Do you think this is a good idea?

[chineesenewyear]

I'm looking to buy my first bike. I'm moving out to colorado soon and want to get into trail/mountain riding, as well as probably play around on some jumps. A friend told me not to get a motocross bike because they are too heavy, too powerful, and the gears are set up wrong such that it would make trail riding significantly more difficult. I would get a trail bike, but then im worried that the suspension will max out every time i go off a jump. Do you guys think it would be a good idea to buy a trail bike and beef up the suspension instead of getting a motocross bike? Also, how much does it cost to put a new, rugged suspension on a bike?
thanks so much for your time
alex

 

[JST122]

From the sound of your post it looks like you are looking for a good all around trail bike but would like something with a more race ready suspension so that you can do some jumping and possibly hit a track once in awhile. My recommendation would be to go with a KTM 200 XC or XC-W, or if you are looking for a little larger displacement the 250 XC or XC-W. These bikes were designed to be competition off-road models. They are ideal for hare scrambles type riding which makes them very well suited for both trail riding as well as burning some laps on a motocross track. This in my opinion makes them more versatile as an all around bike that can be used for many different types of riding. The other benefit to these bikes is that they are light and more ergonomically comfortable when compared to other trail bike models like the KDX or WR, which makes them easier to ride and more maneuverable, especially at speed. I think it is a better route going with the KTM's I have mentioned because after purchasing one of these bike you wont necessarily have to worry about "beefing up" the suspension to handle jumping like you most certainly would on a KDX, WR or even one of the CRF-X models. If you are only going to have one bike I think The KTM XC models are the way to go because they really can do it all.

 

[Oldman125]

Where abouts in Colorado are you planing to move to?

 

[chineesenewyear]

Like east vail area. are you from co? and do you know any good places to ride?

also thanks to jst. I really appreciate the advice. I'll look into KTM.

Thanks again!

 

[Okiewan]

JST122 made good points.
Your friend may not be the best source for advice, if he believes MX bikes are heavier than trail bikes tho :p

 

[FruDaddy]

I was going to recommend the WR250, until I looked up and noticed that JST has 3 green bikes and no orange ones listed. Maybe he's onto something.
Often the biggest mistake we can make is taking advise from our friends. They mean well, but they don't always know as much as they appear to.

 

[mtk]

Well, compared to an XR100, a 250 motocrosser IS heavier, so depending on what he meant when he said "trail bike" he may have been correct. But if you compare bikes of similar engine size, MX'ers are typically the lightest option you can get because they lack any additional parts not needed to MX racing.

MX bikes also typically have close-ratio transmissions, which means first gear is kind of tall and the rest are closely spaced together. This can make tight trails difficult, particularly for a newbie, because you're working the clutch constantly due to not going quite fast enough for first gear. They also frequently have an explosive powerband, which is great on the track but not so great on a slippery trail. Not to mention that a 45hp MX bike can turn on you if not treated with respect.

Now, there are ways to rework MX bikes into fine trail machines, but that probably isn't the best plan for a newbie rider. I think you would be much better served by picking a trail-ready machine and work on your riding, rather than working on making the bike work better for you.

In that case, the aforementioned KTM XC two-strokes (or EXC or MXC, if older) are good choices. If they're too pricey, the KDX200 is another fine choice. They've been around forever and while not cutting edge, they do what they do quite well. FruDaddy's WR250 (two-stroke) is also another good choice, but those are a lot harder to find on the used market.

The KDX is probably the cheapest used option, which makes it your best bet. Since this is your first bike, more than likely you don't have any riding gear. Take the extra money you save and invest in some good safety gear. I'd suggest you get, at minimum, a helmet, goggles, MX boots, kneepads, and some MX gloves. If you can find a jersey and pants combo on closeout, i.e. last year's colors, that is a cheap way to get riding clothes too. The pants are nice in that they're all made to fit over knee pads/guards now so your kneepads will fit under them, unlike jeans.

Now, some will say that things like kneepads aren't necessary. On that, I beg to differ. You WILL fall off of the bike and one frequently lands on one's knees when that happens and very few trails provide a soft landing area. And even if your riding area consists of foot-thick loam, Murphy's Law dictates that the one rock within 500' will be right under your knees where you land. Trust me, I did it once myself and the bruised knees were no fun, let alone hobbling around for two weeks while they healed. A $25 set of kneepads made subsequent crashes much less painful. If funds allow it, elbow pads, chest protectors, and other stuff are nice additions. Put it this way: no one has ever got up from a crash and wished they had on less protective gear at the time.

Good luck and have fun with whatever bike you choose.

 

[Oldman125]

Like east vail area. are you from co? and do you know any good places to ride?

also thanks to jst. I really appreciate the advice. I'll look into KTM.

Thanks again!

Dude I know tons of places to ride in Colorado, what do you want to do?
Vail doesn't have any riding locally, however there are miles of mountain trails and Jeep roads only a few miles out of town. Further away you can find tracks in Denver and Watkins. West you'll find tons more trails and the desert of Grand Junction and Moab Utah. See the local Colorado group here or try this link: http://ktmtalk.com/index.php?showforum=30

I can help you with riding spots if you have a particular place you are interested in. Let me know....