A couple of my friends who are brothers used to ride motorcross when they were younger, and the other day I told the younger one sort of as a joke to stop spending his money on shoes and weed and get something more worthwhile, like a dirtbike. Then he actually went with it. We're all thinking of getting into it now. I've never really ridden bikes before (well bicycles of course) but can drive a manual car, so i know the concept of shifting. Since I've never ridden before, they obviously suggested to start small, specifically a big wheel 85. Now looking into it, I've seen that that is a really small bike, like I've heard 11 year olds are too big for it. Same with a bike near me, a CRF150RB. Apparently someone my size (5'10", 190lbs) should be riding a 250, but my friends tell me that that is a lot of bike for a beginner.
So it appears I'm in quite a conundrum.
Bikes mentioned
2005 Honda cr85r Big Wheel
[URL]http://tampa.craigslist.org/hdo/mcy/2872620956.html[/URL]
2008 Honda CRF-150R "Big Wheel/Expert"
[URL]http://orlando.craigslist.org/mcy/2874410828.html[/URL]
you're not going to be sitting down alot really.. plus it might look small, but it really doesn't feel as small as it looks.
Well I feel like the 85 would just be way too small
And then there's questions like this [url]http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100619143434AA5vQnb[/url]
if it's the engine you're on about then yes, an 85 is pretty small, 150 is quite a bit of fun really.
An 85 is way too small unless you are 8-13. I'd really recommend going with a 2 stroke 125 or a 4 stroke 250. Buy used for your first bike since you can pick them up for dirt cheap and you are probably going to lay it over. You can almost forget the power, ride smart and you will be okay. My mom used to ride quads, but after she hopped on my 450, her and my dad bought a pair the next week and were taking them out to the dunes. She can't even reach the ground is some places because of her height, but she rides smart and picks her stopping points. Bikes really are easy as long as you are careful.
Any bikes past 2004 tend to ride really well, at least from my experience. In the days of bikes like the YZ426 and before, handling was aweful, especially on KTM's. The newer bikes just glide and turn really sharp. Also, 125's and 2 stroke 250's are super cheap to rebuild, compared to their 4 stroke equivalents where shops can charge over $1000.
Don't worry about shifting and all that, it really will come very naturally, you'll learn it faster than you learned to shift a car. I can't speak for the 4 stroke 250, but if you don't want to shift a lot, the 450 will burn that rear tire in almost any gear at any speed, whereas my experience with 2 strokes is that you will be shifting constantly. 2 stroke bog unless you are in the perfect spot of the power band. When you're in the right spot, they'll rip through gears like crazy.
I'm 6ft and 180lbs, and I have to say that a 125/4 stroke 250 does [U]not[/U] cut it for me. When you get used to riding, you will notice when you get on a bigger bike, that power feels good. I'm just saying for comparisons sake and that you might find yourself upgrading sooner or later.
So would something like a 2007-2008 CRF250R be good?
It'll do just fine. Good luck finding a bike, I prefer the one's with the least amount of pointless and flashy modifications as they tend to be better taken care of, from my experience at least.
a CRF250X would be better, enduro bikes are a lot easier to start and to ride, the only problem is breaking shit when you fall off. and you will fall off. just remember to take the mirrors off when youre on the dirt so you dont break your arms when you do.
actually something older like 80s/90s would be better and you will want something with a kick-start and personally id do away with an electric start altogether since they make the bike heavier.
also 4-strokes are easier
Kick start is hella nice, 2 strokes are hard as fuck to kick start. I remember when I tried to kick start my '71 Kawasaki F7 enduro, even just a 175 it was a pain to get going and that thing ran good.
Never tried a 4 stroke but I would hope they are way easier. Electric start is nice but yeah, like pea said, it'll make it heavy.
That's the only thing that scares me about offroad bikes, the weight. I don't want to be crushed if I fall off (I'm a little bitty guy, 110-115 pounds), so I do 4 wheels.
Flipped over on a 4 wheeler once though. Tore my shit [i]up[/i]. My shoulder looked like hamburger meat :v:
[QUOTE=bradley;35020351]Kick start is hella nice, 2 strokes are hard as fuck to kick start. I remember when I tried to kick start my '71 Kawasaki F7 enduro, even just a 175 it was a pain to get going and that thing ran good.
Never tried a 4 stroke but I would hope they are way easier. Electric start is nice but yeah, like pea said, it'll make it heavy.
That's the only thing that scares me about offroad bikes, the weight. I don't want to be crushed if I fall off (I'm a little bitty guy, 110-115 pounds), so I do 4 wheels.
Flipped over on a 4 wheeler once though. Tore my shit [i]up[/i]. My shoulder looked like hamburger meat :v:[/QUOTE]
I do believe 4-strokes are bitches to kickstart, even more than 2-strokes.
theyre harder to kick but easier to start
and quads are much more dangerous than bikes
[editline]7th March 2012[/editline]
and a 120kg bike laying on top of you doesnt hurt
i have a 4-stroke 250, and i would highly recommend one. They arn't the fastest bikes int he world, but they are manageable and certainly arn't slow, but you'll still be able to learn on it alright and wont get bored of it once you are used to riding bikes.
Also, mine is a 93 bike and it handle's fine :P When i got the bike it had Swedish military grade tyres on so was... okay on the road but awesome offroad, however the tyres were illegal, so i fitted some crossovers and now its brilliant on the road and okay offroad. It just goes to show how much of a difference tyres make.
On the topic of electric starts - they do not make a bike heavy really, they are only a smallish device on top of the engine which turns the engine to start it, they weight fuck all compared to the bikeso doesnt make a difference really :P They only reason some people don't have them is because its potentially anotehr thing to go wrong, so they stick with the kick start.
[QUOTE=Matdragon;35047795]They only reason some people don't have them is because its potentially anotehr thing to go wrong, so they stick with the kick start.[/QUOTE]
It's also satisfying as hell to kickstart a dirtbike :v:
Very, very true!
UNFFF
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/LmBpg.jpg[/IMG]
I started learning on my 250 4 stroke.
Get a bike, get some gear, be careful and have some fun.
[editline]10th March 2012[/editline]
Not me in the picture, btw.
250 4-strokes are great full-sized starter bikes.
Crf250 would be great, R for track, X for wood, but both can go anywhere except road.
Or WR250.
it been a couple years since ive hopped on a dirtbike, but i can remember being 16 and riding a CR125 with no problems.
and like silentopp said, buy used. its a lot like buying a guitar, just walk into some motorsports dealerships and look for one that feels right and runs better. a lot of places have good used selection, and most of the time the people who owned them before have put some cool aftermarket shit in them.
just be careful takin off on one for the first time, especially test riding on pavement. Ive seen about a dozen kids eat shit by instantly wheeling them backwards, and its always hilarious.
[editline]24th March 2012[/editline]
oh and bring your friends with you. they sound like they should know what to look out for.
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