littel advice.... first dirtbike wanted

[black]

Lookign to pick up my first dirtbike ever
I have a xr650r motard
Now want to do some trail riding. pit riding etc
Not sure where to start looking in terms of sixe, 2 or 4 stroke price etc.

General direction / bike reccomendation would be appreciated.


thanks in advance

[gmdboston]

Lookign to pick up my first dirtbike ever
I have a xr650r motard
Now want to do some trail riding. pit riding etc
Not sure where to start looking in terms of sixe, 2 or 4 stroke price etc.

General direction / bike reccomendation would be appreciated.


thanks in advance

Two most important qualities, in order
1) When sitting on the bike you should be flat footed and knees bent.
2) Easy to start, electric is nice for this.

Don't buy any thing that needs work. Good bikes can be had for $1200-1800. Don't buy a fixer-upper, you loose you shirt.

Some good examples:

Honda CRF 230
Kawasaki KLX 250
Yamaha TTR 225

[OreoGaborio]

Hey dude, sorry I didn't reply to your PM, I forgot all about it.... This thread will get ya better advice than I can give anyway

I'm w/ Pete on this one... If you're gonna be riding WOODS you'll be better off on a WOODS bike.

With that said, I rode woods AND MotoX on my '02 KX250 (2 stroke) and it just fine.
In fact, it might even be up for sale soon once I clean the jets & get it running minty fresh again I'd be looking to get around $1800 OBO for it but NESR price would be closer to $1500. (comes with a LOT of spares & extra goodies)

Lemme know if you're interested.

BikePics - oreogaborio's 2002 Kawasaki KX 250 Home Page on BikePics.Com

[black]

hmm the KX.....
Read a few things on that .. said it's got some wicked pull on the woods and such... not the right bike for a beginner.. but they didn't state what a beginner is... beginner biker period or dirtbiker? thoughts?

[R1]

anything 2 smoke will put a smile on your face every time it starts and will almost force you to be a more aggressive rider due to plug fouling.....

If you want to constantly be on the throttle moving at a decent pace through trails or the open areas, which by the way is nothing crazy just high revs you will be very pleased with any 2 smoke you buy.

I love em and will never buy an offroad 4 stroke, motard maybe, but trails and dirtybikes 2 smokes all day.

[OreoGaborio]

hmm the KX.....
Read a few things on that .. said it's got some wicked pull on the woods and such... not the right bike for a beginner.. but they didn't state what a beginner is... beginner biker period or dirtbiker? thoughts?

Well, it was my first dirt bike

It's a bit of a hand full... MotoX suspension & chassis, lotta power, yeah... but it's a pretty linear power curve compared to a 125 motocrosser.
Tons o fun... really don't wanna sell it, might change my mind once I get it running again as long as my wrist can take the beating.

[BMFR6]

Two things:

1. Pete after I just sold my SV, I don't need to see that 250 for sale, mm kay. Thanks.

2. A 250 2 stroke is by far not going to be your best choice for a first dirt bike. While it can be done (as Pete demonstrated), I think it may be a bit more frustrating to learn on. Physically, being on a dirt bike is very demanding and the 250 is not going to give you room to get lazy. The response is almost sickening to the point it makes the throttle response on my R6 seem like a CB 200.

But as was mentioned, it will put a smile on your face.

[OreoGaborio]

Heh, yeah it was tricky... but doable for an experienced street rider that has the basic concepts down.

[R1]

yes a 250 is a bit much for a first bike but its not as bad as you'd think. it will take some getting used to and you will preferably like a wide open area to get used to the throttle response and power delivery, but its not shit your pants power, its more i wet myself a little power.

now 500's on the other hand.

test the waters ride a couple see how you like it, and fit has almost nothing to do with your decision. if that were the case some of the best riders i know would still be on 80's. i was on a 125 back when i had to stand on a cinder block to start it.

id say start with someone you know who has one before you dive in.

I have a yz 250 if you'd like to take it for a rip.... I have a wide open area for you to get some seat time in. but i am gone this weekend.....

If you can wait til next week ill set you up and you can see what you think. unfortunately i dont have the 125 running or you could get a feel for both, but if you are at all interested let me know and we can set something up.

[Oreotsi]

hey oreo... would you be interested in selling it before you fix it? I'm looking for a new dirtbike to mess around on, my trusty KDX is getting a little old for me.

And to contribute to the thread, I really enjoy Kawasaki's KDX, very good usable power and is an awesome woods bike. Only bad thing is they haven't cahnged the design in since like 1998 i think, and have stopped making them as of 06 or 07 i'm pretty sure.

[BMFR6]

[QUOTE=Oreotsi;569803]hey oreo... would you be interested in selling it before you fix it? [QUOTE]

good question. I'll give you $100 right now for it Pete.

[SSearchVT]

If everything else you own is a four stroke - you might want to consider grabbing a nice 250 4 stroke. They can be had fairly cheap.

If you want to add another gas can to the garage (weedwhackers and chainsaws run great on expensive premix) look around for a KDX200ish bike. They played with the displacement a few times. KTM makes some good 2 stroke woods bikes - but they seem to be geared a little more for competition out of the box then the KDX is.

