major motor improvements within a certain year? I'm definitely looking for more of a better base of the bat, so what...
So have there been any major motor improvements within a certain year? I'm definitely looking for more of a better base of the bat, so what I'm hearing is I'm gonna want the sss forks even though I'll probably send them out. I'm just looking for reliability after the rebuild to be completely honest, and from what I've seen so far the after market support is best from 06 and up, would I be correct?
The 99 model yr. if I recall was the 1st yr. of the current engine design with 02+ pretty much being the same with minor oem port changes. Have owned a couple of 04 + KYB AOSS suspension & Enzo - FC have good valve specs.. IMHO those components are just as good with a revalve as the SSS for the average Joe.. Yamaha did a good job with marketing the SSS KYB & also had very good oem valve specs from the showroom floor.
Zesiger 112
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Zesiger 112 5/8/2018 9:52am
5/8/2018 9:52am
02+ same basic bike design, frame geometry, engine...
05 aluminum frame
06 sss suspension
07 1-1/8 removable bar mounts? Maybe 06
08 new lighter brakes, different fork lugs
11 global spec head and silencer
2015 new plastics, new triple clamps, and new fork
2017 bigger front brake.
TrailDigger 5/8/2018 2:35pm
5/8/2018 2:35pm
Anything 02 plus is good. There have been minor porting differences, but they aren’t noticeable to the average user I’m sure.

Everything interchanges from 02 to current, minus the swingarm, frame, and maybe subframe.

Parts are plenty.
S1ick
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S1ick 5/10/2018 5:04am
5/10/2018 5:04am
Thank you Guys for the input, Hopefully by the end of the summer I will be starting on a build!

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