The YZ250 head is a two-stroke combustion-chamber cap — no valves, seats, or guides. It seals the top of the cylinder and carries the squish band, the coolant jacket, and a central spark-plug bore. The defining feature of this engine is its long stroke. Since 1999 the YZ250 has run a 66.4mm bore and a 72mm stroke for 249cc, after earlier 68 × 68mm (247cc) and 70 × 64mm air-cooled versions. The long-stroke layout lowers the redline a little and trades a bit of top-end for much stronger low- and mid-rpm torque. That torque character is exactly why squish and chamber shape matter: get them right and the engine pulls hard off the bottom without detonating; get them wrong and you lose the YZ250's best trait. We cut squish to your piston, base-gasket stack, and fuel. Our motorcycle cylinder head program covers the YZ250 across its engine families, including the post-2011 global-spec head.
| Specification | Standard Value |
| Engine Platform | Yamaha YZ250 motocross two-stroke. YZ250X off-road variant supported — specify model and year in RFQ. |
| Engine Type | 2-stroke, single cylinder, reed-valve induction (reed block integral to the cylinder), liquid-cooled, YPVS power valve |
| Displacement | 249cc (1999-onward long-stroke). 247cc on earlier 68 × 68mm engines. |
| Bore × Stroke | 66.4mm × 72mm (1999-onward). Earlier: 68 × 68mm (247cc) and 70 × 64mm (early air-cooled). Confirm year — chamber bore differs. |
| Head Type | Two-stroke combustion-chamber head — no valvetrain. Single central spark-plug bore, integrated squish band and coolant jacket. |
| Construction Options | Solid billet head, or modular two-part head with a swappable chamber insert for ratio changes. Gravity-cast version offered where unit cost is the priority. |
| Material | 6061-T6 billet as standard — its higher thermal conductivity pulls chamber heat faster on a hard-run 250. A356-T6 cast for economy tiers; 7075 supplied on request. |
| Squish Clearance | Cut to your piston deck height and base-gasket stack. A tighter, piston-matched squish recovers the bottom/mid torque this long-stroke engine is built for. |
| Compression Options | Chamber volume set to your ratio. Medium profile for smoother, higher-revving MX; high profile for maximum bottom/mid grunt; race-fuel and altitude profiles on request. |
| Global-Spec Note | The post-2011 global-spec head runs different squish/chamber detail from pre-2011 heads. Many builders prefer a re-profiled chamber for MX. Specify your preference. |
| Cooling | Generous coolant jacket sized for sustained MX heat load. The modular two-part design routes more coolant around the chamber wall. |
| Sealing | Billet heads seal on O-rings (supplied with the head plus copper washers); cast designs use a head gasket. |
| Deck/Sealing Flatness | ≤ 0.02mm (CMM verified on every unit) |
| Supply Options | Finished billet head, cast blank, or modular head with selectable chamber insert. Private-label engraving available. |
| Surface Finish | As-machined, bead-blasted, or anodized (black/blue/custom) on request |