Good cheap dirt bikes

[Tekime]

I'm getting the itch to ride some real trails and thinking about trading/selling my GS500F for something.

What do you guys recommend for a solid, reliable, fairly light 125-250cc in the $1,000-$1,500 or so range? Could I get myself on something solid? My DR is huge, I want something small I can throw around, easy to work on, etc.

What would you get with a $1k or $1,500 budget? Used obviously.

I weigh 130lbs 5' 10" FYI

[Imbeek]

For 1500 you can definitely find a well cared for used 2 stroke. Smuttys old '06 KTM 125 has been sold on here a few times
for right around that price!
If you are patient enough to wait and find one already set up for a lightweight woods rider, suspension and accessory wise, it will make it much, much easier for you to ride in the woods and you won't blow your budget on springing it for your weight and revalving for woods. Accessories you will want for woods riding, like bark busters, skid plates, rotor and radiator guards, etc, add up too, but already set up, good, used woods bikes are out there if you are patient. If you can manage save up another 500 and get to the 2,000 range, many more good dirtbikes will be within reach, that won't need a ton of maintenance right off the bat, too. In my experience, dirt bikes that only are worth $1,000 to buy are often more expensive in the long run...

[carsick]

ride some real trails
solid, reliable, fairly light 125-250cc
$1,000-$1,500 or so range
I want something small I can throw around
easy to work on
I weigh 130lbs 5' 10"

First things first- budget for gear too. You NEED good boots!

Avoid MX bikes if you're focused on trail riding. The power delivery, gearing, and suspension are not enjoyable at slower speeds over rough terrain.

Try hard to find a well cared for one even though it may cost a bit more. Suspension bearings (take a beating on dirt bikes), chain and sprockets, fork seals, cables, levers, brake pads, clutches, carb rejetting, plastics, top ends (god forbid a bottom end/transmission problem) and tires add up quickly.

I got an '03 KDX220R, and it checks all those boxes except "small". 60 pounds lighter than your DR, easy to ride, easy to start, low first gear for creeping through the gnarly stuff, soft springs with lots of travel. I lowered the rear with longer KLX250 dogbones, and raised the forks in the triples to help get a foot down because 28" inseam. I've put probably a dozen people with no dirt experience on it and they all had fun.

Also other options I've not owned- XR200R, CRF230F, and maybe the CRF150F if you really want small.

[Garandman]

Used Honda CRF110F are $1,200 to $1,500. Not street legal.

[csmutty]

If you think the dr350 is huge I would be looking for a klx125, ttr125, drz125, crf150, klx140, etc. Those can be had easily for your budget and are much lighter and smaller yet will be able to fit your height.

[theducman]

Yamaha XT 225

[Kurlon]

If you think the dr350 is huge I would be looking for a klx125, ttr125, drz125, crf150, klx140, etc. Those can be had easily for your budget and are much lighter and smaller yet will be able to fit your height.

I'd love to sell you my TT-R125LE. It's in your budget, has an upgraded front end, is smaller than your DR, perfect right? 31" seat height to your current 35", 198lbs wet compared to 285lbs dry... electric start, Maine is a no-title state for this size machine so you can even street reg it if you wanna, it's all looking good!

I'm 5'10", 155lbs, I rode it quite a bit. Before I rode it my wife, again 5'10" rode it on trails, etc. Unless you've got really goofy proportions going on I think you'll find the cockpit on this and similar machines too small over any real distance. That said, I want the money, and you're not far from me...

[csmutty]

I forgot about Josh's bike...

Buy that. Seriously. Best bang for your buck you're going to find. Period.

[typeone]

+1. grab Josh's TT-R. done.

[nhbubba]

The DR350 is on par with my DRZ400; feels light and flickable on dirt roads, but does a jekyll and hyde trick on trails.


I'd think the KDX200/220 would be right about what you're looking for, maybe a bit heavy, but probably worth it.
I've ridden the XR250 and liked it as well. Simple air cooled lug isn't powerful, but is easy to own. Kick only sucks on a 4-stroke though.

My general advice is that all noobs want e-start unless the bike is super easy to kick over. Small displacement 2-strokes are easy to kick over. 250cc MX bikes are not and should be avoided. 19484 year old air-cooled Honda 250's are somewhere in between.

2-strokes are big fun. Valves are super easy to maintain too.

You're in maine? Should be able to get almost anything you want and at least get a plate on it thanks to their <300cc title rules.

Juuust outside of your price range, but arguably worth it : http://www.nestreetriders.com/forum/...0-a-88107.html

I adore my 200 XC.

[loudbeard]

KDX

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[Petorius]

Ride a 2 stroke before you decide. There is something about the instantaneous throttle response that is just stupid fun. The throttle BEGS to be twisted, you will find yourself launching off every little rock/drop/root/rodent you can find. They feel much more 'alive' than other machines.

And a plated KDX can be had in that price range, if you are patient.

[Tekime]

Cool, knew you guys could school me.

Thinking strictly dirt, I intend to get the DR street legal. DR is a bit heavy but mostly just super tall, hence wanting a little dirty toy to throw around in the woods.

