Still having trouble...

[maseh2os]

Still trying to figure out what bike to get. I'm a complete newb, totally starting from scratch. I want to do mostly trail riding in the woods with friends, possibly some track stuff later on. My friends all have two strokes so I am really leaning heavily that direction since they will be able to help me learn to ride and work on it, plus I keep hearing that the maintenance/repair work is cheaper and easier.

I'd like to get something used, mostly to save money. At the moment, my budget will probably around 2,000. It would be great to spend under that to get started if I could (the wife would be a lot happier too!).

Oh, and I'm about 5'9'', 210lbs. 28 years old, and if it makes any difference in deciding whether a bike is too much for me, I have no desire to go and get crazy right off the bat and get myself hurt. No problem being the slow guy for a while.

So far, these are the bikes I'm between:

KDX 200/220 - Supposed to be great beginner and trail bikes. Some stock components like forks are crappy, but the bikes seem infinitely modifiable. I feel like they are mostly overpriced in my area, even really old ones. Especially if I'm going to have to throw a bunch into mods early on.

KTM 200 exc/xcw - Supposed to be great all around bikes, better off the shelf than a heavily modded KDX, though maybe a bit too much for a beginner? Can be smoothed out a bit with mods though? Also pretty expensive used.

YZ 250 - From what I understand, this is primarily an MX bike, but I've a LOT of people saying they are the best woods bike they have ever ridden. Some say too much for a beginner, some say no big deal. Can also be smoothed out with mods? Seen a few good deals.

Any help you guys can give would be great. I know there's a great deal of brand loyalty around here but if you could try to look at it objectively and help me find something to learn on. One that won't totally kick my ass, but one that will push me to be better and won't be grown out of too quickly.

Thanks in advance y'all. :cool:

 

[ellandoh]

sounds like you should go with a ktm if you can find one in your $ range. if you are going to get into it you'll continually want to upgrade the kdx , and i dont know if theres anything a total beginner could do to a yz to keep from killing themselves

 

[WoodsRider]

I'm probably going to take some flack for this, but out of those three you should go for the KDX as it's the easiest for a beginner to learn on. About the only thing easier to learn how to ride on is an older Honda XR250.

If you can find either of those bikes (yes, I know the XR is a 4-stroke) in decent shape, for a good price, go for it.

The biggest mistake beginners make is buying a first bike that is too much for their ability. It's a good way to get hurt. You can always upgrade once your skills have developed. Losing a little cash selling a used bike is cheap compared to an ER visit.

 

[Colt891]

I agree that it would be cheaper than an ER visit for sure!

But in my opinion, I would see if one of your friends has a bike that they would let you practice on, so you can gain the beginning skills and learn how to ride.

From there I would say that you should go with a 250 2 stroke, as I'm confident that you could find one for under $2000 so you would have some more spending money. It is somewhat powerful for a beginning bike but I think that as long as you take it easy for a bit, and don't get ahead of yourself, you'll be fine. It's a bike where you're not necessarily pushing to upgrade from for quite a while, if ever. Also, it will be okay for trails, but awesome for tracks. And it is cheap to repair and maintain, and perform maientence.

 

[Chili]

Recommending a 250 2 stroke MX'er to complete newb is likely the most asinine advice known to man. Roll the clock back 10 years, in 2000 a 250 MX'er was the king of the hill, the end all be all of power and now it's a rank beginner bike?

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[Colt891]

I learned how to ride a 500cc 2 stroke dirt bike when I was 13 years old... Yes I did have some prior experience of riding, but seriously, just start slow and work your way up to your comfortable riding speed/skill. I rode in first gear for a bit before I even dared moving into the higher gears, keeping the mentality that the bike rides ME. Since it was so powerful.

Seriously, if a 13 year old kid can slowly learn how to ride a 500..(with a bad clutch) What makes you think a grown adult, (who learned the basic functions on a friends bike prior; like in my post) can't learn to handle a 250?

I never said that it was a beginner bike, but it would save him the time of buying a bike that he would end up selling within a half a year, if perhaps he wanted to move on to a more powerful bike. Starting here, and learning slowly and don't ride beyond your limit. Most asinine idea/advice known to man? Really?
I've skydived 3 times before I've even turned 18 (NOT tandem). I think there are more stressful things in life than SLOWLY learning how to ride a 250cc 2 stroke dirt bike.

 

[Chili]

I learned how to ride a 500cc 2 stroke dirt bike when I was 13 years old... Yes I did have some prior experience of riding, but seriously, just start slow and work your way up to your comfortable riding speed/skill.

