Upgrading to Bigger Bike, Help!

[Phantom549]

Hey guys and gals this forum is new to me and anyways I was lookin into upgrading to a bigger bike. Right now I have a 2007 Honda CRF100cc and now I'm considering at moving up to a 125-150cc bike. I got the bike last Christmas as a surprise gift and now me and my dad have come to the conclusion that the bike is pretty small for me; basically right on the borderline. My dad bought it last minute Christmas shopping, so I wasn't there to sit on the bikes and what not.

So I thought I'd help yall out and fill out the lil survey in the sticky.

1) your physical size (both height and weight are important)
- I am 6'1" weighing at 240lbs

2) How physical / aggressive are you ?
- I havnt really raced at all.. none of my friends have dirtbikes or atvs.. or if you mean by personality, i'm pretty easy going

3) what do you plan to ride- MX/SX tracks, woods, fields with friends or ?????
- I'm thinkin fields with friends and woods

4) Do you have any riding experience?
- Yep :)

5) Do you think you will race ?
- Not competively, just with friends probably

6) Are you mechanically inclined and will you be doing your own bike work?
- Absolutely not :). But my dad and my friends dad has knowlege about bikes

7) Do YOU have a preferance to a brand/ motor choice (2 or 4 stroke)?
- Brand, I'm not so certain. I know Honda is really good. Thats basically all I know lol.
- I was looking at gettin a 125-150cc motor, preferably 4-stroke since I dont have to deal with mixing

8) Do you have a dealer close by your home that you might use and what brand(s) does he carry?
- Yes, they carry Honda, Yamaha, and Kawasaki

9) How much ($) do you plan to spend on a bike?
- Well I was mainly lookin at getting a used bike.. so like.. $1000 - $2000

10) Do you live in California?
- Nope, east coast. South Carolina

11) Your age?
- 17, turning 18 in Jan.

12) anything else that you think would help form an opinion
- umm... nope. i'm pretty much a noobie to when it comes to dirtbike specs, i just know how to ride lol

So what do yall think?
Thanks.

 

[Dylan19302]

I would think by your size you might want to get a crf 230 150 still seems kind of small. I think you could probally find a 2000-2005 for 2000 grand somewere. look online. I live in canada so I dont know what sort of website you have but up here we have auto trader, kijiji, supershopper.

 

[KTM Mike]

At your size, even a Crf 230 would be on the small side. I would suggest going to your local dealer, and sitting on a few bikes - you might even find some good deals on some used ones. Or find some local for sale ads, go look at some bikes - see how they feel size wise to you. I would suggest a "full size" bike, with managable power delivery. I know you said you prefer idea of 4 stroke - but dont dismiss a 2 stroke - some great deals to be had on used 2 strokes right now. But - as a newbie - a full on MX 2 stroke might be a bit harder to adapt to - depends on where you are as a rider. Consider something like a KDX200 - You can easily find them in your price range - very capable bike for the fields and woods sort of riding, possible to street legalize to - and will fit you size wise. My son is about your height, but maybe 175 lbs - has ridden a KDX since he was 5'6" - we put a tall seat on it, and bar risers - fits him perfectly - I love the ergos on it now. KDX has very managable power delivery, yet can be easily woken up with a few basic mods as you develop as a rider.

 

[Phantom549]

hmm..

i went to my local store a couple of months ago and sat on a 150cc honda and 125cc yamaha and they seems pretty good size wise to me.. the only thing i didnt like from what i remember was the little space the yamaha gave me for my right foot. i think only half my foot could fit on it. i think it was due to a piece of the body sticking out a lil too far. i'd have to go up there again soon to refresh my memory. good thing is that its only about 5 mins away :)

 

[KTM Mike]

Gee - do head off to the local shop if it is so close! But sit on a CRF, then sit on a full size bike side by side - my guess is, someone 6'1" and 240 lbs will look like a monkey on a football on a CRF150. If you are stuck on the CRF line, look at at a 250X - even the 230 is to small for you in my opinion. If stuck on Hondas - consider even a XR250 - nice mellow power delivery in a full size package.