A 250cc MX bike will be a handlfull for a first dirtbike.

[OreoGaborio]

Mark & 'tsi, sorry but Black already claimed "dibbs".

[BMFR6]

okay, okay, I'll throw in another $10 if you forget about his "dibbs." That's $110 total.



Black, enjoy the bike. Sure you don't find many ring dingers in competitive motorcross anymore, but they are ffuuuunnnn! you'll see. be safe.

[gmdboston]

will almost force you to be a more aggressive rider due to plug fouling.....

False, a properly tuned two stroke will idle all day. 250 cc 2T is a better beginner bike that a 125 2T. More torque and more forgiving.

[R1]

False, a properly tuned two stroke will idle all day. 250 cc 2T is a better beginner bike that a 125 2T. More torque and more forgiving.

well then throw me into the never had a properly tuned bike group. I have always had fouling issues whenever i spent the day goofing off...

granted i only have about 2 hours total on my yz cuz the stupid surgery.

[mycirus]

My 250 chugs all day long with no problems. Must be properly tuned.....

[TTD]

Not sure of your size, but this bike is working great for both my wife and myself for everything from road to fire roads to snotty trails.

It's not going to handle MX jumps, but otherwise it is very easy to ride.

Being street legal out of the box is nice too.

KLX™250S

[black]

yup i saw that klx
online.. more pricey than the kx250 though about 1400$ more

what about a
rm 250
xr 200
cr 250
yz
wr
crf
dr
not sure what all the monikers mean some are more "tame" some more "mx" and some dual purpose like xr obviously

[TTD]

Personally, I would narrow down groups like this:

Do you want it to be street legal? (benefit being you can link up trails and depending where you live, ride to the trails right from your house)

If so, that limits your options right there.

Then... are you doing casual trails, offroad racing, or MotoCross? That will further limit your choices.

The KLX250 I showed you above and the KX250 are only similar in that they are motorcycles. They couldn't be further from eachother in capability and intended usage.

yup i saw that klx
online.. more pricey than the kx250 though about 1400$ more

what about a
rm 250
xr 200
cr 250
yz
wr
crf
dr
not sure what all the monikers mean some are more "tame" some more "mx" and some dual purpose like xr obviously

[markbvt]

Do you want it to be street legal? (benefit being you can link up trails and depending where you live, ride to the trails right from your house)

Good point.

Here in Vermont, for example, there are no trails that are legal to ride except on private property, with the land owner's consent (obviously). On the other hand, there are many miles of Class 4 roads that often make for challenging riding, but require a plated bike. So around here it makes a lot of sense to have a dual-sport.

That XR650R you've got is a great bike. Why not just pick up a set of dirt wheels and knobbies for it?

Alternatively, you'd do pretty well with a Suzuki DR-Z400, the new Yamaha WR250R, or something like a Honda XR400R with a dual-sport kit.

--mark

[SSearchVT]

yup i saw that klx
online.. more pricey than the kx250 though about 1400$ more

what about a
rm 250
xr 200
cr 250
yz
wr
crf
dr
not sure what all the monikers mean some are more "tame" some more "mx" and some dual purpose like xr obviously

rm 250 - 2 stroke Suzuki MX bike, 4 stroke if it is an RM-Z
xr 200 - 4 stroke Honda woods bike (older designation)
cr 250 - 2 stroke Honda MX bike
yz - 2 stroke Yamaha MX bike
wr - 2 stroke Yamaha woods bike based on the YZ
crf - 4 stroke Honda could be a woods bike (ends in x), MX bike (ends in r), or fun bike (ends in f)
dr - 4 stroke Suzuki woods bike or dual purpose

[black]

I do have rims for dirt for the XR... right now its sitting due to a stator issue/carb issue grrrrrrr and its dual sported but poroabbaly way to heavy to be lifting etc over and over.. adn the carb tends to get flooded real fast, unless i buy a pumper carb which is 400$ i dotn want to spend

as for what i want out of a bike... trails primarily... not looking ro racing or such ...yet i guess?
dotn need a dual sport as i have the xr but its heavy..

No trails near my house... i guess boston commons woudl be the nearest greenery near me in cambridge

I really dont want anything too screaming fast a a 250 cc 2 stroke would be max
And nothing to to heavy as i'd get tired of picking it up.

So a 4 stroke 250 woudl be similar in power to a 4 stroke 450 or so? correct? in general

[Gilly1331]

I love my Yami TTR 125....its not to small and yet not to big, but then again I'm also very tiny...5'2'' and barely pushing 110lbs on a good day. Has some good power and yet you can have fun with it too once you feel confident with climbing crap out there. I've beat the crap out of it too...Im one of those dirty riders that if there is water or mud out there on the trail I make sure to hit every puddle and dive right on into the mud with it...hasnt given up on me yet, stays running strong through it all.

[x2468]

my vote is on a 250 2-stroke. they're cheap to buy. cheap to fix. light. powerful and tons of fun. can;t go wrong with them. i've had too. a 95 kx250 was my first bike and now i have an 03 yz250 that i love. both were great.