Looking for a basic Bike.

[neosoft]

Hello, My dad wanted to buy me a dirtbike to just ride whenever there is adequette time and location.

I will not be doing any jumping,racing, or anything of the like, just riding on open land.

I am looking to buy a used bike, but we have come across some dilemmas.

I am about 5 feet 9, 120 pounds. So you can tell i'm fairly skinny. However I have been gaining weight lately, and am also still growing vertically. We are trying to find a size bike, that will not be too difficult for me to ride now, as well as in the future when i gain weight and height. So basically i'm trying to decide what size of a bike I should look into. My father thinks I should get a 100cc, whereas i'm thinking at least 125cc.

Any suggestions welcome. Thanks for taking a look.

 

[TheJunkMan]

Look at the 4-stroke trail bikes DR_Z, KLX, The super shrepa (its street legal too!) XT225 or better yet an old XT 350 the XRs are good, Or the CRF230 just my two cents worth

 

[Chief]

I'm 5'9" and almost 200 lbs and am tall enough to ride a 125 or 250 mx. My bud has an ATK125 enduro that is pretty much a woodsy/harescramble type bike with a higher seat height and it is sometimes tricky for me in tight slow situations. A 125 mx would serve me well although some would disagree because of my weight. I ride them and enjoy them.

I think a 100 mx is going to be on the short side for you, considering you are still growing and will gain more weight. How old are you, how many more years do you have left to get taller?

The other issues are 2 or 4 stroke, and your abilities to ride. A 4 stroke 250 is roughly comparable in horsepower to a 2 smoke 125.

Either bike would be at least somewhat of a challenge to learn on. I guess it depends on you. If you won't mind stepping up later, go with the 100 if it fits you well now. I think that would kinda be a waste of time money and effort though. Have you sat on any bikes?

Joe Chief

 

[Chief]

Yea I almost forgot about that CRF. It felt pretty light on the showroom floor. I would love to get my hands on one for a test ride. Looks like a nice bike.

 

[neosoft]

Thank you for your replies...I will look into those bikes...

I am 15, turning 16 in 1 month, and i only have 2 years left in high school, so I doubt I will do much riding after that. I'm looking for a bike that I will be able to buy used for a low price, 1300ish or cheaper...

Does anyone else have some suggestions for a 125CC bike? I think that will be perfect for me to last.

 

[Porstala F9]

I will not be doing any jumping,racing, or anything of the like, just riding on open land.

An MX bike is really unnessicary then.. So when you say 125cc bike, you have to specify 4-stroke or 2-stroke..

Look into the CRF-150 or the CRF-230. Both are great bikes for open land riding. Quick bikes. The only minor problem with the CRF series, is that they are a tiny bit on the heavy side.. But even if you are going to be doing minor jumping, your good because I see some CRFs at the tracks taking some mid sized jumps pretty well. Whether or not they had suspension mods is beyond me, but I don't think I would worry about it. I see kids on stock XR-80s and 100s get some amazing air and smoke kids on MX 85's.. Its all the rider.

But a Honda CRF is your best bet. Even buying used, there is nothing to worry about. Those bikes are rock solid and built to last, and last, and last, and last.

 

[neosoft]

After searching some, i've had some issues. I know I want a 4-stroke, and right now i'm looking at 100cc, because of price issues. I'd like to spend a max of 1300 on this bike, however i've found that a budget like that will get you some 80s vintage bike, or an 80cc kids bike, which I really don't think will fit me...

Do I need to boost my budget? or just get like an 80cc? I've found like 2000 xr100r's for around 1500, so maybe there is a chance I can get one for lower?

Thanks...

 

[Porstala F9]

Dont be afraid to buy slightly old XRs even much older than that if you are on a budget.. Allthough with a 1500$ budget, you should be able to find 3 year old XR-100s no problem and have alot of fun riding it. But that may be a tiny bit small, but still not too small.

Your other option (since CRFs are relativly new, and are going to be hard to find at that budget) is look for older XR 200s or 250s...

 

[neosoft]

Thank you all for your input.

After more talk with my dad, we decided that we will most likely be selling the bike in a year or two.

Looking at adds, i've found that the resale value of these bikes that are 1-2 years old is really only a couple of hundred dollars. Is this really the case? I am sure I can keep a bike in fairly new condition.

My dad says if I think we can resell the bike for only 2-3 hundred dollars less, he won't mind buying a 1500 dollar bike...

Any input on that plan?

 

[Porstala F9]

Originally posted by neosoft
Thank you all for your input.

After more talk with my dad, we decided that we will most likely be selling the bike in a year or two.

Looking at adds, i've found that the resale value of these bikes that are 1-2 years old is really only a couple of hundred dollars. Is this really the case? I am sure I can keep a bike in fairly new condition.

My dad says if I think we can resell the bike for only 2-3 hundred dollars less, he won't mind buying a 1500 dollar bike...

Any input on that plan?

Thats about right. I know I see Ebay auctions for 2000 XR 100s for 1500$.. If you were to buy something like that, you would get an excellent 2 years of use out of it, and probably be able to sell it for about 1100$ Absolute Minimum, and my guess around 1200$ depending on the shape its in, and hopefully that Honda doesen't make too many drastic changes in the next couple of years. The 2000s are when they started with the more red, so you should be fine for a while, and Honda XRs have a great reputation for holding a very good resale value..