Seriously, if a 13 year old kid can slowly learn how to ride a 500..(with a bad clutch) What makes you think a grown adult, (who learned the basic functions on a friends bike prior; like in my post) can't learn to handle a 250?

So because the adult supervision around you as a 13 year old lacked you feel that is the best approach to a complete newb rider?

I'll take a shot in the dark and guess anyone who learned to ride on a 500cc 2 stroke likely never saw an mx track or piece of single track anytime during their formative time on a bike. Sure if all you want to do is go back and forth in a wide open area repeatedly it may be doable but still not the best approach to actually learn how to ride.

The reality is one mistake with the throttle on that bike could have catastrophic results for a newb. Take the rider in the video above and put that whiskey throttle scenario around some trees all of the sudden it's not as amusing.

 

[_JOE_]

Chili is right. Avoiding the 250cc+ 2 strokes for a while is a great idea. A KTM200 will be a bit much for a beginner should you get a bit-o-whiskeythrottle like in the vid. It's all about throttle control and when you've bashing through the woods or around the track all day it gets MUCH more difficult to hold onto a morw powerful bike. Once you start to slide back and the bike starts to pull away from you the throttle keeps pulling and bye-bye! Look for a good deal on a KDX, KTM200 or even a 125 2 stroke. The 125s are dirt cheap and have a much smoother learning curve. Plus you'll learn better clutch control.

 

[Colt891]

Yeah I understand where you're coming from. I suppose I did jump the gun, maybe I'm too used to 450's and 500 2T's, the power-houses of bikes. But that's why I still mentioned that if he could practice for a good bit on a friends 'play bike' being something smaller like a 125 2T or a 250 4stroke (or 200?), he then could make a relative slow and steady switch to a 250 2T.

My dad taught me well and I suppose I jumped ahead thinking that being 12-13 years old(at the time) and riding a 500 2t, it would be much easier for an adult to move into a 250 2t. (I went from a TTR125L to a Husky 500cc 2T)

And of course, I'm not trying to prove anyone right or wrong, as I see you two, have much more experience on these forums with helping people. So I just wanted to throw out some of my ideas, and views. Cheers to riding.

What are your thoughts maseh2os?

 

[maseh2os]

Thanks for all the replies everyone. Still not sure what to do at this point. It's crazy the difference in opinion you get when asking questions like this. I posted this question on a couple other forums, and before getting to and reading the posts on this one, they all had me leaning toward the YZ 250.

As for the possibility of a 125 2t, I was kind of given the impression from reading other threads that it would probably be way too small/underpowered for me. I know they are still pretty powerful bikes, and would probably be fine at first, but it sounded like they would have some trouble dragging my weight uphill. Also it sounds like you really have to keep them on the pipe to wring the power from them, which seemed like it would be harder for a beginner to deal with.

I'm still not sure what I want to do at this point. I keep coming back around to the KDX, but it seems like anything but the really old ones are way overpriced around here. I suppose it would be kind of fun to mod one up and then upgrade when I run out of things to do to it. Which would give me a good back up bike that for friends/family to ride with me I guess. I dunno.

 

[Chili]

To me the KDX is the perfect bike for the experience and intended use you describe. The bike is plenty capable and other than basic tuning I can't see you needing much for mods in the short term. Another route since the track isn't your main focus that would be more of a struggle with your budget would be a CRF250X or a WR250F.

I'd have no problem suggesting a 125 if you were looking at spending your time on the track but for a beginner trail rider I'd prefer something with a bit more torque.

 

[BSWIFT]

As others have already suggested, a KDX 200/220 or a KTM 200 are good overall bikes to learn on and will keep most play riders happy for years to come. I would also recommend the XR 200. These are virtually bullet proof bikes and can easily handle a heavier rider better than a 125.
From the experience of other new riders, some outgrow the XR's fairly fast, preferring to move up to more suspension, more power, and better handling. I would really recommend the KDX if you feel you'll advance fairly quickly and the XR if you want to stay more laid back in your riding. Not knocking the XR just that I have seen new riders "outgrow" their XR in short order.

 

[GoldDrum]

If you go with the XR I would say the XR400. I learned to ride on that bike and it has plenty of power and is a great trail bike. You will not find anywhere that the bike does not have enough power to take you. It is also easy enough to ride at a slow pace while learning to ride. It would be comparable to the KDX200, but be a 4 stroke that needs nothing except the occasional oil change.