My VTR250 seems to be lacking power?

**BikingBrit** · 20th January 2016, 19:52

Hi guys,

I've had my 1998 VTR 250 for about half a year now and have mainly used it to commute to the city. However when I want to go out for a ride with the guys my VTR struggles to keep up. The main problem seems to be a lack of torque, it just has no power. My friend even has a VTR himself with twice the mileage and is completely falling apart, yet his has way more power and torque than mine. The only difference with my bike however is that it has had a twin exhaust system installed. Although it looks and sounds pretty damn mean, is my twin exhaust setup (as opposed to the stock single exhaust setup) making me lose power? Or could it be something else? Not only does it lack in power but it also seems to struggle once I hit 120kph.

Any help will be greatly appreciated

**nzspokes** · 20th January 2016, 20:00

How much do you weigh?

When was it last serviced?

Do you carry a heap of stuff?

**JimO** · 20th January 2016, 20:02

my boys had a 98 VTR went well ounds like yours has a problem

**BikingBrit** · 20th January 2016, 20:06

Originally Posted by nzspokes

How much do you weigh?

When was it last serviced?

Do you carry a heap of stuff?

I weigh 80kg and don't carry anything of significant weight so I don't think weight is the problem. My mates who both weigh 70kg have ridden it and have the same problem.

It was last serviced around 4 months ago and it really hasn't been ridden that much since.

**AllanB** · 20th January 2016, 20:09

Spark plugs, air filter check them both.

I presume your twin pipes are muffler to some degree and not just open pipes?

**BikingBrit** · 20th January 2016, 20:24

Originally Posted by AllanB

Spark plugs, air filter check them both.

I presume your twin pipes are muffler to some degree and not just open pipes?

Yeah they have mufflers, not straight open pipies

**FJRider** · 20th January 2016, 21:12

Originally Posted by BikingBrit

Hi guys,

I've had my 1998 VTR 250 for about half a year now and have mainly used it to commute to the city. However when I want to go out for a ride with the guys my VTR struggles to keep up. The main problem seems to be a lack of torque, it just has no power. My friend even has a VTR himself with twice the mileage and is completely falling apart, yet his has way more power and torque than mine. The only difference with my bike however is that it has had a twin exhaust system installed. Although it looks and sounds pretty damn mean, is my twin exhaust setup (as opposed to the stock single exhaust setup) making me lose power? Or could it be something else? Not only does it lack in power but it also seems to struggle once I hit 120kph.

Any help will be greatly appreciated

What cc bikes are the "other" guys riding ... ??

Torque and power are two entirely different things .... and you do only ride an 18 year old 250cc honda.

It is not wise to compare all 250's (even the same model/year) by mileage. Your model would have had a busy life pre-LAM's ... who can really say how it was ridden prior to your ownership. It only takes one owner to thrash it ...

Any change of exhaust systems on your bike should not alter it's performance to the degree of power loss you believe it is down.

What known engine work has your friends bike had .. ??

Aside from the bikes on the LAM's forbidden list ... most well worn 250's "struggle" after 120 km/hr.

Get/do a compression test ... the results will shed some light on the "issue" ...

Perhaps it's time for a bigger bike.

**BikingBrit** · 20th January 2016, 22:06

Originally Posted by FJRider

What cc bikes are the "other" guys riding ... ??

Torque and power are two entirely different things .... and you do only ride an 18 year old 250cc honda.

It is not wise to compare all 250's (even the same model/year) by mileage. Your model would have had a busy life pre-LAM's ... who can really say how it was ridden prior to your ownership. It only takes one owner to thrash it ...

Any change of exhaust systems on your bike should not alter it's performance to the degree of power loss you believe it is down.

What known engine work has your friends bike had .. ??

Aside from the bikes on the LAM's forbidden list ... most well worn 250's "struggle" after 120 km/hr.

Get/do a compression test ... the results will shed some light on the "issue" ...

Perhaps it's time for a bigger bike.

As I said, one of my friends rides the exact same bike. His has 80,000km on it whilst mine has 43,000km, and his has a lot more power and I struggle to keep up with him. My other friends also ride other 250's.

**Askor** · 20th January 2016, 22:50

Is it running on both cylinders? Easy way to tell is to see if the headers get hot at the same time when you start from cold

**BikingBrit** · 20th January 2016, 23:33

Originally Posted by Askor

Is it running on both cylinders? Easy way to tell is to see if the headers get hot at the same time when you start from cold

Well there's definitely combustion coming out of both exhausts but I'll check tomorrow to see if both headers reach the same temperature at the same time, great idea

thanks

**kiwi-on-wheels** · 21st January 2016, 06:14

Could also be time to change air filter and clean the carbs

**nzspokes** · 21st January 2016, 06:45

Originally Posted by BikingBrit

Well there's definitely combustion coming out of both exhausts but I'll check tomorrow to see if both headers reach the same temperature at the same time, great idea

thanks

Yes but if the 2 pipes are not connected then that could be where you are losing power.

**F5 Dave** · 21st January 2016, 21:13

Try put a 1mm washer under each needle to richen the mixture to see if it is better or worse. Often different exhausts require different mixture.

But clean filters service first.