Newbies Forum

ok. not a beginner, but newbie to buying a NEW off-road dirt bike. it's been a long time too. have experience on several hand-me-down dirt bikes while i was growing up such as early 1980s RM80 & RM125. also had a street bike (1991 yamaha FZR 600) for years. now 36 yrs old, 6 ft 210lbs, anxious to get back into riding and  looking to learn more about a suitable new bike. rode quads with my bro, but feel more of the dirt bike type. minimum i would get would be 250cc, but i'm thinking that may feel a bit less than what i am looking for. thinking 450 sounds right for my size, maybe yamaha, honda or kawasaki. i could feel that the 600cc streetbike felt too small after a year on it, and i don't wanna run into that same issue with off road. preference is to get a good strong keeper bike to last through the years (maybe 6-10).

at first i thought it would be nice to get a dual sport like the klx 450, but am cautious that such bikes won't perform as well off road (for my needs), such as the MX styles would. i hear that dual sports are a balance, and either the road or off-road riding will suffer – don't want that! so, i am leaning away from the dual sport. i am no racer or big jumper, but enjoy challenges and good riding.

i do like the eco-friendly aspect of 4-stroke bikes, not to mention any benefits of longevity or maintenance, but they just don't sound like the (2-stroke) high-pitched bikes i remember as a kid.

back then a friend had an XR 125, far weaker & quieter than the CR versions, but when i watch the video reviews of some new 4-stroke bikes they remind me of that bogging-like sound. so, power is another concern of mine. obviously present day performance is there, but do the 4-stroke bikes have the same performance as the 2-strokes? they don't sound at all the same. i really want a bike with some kick, when needed.

are the gear ratios much different? i'd prefer a nice range of speeds for gears, minimizing shifting on hill climbs, etc. i may have gotten spoiled on the yamaha grizzly automatic where hillclimb shifting became a non-issue.

looking to get into the sport here in southern Cali, ready to buy new, and any advice would be greatly appreciated.
thanks.  

heres what i got to say. first of all welcome to the sport. what your about to do will determine how much you like it. the right bike makes the sport for each individual. at your size, a 450 is the lowest i would go for a 4 stroke. while the 250's would be good for a 2 stroke. as far as maintanence. the 2 stroke mx bikes have less then the 4 stroke mx bikes. dont have to adjust hte valves all teh time to keep the max power coming out of it. but if you want a powerful. fast trail and semi jumping bike that is street legal. an xr 650l is best. check them out at http://powersports.honda.com/motorcycles/off-road/model.asp?ModelName=XR650L&ModelYear=2008&ModelId=XR650L8

thats what i would reccomend. anyone else have a better bike for him? o and by the way. its a 4 stroke. you probably new that though lol ~pat  
PEACE GUYS ITS BEEN A BLAST!!!!! ~patrick

I think the YZ250 would make you happy, but the KTM300xcwe would be a good choice also, both are 2 strokes and will stir up those old 2st memories.

Read the DR article on the KTM250xc also. another 2st  
====================

Nobody's gonna hurt anybody. We're gonna be like little Fonzies here. And what's Fonzie like? Come on what's Fonzie like?

ya man if u want a bike to last u 10 years serioulsy would think of gettin a 2 stroke 250 plenty of power and maitence is very low compared to a 4 stroke and if u engine does ever blow on the 2 stroke it is easliy repairlble while the 4 stroke is gona cost quite a bit more if u wanna get new go for the yamaha yz 250 03 and up all all good 05 has alumnim frame but ya 2 stroke is the way u should go man  
06 Yamaha YZ 250

4 strokes aint nothin but problems

k to start off dont get a dual sport. they are good to be kept on the road or to use a rail road track as a short cut. 4 stroke mx bijes are exrremely high maintenance. a ktm 300xc dont know the exact letters but i think its xc, well that would be the best bike for you. dont get an xr 650 unless you plan to keep it on the road.  
______________________________
Ride 2 strokes, buy 2 strokes, save the 2 stroke.

1998 cr125
2002 cr80

elko can you explain why not the xr650l? it is exactly the same as the xr650r wihc is strictly off road. but it weighs a bit more and actually has another inch of ground clearance. why is this not a good bike for the trails? weighs like 330 or something. not to bad, it has e start, a light and a kick stand haha. im just confused as to why the xr650l is a bad choice for this guy. ~pat  
PEACE GUYS ITS BEEN A BLAST!!!!! ~patrick

it is a heavy bike, too much power for trails. its a trails bike that is made for wide open road like trails. anything that resembles a trail in the woods would give that bike problems.  
______________________________
Ride 2 strokes, buy 2 strokes, save the 2 stroke.

1998 cr125
2002 cr80

your right elko lol of course. perhaps i should have asked him what terrain hes gonna be riding. so. i shall pose that question now. what terrain will you be riding?~pat  
PEACE GUYS ITS BEEN A BLAST!!!!! ~patrick

so, i am (was) jasonBaxter, a new registrant to dirt rider and author of the post, but had a verification issue, and am now jayma21 (new account), just FYI.

as mentioned, i am in southern CA, in the los angeles area. i have not yet ridden dirt bikes here, only mountain bikes, so i am not exactly sure of the types of riding available, but know i am ready to check it out! growing up, it was always trail riding in the woods of PA, but here i am finding that OHV parks are one option, mountain riding another, and i'd imagine there are some very open areas as well. anyone local to pasadena?

i'm amazed at the passion for both 2 and 4-stroke out there. so many forums to describe the pros and cons of each really makes decisions tough. a local honda/kawasaki dealer stated no test-rides to me. that's not helping the sale. sure would be good to test some of the bikes.

i like what i am reading about the yamaha WR450F, but then back to the whole 2 vs. 4 stroke thing again. ugggh! if 4 stroke is the upcoming trend, and 2 strokes are being phased out, i'd prefer to stay current with 4s. too many pros & cons for each to make this easy.  
'07 crf450x
pasadena, CA

if you want a 4 stroke get crf450x. wr's will need mods done to it as soon as you buy it. the crf450x can be modded into a very capable dual sport too. so your best choices are a crf450x or ktm 300.  
______________________________
Ride 2 strokes, buy 2 strokes, save the 2 stroke.

1998 cr125
2002 cr80

allright. the wr450f is a lower maintanenece 4 stroke. i only stated the 650l because i thought you wanted an on/off bike. but if thats not an issue anymore. then a 250 2 stroke would be perfect for you, and your size. and you iwll never never never outgrow that bike lol ~pat  
PEACE GUYS ITS BEEN A BLAST!!!!! ~patrick

the crf450x looks good. are there other bikes that you would compare it to (4 stroke, light, etc), if i choose against going the 2-stroke route of the ktm? maybe the ktm 450EX? KLX450R?

the dual ability is a nice-to-have, but i would not sacrifice performance because of it. if this bike is easily modded into dual, it sounds great and might be ideally what i want. any idea what that would entail as far as parts cost, labor or even something i can do myself?  
'07 crf450x
pasadena, CA

Go with KTm. Just got back from riding with a few people on KTMs in a tight woods trail track and they were killing it. I think the guy had a 300xc, but I would recommend KTM for the woods.  


Long live 2 strokes!!

no the crf450x is the best 4 stroke trails bike out there right now and you wont lose performance if you mod it and you can probably do the mods yourself. it wont be as good of a road bike as some of the other bikes but its gets the job done.  
______________________________
Ride 2 strokes, buy 2 strokes, save the 2 stroke.

1998 cr125
2002 cr80

elko, i like your argument for the crf450x. any other comparables to suggest?

thanks for your suggestions and knowledge.  
'07 crf450x
pasadena, CA