Hey

Welcome to the site :cool:

Be sure and go to your User CP and update information relating to your location, type of riding, etc.

Again, welcome to the site, and shout if you have any questions!

Hey Sam. Welcome.

I see in your profile that you do not ride MX tracks now (not listed under where you ride), but that you hope to be racing soon. Does that mean you are buying this first bike hoping it will be a bike you can both learn on and eventually race? There are not a lot of bikes that are both beginner bikes and racing bikes, so you should consider whether you are willing to buy a beginner bike and then trade up when you want to get into racing, or if you want to start out with a bike that can be a competitive racing machine, but might be a little trickier (scarier) to learn on. To answer your one question, It would generally be easier to learn a clutch on a 4stroke than a 2stroke.

For your height, a good beginner bike would be the XR200 you sat on or the somewhat leaner and newer CRF230 (which has e-start by the way). Yamaha has similar bike...the TTR230 or a used TTR225.

If you go two stroke, consider a KX100 or CR85 Expert (has bigger wheels than regular CR85).

Good luck and happy hunting!

Maybe a 125 2-stroke, they are the same size as a 250 but are lighter & easier to throw around, If u have no bike experience then I'd advise trailbike like maybe a DR-Z 250 or along those lines

I had an RM80 for a while after I outgrew my XR100 that I started on. I was way to big for the 80 when I got it, but it was still a blast. I should have bought a 125 at the time, but I got an incredible deal I couldn't pass up. The drawback to a little 2stroke is that they have very little low end power at all. So, generally don't do well in the slow, technical trails. Then, they are overloaded with top end that kicks in suddenly and hard. It is definitely a thrill, but doesn't make for a great trailbike. You will find threads in this forum on ways to tame the hit (powerband coming on) and therefore make them a little more trail friendly.

One more suggestion, try to go find some people locally that ride that might let you take a spin. Most dealers will not allow test drives. Not to sound sexist, but since you are a girl, you'll likely have a much easier time finding someone willing to let you take a spin or willing to help you out showing you how to use a clutch.

I learned on a 2-stroke MX 80, as did my sister, mom and wife (well actually a KX100). They may be a little higher strung than a 4-stroke trail bike but they are not bad at all for learnign and great once you get a bit of experence. At your size I'd recomend a KX100. Its very light, has the easiest to use motor of any of the small racing 2-strokes and will be a bit less cramped than the 80's. A generic head light will fit quite well and you can get a 40watt coil for about $100. It will not be super bright, but enough to get by. Other options would be a 125cc MX bike (like a KX, YZ, CR or RM). It will be quite a bit taller than the 100, but still much lighter than the XR200 and vastly more performance.

Both my wife and sister have KX100's and they both love them. My wife just trail rides, my sister raced HS and MX and did trail rides. The KX100 has pretty decent low end power compared to most small bikes and with a litte use of the clutch it will go very well in the woods. My sister won the D-7 womans Harescramble championship on her KX100, her two main competitors were on a XR200 and KDX200 respectively. BTW the KDX200 is an excelent bike, I actually rode and raced one for a while. It offers a very easy to use motor and great handling/suspension for woods work. It is probably a bit big and heavy for you to start on though.

good luck