When my son hit just about 6 feet he found his KDX actually feeling a bit cramped for him, so we did the tall seat and bar risers - so if you are 6'1", give some serious second thoughts to such a small bike as a CRF150 - they are much much smaller than even a KDX. If you want "upward ability" out of the bike, and you buy a CRF150 sized bike, as you get better as a rider you will VERY quickly find the CRF to small for you. If you see the CRF as a very short lived stepping stone, just like your 100 was - fine, but in just a matter of months you will be shopping again. My son came off a yamaha TTR125 - close to same size as the CRF150 - he was oh, 5'6 or 5'7" at the time. At that point, he found the TTR to small already - he went to the KDX - which was a tad big early on, but he quickly grew into it size and skill wise.

No offense, at 240 lbs, you are a big feller - a little mellow 150 cc 4 stroke is hardly ample power for someone that size. A 200 2 stroke much better. A full on more agressively powered 250 4 stroke - fine, or even a 125 two stroke fine...but a 150 4 stroke play bike?

Take a look in the KDX sub forum here on DRN - there is a lenghty post about the size of a KDX being or not being adequate for a big guy. At your size - you are a big guy! If there is room for question of a full size bike such as a KDX possibly being to small - the CRF150 and 230 are clearly should be out of the running.

 

[robwbright]

Phantom, I ride full size bikes at 5'4", 145 lbs. There are kids smaller than me at the track on 250f's

You need something bigger.

 

[Phantom549]

hmm..

well.. would the kawasaki 125cc 2-stroke be a good choice ktm mike? the shop near me has a lot of kawa's and yama's. i've heard some bad rep though about the kawasaki's.. mainly them requiring more maintenance.

howabout the honda 125cc 2-stroke?

and no offense taken on the "big feller" term lol. people look at me and dont expect me to weigh over 200lbs. idk, i guess im just "big-boned" lol.

 

[XRpredator]

if you are set on a two stroke, you'd probably be best served with a 250.

If you want to go four stroke, buy a '96 and up XR250 or XR400 -- you won't be disappointed after riding the crf100

 

[KTM Mike]

hmm..

well.. would the kawasaki 125cc 2-stroke be a good choice ktm mike? the shop near me has a lot of kawa's and yama's. i've heard some bad rep though about the kawasaki's.. mainly them requiring more maintenance.

howabout the honda 125cc 2-stroke?

and no offense taken on the "big feller" term lol. people look at me and dont expect me to weigh over 200lbs. idk, i guess im just "big-boned" lol.

"Physical" size wise, yes, a KX125, or CR125, or RM125 (any of the full size MX bikes) would be much better than a CRf. Now a 125 MX bike might be a tiny bit more cramped ergonomically than a 250 or larger though.

As Pred said (hey that rhymes!), you might be happier with a 250 though. What you need to keep in mind, you can simply look at the displacement of a bike - 4 stroke power is different than 2 stroke power. It (generally..some will disagree with me) takes a larger displacement 4 stroke to equal the power of a 2 stroke. Also, you need to consider the "type" of power. A full on MX bike's power comes on a much harder and suddenly, than a "woods" bike, and a "trail" or "play" bike power will be yet again more mellow.

You said you dont expect to race competitively, mostly fields and woods/trail use. A 125 MX bike is not necessarily well suited to that - sure, you would have a rip roaring blast doing it, but a 125 power delivery will be much more abrupt.

A XR250,400 as pred said, would be super - nice power, ample for woods use, managable, great for a newbie. A KDX - as a 2 stroke, power is a bit more peaky, but due to how a KDX is set up, is still quite managable, great for a newbie. In the Yamaha line, a TTR250 might do the trick, or a WR250 - but that is gonna be out of your price range. Suzuki choices are pretty limited to fit your need..maybe a DRz400? but heavy.

I would boil it down to the XR250/400 or KDX as best fit for your needs. They are easy to find used, reasonably priced, very reliable, easy to find parts for new or used. All of those machines have had limited changes over the years, so parts from one year can fit several years.

So -run down to the local shop - sit on everything dirt bike in sight, start asking questions of the sales guy - but dont let them sell you a bill of goods. See what they have used - try those on for size. Dont let them convince you you MUST have a barney bad ass full on MX bike just because that is all they have in stock! Start shopping local papers - find an add, do a google search, or search on DRN to learn about the bike. Start buying some moto Mags like Dirt Bike and Dirt Rider etc. Do the research - and keep asking questions!