Hi All,
I'm very new to this forum, my boyfriend forwarded me the link last night. ;)
Last year, I started riding. ( Ok,..I was on a Honda Something-or-other touring bike once about 7 yrs ago, long enough to learn the fine art of highsiding into a truck in a parking lot. Bike was fine, my "coach" who was riding on the back of the bike stood up and grabbed the bike as I flew.)
In June of 2003, the 2002 TTR-125L taught me the ropes.
Day 1: Gentle (1 mile wide) turns in a farmer's field. Later we graduated on to harder stuff. Only one spill. this is when I learned that in sand you need more gas, and that gravity can indeed overtake you.
Day 2: ( A week or two later) Brule Lake, AB, Canada. Sink or swim. A sandy Forest trail leading to a sharp drop into miles upon miles of sand dunes. And a "bald-ish" back tire to boot. I learned a ton that day. Not the least of which - respect the bike, (And whatever you do, don't tick it off!), paddling to help you up the big hills is good for you, (and necessary with 7HP) and with that 7HP, riding on the beach on the wet sand is easier.
The rest of the summer I gradually improved, to the point where I was trying to follow the BF around in doing things he could do with his CR250.... ohhh the naivety! I was doing whoops and running the bike in 5th gear more than any other. My cornering got a fair bit stronger, and I started to overrun the suspension regularly. A couple of people have mentioned how much faster I got from the beginning of the year to the end, and the BF was constantly amazed at how fast I was learning. The second trip to Brule in September hurt me significantly less.
Living in Central Alberta, Canada, the bikes were put to sleep in October, and will be coming back out soon for some maintenance. Looking at the modifications needed to make the bike last me this year, we finally reached the conclusion that I've outgrown the bike. So now the bike is in the local "buy&sell" publication.
The last month, we've been looking around at some bikes. I have a ton of concerns about a "new" bike, so was hoping to get a few opinions here, since I've reached a point where I can't logic it out anymore. :)
The bikes that we've looked at, and I've sat on are as follows:
Yamaha WR-250, Yz125, Yz80
Honda Cr-125, CRF-230F
Kawasaki Kx100
First off, I am not quite 5' 5", I haven't dared step on a scale in years so couldn't tell you what I weigh. ( I wear a size 7 - 8 if that helps)
Therefore, Height is a factor. The 250s and 125s are tall for me, but -may- be lowerable enough with the seat foam shaved and stuff. I draw the line at subframe modifications though.
The 80, 100 and 230 are good height for me, but have their own limitations.
Next, Being the height that I am, weight is also a factor, I'd rather not have a 250LB (wet) bike, which makes the 230 and 250 suspect. I can manhandle the CR125 around a driveway with relative ease, but of course, I haven't laid one down to pick up.
Sound would also be a factor. I'm not fond of the scream that a 2stroke has, but I noticed that with my helmet on and being in -front- of the exhaust, that it's not -as- bad. This I think though rules out the 80 and 100, for always being on the throttle to get anywhere. Of course, because he's most familiar with them, the 2 strokes are easiest for the BF to work on, so there's a point there.
Having been on a TTR only and having never ridden a 2 stroke, I have been looking about for one to ride to see if I like it. The BF is fairly sure that his CR-250 might kill me! :ohmy:
This weekend, I got to take a 2001 CR125 on a very short test ride (1/2 block each way). It was setup for a 160lb rider that's way taller than me. What I learned there is that I can manhandle it to where I want it with not much more difficulty than the TTR, I can start it, as long as I lean it a little, but shifting my balance to get it stable enough for me to want to take off is a little hairy. I can do it though.
Now, How manuveurable is a full-size bike going to be vs the play bike? Those forest paths that I was on last summer seemed tough enough with the playbike for a person with my experience. Will I notice a significant setback in these areas?
Now, just to be a little "girly" here,...I also like the blue bikes better :thumb: , and all my gear matches that way, but the BF figures that Blue plastic can be bought for the red ones too. So I guess that's not too much of an issue.
Because we're not sure if I will like a 2-Stroke, it seems to me that the way to go is with a used one for this season, and if I like it, I keep it, or sell it an buy a new one (to know the service history), depending on the shape of the existing one, or if I don't like it, then we sell it and I get a 4stroke again.
I seem to be leaning toward the CR-125 (with blue plastic ;) ), because I've heard it's a "newbie friendly" bike, compared to the YZ, but I can really use some suggestions here.
