Can you Race a $1,000 Dirt Bike?

Is it possible to race a ratty old motocross bike that we bought for £1000 against modern, state of the art machines? Let's find out! This 2004 Yamaha YZ250F might well be the cheapest dirt bike in the country, and it's definitely in need of some tender loving care. In this video we attempt to revive this old thumper, we test to see if it starts and how it rides before we throw it in at the deep end and line it up next to 39 well maintained, modern race machines. Wish us luck! Our aim here is to show you guys that it is possible to go racing, even on the tightest of budgets....
A big thanks goes to Luton and District Motorcycle club - / lutonmx
Sean you're a legend for agreeing to do this one mate!
Shoot me a message on Insta if you're interested in owning The Piglet - / 999lazer
A big shoutout goes to our channel sponsors for helping to make these videos possible!
For all your motorcycle Oil, lubricants, cleaning products and more check out Putoline: bit.ly/PutolineUK
These are the products used in this video - www.putoline.c...
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And be sure to check them out on social media and thank them for helping make these videos possible! - / putoline
We use Putoline MX9 in our 2 Stroke bikes :-)
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@PutolineOil @24MXofficial
And also a big thanks to O'NEAL for always helping us to enjoy the ride: oneal.com

[@Liam_G_CM72]

This bike should 100% become a new build series “can we make this £1000 bike faster then a modern mx bike?” Sounds look a good watch to me

[@AndrewKohler-ip3oy]

I’d watch this whole episode for shre

[@geared4423]

100%

[@vashon100]

than vs then

[@MikeonBikes]

Only goes to show that motorcycle racing is 90% rider, 10% bike.

[@j8n330]

I guess.. i mean the bike needs to be decent enuf to finish a race.. id say more like 60/40 or 75/25. Lol

[@999lazer]

I agree 100%, only ss long as the bike can survive the day though! lol Thanks for watching Mike :-D

[@ogasi1798]

always was this way and always will be, i keep telling people

[@ColoradoKeith]

Hell yea! I race a 2004 300 exc. Still rips!

[@MotoAddictx]

Yessir

[@MMKnight_1]

Nah. You guys gotta save it. That's an old but gold legend

[@Skis878]

lord pls 🙏

[@scottgoddard3497]

Na the 05 was the one to hold on too. Out of the 2

[@Skis878]

@@scottgoddard3497 they are basically the same bike, 04 and 05 have same engine and frame with slightly different cosmetic differences.

[@scottgoddard3497]

@Skis878 no they updated the suspension and it was much better , along with the brakes

[@scottgoddard3497]

@Skis878 also the frame was different as the oil intake was directly into the engine and not carried through the frame. There were alot of differences between 04 and 05

[@haywire05]

Save her! The price of new bikes is killing the sport. Older used bikes keep the sport alive.

[@coffelt683]

Pretty much any mx bike from the past 20-25 years is modern enough to have fun on and not be too much less capable than your friends who might have newer bikes.

[@jth_printed_designs]

Yep, as long as it’s 2000 or newer you can do just fine

[@TH3_T3RM1N4T0R]

​@@jth_printed_designsshit, I have a 1999 KX250... So I guess I can't race that.😂

[@dr.hugog.hackenbush9443]

Yes! You very much can! After putting some money into it to freshen it up. I went racing with my '96 CR500 that I bought from a fellow soldier fo $2500, then got the suspension serviced, Gold Valved & resprung for $500, added an oversize front brake and pads for $125 and fresh tires & tubes ($220 total) . So for a total investment of almost $3400, I had a race ready machine tailored to my riding style.

[@999lazer]

awesome that must have been the bargain of the century :) what year did you buy that?

[@dr.hugog.hackenbush9443]

I got it in '06. He had bought it with his enlistment bonus, but never rode it before he was deployed. I had just come back from deployment and was getting ready to go home. When I got home, I drove over to his state and bought it. It still had the fuzzies on the tires, but had obviously been in storage for a while. Bought it, brought it home, cleaned it and was riding that evening.

[@jasonschwartz9481]

​@@dr.hugog.hackenbush9443that's awesome. Although, I think the $1000 idea goes out the door when you start putting money into it. That said, you can definitely find deals and put some elbow grease into a bike vs buying "new"

[@very.rare_rex]

i love that the last owner was running n riding the bike with the airbox cover on probably sold it cheap cause it ran “weird”😂

[@999lazer]

that made our day when we found that :)

[@lukekmichael]

I still have a 2004 Yamaha YZ250f with only about 12 hours on it. I love it just never get to ride it much due to deployments. Its a great bike, but it doesn't handle like my RM 125. Love this video. You are a gifted announcer and should be calling AMA Supercross.

