Freeride FR 250R V FR 250F Shoot out Review

This video compares the 2 stroke 2014 Freeride against the 4 stroke 2018 Freeride. Having owned the 2014 Freeride since new and being one of the few early adopter owners stumbling through the modification and maintenance journey across the globe in the early years, I feel I know this unique bike intimately enough to compare it against what is the upgraded, revised and improved albiet 4 stroke model.
The FR250R 2014 Freeride, 1 owner since new, mainly ridden in pine forest, is TWEAKED for local friendly competition events, has stiffer fork springs and 90mm airgap. Lighter clutch springs for a lighter clutch pull, Scotts Damper, S/S front caliper pistons, motomaster oversized floating rotor. Thinner base gasket. Brembo brake and motomaster rear rotor. 8psi in the michelin tyres. 60:1 fuel mix. 12:48 final drive.
It pulls in 4th gear all day long across the rev range with no engine braking when throttle off.
The FR250R has clocked up over 450 hours running time, on its 3rd piston, 5th battery (4x LiPo4), 4th starter motor, 3rd bendix, 4th set of crown gear bushes, 6th set of rear brake pads, 4th set of front pads, 3rd set of clutch fibres and 2nd set of steel clutch plates. 5th spark plug, 2nd water pump impellor and 2nd sprocket seal.
The FR250F 2018 is STOCK plus mapping/traction switch. It has clocked up 6 hours running time since new. Old worn out 2014 plastics have replaced the new ones. The only extras are 3D printed engine protection and Motomaster rear brake caliper. 11:48 final drive.
It pulls in 3rd gear but has some engine braking when throttle off. The clutch feel is light which makes free wheeling easy when you don't want the engine braking. 4th gear has very little pull unless clutch is constantly teased to increase the revs. The engine braking makes it feel more grounded than the 250R so it tends to fall into the whoops if you throttle off. Suspension settings have been left in the middle of the clicker range until the Xplors have run in.
The 250R 2T EXC motor makes the R more explosive than the F, the 2T motor is a proven performer. It is simple to work on and easier to modify to get more power.
The rolling 4th gear power makes it slightly quicker than the 250F in flowing bush trails and with less engine braking and a snappier power can skip easier over natural trail whoops.
On the FR250F more balls are required to intentionally ride faster over natural whoops as the bike has a tendency to drop into them because of the engine braking.
The 2018 250F has improvements to suspension/stiffness/balance/brakes and this all adds up to make it easy and a pleasure to ride. One day a custom single pipe will be readily available and the secret of how to crack open the locked ECU will be shared, when this happens the bottled up 26hp 250 EXC-F motor will be uncorked and it will unleash 34hp of controlled power without major engine work or issues.
In this regard the FR 250F has more potential than the FR 250R.
KTM #Freeride 250R, KTM Freeride 250F, Yamaha YZ250FX #FR250
Shot with #GoPro #MAX360 #Hypersmooth 2 Auto Level Horizon

[@rajkirannatarajan9276]

I ride a 250r. Very impressive bike. Such a tractor with the Maxxis TrialMaxx tires. I had no prior dirt bike experience and with this bike I can magically zoom up near-vertical 8 foot high ledges. I’ve never fallen off this bike either. And when the bike drops, I can pick it up with one hand lol Too bad the 2T version has been discontinued in North America.

[@timbrandt7211]

Looks like fun! So no Smart carb or exhaust mods? I’m about to pick up a minty 2014 but had seen an aftermarket header and the carbie.

[@tomaszbielak7719]

You have unrestricted map in your ecu in 250f? Have you removed just the foam prefilter or fully open the airbox by removing also the plastic , transparent cover?

[@BeltraKTM]

Hello, where you found lighter clutch springs?

[@adventure4me]

Hi, will you share the secret of how to crack open the locked ECU yet?

[@xxxvr]

I haven't put any time into researching this yet

[@tomasqtomas]

Hi, nice video. I have a 2014 KTM Freeride 250R in a very good condition and a friend is selling me a 2020 KTM Freeride 250F almost new with full extras, does it worth to spend money making this change?

[@xxxvr]

Absolutely yes. The 250F is everything the 250R should be (Putting the 2 stroke versus 4 stroke argument aside). I do not miss the extensive maintenance periods put into keeping the 250R 2T alive. The 250F is so user friendly and is a bike you can ride, wash and park and forget until your next ride. Of course, you still have to clean the air filter after every ride but quiet time doing an easy maintenance task while bonding with your bike is a good thing right. The 250F is truly a fun bike without the angst the 250R creates riding in the bush with an uncooperative cranky starter and then in the workshop repairing bits too often. The 250R is a great bike to ride don't get me wrong but the time invested to keep it alive is a burden happily put to the annals of history.

[@oscarvegamartinez5664]

Que modelo de amortiguador de dirección lleva la 2 tiempos

[@JavierPerezLamadrid]

@xxxvr could you share the blueprints for any 3D printing protections you have for the 250F? Or the Ali express links? I'm having trouble finding parts that fit my bike, many times they're not even listed. Thanks Javier

[@xxxvr]

okay give me your email or Facebook details and I will PM you

[@danic.8786]

I have ride FR 250R and FR 350 and I can say that the first one is funnier and more powerfull for what it is build. Rear Brake and Starter Motor have its issues in both bikes.

[@xxxvr]

I've clocked 40 hours on the 250F now and am pretty happy with it.

[@danic.8786]

@@xxxvr Is it worthy to install de Moto Master Caliper? thanks for your answer

[@xxxvr]

@@danic.8786 Yes, I thoroughly recommend the MotoMaster calliper. An easy 'set and forget' instal. Only once on a scorching hot day going down a long steep hill did I feel the brakes fade. By only dribbling some water from my CamelBak onto the rotor brought them back to full power. The local store had a clearance on the brake pads, they are a common pad across many older bikes, so I bought five sets for $35, thinking I might chew through them. But I am still on the original set! The MotoMaster is a much much easier and cheaper solution to carry out than the Brembo retrofit, which I have done before. The quality is excellent, and I feel it has better-stopping power.

[@senseikdx]

Hi I have a freeride 2019freeride 250f , I would like to have 2 radiator corner caps , what to do Thaks john

[@xxxvr]

Hi John, If you were local I would give you some. Although they work well enough protecting the rads from silly drops I have put on a set of old alloy ones that I had spare and they replace the plastic louvres. The alloy ones I got shipped from a bloke in Australia who made a batch of them for Freeride enthusiast in his free time at his metal fabricating shop. He used a waterjet to cut the guards out of alloy plate. This was a while back so he probably won't have any left. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

[@JavierPerezLamadrid]

@@xxxvr could you share the blueprints for any 3D printing protections you have for the 250F? Or the Ali express links? I'm having trouble finding parts that fit my bike, many times they're not even listed. Thanks Francisco

[@MoodSwingZX]

250F i 4T? and 250R is 2T?

[@punkrockdidi]

Yes

[@StringTone-t6v]

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[@StringTone-t6v]

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[@StringTone-t6v]

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