Help a 38yr rookie choose.

[eddydb]

A lot of my buddies have recently starting riding dirt again. I'm looking forward to joining them. No clue on a decent starter bike for me.

1) Your physical size (both height and weight are important)
6' 215lbs 38yrs old

2) How physical / aggressive are you?
Not very aggressive.

3) what do you plan to ride- MX/SX tracks, woods, fields with friends or ?????
Mostly trail rides with friends.

4) Do you have any riding experience?
A few years experience on a street bike. Currently riding a sv650s.

5) Do you think you will race ?
Only recreationally, and in my age group if I do.

6) Are you mechanically inclined and will you be doing your own bike work?
I can do the basics…..friends or shop for anything else.

7) Do YOU have a preferance to a brand/ motor choice (2 or 4 stroke)?
Nope!

8) Do you have a dealer close by your home that you might use and what brand(s) does he carry?
Pretty much everything is available around me. I’ll be checking Craiglist for a used bike.

9) How much do you plan to spend on a bike?
Don’t know yet. Whatever it takes to get a dependable bike.

10) Do you live in California?
Yup

11) Anything else that you think would help form an opinion
Owned a Honda cr250 in my youth….that was over 20yrs ago!

 

[XRpredator]

a nice used XR250 or XR400 would be perfect, 96 or newer.

have fun.

 

[Moparman1539]

When you do get something used, but it 02 or older. So then it is an automatic green sticker, and you can ride all year round!

 

[eddydb]

Thanks. I started my search for an older XR. So far not much to choose from,,,,,but no rush here.

 

[sixds]

or blue

maybe find a WR 250?

 

[rmc_olderthandirt]

Since you live in California you need to make sure that you understand the Red/Green sticker issue. All off road vehicles need to be registered in order to ride on any public land and bikes that are 2003 or newer that don't meet the EPA requirements get restricted to only the winter months.

Bottom line: you want to make sure the bike has a green sticker. You will find a lot of used bikes that have been brought in from out of state or for whatever reason never were never registered. My advice is to stay away from these bikes. First off, no registration could mean stolen. Second, while it is possible to properly register them it will take several trips to DMV, which is never fun.

Two stroke vs four stroke is a lot of personal choice. A two stroke will rev up higher but it must be kept revved up in order to deliver decent power. A four stroke will be more forgivng, being able to lug up a hill when you find yourself in the wrong gear where the two stroke will fall on its face if you don't downshift in time.

There are also two catagories of bikes: MX and "off road". The MX bikes are built for race, they will have high performance engines (higher compression ratios) and longer travel suspensions. The off road bikes will be detuned a bit, making them easier to start and generally more forgiving. They also cost a lot less. Some models of off road bikes come equipped with a headlight and even electric start. They also might have a kickstand, which is something I really wish my bike had.

If you think you are going to ride aggressively (not necessarialy fast) then I would recommend a MX bike for the suspension. I ride a YZ-125 and find that it has plenty of power in the flats and only on the occasional hill do I wish I had more power. It will definately get me going faster than I really want to go.

Rod