I'd love to sell you my TT-R125LE. It's in your budget, has an upgraded front end, is smaller than your DR, perfect right? 31" seat height to your current 35", 198lbs wet compared to 285lbs dry... electric start, Maine is a no-title state for this size machine so you can even street reg it if you wanna, it's all looking good!

I'm 5'10", 155lbs, I rode it quite a bit. Before I rode it my wife, again 5'10" rode it on trails, etc. Unless you've got really goofy proportions going on I think you'll find the cockpit on this and similar machines too small over any real distance. That said, I want the money, and you're not far from me...

Seen a few of these for a good price, yours TT-R amazing but would definitely need some dirty tires.

Need to sell the GS before buying anything though (bike in my profile pic), or do a trade.

Checking out some of the other suggestions here... never been on a 2-stroke but admit that brap is tantalizing...

[Tekime]

The DR350 is on par with my DRZ400; feels light and flickable on dirt roads, but does a jekyll and hyde trick on trails.


I'd think the KDX200/220 would be right about what you're looking for, maybe a bit heavy, but probably worth it.
I've ridden the XR250 and liked it as well. Simple air cooled lug isn't powerful, but is easy to own. Kick only sucks on a 4-stroke though.

My general advice is that all noobs want e-start unless the bike is super easy to kick over. Small displacement 2-strokes are easy to kick over. 250cc MX bikes are not and should be avoided. 19484 year old air-cooled Honda 250's are somewhere in between.

2-strokes are big fun. Valves are super easy to maintain too.

You're in maine? Should be able to get almost anything you want and at least get a plate on it thanks to their <300cc title rules.

Juuust outside of your price range, but arguably worth it : http://www.nestreetriders.com/forum/...0-a-88107.html

I adore my 200 XC.

I'm fine with a kick, the DR definitely makes you work for it but my right leg would not mind e-start

[Kurlon]

Seen a few of these for a good price, yours TT-R amazing but would definitely need some dirty tires.

Good news! I have a rear knobbie for it. Looks like a front will run $33 to $40?

I can second the two stroke suggestion, love my insect repelling trumpets of doom.

[breakdirt916]

5' 10 130lbs you're lighter than me!!!

Then anything mentioned above is fine...just search CL everyday for the lowest hour bike

Josh straight shooter...even when he's like to sell you his bike, he still recommends a smoker

For years I've read that a MX bike with hand guards and a flywheel weight does great in the woods but I dunno...I think low end and a wide ratio transmission would make things easier...most of the little Honda bikes so it well (crf250...150) and the ktm's will do it, but carry a premium to get there

[Imbeek]

For years I've read that a MX bike with hand guards and a flywheel weight does great in the woods but I dunno.

They do, as long as the spring rates and valving are right for the rider, and they have decent skid plates and other guards mentioned above. That's why the majority of hundreds of bikes you will see at a JDAY GP or sprint enduro...both of which are primarily gnarly woods...are just that. You'd be hard pressed to find more than ten xr, ttr, dr, drz, it, pe, klx, etc, combined.

At only 130 pounds, I honestly don't know if a 250 two stroke mx bike (which, before I get flamed, he asked about in his initial post!) like a '96 cr250 or similar would be too much for you to kick over and ride...but since you are 5'10, the bikes are light, the power can be tamed and is easier in most people's opinion to ride in the woods than a 125 (and they kick over pretty easy in my book, but more importantly, they fucking start first or second kick when kicked over), I wouldn't rule them out until you try one. Part of the reason it'd be good not to rule them out is because there are a TON available in good shape, already set up, with plentiful parts support. A large percentage of the many woods riders I know, of all shapes and sizes, ride 250 mx bikes in the woods as their first choice. The ones that don't are often on 250 (or 150 or 200 or 300) 2 stroke woods bikes, which really aren't all that much different than the mx bikes are. I'm talking for gnarly woods by experienced riders, which actually has similar desired features from a bike as easier woods for less experienced riders. Hardly any, with woods as the main focus, choose 450 four strokes, 125 two strokes, or the (sorry to offend) watered down heavier bikes that are made with an eye towards street legality, low initial cost, beginner/kid riders, or desert racing.

So again, not trying to argue with anyone or insult anyone's bikes or whatever, and I'm fine with it if you end up riding an 80 or a 450 in the woods...just saying that sometimes it's easier to follow the crowd; the crowd is on 250ish two strokes, and I don't think you are knee jerk automatically too small for one at 5'10 130. I don't think you'd be getting looped off, and the argument for that big a motor isn't for more top end; it's for more tractable, sustainable, low rpm riding, while maintaining low weight, low used purchase cost, low maintenance cost, and decent resale value. 20 years old is fine, if in good shape and properly set up, and that's what you might get for 1,000 to 1,500. I paid 2500 for my dirt bike, a 2009 KTM250xc, and that was a very good deal IMO. If the budget is lower, the TOP LEVEL (cr, yz, rm, Etc) dirt bikes made by the big manufacturers 20 years ago were pretty damn good, technology wise. If they are tight, they are still pretty damn good for the woods. And cheap.

