What Bike Should I Get

[sheabender]

I'm deeply interested in getting a bike but need advice on what manufactures are reliable and which size of bike would be best for me. I am a quick learning and have been around mountain bikes for years. I am 6 foot tall and 150 pounds. I would want a bike that would last me years and not a bike that is recommended to learn on and then upgrade to a new one.

Thank you

 

[jb_dallas]

The best brand is a matter of opinion. Any of the the big 4 should be a fine choice. Stay away from the Chinese crap. Depending on the type of riding you are doing, you may want to go with a 2 stroke 125 or a 4 stroke 250. The 4 stroke 250 would make a better trail bike, but will most likely cost more.

 

[2strokesrock]

Try filling out the sticky at the top of the page.

 

[sheabender]

1) your physical size (both height and weight are important)
6 foot and 150 lbs.
2) How physical / aggressive are you ?
Im quite physical and athletic
3) what do you plan to ride- MX/SX tracks, woods, fields with friends or ?????
Mostly woods, fields and homebuilt tracks
4) Do you have any riding experience?
I've rode friends' bikes and have been around mountain bikes for years
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 preference
8) Do you have a dealer close by your home that you might use and what brand(s) does he carry?
Not aware
9) How much ($) do you plan to spend on a bike?
0-2500
10) Do you live in California?
Washington
11) Your age?
17

 

[2strokesrock]

thanks for filling that out!
with your budget and size, you have lots of options.
since it is your first bike I am going to recomend a good 4 stroke trail bike.
maybe a kawasaki KLX 300, Honda XR250/350, or a newer two stroke trail bike like a 2003 Kawasaki KDX200/220

 

[_JOE_]

XR250

 

[jb_dallas]

A 300 or 350 cc 4 stroke is alot of power for a begginer who is 17 years old and 150 pounds.

 

[Dirtymotonut]

I vote with Joe, XR250. fun bike too!

 

[sheabender]

Thanks for the advice.

 

[flyingfuzzball]

A 300 or 350 cc 4 stroke is alot of power for a begginer who is 17 years old and 150 pounds.

not an XR. those bikes are very mellow and not the high performance race machines that have tons of torque and power.

 

[jb_dallas]

Everybody has their opinion I suppose. If I had a 17 year old son that is 150 pounds and inexperienced, I wouldnt buy him an XR 350. I have ridden a friends XR 350 years ago and that is not a beginner bike for that particular rider...maybe if he was 250+ pounds. One factor to consider is the weight of an
XR350. Do you think a 150 pound inexperienced rider can control a bike that heavy?

 

[sheabender]

CRF or YZ

I'm looking at the CRF 250R, CRF 250X and the YZ 250F. IN your opinion what bike is the CRFs or the YZs and why.

 

[mideastrider]

you can't go wrong with either. The x model is somewhat apart from the others with wide ratio tranny, electric start and head light its also weights a little more.

 

[2strokesrock]

what year are you looking at getting?

 

[sheabender]

2005-2006

 

[sheabender]

I've found a bike locally, its a 2005 CRF 250 R with about a 100 hours on it for $2200.

 

[Patman]

Do you have any idea if the required maintenance has been performed on that bike? Do you have any idea what required maintenance YOU will be needing to do to this bike? I'm going to vote XR250 as well. Great bike to learn on and then with a little bit of work and not a lot of $$ can be quite the little power house. Not everybody needs a water cooled "race" bike no matter how aggressive they think they might be. A good used XR250 will also be easily in your budget and allow lots of riding with minimal downtime.

 

[_JOE_]

Plan on completely rebuilding the engine before riding it. If it was ridden hard at 100 hours it's getting ready for a crank and most likely valves, on top of the usual piston and rings. The clutch could need work as well as wheel bearings and seals and all that jazz that you need to look at when buying ANY used bike. I would be VERY skeptical of a 250f for that cheap.