which bike to buy?

The power and controllability of the crf450 would be great, but the price of upkeep on the crf's seem to be pretty high. They put out great power, but seem to give up quite a bit of reliability in the process. The crf250's are HIGHLY volatile, so I would NOT suggest one of those. Mostly because you have to keep them revved to make the power you want, and 4 strokes don't like being revved. They like being shifted up another gear... The smoker will put almost similar amounts of horsepower as the crf450, but it won't have the same amount of torque and controllability of the CRF... The plus of the cr250 smoker is that it is very easy to upkeep and inexpensive to repair.



If you are already an experienced agressive rider, then you should have no problems controlling a 2 stroke and keeping it in it's power range, but the 4 strokes have the same power all through the rpm's which make them great for mx applications and for the more relaxed riding style riders in trails. You will have to figure out which is best fit for your riding style and wallet.