newby help: dirt bike on-road riding?

[Cool Spice]

Hey. I just registered (I don't have a bike but am considering one) and I was wondering, would I have to adjust the suspension and get different tires (or anything else) if I wanted to ride around my gated community on it, but not much else? Would it hurt the bike in any way if I just went out after buying it, with no modifications, and rode it out on the street consistantly? :coocoo: The reason I ask this is because one of my dirt bike/quad-savvy friends told me it would ruin the suspension. (or something)

 

[jrf4x4]

It would ruin the tires.

 

[XRpredator]

it would also ruin your good relationships with your neighbors

 

[fatcat216]

Pred (and all the rest of you guys).. before this turns into yet another parental teen lecture, can we focus on the suspension/mechanical actual issues for a moment? I'm really intrigued by the actual question.

Cool Spice- why does your friend think that? Consider for a moment, the purpose of your suspension.... why would riding it on flat ground "ruin" it?? I can think of many reasons why you might want to adjust the suspension for street riding, but ruin it??

Explain to me why.

_____________________________________________________________
[Also, yes, Pred is right, you'll probably find out rather quickly that your gated community (unless it just happens to be some sort of heavenly dirtbike gated community) will have prohibitions against what you want to do. If they don't, you'll find out maybe just as quickly that the sound gets on their nerves. They will grow to hate you, your parents, and your bike. And... all of us. You'll find this forum is not very supportive of actions which turn people against us and our hobby. We like to maintain a courteous and respectful lawabiding profile. Last kid who blah blahed on his right to do that was given the boot for awhile, so, let's just pretend you didn't say it and focus on the other mechanical stuff.]

 

[Cool Spice]

I'm not sure. He said it would "screw it up." I know that the tires themselves will wear down really quick, but I think he was talking about the bike itself. I'll think to ask him soon.

What would some of the road-tuned advantages be (how much would they be, would it be more beneficial for a complete newby to just leave it?) and how hard is it to adjust the suspension?

Anyway, XRpredator, I know another teen a couple years older than me that has a dirt bike (Honda I think) and rides it around all the time but it's not thaaat loud. I mean, I'll hear it as he zooms past my house, but it's not annoying or anything. What kind of mods could make it quieter?

EDIT: Sorry, I won't say anything more. I didn't see the rest of your post at first, fatcat216, I thought it was your signature. I'd still like to know how to make a dirt bike quieter, though. I LOVE quiet, purring engines. ;)

 

[Deadohiosky39]

I would say the only thing that wouldn't completely piss of your neighbors would be a stock xr50. And yes, it will make your tires go bald quickly. As for the suspension getting ruined, I don't see how. Dirt bikes are made to take rough off road terrain so it seems to me that a flat surface would actually be easier on it than what it was made for. I don't think you're friend is as dirt bike/Quad-savvy as he leads you to believe. I'd say if you are wanting to ride around the neighborhood then just get a moped or something.

 

[scooter1130]

I also can't think of any reason why street riding would hurt the suspension. my question would be, why not consider a dual sport instead of a dirtbike. I don't know how old you are, so not sure if you have a liscense yet, but if you plan on riding primarily on the street, you may want to look into a small dual sport.

 

[fatcat216]

Both a small dual sport and a moped are excellent ideas. Both are a lot of fun.

As to quieting pipes:

The right pipe, double insulated pipes or snorkels are ways to quiet things. You can do a search on the forum and find a lot of neat stuff. Follow your curiosity. I'll try to throw a few on here for you throughout the day. Here's one to get you started.

http://www.dirtrider.net/forums3/showthread.php?t=119390

This is a fun read- not sure how current some of the rules and info is.
http://www.dirtrider.net/forums3/showthread.php?t=135556

 

[Cool Spice]

Deadohiosky39, the teen who rides around my community (only because you brought this up) has a CRF50 but his dad doesn't. The bike his dad rides is older but has like 150cc or something. I live a couple miles from the east coast of Florida, so I could drag a sand-tire-d dirt bike out there and ride it.

I know it's not prohibited in my community. The rules are vastly unristrictive; everyone in the community except my family has a golf cart that they ride around on the (private) roads. Also, my community is a fly-in, so planes fly around over everyone's houses all the time, and some of the streets are used for both cars and planes.

I don't have a license.

And here come the questions:
What kind of tires would you suggest for riding on roads anyway; I'm assuming some type of dual-sport tires? Why would a CRF50 in particular be quieter than everything else? How hard is it to adjust the suspension? How hard is it to change tires?

P.S. Thanks, guys, for continuing to help a newbie with all this basic stuff.

 

[Patman]

Honestly for what you are suggesting the use would be I'd get a pitbike of some form. PLENTY fast for scooting around a gated community and typically not quite as annotingly loud as a full on MX'er plus it would be cheaper to buy and have more appeal to others in the neighborhood when you go to sell it because it's not as fun as you thought it would be to ride around the neighborhood.

I live in a rural area, all my neighbors have acerage and most the roads are dirt / gravel. Many of the kids have bikes around here and when they want to spend some time chasing each other and running the trails they use the 80-125cc big bikes. When they want to just mess around between a couple of the "yards" they grab our Pit Vipers and have a great time.

 

[Cool Spice]

Well, the reason I'm interested in a dirt bike is because I'm not out of my parents' house yet. and I've already tried to persuade my dad to let me get a pocketbike. He thinks they're too fast and low and dangerous. :bang: He doesn't have any objections (except for price) to a dirt bike, though. I would also be able to use a dirt bike on the beach, and I'm not sure if you can easily ride a pit bike on sand. :coocoo:

 

[Patman]

Ummmm, the bikes I refer to are not tiny little crotch rockets, something more like this http://www.dirtrider.net/gallery/showimage.php?i=1416&c=17

Seat height is generally at least 26", jumps and moderate sand are typically not an issue.

 

[OldTimer]

Here's one for you and your community:
http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/products/modelimagelib/10/1/1/0/image.aspx

 

[_JOE_]

A ttr125 is a nice quite bike with enough power to have fun on. Even a crf100/150f.

 

[CROSS]

Last kid who blah blahed on his right to do that was given the boot for awhile

Haha! So thaaaat's why. :laugh:

Why don't you just buy an already street legal bike to ride on the road if that's all you want to do? Pit bikes are fun, but if you're riding them in circles, then they soon grow boring. Pocket bikes are fun but look ridiculous, and go-karts are pretty fun for on-road use.

However, please note, no matter if you're on a 50cc 4-stroke, or a 250cc 2-stroke, if you're riding around the neighborhood, many many neighbors are going to consider it a nuisance, even if you're obeying all laws. Just do yourself a favor and make it street legal, ride to a local spot, and tear it up there. More fun anyways. :cool: