JGR-Upgraded – 2015 Yamaha YZ250F

In Japan, Off-Road, Race by Tim HuberLeave a Comment

JGRMX builds professional factory level parts and bikes for anyone willing to shell out the immense amount that it costs to have the absolute very best in motocross-machinery. Joe Jackson Gibbs served as the head coach for the Washington Redskins from ’81-’92, and then again from ’04-’07 prior to starting “Joe Gibbs Racing” (or JGR) as a NASCAR effort, first competing in a professional-level stock-car series in ’91. In 2008, Gibbs and his son Coy – who manages JGRMX – kicked off the previously four-team’s MX endeavor. Over the years, JGRMX has developed some of the finest MX race parts on earth, and in more recent years has been offering its entire array of professional racing components for sale to the public along with fully-built bikes that for all intents and purposes are factory race-level machines.

For most of MX-history, a very very select number of riders would ever get the privilege of tossing a leg over a factory racing bike. KTM eventually saw that the entire aftermarket performance modification industry was entirely made up of individual aftermarket parts companies – most of which specialized in specific areas and none of which offered full-factory bikes – and there was a demand for elite factory-level machines that nobody was really serving. The Austrian company stepped in with its ‘Factory Services Department’ and was making good money producing factory-spec bikes for the public market. JGR – who had just gotten settled into MX – took notice of this, eventually leading to JGRMX parts and JGR-built bikes being available to the public too, also for a steep price. Complete JGR race packages cost well over the bike’s entire MSRP.

Manufacturer factory MXers are obviously thoroughly developed machines created by some of the very best in the industry, but JGR already had a way of doing things at its North Carolina headquarters. After the recession in 2008, the motorcycle industry took a major hit and Yamaha would end up pulling the plug on its dedicated factory AMA effort and instead support a number of officially appointed operations, one of which was JGRMX. The JGRMX team had already proven itself in competition, and thanks to Joe Gibbs applying strategies frequently utilized in NASCAR R&D, JGRMX was able to build some world-class bikes and experience success in AMA racing.

Gibbs’ approach is pretty scientific in nature and it uses dedicated cutting-edge departments that are all invested entirely in one individual area. There is ample pro-grade testing involved but after getting individual areas dialed in, the important final step is getting each one of these ultra-high-performance parts to work together in synergy. After all, it the entire machine as a whole that matters, the best suspension in the world won’t win races if the rest of the bike is a total dud. This has led to JGR attracting some of the biggest names in the sport to its MX team. James Stewart opted to ink a contract with JGR for a reason: the bikes – made up of a collection of top-notch racing parts developed in-house – are objectively amazing.

While this particular example is not a full-on JGRMX factory level machine, it does have a full JGR-spec engine with JGR-built head and JE piston. The bone-stock 2015 YZ250F reportedly makes 40hp, as where this upgraded example now makes a claimed 47-48hp (at 15,100 rpm). This 2015 quarter-liter Yammy has also been decked out with a Carrillo rod, Mika handlebars, brand new plastics, Vortex adjustable computer, and an FMF 4.1 titanium full exhaust system. The current owner purchased the bike from a friend who had only put around six hours on it. The owner also claims the entire bike has only about 30 hours on it. This machine was professionally built at Triangle Cycles in Virginia and is pretty much just as clean as it was on the day it left the shop.

Considering the 2015 YZ450F carried an MSRP of $7,490, this JGR-upgraded two-year-old low-mileage example isn’t a bad deal. Last summer, MX aficionado Jeff Crutcher (from “Inside Track”) wrote a short piece about his experience getting to pilot a full-on JGR-built and prepped YZ250F – that was entirely made up of JGR parts and according to rumors is worth about $35K – around a private track and he does a great job conveying why the bike is so special.

You can find this JGR-upgraded 2015 Yamaha YZ250F for sale here on Craigslist in northern New Jersey with a price of $5,100.