Looking to try dirtbikes

1) your physical size (both height and weight are important) 5'10" 225lbs
2) How physical / aggressive are you ? I don't plan on riding very aggressive but there may be some general hooliganism. ie: I will do the occasional wheelie ride or stoppie
3) what do you plan to ride- MX/SX tracks, woods, fields with friends or ????? Mostly just some trails with friends we are all grown folks and have no delusions of MX or Freestyle.
4) Do you have any riding experience? No dirt experience. I've ridden a sportbike for a few years now
5) Do you think you will race ? Nope, well maybe on a pitbike haha
6) Are you mechanically inclined and will you be doing your own bike work? Yes I'm a professional truck mechanic
7) Do YOU have a preferance to a brand/ motor choice (2 or 4 stroke)? No...But 4-strokes sound like they might be more suited to me since I don't like searching for the right gear all the time and having to keep it in a tight rpm band. But I don't know squat about dirt, so I'm open to either.
8) Do you have a dealer close by your home that you might use and what brand(s) does he carry? Locally... Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Ktm, Kawasaki. Possibly some smaller volume brands closer to Atlanta which isn't far
9) How much ($) do you plan to spend on a bike? I'm actually looking for one that needs work so under $800 for a mechanics special. But if it were a running bike say in the neighborhood of $1500.
10) Do you live in California? Nope
11) Your age? 28
12) anything else that you think would help form an opinion. Convenience is worth something for me so reliability once in good shape is a must, electric starts and kickstand are nice perks also but not required. I kinda like the idea of a buddy's 01' wr250f

_JOE_ said:

The last thing you want is a "mechanics special" 250f. That 800 dollar bike will probly need 1500 dollars or more worth of PARTS. It's REALLY hard to ruin more than a thousand dollars worth of two stroke engine parts. If you want reliability find an older XR400. Spend a few extra bucks on it so you get a really nice clean one. Change the oil and clean the air filter frequently and it'll likely last years with no repairs. They don't last forever, especially if neglected, but they hold up better than an MX bike. A 250 2 stroke has alot of power and pretty reasonable maintenance requirements. As long as you keep it maintained you shouldn't have to replace much more than the piston for several years on a fresh lower end. Most casual riders get 3-5 or more years on a lower end. This sport isn't cheap and you need to ask yourself how much you are willing to spend taking care of a bike after you get it all fixed up and ready to go. This will help lead you to the best bike for you.

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Good to know. I was basing my "mechanics special" on a few of my buddies/coworkers that had recently bought 4-strokes that were not running and they all got away with just new seals kits obviously and only having to replace pistons/rods so they got out for less than $1000 invested. I suppose they just got lucky. What 2-stroke recommendations do you have? I do like that they are lighter I'm just a little unsure about the low RPM power that I'm used to not being there. Is that not an issue with more modern 250cc? What are opinions on an early 90's KTM 300cc 2-stroke I know of one that was just gone over all the way down to the bare frame? I wish I could give you a specific model but I dont know it. It's ready to go and I think he's going to be asking a pretty good price.

As I've been looking more and picking up more info, I'm starting to lean towards finding a decent used KTM 300. I like the idea of lower maintenance/cost with 2t. And I'm someone who loves to play around with straight line acceleration and It sounds like the 300's would deliver there also, plus I've heard they do well in trails. I dont think I'll be riding any long stretches of very tight trails. Although it sounds like a DRZ 400 might be a good 4t choice for me also.