I'm looking at getting either of these two bikes. both are in good condition and are really reasonable in price! I have only ever ridden a YZ125 and recently an old WR250 (both 2-stroke. I'm unsure on whether to stick to 2-stroke or shift to 4-s? I want to start racing in open motox races. Any advice would be great! p.s. I think i know what yzwoods is going to tell me.... *cough*yz250*cough*  

Not always. Depends what your doing with it, your ability. For me, I would go 4-stroke. My friend let me ride his yz250 and if I was a better rider and a bit younger thats the way I would go. Still might some day.  

Actually you will notice that i lean toward the 4 stroke if it's mainly racing you want it for. And the CR is a great bike.  

popj, just to let you know, you dont get younger as the years go on. LOl jk buddy.  

like sov says............you don't stop riding because you get old........you get old because you stop riding  

yzwoods that was more of a joke but okay.. seriously tho could anyone give me a straight answer? I'm 22, 6ft and 90kg  

Mate, depending on the type of racing, jumps ect. You would suit a 4 stroke. I no from a friend that the YZ250 or YZ250f are good bikes. As alsways ur preference is the most important. IF you like 2's go with them. But 4's do suit that style of racing  

If it were me, I would go YZ250 over the 03 CRF450. the yamaha was solid all around, but the honda had cranky handling and a mellow engine.  

177's right the yz250 is a very solid package. the older crf450s pushed in corners and i would be leary of a 5yr old 4stroke engine no matter what the bike looks like  

Well Iv owned a yz250 and it would take any 450 but if you have only riden 2 strokes then why switch? Why would you want to be like everyone else? The 450 will have a much better resale value though. your choice  

The 03 CRF450 had some handling issues related to the triple clamp offset. They claim to have fixed this in 04'. I have an 04' CRF450R, and I can attest while the handling is good, it's still a little slow turning, it handles well enough with just a little push, but it's not confidence inspiring.

If your thing is riding wide open through deep whoops, the CRF is a charm, very stable and easy to handle through the rough, just be prepared for the turn at the end of the rough stuff.  

Thanks guys, really appreciated! the handling issue worries me on the CR. I'm going to have one last look at it this morning before i make a decision but I reckon I'm going to stick to the YZ250... The guy let me take it for a test ride and it was unbelievable! Will let you know how it goes P.S. the shot for the pic MJP68, yours looks in great condition.  

keep us posted.  

I'm officially the proud owner of 2003 YZ250 Fetching it tomorrow, cant wait! thanks for all your imput, really helped