The Ultimate Budget Hare Scramble Build: 2010 YZ250
The 2010 YZ250 that will be the base of this budget build.
These days, everyone seems to be jumping in on the European bike market for their hare scramble/trail bike of choice. At over $12,000 for a lot of the new bikes off of the showroom floor, these machines can be a bit out of reach for the general population. Don’t get me wrong, the new European bikes are off road weapons. I personally chose to throw down the cash on two brand new 2023 KTM 300XC bikes for my rental fleet because I am thoroughly impressed by KTM’s 2 stroke TBI technology. However, when it came to building a bike that I could bring to the races with the GRIT Racing Division or take to hit the trails with the boys, dropping over a dozen big ones did not sound enticing for a bike that might see the ground up close more than a time or two…
So, I took to the internet to weigh out my bike options. I knew I wanted a 2-stroke with some power and reliability, but I wasn’t really wanting a bike that hit hard up high without the ability to do some lugging down low. I figured a mid-2000’s 250cc 2-stroke would fit the bill. My top contenders were the YZ250, CR250, RM250, and the KTM 250/300 XC-W (or equivalent). After diving into forums, looking at FB Marketplace prices (boy to I miss the old Craigslist days), watching review videos, and talking to some local shops, I decided the Why Zedd 250 was the way to go.
From the information I was able to drum up without actually riding each of these bikes, the YZ stood out as the bike that would help me accomplish my goals. Although the CR250 is a very impressive bike with many racing accolades, it seemed as though taming the power band down to be more polite on trails would be a much more challenging endeavor than it would be with the YZ. The RM250 fell into a similar story as the CR, but it is notable that the suspension on the older RM’s seems to have gained the yellow bikes a cult following. I’m hoping in the future I can hit the trail with someone who has built one of these bikes to feel the comparison, because the forum writers make it sound like a very intriguing ride. The KTM’s are obviously very popular trail/hare scramble bikes for a reason, but that comes at a cost. Literally. The cost to buy a decent used bike and the cost of parts to fix those bikes is what made me decide to go a different direction. Don’t get me wrong, the prices aren’t terrible. I know fellow orange bike fans are grumbling right now that the price isn’t so much that it should be a major factor in bike selection. Of course there’s always the old saying “You get what you pay for”, which is totally true. KTM makes an awesome bike. But just hold on and I’ll explain my YZ selection.
I wanted to build a bike that I felt my fellow “average” riders might be able to see themselves building some day. My “standout” achievements are that I myself am a very average rider. When someone says a trail is “technical” I know there is a 50/50 chance that I will have to turn around. My last race I competed in the Open C class and finished 15th out of 33 riders. So if this sounds like it might be similar to your capabilities (or someone you know), this build is for YOU.
A photo of myself racing the Open C class at the 2023 Webe Racing Grand Junction round.
I chose the YZ250 due to a few factors: reliability, power delivery, cost, parts availability, and recommendation. The reliability of the YZ250 2-stroke platform is undeniable. There’s a reason why the engineers over at Yamaha have stuck with an “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” mentality since 1999. The motor in the newest YZ250 rolling off of the assembly line is *essentially* the same motor that was in the bike back in ‘99. What that means is a plethora of parts availability in both the OEM and aftermarket space, as well as a whole back log of repair and build information on the ole’ interwebs.
The power delivery factor comes from the idea that people already feel generally comfortable taking these stock motors out on trails, which means the baseline for comfortable power delivery is already pretty good. With such a strong history of people modifying these machines, there is plenty of information on what to do to achieve the kind of ride you want. Heck, even Yamaha came out with the YZ250X model which is simply a YZ250 with some tasteful adjustments that make it the trail bike most people were building. My plan is to replace the absolutely destroyed stock pipe that is currently on the bike with an FMF Gnarly pipe that is designed to help give these 2-strokes a little bit more power down low. That’ll get paired with the FMF Turbinecore silencer so that I can make sure the bike is legally spark arrested, which will keep me from getting arrested (or more likely just fined, but you never know what kind of mood the green pants might be in that day..). I’m also planning to install a flywheel weight, which helps keep up the centrifugal force of the engine while riding through those slower speed technical sections. This makes it much easier to keep the bike running in those low RPM crawling situations. I know there are a lot of other parts available to achieve a smoothed out power band, such as messing with the compression of the engine. That might be something that I dive into down the road, but since this is a budget build for my fellow “average” riders I want to stick to the more simple and budget friendly items first.
The cost to buy, maintain, and upgrade these bikes is another big factor in why I went with the YZ platform. I picked this bike up, running, for $2,700. That’s a pretty good price here in Colorado. When I showed up to test ride it the bike started second kick from being cold which is an awesome sign when it comes to buying used bikes. It does have leaks, a pipe that looks like it sat out in the worst hail storm known to man, and could use a new set of shoes. However, overall the bike is a great starting point for a build. If I was to try and find a KTM in a similar state as this YZ, I would most likely have to dish out another $1K or more to take it home. Parts for the YZ250 are also readily available due to the fact that this bike’s design really hasn’t changed since ‘06. Maintenance information is readily available on forums and YouTube, as well as plenty of diagnosis tips from previous YZ owning generations. OEM parts are still pretty easily available and there are gobs of aftermarket parts within reach.
The YZ250 came highly recommended from my friends over at Highland Cycles here in Montrose, CO. The owner Morgan and his family have a rich history of riding blue bikes. Morgan has been a Yamaha fan for quite a while. His sons ride and race on a YZ125 and a YZ250. Both boys have done really well in our local hare scramble series, Webe Racing. Morgan’s oldest son, Thomas, has moved through the C and B classes, and is now moving up to the A class on his YZ250. When I spoke to Morgan about trying to get a bike for this build, he was happy to tell me about the success they’ve had on their YZ platforms. He also said that he’d be happy to share their carb settings as well as other information they’ve learned over the years.
So all in all, I’m very excited to get started on this build. I think this is going to be a great learning experience for me as I put this bike together and make adjustments as I go along. Here is my current build list in order of priority. Keep in mind that all I have done with the bike so far is unload it out of the truck and into the garage. That being said, I’m sure this list is going to grow. This is just the starting point:
High Priority:
FMF Gnarly pipe
FMF Turbinecore silencer
Tusk black rims, to convert the rear to an 18” wheel
Front and rear spokes
Front rotor (current rotor is warped)
Wrap around hand guards
Front and rear tire
Flywheel weight
Skid plate
Acerbis oversized tank
Carburetor re-jet
Wheel bearings
Medium Priority:
V Force reeds
Nitromousse bibs front and rear
Tusk top end kit
Bottom end rebuild kit
Low Priority:
New plastics
Some sweet custom graphics
Again, these are just my initial thoughts on the build. Of course, I will be doing the standard maintenance items like running the carb through my ultrasonic cleaner, replacing the spark plug, changing the transmission fluid, replacing fuel lines, and picking up a couple of extra air filters to keep nice and oiled. I’ll be writing more blog posts as this build progresses as well as creating some videos to post on the GRIT Motorsports Network YouTube Channel. Follow along on our Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube to get updates as this build rolls along! Feel free to send me a message on any of those platforms and comment with any questions/thoughts you may have. Thanks for reading!
