First Bike

[fess]

okay fellas, i'm wanting to get into riding but don't know where to start?? At 6'0" 210lbs. would a 125 be good enougho hall my fat but around at a hgh rate of speed ;) What do all the latter fo rdifferent style bikes stand for?? ie. xr, YZ, ttr ?? i don't know much of anything Maybe you guys adn gals could help me?? i will be riding woods most of the time?? what kinda bike do you recommend?? i'd like to stay with Honda or Yamaha. Any help is greatly appreciated

 

[gxdragon]

If your looking for a trail bike no a 125 would not be big enough for you. Honda makes the XRs which are trail bikes. For your size you would want either a 250 or 400. I just started riding this year I started with a Kawasaki KLX400. The TTRs are Yamaha's trail bike, they also make the WRs which are for racing. It seems to me the most highly recommeded starter bikes for trails are the Honda XRs.

 

[fess]

Would a YZ be a good trail bike??

 

[gxdragon]

YZ, RM, CR & KX. These are all 2-stroke MX bikes. No they would not be good trail bikes without modifications. If you want a trail bike stick to the:
XR, TTR, WR, DRZ, KLX or KDX.

 

[fess]

okay now to totally humiliate myself... what's the difference between 2stroke and 4stroke?? and how can you tell the difference by looking at a bike??

 

[gxdragon]

2-strokes require a mixture of gas & oil a 4-stroke runs off staight gas. You can usually tell a 2 stroke by the exhaust pipe. On a 2 it is much fatter coming out of the engine tapering off at the end. A 4 has a smaller pipe. The 2 strokes are lighter and the power kicks in much differently then a 4 stroke. A 4 has smoother power easier to handle. A 4 stroke is easier to handle at lower speeds in the tight woods.

 

[bsmith]

Yamaha makes a YZ 4 stroke and Honda makes a CR 4 stroke or CRF as well.

If you’re set on Honda or Yamaha then get a WR450 or XR400. You'll have to decide but don't over look the Suzuki DRZ 400, they come with an electric start! These are all good bikes; the WR will give you the most power. The DRZ is a great handling bike and then the XR is just a typical rock solid "Honda".

If your buying used you'll want to look at the WR-400 or WR 426, these are the previous models of the Yamaha.
If you’re buying a used bike also look at the KTM EXC 400, it's electric start!

If I were just getting into bikes I might lean toward the DRZ with electric start! It's probably the most affordable in the group.

Good luck, and do a search on the bike your leaning towards, you should dig up some great info :thumb:

 

[gxdragon]

I don't know if the WR450 is the bike to start learning on. It's a pretty powerful bike (about 49 bhp). What experience do you have? I have the KLX400R/DRZ400E (about 40 bhp) it's a great bike. If you're just planning on riding woods Then this may be a good bike for you. The electric start is nice but it doesn't come with a kick start. The kick start is $200 plus about 4hrs labor unless you can install it yourself. The XRs are also great bikes as stated before.