Mind if I brag a little?...

Went to a local red-neck flea market fest today. An event in Minnestoa called Hay Days. It's officialy a snowmobile grass drag, but it always has a plethera of things, notably, lots of used dirtbikes.

I wasn't really looking for a dirtbike, but I had two friends (and they had two friends) who had decided it was time to really look.

Well, we canvased that whole place in one afternoon (nearly impossible on foot, but we had bicycles... <--- experience)

We ended up loading 4 dirtbikes into a mid size pickup at the end of the day.(all four will be new riders!) I think we came away with some of the best deals going.

let me know what you think of the deals we made.

we had 4 people looking-
Ben- $2,000 range
Carl- $2,000 range
Tracy- $1,500 dollar and
Amber- $1,000 range

heres what we got-

Ben- '99 YZ250 stock except Pro Circuit siliencer (very clean and very well kept, what I would call 'pretty good' shape)- $1,800

Carl- '01 KX250 Stock except graphics (the cleanest 'used' bike I have ever seen- literally, we cannot find any scratches on the bike, not on the plastics, not on the frame... it looks as though it has been ridden all of MAYBE 100 miles- what I would call 'mint'
shape)- $2,000

Tracy- '98 KDX 200, Pro Circuit exhaust (ridden hard, but seems decently cared for.. what I would call 'decent' shape')- $1,050

Amber- '92 CR125- Pro Circuit exhaust (ridden hard but still has some juice left in her, what I would call 'ugly but runs decent')- $650

I think we did pretty good... and now I have 4 more ridding buddies!!! <--- that was my payoff for speending a day in the blistering sun mulling over the deals.

I really could not believe the deals that were out there... we had a hard time deciding which were the best for the price ranges we were in... (the '01 KTM 200 MXC for $1,800!! the guy had painted the plastics or he would have gotten a whole lot more for it.... the '98 XR250 for $900!!.. on and on and on.... but we finaly settled on what we thought would be the most reliable (read, less beat) for the money...

I was the 'brains' behind the decisions, because I am an avid rider, they put a lot of wieght on what I had to say about the bikes, but they made their own decisions, and I thin they did very well for themselves. It was a lot of fun to see the excitement on these guys (and gal) faces as we loaded 4 nice rides into that truck and drove away. And it was a lot of fun to be able to help them into a sport I know they are going to love.

We are going riding tommorow.. well, today I guess (late night making sure the filters and oil and etc.. are done).... Now I have to take them out and teach them to ride... (yes, I made them all get helmets and promise to get boots ASAP).... I hope it all goes well... wish us luck...

no doubt the deals are flying on the 2-strokes these days.

We had a good time, but I tell you what, trying to teach 4 people how to ride at the same time is about as trying on the patience as anything ever could be. If it wasn't x's bike not starting, it was y's bike fouling a plug, or z's not knowing how to use the clutch and killing it 15 times in a row.... at some points I just wanted to rip out my hair from repeating myself... 'let the clutch out slowly', 'follow through on your kick starts or that bike will never start', 'you need to keep your RPM up, or your going to foul a plug'.

I think they got somewhat frustrated with hearing the same advice over and over too :) ... but it seemed that everytime I quit saying it, they would revert back to thier old ways (which weren't working)

I was surprised by Amber (absolute rookie, 130lb 5'8" female on a '92 CR125)... she got the hang of the clutch better than most of the guys and actualy paid attention when the guy who had been riding for 20 years gave her advice (me). A couple of the guys were being too headstrong and would just ignore me.. It was kinda fun though, because I would help her out, because she appreciated it, and then we would ride around while the guys who ignored me beat themselves up trying to do it all wrong and not taking advice well.

One of them even got so cocky that he started talking smack about how he could keep up with me (fast open trails).... we settled that quickly.. lol... I kicked his but when he and I were both on KDX200's.... then he started riding the CR 125 (he fouled his plug and Amber was too tired to keep riding)... then I REALLY burried him... then he blamed the bike, so we switched and he was on my KDX 200 and I took the CR 125... and I kicked his butt with that too... lol.. then he shut up and started listening to my advice about cornering... lol...

Nonetheless, we all had fun, and nobody took any serious injury, and nobody talked so much smack as to make anyone mad, just fun ribbing mostly. We will be going out again very soon.

Pace- The KX was, without a doubt, the best deal we got that day... what a machine that thing is. (it never fouled a plug when I was on it.. lol).. The YZ a close second though.

One last thing.... Are 90% of the bikes out there not jetted correctly?... I swear, every one of these bikes was running so rich that, if you weren't on the pipe, the performace would drop off noticably (noticable to someone riding next to you) in a matter of minutes... and two bikes fouled plugs (they were being ridden well below thier limits)

YZ165 said:

Wasted, sounds like your second job should be buying and selling used bikes.

Click to expand...

I should say so , those are some great deals (thanks for bursting my bubble... lol)

This should be nothing but encouragement to people getting into the sport, cheap bikes in good shape!!

Don't take my complaints wrong in the above post. I love helping people get into 'active' sports and the cheaper it is, the easier it is to get people to try them. My one freind confessed to me on the way up to ride- he is an avid Mtn Biker- "the tree-hugger side of me kinda feels like I folded on this one"... my reply "the tree hugger side of you should vote for people who will go after the real polluters... the corporates". When we were ridding home after he said "you were right man, the tree hugger side of me NEVER surfaced all day"... :) ... (don't take this as a bash on 'tree-huggers'... I have the same feelings sometimes, but I honestly believe that going after the recreational user is a sad compromise to what should really be done)

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: no harm, no foul...

I'm in your EXACT boat. I got a good deal on my bike, but I got a GREAT deal on everyone elses... lol... and now I get to wrench them for them.. lol

maybe wo should start a used dirtbike shop on the Minnesota/Wisconsin boarder?.... say, Stillwater or Taylors Falls?... lol