[@999lazer]

Thanks for watching Luke :)

[@kevinmee3501]

A fantastic video Max, what a bargain for a grand , Sean rode like a hero, it's true twenty year old bike , suspension and braking improvement usually year on year , but rider skill a big part of it , thanks again for quality videos Max.

[@999lazer]

Thanks Kevin, it was a fun one to make :)

[@christopherprisco8690]

Rebuild the Piglet! She ain't ready for the moto in the sky!

[@patrickhackett3878]

When I was racing, I rode a 3 year old Husqvarna, just because it never broke. And it was cheap. Still, I managed a number 6 pro overall at the end of the year, on a bike that was outdated, heavy and slow. Not to mention it's rider. Another great video, Max!

[@999lazer]

haha that's awesome. Thanks for watching Patrick :)

[@bwxmoto]

"I don't want to look at it anymore, because the more I look at it, the more I see!" Cracked me up.😆

[@watkinsrgv]

This is proper brilliant entertainment. The poor piglet getting a roast, It held its head high.

[@siraff4461]

Save the bike. Not because it deserves it but because with a suspension overhaul and gearbox build it could make someone a very nice first mx bike. Maybe raffle it off or something?

[@gstar5956]

giveaway for sure. This is all the rage and has been for awhile now. Good on someone to get a bike and good on max for making money through merch

[@marktavcar567]

The old YZ did real well, another great video

[@999lazer]

Thanks Mark

[@kelevra558]

My best friend Chris in high school rode this exact bike. He raced 250 expert and i raced 450 expert on the '04 yz 450. The things he did on that motorcycle were absolutely unbelievable. I saw him drag handlebar scrubbing the big hill at Steadmx. And do it every lap hitting the same exact marks. So i forget what video it is. In it Josh Grant when he was still on the yz250f bails coming up short on a big landing to landing double in the freestyle pit of my local track outside of Reno, Nevada. He just slid down the landing on his ass. We were there that day. My buddy Chris, with an engine WE built in his garage did a no footed can over it first try. Just greased it in Josh Grants face. I swear to god this is a true story im not bullshitting any of you. It brought back so many memories when i heard it fire up in the garage. We left the stock muffler can and tip on it just had an fmf core and packing. So the guys in the pits wouldn't think twice to report your illegal ass engine if they see stock exhaust.

[@motoxmainia]

Fair play to Sean for the stellar effort,Exellent upload as always lads. I recon its time we saw Max race one of the 500s in the fleet

[@999lazer]

Thanks for watching as always dude. Sean did a mega job as always :-) My race day come back is pending ;-D

[@henryhaar5935]

Cool! Brings back great memories!! I had the yzf250 2001 and later the 4 speed 450 2004! An animal it was!!!

[@999lazer]

thanks for watching Henry :)

[@joelatkinson2080]

Great ride Sean!!! Rescue the Piglet!!! Rebuild it and get all the parts companies on board to donate the parts needed and make videos about all the work to restore the bike. Once it's completed raffle it off for 10 pounds a ticket. I think it would make great content.

[@5tr41ghtGuy]

Sean did an outstanding job riding piglet - charging hard and keeping it on 2 wheels the whole time: Bravo! Thanks for this entertaining video :-)

[@999lazer]

Our pleasure! Thanks for watching :)

[@StEvE-w2o]

My first ever bike was a 04 KXF 250, that I paid £1000 for, and my first race on that was also at toddington. What a coincidence! Great video as always max.

[@999lazer]

haha awesome, thanks for watching Steve :)

[@jakegriffiths9520]

True story but this bike was the exact same bike my father had all those years ago with the exact same exhaust truly one of the kind golden gems of Motocross bikes 😍😍👍 remember it like it was yesterday good times

[@999lazer]

awesome, thanks for watching Jake :)

[@3rror_unknown_user]

So it’s not a $1000 bike lol 😂

[@motoxmainia]

Fair play to Sean for the sellar effort,exllent upload as always guys .I recon its time max threw a leg over one of the 500s in the fleet and do a race 👍💪💪

[@999lazer]

it's on the cards :)

[@danielcarroll5667]

Sean is 100% bad ass and one hell of a good sport too !

[@chrishipwell9116]

I’m giving Sean a nickname: Scoobs. As in Scooby-Do. Cuz he’ll do anything for a scooby snack apparently. Love that dude! And yes. Save that bike! Great vid. Love watching.

