PRO CIRCUIT YZ250

PRO CIRCUIT YZ250

Wayne Christoffersen usually gets the ugly jobs. He hasn?t been around as long as Ron, Wolf or Lumpy, so while they go off testing the latest, lightest and trickest bikes, Wayne gets stuck with doing stories like “Inside the wonderful world of heat treating,” and riding the bikes that get left over.
Well, that was going to change. When the 2002 YZ250 arrived, Wayne jumped on it, yelling “Mine, mine!” and growling like an angry pit bull. Ron backed off. Even Lump was concerned. Wayne then threw the bike in the back of his truck and disappeared in the direction of Corona, where he gave it to Pro Circuit. “Give it the works,” he said, and then he went back to his heat treating stories.
About a month later, the bike was done. Feeling liberated, Wayne headed south to pick it up, but stopped at the new Saddleback park along the way. Ron and Lumpy were there, he remembered, testing David Vuillemin?s works YZ250. “It?ll be good to know how my new YZ compares to the works version,” he thought.
Three hours later, Wayne was on the way to the hospital with a badly broken leg. Vuillemin?s bike was hard hitting and fast. A natural-born leg breaker. Naturally, the Pro Circuit YZ250 found its way into Ron?s garage. There?s a moral to the story, but darned if we know what it is.

#PRO CIRCUIT MOTOR
If you walk into Pro Circuit with your motor and say “make it fast,” this is what you get. The head and cylinder are modified for $290. The cases are split and matched for $370. A Vertex piston is $111. In the end you get a bike that needs race gas, but wouldn?t be out of place in a supercross main.

ARC LEVERS
This is the product that changed Wayne?s life before his crash. Never in the history of Dirt Bike editors has someone gone through so many levers so quickly. That all stopped when Wayne got his first pair of ARC levers. The ARCs are unbreakable because they simply bend backwards and spring back. Price: $69.95. Phone: (800) 204-7411.

CLAMPS
Wayne is six-foot three. If normal riders complain about Yamahas being too cramped, you can imagine the problem he has. Pro Circuit?s top and bottom clamps can be purchased together or separately. They allow you to adjust the bike to your size with a variety of different bar mount locations. Top: $163. Bottom: $175. The bar mount kit is $85.

HINSON CLUTCH
Virtually every pro motocrosser has a Hinson clutch basket in his bike. The basket fingers are tough and won?t notch, making for a smoother, longer-lasting clutch. The pressure plate and inner hub are absolutely true and won?t warp. Basket: $225. Inner hub: #$285. Pressure plate: $175.

FORK
You can spend as much as you want on front suspension. But if the YZ250 has a weak point, that?s it. Basic valving will cost $175. The KYB works kit makes the Yamaha fork into something that Pros could use. That costs an additional $178. New springs (if necessary for your weight and level) cost $95. P.C.?s fork caps are $134.

P.C. WORKS PIPE & SHORTY SILENCER
Pro Circuit?s pipe and silencer complement the port job. They also provide gains for the stock motor, particularly on top. Pipe price: $198.50. Silencer: $112.50.

SHOCK
Yamaha?s rear suspension is probably a notch higher than the front. But any bike can benefit from personalized suspension. Bones Bacon at Pro Circuit will revalve the shock to your specs for $150. A new bladder cap is $34.95. If you need a new spring, it?s $95.

A RIDE IN WAYNE?S WORLD
Dealing in stolen motocrossers.

So what became of the Wayne-o-crosser? We all ride it, and tell him how good it works. Wayne just reclines his hospital bed and presses the morphine button repeatedly. Here?s the weird thing; even though the YZ was designed for Wayne?s off-the-bell-curve dimensions (6’3′, 210 pounds), everyone loves the bike. Admittedly, Dirt Bike has the tallest/largest magazine staff on the face of the planet (Ron, Lump and Wolf average over six feet tall and well over 200 pounds). But just for the heck of it, we stuck Doug Dubach on the bike. Doug is still Yamaha?s number one test rider and he still weighs about 140 pounds.
“The motor?s great,” reported Doug. “It has instant-on. Right from the point that you first crack the throttle, it jumps forward. You can even get a little unintended acceleration if you aren?t ready. You have to learn to be very careful with the throttle. It makes great midrange, but on top, it might not rev out quite as high as the stocker. You would have to ride both bikes back to back to really notice.” That?s high praise from Doug, who normally subscribes to the stock-is-best school of thought.
As for the suspension, it wasn?t really Doug?s cup of tea. Even though you would think that a 210-pound novice and a 140-pound pro might take similar settings, that?s just not the case. Ron, on the other hand, was fine with Wayne?s #settings. Here?s the point: suspension has to be set up for you. Yamaha does a fine job of guessing who “you” are, but if you plan on racing, you have to get your bike a little more closely dialed-in to your weight and riding ability.
So for now, Ron is taking good care of Wayne?s new bike. Every weekend he dutifully takes it out of the garage and takes it for a run, just as if he were entrusted with a beloved pet.
So when Wayne gets out of his cast in eight or nine months, it will be well-broken in and ready. That?s the least that Ron could do for his downed comrade.