[typeone]

^ yup . 100% ^

the DR being "huge" is what's derailing this. you can start on a 4T shorty but it won't last long if you dig true off-road riding in New England.

[csmutty]

^ yup . 100% ^

the DR being "huge" is what's derailing this. you can start on a 4T shorty but it won't last long if you dig true off-road riding in New England.

Yeah that's why I voted for a 125 4 stroke. If the dr was huge then a kdx will be too.

- - - Updated - - -

^ yup . 100% ^

the DR being "huge" is what's derailing this. you can start on a 4T shorty but it won't last long if you dig true off-road riding in New England.

Yeah that's why I voted for a 125 4 stroke. If the dr was huge then a kdx will be too.

[breakdirt916]

@imbeek - to go fast as you can with the most power and suspension, then yes...250 smoker mx the way

But the OP's goal is just to have fun and throw around a smaller bike.

Plus imho, it's a lot of work. I have a mid 90's smoker and I had to work twice as hard and really thrash on the clutch to ride trails or rocky uphill banked single track compared to riding an 04ish WR450F...xr200...crf230..etc. which were couches with a low COG

[Tekime]

This thread has been a big help so far.

The DR is huge for what I want - less enduro, more lightweight & cheap trail fun, DR is just too tall and heavy for tight trails.

I've narrowed it down to about... 16 bikes lol. Going to depend on what deals are out there but open to 125-250 range, maybe a sweet older YZ/CRF if it's in good shape, or a newer TT-R or something. Probably leaning toward a 4-stroke as I'm in a more populated area, seems a bit less.... friendly lol. An affordable, newer 4-stroke 125 is sounding pretty good

Honestly if it can wheelie and not be a money pit I'll probably be happy

[myzx6]

Being the exact same size and build as you 5'10 or so 130ish lbs, I can speak from experience that size wise you won't have a problem with any of the 250 2t's. I've road a lot of different size and style bikes since I first fired up my 86 yz 80 a little over 20 years ago. A few things I haven't seen mentioned yet. If you stick to a smaller bike, the smaller wheels make rocks, logs and ruts which u are sure to find plenty of in New England, more of an obstacle. The larger bikes will roll over stuff better. Someone said early that the 2 strokes have an instant kick on the throttle but I'd politely disagree, a 2stoke is more like driving something with a turbo where it does have one hell of a kick but there's a window where it kicks and you have to hold the throttle open a little bit before the power really comes on, now on the other hand the modern 4 stokes have zero hesitation, the power is always there ready to rip your arms off and send you dragging behind the bike front wheel straight-up into the nearest tree. After riding for a while and I start getting arm pump I find modern 4 strokes a lot harder to control the throttle. i agree with the suggestion of a 20 year old mx bike a 125 will get the job done but has no power out of its power band where as a 250 has much more lower end power.

[Paul_E_D]

The most fun I have on a bike these days is on my girlfriends crf150. I shit you not. It is waaaaay more fun to flog the ever living hell out of a playbike than it is to teeter around on a bike that is too tall, too powerful, and to finicky for the intended use.

I'm not trail riding it, but I have ridden it flat track, TT, ice, and even at my MX track and had a blast in each venue. I think I could likely negotiate tougher terrain on it in the woods than my ktm25xcf.

I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but less is ALWAYS more.

[aldend123]

I'm noob-ish in the dirt, and I'm surprised how many love MX-like bikes for the woods. But it does seem like most of the fast guys ride those. I find the suspension too harsh, steering a bit twitchy. Not as broad on the power, and more prone to stall down low. And MX or woods bike, I think I would have had a bad time on a 250 2T. The power is a lot of fun, but trying to learn in the tighter stuff I feel like it's just too much.

I didn't really like the first couple rides on my TTR250 (I believe similar in many ways to your DR350). The weight was killing me, and while it wasn't tall, it wasn't short either. The wide comfortable seat made it feel even taller. But after a few rides, getting stuck less, dropping less, learning how to find better footing, it stopped sucking and became fun. I think I'm just starting to want something a little better but I still really like it for what I do with it. I guess my point is - can you grow in to the DR350? It feels huge now, but you can get past that.

[Tekime]

I guess my biggest problem with the DR is that it's torn to pieces in my shed.

The kickstarter spring ripped off and stripped the oil pump driven gear, so I decided to do a complete rebuild and split the case to make sure there was no metal floating around. Only damage was to the oil gear so far as I can tell, and that's replaced. But now I'm eyeballs deep in a full rebuild, repainted it all, AND I'm halfway to a full street kit. So my goal with the DR is to make it street legal so I can take it on some moto camping trips, it might be a while before I get around to finishing it up, and I don't want to whomp the life out of it with blinkers & mirrors on her.

It's manageable but I'm definitely liking the idea of a little TTR or maybe CRF150 (not a lot of those on the CL though, but WOW there are gobs of ttr's for cheap so I'm liking that idea).

I've never had a small bike either, the DR is the smallest in my "fleet".

Kinda keeping an eye out for a cheap TTR80 to play with and maybe, just maybe get my kid interested in someday?