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So I've been on the hunt for a second bike for most of the season. No real reason why as I think my Speed Triple is the most fun you can have with your clothes on. I decided on a Bonneville, bought it, and my ex's dumbass brother promptly high sided it into a curb at 10 mph after swearing he knew how to ride. (This is another topic for another thread.) As it turns out, probably the best thing that could have happened to that bike, at least as far as I'm concerned. I was actually about to "invest" money and cafe the damn thing. Well I paid ~$8100 out the door for the bike. Got ~$4300 from dummy's insurance company, fixed nothing, brought it to Bettencourt's and got $4000 for trade on a new DR-Z 400 dual sport. Great deal for me.
Well I brought it up to Jay's place this past Saturday and thrashed on it a bit....on the stock Trailwing's. Well it kept up pretty will. Obviously Jay's TC250 could smoke me at any time not to mention his skills are certainly at a higher level, but the DR-Z did nicely. The problem is now I really have a dirty itch. I think I made a mistake getting a dual sport and should have just picked up a purpose built machine. That's the problem with dual anything, they do two things decently, but neither thing very well.
I started looking at mods to make the DR-Z a better trail bike, then I started crunching numbers on what it would cost to do so. A spare set of wheels, rotors, hubs, +2 rear sprocket, and dirt tires is going to cost close to a grand. Springs for my weight (230 pounds) and a few other desirable items have me approaching $1500. For those that know my tendency to go full retard know it probably doesn't stop there....but for the sake of the argument, lets say it does.
So here's the argument: Pay the stupid tax, trade it in for a real dirt machine. I spoke with Jesse at Bettencourt's, here's the basic numbers. Trade in book value is about $4k. Retail is around $5500. Checked the numbers he quoted me with NADA and he's being straight forward with me. He said since I *just* bought the bike and would be returning my business there, he'd be "willing" to give me $5k for the bike. For comparison's sake, I paid $6700 out the door. So what we're talking about is my losing about $1700 but ending up with a bike I'll be much happier with.
So here are the options, and mostly what I'm looking for opinions on. Feel free to rub in my being a dumbass with your answers.
* Go for a new CRF250R
Pros: Right sized bike for my skill level, no previous owner history to worry about.
Cons: It costs me more of my money money.
* Swap them for a 2010 YZF450
Pros: No money out of pocket (other than what I've already wasted,) would never out grow it
Cons: Previous owner history, probably a bit too much bike for my skill level
So would you recommend a new dirt rider going straight to a 450? I do realize that it's a lot of bike. I'm a pretty experienced street rider, I have a 150 horse triple that's a wheelie, stopie, burnout monster and I handle it well. I wouldn't say the power of the 450 scares me, but I am worried it would hinder my development as a rider. Btw, the 2010 450 is a fuel injected bike and is more or less the same bike as a new one.
So bring on the thoughts, opinions, and facts. Flame away at my foolishness. Suggestions on other dirt machines, keep in mind one of the biggest reasons to swap is to drop 90 pounds on the machine and have a much better suspension.
Edit: Forgot to say, the bike will see a lot of woods riding, but will definitely be getting into so MX as well.