A bit of help

[THCscientist]

Hey guys-I'm completely new on this forum. My name's David, my buddy is trying to get me into dirtbiking, and I need to figure out what kind of bike to get. I have zero experience with this, so apologies in advance for any stupid questions.
1) your physical size (both height and weight are important) 6'3"/185lbs
2) How physical / aggressive are you ? I come from a DH mountain biking background. I'm fairly aggressive and very athletic.
3) what do you plan to ride- MX/SX tracks, woods, fields with friends or ????? I mainly plan on riding in the desert east of San Diego.
4) Do you have any riding experience? Nope.
5) Do you think you will race ? Probably not.
6) Are you mechanically inclined and will you be doing your own bike work? Very mechanically inclined. I hope to do most of my own repairs.
7) Do YOU have a preferance to a brand/ motor choice (2 or 4 stroke)? No brand preference, but 2 stroke would be preferred for ease of service.
8) Do you have a dealer close by your home that you might use and what brand(s) does he carry?Not sure about dealers. I am willing to buy used.
9) How much ($) do you plan to spend on a bike? 2-3k
10) Do you live in California? Yes-san diego
11) Your age? 22
12) anything else that you think would help form an opinion Nothing in particular.

 

[fordmugg]

well your size and weight and wanting a 2 stroke i would go with a 250 2 stroke and with a price range from 2 to 3k you should be able to pick somthing real nice up

 

[THCscientist]

Cool, thanks man. Any recommendations as to make/model?

 

[fordmugg]

Cool, thanks man. Any recommendations as to make/model?

if i was to buy another 2 stroke it would be a yamaha or honda

i would lean more twards the yamaha just because i use to own a 2003 yz 250 and it was a great bike

 

[Chili]

A 250 2 stroke is a lot of bike for someone with absolutely no experience on a bike. Can you make it work? Yes if you are very careful but is certainly less than an optimal starting point.

I'd be looking at lowering the budget and getting something as a short term starting bike and then an upgrade after a year or when my riding experience allows it. My first instincts are mainly 4 strokes like a Honda XR250R, a Kawasaki KLX300 or a 2 stroke like the KDX 200. The 4 strokes in the XR, KLX, DRZ and similar lines are much less maintenance intensive than the current crop of racing 4 strokes.

Another consideration being in California is the Red sticker/Green sticker rules that can affect the length of your riding season. Hopefully one of the Cali guys can give you the low down on that.

 

[Rooster]

My first real bike was a 250 2 stroke back in 1990. There are still parts of it scattered along a hill-climb somewhere west of Boone, IA from the first time I whacked the throttle. The bike went part way up the hill, I sat on the ground watching it from the bottom. Then it came right back down to me ... in lots of pieces. I did, however, get used to it rather quickly after that.

I agree with Chili, starting out on a 250 2T will be an eye opening ordeal, and expensive if you aren't real careful.