My first bike!

[Common]

Well, my folks finally are allowing me to pick up a dirt bike so here is my info:

1) your physical size- 155lbs, 6'0''/6'1''.
2) How physical / aggressive are you ? Pretty physically aggressive
3) what do you plan to ride- Fields, woods, occasional track.
4) Do you have any riding experience? No.
5) Do you think you will race ? No.
6) Are you mechanically inclined and will you be doing your own bike work? I know my way around a garage.
7) Do YOU have a preference to a brand/ motor choice (2 or 4 stroke)? No preference.
8) Do you have a dealer close by your home that you might use and what brand(s) does he carry? Yes, plenty of dealers. I was also thinking about craigslist too.
9) How much ($) do you plan to spend on a bike? No more than $1000.
10) Do you live in California? Oregon.
11) Your age? 16
12) anything else that you think would help form an opinion. This is my first bike so I do not need something fancy, but would like something that will last awhile.

I was wondering for my size what cc bike would be the best? Would a Honda XR 100 carry me around pretty good?

Thanks everyone!

 

[new2biking95]

for your size an xr100 will carry you around but will be way too small. look for an old xr200 or a crf230 or a ttr230 all good bikes

 

[Common]

I sort of wanted to stay around the $1000 range and I searched on craigslist and CRF 230 are all near $2000. There are no ttr230's or xr200's for sale around her either. I guess I have to keep waiting.

 

[robwbright]

Not the best bike to start on, but you could look for a 2 stroke 125 motocrosser - they're selling cheap nowadays.

You might not get a nice one for $1000, but you can certainly get a decent one for $1200-1500. If you're lucky, you might even find one at $1000.

A 250 would be better but likely out of your price range.

 

[rmc_olderthandirt]

I second the 125cc two stroke bike. You will have to go at least 10 years old to get in your price range but you should be able to find a good bike with lots of life left in it. The two stroke will also be cheaper and easier to maintain.

At 6' tall you want a full size bike, so forget the 100cc bikes, you outgrew those a couple of years ago. Also keep in mind that bikes come in different models, the two main ones are "MX" and "Off road".

The MX bikes are built for race. They have high performance motors which require premimum grade gasoline and tend to be a bit finicky. They also have the power to destroy themselves so don't hold the throttle wide open for long periods of time! Since they are built for race they will usually lack the "frills", such as a kickstand.

The "off road" models are cheaper. They will usually have a lower seat height which is great for shorter people but not a feature you would be interested in. The suspension will have significantly less travel and the engines are "detuned" which means that they will run fine on regular gas but they will lack in power.

The off road models are great to learn on but once you start hitting the track the suspension will really hold you back. I doubt that you would be happy with such a model.

Examples of "off road" are the Yamaha TTR-230 or Honda CRF230.
Examples of "MX" are Yamaha YZxxxx



Rod

 

[nikki]

Another vote for a 125cc.... it's in your price range, there should be a bunch available, and it's a good first bike for a 155 lb. 16 year old. Plus easy to work on, and it'll work well for all types of riding, fields, tracks, trails, etc. Personally, I would recommend a YZ 125.