Thanks to everyone, sorry for such a long post.
stormi
I'm very new to this forum, my boyfriend forwarded me the link last night. ;)
Last year, I started riding. ( Ok,..I was on a Honda Something-or-other touring bike once about 7 yrs ago, long enough to learn the fine art of highsiding into a truck in a parking lot. Bike was fine, my "coach" who was riding on the back of the bike stood up and grabbed the bike as I flew.)
In June of 2003, the 2002 TTR-125L taught me the ropes.
Day 1: Gentle (1 mile wide) turns in a farmer's field. Later we graduated on to harder stuff. Only one spill. this is when I learned that in sand you need more gas, and that gravity can indeed overtake you.
Day 2: ( A week or two later) Brule Lake, AB, Canada. Sink or swim. A sandy Forest trail leading to a sharp drop into miles upon miles of sand dunes. And a "bald-ish" back tire to boot. I learned a ton that day. Not the least of which - respect the bike, (And whatever you do, don't tick it off!), paddling to help you up the big hills is good for you, (and necessary with 7HP) and with that 7HP, riding on the beach on the wet sand is easier.
The rest of the summer I gradually improved, to the point where I was trying to follow the BF around in doing things he could do with his CR250.... ohhh the naivety! I was doing whoops and running the bike in 5th gear more than any other. My cornering got a fair bit stronger, and I started to overrun the suspension regularly. A couple of people have mentioned how much faster I got from the beginning of the year to the end, and the BF was constantly amazed at how fast I was learning. The second trip to Brule in September hurt me significantly less.
Living in Central Alberta, Canada, the bikes were put to sleep in October, and will be coming back out soon for some maintenance. Looking at the modifications needed to make the bike last me this year, we finally reached the conclusion that I've outgrown the bike. So now the bike is in the local "buy&sell" publication.
The last month, we've been looking around at some bikes. I have a ton of concerns about a "new" bike, so was hoping to get a few opinions here, since I've reached a point where I can't logic it out anymore. :)
The bikes that we've looked at, and I've sat on are as follows:
Yamaha WR-250, Yz125, Yz80
Honda Cr-125, CRF-230F
Kawasaki Kx100
First off, I am not quite 5' 5", I haven't dared step on a scale in years so couldn't tell you what I weigh. ( I wear a size 7 - 8 if that helps)
Therefore, Height is a factor. The 250s and 125s are tall for me, but -may- be lowerable enough with the seat foam shaved and stuff. I draw the line at subframe modifications though.
The 80, 100 and 230 are good height for me, but have their own limitations.
Next, Being the height that I am, weight is also a factor, I'd rather not have a 250LB (wet) bike, which makes the 230 and 250 suspect. I can manhandle the CR125 around a driveway with relative ease, but of course, I haven't laid one down to pick up.
Sound would also be a factor. I'm not fond of the scream that a 2stroke has, but I noticed that with my helmet on and being in -front- of the exhaust, that it's not -as- bad. This I think though rules out the 80 and 100, for always being on the throttle to get anywhere. Of course, because he's most familiar with them, the 2 strokes are easiest for the BF to work on, so there's a point there.
Having been on a TTR only and having never ridden a 2 stroke, I have been looking about for one to ride to see if I like it. The BF is fairly sure that his CR-250 might kill me! :ohmy:
This weekend, I got to take a 2001 CR125 on a very short test ride (1/2 block each way). It was setup for a 160lb rider that's way taller than me. What I learned there is that I can manhandle it to where I want it with not much more difficulty than the TTR, I can start it, as long as I lean it a little, but shifting my balance to get it stable enough for me to want to take off is a little hairy. I can do it though.
Now, How manuveurable is a full-size bike going to be vs the play bike? Those forest paths that I was on last summer seemed tough enough with the playbike for a person with my experience. Will I notice a significant setback in these areas?
Now, just to be a little "girly" here,...I also like the blue bikes better :thumb: , and all my gear matches that way, but the BF figures that Blue plastic can be bought for the red ones too. So I guess that's not too much of an issue.
Because we're not sure if I will like a 2-Stroke, it seems to me that the way to go is with a used one for this season, and if I like it, I keep it, or sell it an buy a new one (to know the service history), depending on the shape of the existing one, or if I don't like it, then we sell it and I get a 4stroke again.
I seem to be leaning toward the CR-125 (with blue plastic ;) ), because I've heard it's a "newbie friendly" bike, compared to the YZ, but I can really use some suggestions here.
Thanks to everyone, sorry for such a long post.
stormi
