Going to the dark side

[DaSarge]

Hey guys,

After some thought I decided not to buy a new streetbike for the upcoming season but a dirtbike instead...Reason being is it will be a lot cheaper (in a sense) and I deploy in late June so I will atleast have a little time to have some fun and not feel like I am missing the summer street scene.

My question is what should I get? Brands to stay away from? 250/450? Things I need to checkout while inspecting?

Texas has A LOT of trails even Fort Hood has its own MX park. I have ridden dirtbikes in the past but have never owned one of my own. I dont know if my height or weight matters for dirtbikes but im 6'1 215. I was looking at a few 06 CRF 450s ranging from 2500-3000. I would like to stay around 3k. Whadya think? I am a complete noob when it comes to this but I really want to try something new. Thanks

[csmutty]

First things first...do you want a 2 stroke or 4 stroke? Or do you have no preference? How open is the riding area that you would be using? Tight or open?

[DaSarge]

no preference on the 2 stroke or 4 stroke...Since TX is mostly ranch land a lot of the people here transform thier land into off road parks so the riding area really varies depending what the landowner has done...I figured I would start off riding in open areas since I am in a learning phase.

[breakdirt916]

I'd post this same question on thumpertalk.com/forum or read some threads in the "what bike should I buy?" section

the dirty bastards section here is small, so the responses are going to be limited to what we've ridden, and it's not always accurate, or applicable to all riders haha

[noob]on that note, personally, I also second smutty's questions about where you'll be riding...more trails? more MX? are the trails tight/rocky single track or wider open? that will def. change which bike to buy

IMHO MX bikes are the sexiest things in the world, and anyone that wants a dirt bike feels like they HAVE to buy one as their first bike...especially the out-of-control fast models. But CRF450R's and CR500's are like the Busa's of dirt bikes...I don't know if your experience level, but if it's novice, I say don't buy into the hype. Also, personally, I like fitting form to function. So from a practical perspective, if you're going to be in the on trails more often, don't buy an MX bike, just buy a woods bike that's setup that way from the factory. It will be much less work to ride and much more fun on the trails. Yes, you can setup an MX bike for the woods, but if you're buying a bike for $2,500, it just won't be cost efficient to have the suspension revalved to be like a woods bike (in addition to woods accessories).

"things to look out for" is such a broad question, so unless you can go with someone that knows what they're doing, or you could list the specific bike you're about to check, just go with what your regular mechanical intuition leads you to check (does it start easy, cold? tires? brakes? chain/sprockets? does it ride okay? transmission shifts well? clutch works? when was all the maintenance done?)

if you're new, learning, and mostly on trails, I'd stay back from those 450 motocrossers and just get any 250 4-stroke from the big 4, KTM, or husky...or if you're going to do more putting around, a CRF150 or woodsier KTM EXC 200/250/300 or yami WR250[/noob]

oh yeah, and get ready for full-throttle, sliding, jumping, ridiculous fun

[seth399]

I am biased because I ride one and love it but a YZ 250 2stroke is one of the most fun/versatile bikes. It rips at motocross right off the showroom floor and can be setup damn good for woods pretty easily as well.
As far as other used 250s, the Suzuki RM 250s are pretty rad and very similar to the YZ motor wise

As far as suspension revalves mentioned above, I'm not sure why anyone would pay to revalve the suspension on a bike for mx or woods unless they are racing competitively anyway. My bike with revalved mx racing suspension does fine in the woods (ya it's too stiff to be ideal but who cares, it can still go fast).

[csmutty]

Here is the dirty on dirty bikes.

2 stroke - has less bottom end, but power hits a little harder when it comes on than a 4 stroke. Very fun to ride, but does require more work to ride. Easy to do motor work on.

4 stroke - more bottom end, and power is very linear. Pulls hard and is a very easy bike to ride. If it ever requires motor work you are going to be talking more money. Have to adjust valves as well.

The 2 strokes are usually much cheaper, but not as many are made more recently, so they may be more clapped out. If you can find a newer yz or ktm you might be in business. 4 strokes look for one that has low hours. The motors can be questionable and replacing that would really hurt the wallet.

[Sheppo]

I think there is a lot of dirt experience here.
I am like Seth and live and breath 2 strokes. I have had 4 strokes in the past but always seem to gravitate back to the 2...
Setting up an MX bike to ride the trails isn't hard or too expensive. ( flywheel weights, springs, etc ) Going the other way is more challenging. I don't know the trails or kinds of trails in TX. so I can't recommend a 250 vs 450. I am faster and smoother on a 250 than a 450. Just the way I ride.

[Doc]

Get a 450 4 stroke and motard it. Best of both worlds.

[seth399]

Get a 450 4 stroke and motard it. Best of both worlds.

that would be horrible offroad

[DaSarge]

Get a 450 4 stroke and motard it. Best of both worlds.

Yeah thats what I was thinking too..After dirt riding for a awhile and getting comfortable I figured getting a 450 could pull double duty.

Thanks for the responses guys. Im gonna check out bikes on craigslist this week and then hopefully pick one up this weekend.

[Stoneman]

If *I* were living in TX and it were *ME*, I'd be all over the Yami 450 (4 stroke). ALL OVER it...

[Kurlon]

Total dirt newb note: Yeah, a 250 two stroke may have less bottom end on paper, it's still got plenty to lug around a gear or 3 too high and get you in trouble when needed.

[Doc]

that would be horrible offroad

In Texas?

[seth399]

In Texas?

ya, Texas has mad dirt!

[R7]

It's hard to recommend a 450 MX'er to a total dirt newbie. It's also hard for us New Englanders to recommend a bike for your riding area vs ours.

What type of riding do you think you'll be doing most?
If it's mostly MX and some fast trails here and there..no question a MX bike
If it's mostly trails..and I think of trails based on tight and knarly New England type trails.. and maybe a couple visits to the MX track, I would get an Enduro bike.

I'm biased to Yamaha (not that i have to tell you that) and there is no question in my mind, they make the best and most reliable 4-stroke. It may not be the most powerful brand, but if all you want to do is ride, put gas in it, change the oil and filters...it's the one you want

As for what to look for in a used bike..
..Check the air filter. If it's full of crud, it's the first sign it hasn't been well cared for.
..Check the oil, black oil is bad. Some have plastic dipsticks, if they are stained a dark color, chances are it's had dirty oil in for extended times.
..Check the chain and sprockets, look for hooked teath, kinks in the chain, etc. Like a streetbike, a clean chain is a sign it was taken care of.
..Check the steering head for notchyness. if there's a center MX type stand available, it'll be best to get the wheels off the ground to check.
..Check for wheel freeplay. Could be a number of things if there's slop, anything from bearing to suspension linkage.
..Ease of starting. On a normal 60-70 degree day, there's really no reason why it shouldn't start first or second kick.
..Obviously, make sure you test ride it and all the gears work, the clutch is smooth, no funny noises, and the engine makes power all they way in the revs.

IMO, if your budget is $3k, find a good bike for the 3k rather than try to find the best deal out there. There's no worse feeling when your buddies call you to go riding on a nice sunny day and you're stuck home with a broken bike

[DaSarge]

Way too complicated to start dirt riding LOL

Bought an R1

[theothersean]

R1 makes a good dirt bike , plenty of power


YouTube - R1 Dirtbike 2

[R7]

Way too complicated to start dirt riding LOL

Bought an R1

Nice

[breakdirt916]

get out

[DaSarge]

Nice

I got this one...

[MysteriousR1]

Very nice