[@RobwithScoobyScooby]

Great to catch up with you guys at Toddington it was a fantastic day , Neville Bradshaw was insanely fast even with that smashed up leg, all the local legends gave a good account of themselves shame the meeting had to be pulled when it turned into a mudder but it happens and its better to be safe , Piglet did itself proud ! for sure , all your team did a brilliant job very friendly and professional , if you do get the chance come back for the Acu Vets first weekend of june some real characters inc ex GP stars giving it their all 👋👍

[@999lazer]

thanks for having us, it was an awesome day :)

[@richardjames4400]

One of the best vids for ages well done 👍

[@999lazer]

Thanks Richard:)

[@johnreynolds2055]

I love your honesty

[@caseyclayholcomb]

That was my first big bike at 14, $1,500 and garage kept by a vet. honestly the best bike i've ever had

[@Flynfish777crew]

@999Lazer Absolutely 👍🏁🤠 We have a 2004 Honda CRF250R that has sat in my shop for 15 years without being crunk since the owner broke his neck on it. We had to weld the bracket that holds the muffler on and put a ole rim on it that got cracked also in the crash, cleaned the carb and put new tires and air filter in it and raced it. It had no problem beating the new bikes!

[@DouglasR-jy4zr]

I used to love that bike great woods bike

[@rfiskillingussoftly6568]

In 2000ad I raced my 1983 cr250 on the Yamaha test track, and kicked the butts of the local team riders! I let a few of them ride it, they couldn't understand how I was so fast on the thing....lol! Nice try Sean! Great video Max!

[@999lazer]

Cheers :)

[@Big_Red_Wade]

You guys just keep pumping out the ripper videos, Another Awesome watch.

[@999lazer]

Thank you :)

[@mandrakejake]

You got a bargain on that bike Max

[@999lazer]

I know, i feel like it was a once in a lifetime find. We'll never find another bike that nice for the that kind of money. Thanks for watching dude :-D

[@Leland387]

I had that exact year before going to an 07yz250f those 04 bikes was ahead of there time really they were bulletproof while all other 4strokes had countless issues

[@999lazer]

nearly bullet proof...lol - Thanks for watching :)

[@Dyna-mite154]

Yzf and crf were on par tbh. Both are worlds above the kxf and rmz of that era

[@douglassloan6831]

As always a fantastic video. And bravo for wearing a Moto boot when starting it up for the first time. Those old 4 strokes can be leg breakers before you even put them into gear with the built up compression.

[@999lazer]

Thanks for watching Douglas :)

[@YouriCarma]

Much fun to see this from Sean's perspective😀

[@johnreynolds2055]

Sean is a legend

[@mikehudgens7007]

The " piglit " I love it !!!! I still have a 98 YZ400 that I yank out when feeling piggy ! I love racing it with the newer bikes - and to top it off we have a mini pig that lives in the house with us and his name is Big Al !!!!! He hangs out with our dogs etc very smart boy !!! What a great video I love the under dog ( pig ) lol tests !!! 999 you boys have out done yourselfs this time and we love it !!!! This weekend I will be racing my Beta RX300 and my factory edition KTM 450 - braaaaaaaaaaaaap keep up the incredible work and as usual cannot wait for your next video !!!!!

[@999lazer]

Haha cheers Mike. Love your comment :)

[@Schmuckatelli]

At 40 years old I bought the same bike a yzf250 as my first bike ... spent more on safety gear than I did my bike lol. But I can't wait to get good enough to race. I love it. Now having seen this I doubt it would take a lot of improvement as to where the bike is more of a limiting factor than I am.

[@jpconard]

I had an 07, these are good bikes.

[@jpconard]

The 07 had aluminum frame, titanium shock spring and foot pegs I think. They were the most durable 250f, but still valves would get tight, particularly intakes, but they lasted decently.

[@davidhinton808]

Very entertaining video, would be nice to see a follow up of what failed on the engine and the repair work involved to put it back on track.

[@geared4423]

I got a 2009 kx250f it shreds for £1400. Well over time I’ve put double into it but still handles perfect on track with all the new bikes.

[@petepedro350]

Nice! I had an 02!

[@ap6584]

Another excellent vid, thanks!

[@999lazer]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@speedygonzaled]

yooo this is the bike i got my ears perked when you said 2004 just need to get a rebuild kit and a bit of tlc

[@Sn0w1981]

1000 quid bike is the best way to go! By the time you get it going fast-ish, you know every nut and bolt!

