Selection advice for friend

[MicroG33k]

Okay, well, I definitely got the wrong bike, let's make sure my friend doesn't. :P

1) your physical size (both height and weight are important)
5'11" / 140

2) How physical / aggressive are you ?
Not very.

3) what do you plan to ride- MX/SX tracks, woods, fields with friends or ?????
Trails through Maine woods, sometimes road (I think this limits him to a dualsport bike, of course)

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?
Yes

7) Do YOU have a preferance to a brand/ motor choice (2 or 4 stroke)?
No

8) Do you have a dealer close by your home that you might use and what brand(s) does he carry?
No

9) How much ($) do you plan to spend on a bike?
As little as possible. He said $500 when asked, but I can't imagine what he's gonna get for that. He's flexible.

10) Do you live in California?
No

11) Your age?
19

12) anything else that you think would help form an opinion
No.

 

[YZ__rider]

You can hardly buy the gear (helmet, goggles, gloves, pants, jersey, boots) for $500. Once upon a time I bought a junky RM125 for $400..I figured I could put maybe $200-$250 in it and have a good bike. By the time I made all of the necessary repairs that it needed to be reliable, I had spent about $700, for a total of $1100. A RM 125 is a cheap bike to work on, can you imagine what a $500 dual sport would have cost to repair? Your friend might want to find another hobby. Trail/MX/Dual Sport are not cheap hobbies...I think most would attest to that.

 

[rmc_olderthandirt]

the dual sport requirement sure doesn't fit with the budget. Your friend might be able to find some 20 year old bike (most likely a two stroke) that still had some life left in it but it is not going to be street legal.

If he can increase his budget considerably then I would recommend either a Honda CRF230L or a Yamaha XT250. These are street legal from the factory bikes that are still reasonable on trails.

I am not familiar with Maine's licensing requirements. In California, if it isn't street legal from the factory you are not likely to make it street legal due to the emission control requirements. It can be done, but it is not cheap or easy. There are other states, however, that as long as you have the basics (mirrors, lights, horn, etc) you can register the bike for the street. If Maine is such a state then you will probably find a fair number of bikes that were converted to dual sport use. On that basis, I would look for any four stroke bike, 230 to 250 cc. Something like a Yamaha TT-R230 or a Honda CRF230F are fairly inexpensive bikes that are good for a beginner.

IF he can increase his budget a lot then I would recommend a Yamaha WR250F or a Honda CRF250X. These bikes are almost street legal from the factory so they can be converted to dual sport use (in some states) fairly easily. They are also really good bikes for woods riding and can even hold their own on a MX track.

And like YZ__rider said, your friend will need to budget the riding gear. Do NOT ride the bike without a helmet, goggles and boots. Gloves and a chest protector are also highly recommended. Knee pads and riding pants are also a good idea.

Rod

 

[MicroG33k]

I BELIEVE Maine is one of the 'easy' states. I printed out everything I could find in the statutes regarding motorcycles and, frankly, I think I could realistically make my KX80 fit the requirements.

His budget will definitely be higher. On question 12, I didn't want to post this originally since he was sitting next to me reading as I typed it, but he's also borderline MR (mentally retarded). His handling of money is bizarre, to say the least - pretty much his mother still keeps track of it all - so any time you ask him a price/budget question, you get a completely random and meaningless number. If his mother believes he should have a bike, he has the money for it.

I will say I don't think there's anything stopping him from riding a bike properly - he just fails miserably when it comes to academics. Also, despite his initial answer when I got to question 6, I strongly doubt he will be doing his own maintenance - not successfully anyway. I have a bad feeling I'll wind up involved with most of it.



Gear. heh. I've got a helmet, I'm still looking for the rest. I'm assuming work boots will at least be better than sneakers. I got my bike quite a bit by luck (hence my having the wrong bike - it was a heck of a deal) and trying to find the rest of the gear at a similarly-insane price just isn't working out.

 

[wake_rider]

I understand that you were being "matter of fact" with your response, but I have to say: That was a hilarious response. Not to be tough on the guy who has learning disabilities or anything, your response was just completely different than I had expected.

Joking aside, do you think he would be better off with a quad?

 

[MicroG33k]

Joking aside, do you think he would be better off with a quad?

If you're suggesting balance issues, no. He does fine with my bmx/mountain bikes. His "issues" don't seem to inhibit anything physically, he just doesn't communicate well and fails miserably when it comes to mathematical or deep logical thought. I'm not sure if learning controls would be an issue for him, but if so it'll still be an issue on a quad.

I think I've got him somewhat interested in a TT-R230. I know TT-R125's have been successfully modified to be street-legal, I can't imagine the 230 would be much harder?

 

[wake_rider]

You will have better awareness of your state laws than me, but I don't see any reason he wouldn't be able to make that bike street-legal if similar bikes have been easily converted and tagged.

If you could legally convert an older kdx200 or 220, that could be a great bike for him. It's a bullet-proof even with average maintenance, and could be a really good bike for him. An older xr200 would be another option if it is easy to convert to legal there.

 

[longtime coming]

You guys need riding gear. You can buy good stuff cheap at places like (but not limited to) Rocky Mountain Cycle. You just have to be aware of the shipping costs. For example:

Thor Quadrant adult boots $107.00
gloves 13.50
riding pants 33.00
jersey 15.00
goggles 30.00
kneepads 15.00
helmet 80.00

total $293.50

these are examples of some of the prices I bought gear for in the last year. All of it was "old stock" (last year's stuff). Some was bought at Rocky Mountain. All of the warehouse places sell off old stock for very reasonable prices. Sometimes you can get premium gear for a song (note that everything I listed is decent, but not premium, gear. :)

 

[YZ__rider]

I agree with LC...Rockymountainatv.com has excellent deals and I have spent a ton of money (literally) on their site. If you really are a tightwad, check out Ebay. I bought a pair of $190 Fox boots for $60 shipped...they looked like they had been worn once or twice....there are deals out there. My point was...if you cant afford the gear, you sure cant afford the bike, but I understand the situation.