[@robthomas3968]

Your brutal towards Shawn 😂 brilliant

[@999lazer]

Thanks Rob :)

[@alexguiver815]

@999Lazer you're missing something here; the part of the air filter that was covered by the wash cover is still clean. So if you put the wash cover to one side and sit down with a 4 pint milk bottle and some scissors you could make a similar cover for the rest of the filter element, then you could race the bike at at the weekend without having to do any air filter maintenance. Thank me later

[@999lazer]

haha why didn't we think of that :)

[@Hanky_Bannist8r]

This was great fun. I rode an 04 yz250f for a couple years it was a great bike. I'd like to see if with some maintenance and very modest upgrades can a 20 year old yz250F be competitive with a modern 4 stroke.

[@err4071]

Great video guys.

[@999lazer]

Thanks so much!

[@DAVE_WHITE]

you can race whatever the hell you can start!!!!!

[@kaidencallaghan7171]

Build it into something competitive.😊

[@jethroboorer2860]

Look at those lovely VMX steeds :)

[@neilr4867]

That airbox cover discovery was priceless 😆

[@999lazer]

haha, it made our day when we found that :)

[@Jamie87100]

Make this a series 👍

[@lanwickum]

I had a 2004 yz450. I kinda want another. No sure why. I hated the 4 speed. Maybe just to compare to a 2024 yz450.

[@RonI-qz2tz]

Way to go Mr. Smith

[@weesmokeythe2strokey352]

Mon the piglet! Put a cheap 2 stroke engine possibly a dt125 engine in it or keep it at a track as a statue to keep watch over the racers 😂 or see if the gearbox can be put right

[@roostfezza7563]

Thousand pound bike! Jeez those bikes were heavy!

[@uncleyetti9553]

I'm an old guy now(34) and some of my best racing years were on my '05 yz250f! The year right before Yamaha switched to aluminum frame haha. Damn, makes me sound old ha!

[@owengarnett1008]

I'm kind of amazed that it smoked it's gearbox before it dropped a valve.

[@DouglasR-jy4zr]

That's it im gonna buy another because of this video 😂

[@Skis878]

i still have mine

[@Eric--zs6um]

Sean going full ham mode turned Piglet into pork chops. Reeeeeee From Piglet to Hogzilla, build it. Kudos to 999 and Sean

[@999lazer]

haha cheers Eric :)

[@MegaAndyandyandy]

Thats a lot nicer then the 1980yz125g my old fat slow self races. Good stuff.

[@999lazer]

Haha We were very lucky to find such a nice bike for the price! Thanks for watching Andy :-)

[@travis10ist]

I like Neville Bradshaw and now Sean smith👍

[@martykath4427]

Decades ago I raced for fun on very second hand bikes purchased for a fraction of their new price . I did ok and had lots of fun. The best bike needs a decent rider to be ok. yet a good rider on an old reliable bike can get a result. He may have gotten a better result on a 90s 2 stroke 250.

[@americanauto8710]

thats such a great mod, if i cover my entire air filter it will always be clean

[@antejernify]

This feels brand new to me xD i rode a 1998 KX 250

[@stumpy200vetmx]

Hence the saying... "Win it or bin it" 😂😂🤦‍♂️

[@zakkordal2346]

Save it! Do a rebuild and refresh video and race it again!

[@arthurnanian3937]

I would love to see you rebuild the bike and suspension and race it again

[@jamierobert8316]

Awesome vid as always Max, but it's ££££££££ here mate 🇬🇧. Joking aside you make some of the very best motocross videos on KZbin. 🙌

[@999lazer]

Haha I talk in dollars sometimes so people don't get confused between ££'s and lbs lol Thanks for watching as always Jamie :-D

[@marvelaturraz5405]

Don't need to watch this to know the answer is YES. I started racing on a 1975 YZ80C. And that was in 1980 when the Honda CR80 first came out. My Yamaha had 4.5HP from factory. So my POS probably was putting out 3-3.5HP at the time. The CR80s bone stock put out 16.5HP!! I'd get about halfway down the start straight by the time most of the pack was entirely out of my view. But I never came in last place. Then I got a 1974? Yamaha MX100. Couldn't race that though. They didn't have a class for 100cc around me. Then I jumped to a 1982 YZ250. That bike forced me to learn how to work WITH the bike, since it was such a heavy monster. Point is: You learn to adapt with what you have. No excuses. I guarantee I could take an old POS and win on it, still today. As long as the suspension is semi-functional and it runs ok and the brakes work.

[@cullercoatstunneloflove4307]

Piglet must lives on!

[@ragnarironspear1791]

Brilliant video 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@999lazer]

Thank you! 👍

[@kxracer27]

Rebuild that MFer. Have the suspension, tranny and motor gone through and make him race it again. I can't believe you didn't think of this by the end of the video. Don't give up on it. You could literally make an entire video series off of this bike Max

[@stephenochipa989]

It would be a whole different game if we saw an actual 1000 dollar bike being portrayed here. That bike as it sits is still 1900-2500 around here. 1000 gets you a ticket to the early to mid 90s, and clapped out at that.

[@lgr1966]

You can't tell by just looking when he's riding what year the bike is! The bike would work great for an amature rider to see if they want to take the racing game seriously!

[@gstar5956]

Your buddy gave you a heck of a deal. That bike is realistically worth 2.5K lol. Nice to see it still going strong 2 decades later tho ahahaha

[@999lazer]

He really did din't he! He just wanted it gone and out the way, so we happily took it off his hands lol Thanks for watching dude

[@donbrashsux]

Go Piglet 🙏 she did so well 👍

[@Rktman129]

It’s honestly incredible that bike was entirely mechanically sound for a thousand bucks I mean it didn’t even burn oil. That’s crazy

[@pokebass1]

To be fair, I race a bike quite regularly that I only have about $1000 into. That being said, it's a vintage bike that I got for free. I've upgraded the dual shock suspension with a $700 pair of shocks, as well as some $150 and I added a $125 carburetor. All other expenses are just typical wear items that I don't count into prices of things. By the way, said bike is a 1981 Suzuki PE175.

[@lucascady4992]

Looked yesterday on my local Craigslist for a cheap 125 2 Stroke.. cheapest bike I found was a 1991 YZ125, they wanted $1800 USD! 😮 I'd give $1200 USD for that Piglet any day!! Nice score!

[@bengraham6672]

Lets see a BUDGET BUILD series! Rebuild it for £1500 and get it properly race ready!

[@matheson68]

great video, thanks

[@999lazer]

Thanks for watching Matheson :-D

[@justinsavs]

That bike looks pretty damn good for $1000. $1000 here gets me half a bike.

[@298CRE8]

For 1200 I got a running once carb stripped cleaned very clean wr 426 from Sussex shipped to West Midlands Road legal with sumos and mx wheels great bikes 🤣🫡 the first gen 250s450s etc are bargains for the performance..... God bless stay safe 🫡🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@purebloodheretic4682]

426 the Beast Bike 💪

[@studay1007]

Love it when you do vids like this!!

[@999lazer]

Cheers :) Appreciate your comment

[@Stonefly2112]

Best bike made its a complete kiving legend. You will always have parts for it and its the most affordable race bike for MX and off road that exists. Its been almost the bike same bike for 30+ years. Enjoy!

[@nate.hanlon]

an old stock dirtbike that runs well is just as good as a new bike if they run they run. idrk what they expected to happen 😂

[@Dennisthemenace40]

Sean gave it his all but sadly, it wasn’t enough. Maybe a $2,000 bike is in the future 🧐

[@jamesberner5248]

I remember that bikes handling being great back in the day

[@mattmanning9267]

Obviously Sean is a very good rider. I’d like to see a complete novice competing. I predict that any modern motocross bike would be too quick for them.

[@rienkhoek4169]

I dont think that would be safe. I am pretty sure they would do three laps for every lap i would do. And i do have a little bit of experience on sand/mut but have never done anything that resembles MX.

[@patrickkillilea5225]

Looks like a Ripper to me!

[@loni321]

So if you put 1.5k💵 to that bike,it would run another 20 years. Those yamahas are tough. Nice video 👍👍

[@999lazer]

I think you're probably right....get ready for the sequel in 2044! ;-D Thanks for watching Loni :-D

[@sean.d7171]

This was my life trying to race with old bikes they were always broken and missing race's when I was a kid. Made me frustrated and disappointed I couldn't afford to do what I loved while other kids had everything new and well maintained by their parents. My parents hated the sport they said it was to dangerous. Later in life I had money from owning a business and it was the best memory's of my life. My parents never made it to a race and I won lots of race's made me realize how much I means to support you kids in what they love even if you can put money into is just do your best to be there. If you can't afford a race bike buy the cheapest most reliable bike even a farm bike and your local club will see your determination people love that and help you. it's not embarrassing to have the worst bike its embarrassing to have the best bike and not appreciate it.

[@ironlungs1626]

Do another one of these videos on a 1996 yz125. They were absolute screamers. Not sure how much they go for where you are but in Australia you would find one running for 1,000 pounds

[@999lazer]

We've already talked about a sequel with a 2 stroke, i'll have a look into the 96 YZs. Thanks for the suggestion! :-D

[@jaime7890]

I think you should freshen it up with basic stuff. Maybe a service to the suspension. Then race it again and compare.

[@999lazer]

There are definitely a few things we could do to make the riding experience at the race a little more enjoyable! lol Thanks for watching Jaime