A good first dirt bike?

[caeman]

New or used, what would make for a good and reliable first dirt bike that will find itself only used twice a month, at most?

Should I focus on 4-strokes for the simpler maintenance?

With any advice given, I am 5'10", should the bike you are thinking of being really tall (KLR-650, anyone? *chuckle*)

[LoDownSinner]

Honda XR100s and XR200s are pretty much the workhorses of the little dirtbikes. The XR200 with the proper rider can hang with just about anything in the woods.

I find just about any dirt bike above a 125 trail bike to be tall.

[caeman]

I just went up the Honda web site and jotted down some info on their off-road models.

CRF100F, $2369, 30" seat
CRF80F, $2069, 28" seat
CRF70F, $1649, 26" seat
CRF50F, $1349, 21" seat

The CRF50F seems a tad too short, very much for a tall child. My knees would be in my nose. The 80F and 70F seem like a good compromise of price and performance. I am not looking to do 100 foot leaps or 0-60 in 2 seconds. I just want to have fun in the dirt on two-wheels.

Thanks for the tip.

[LoDownSinner]

If you're only going to ride once or twice a month, why are you looking at new bikes?

You should be abel to find a decent XR200 for around $1500 or less.

I only paid a grand for my KTM 400.

[caeman]

I am limited by what is for sale in my area.

I don't mind buying new, since the things I buy new I tend to keep for a long time. I will have the satisfaction of knowing *I* was the only owner, knowing its maintenance history, keeping it run until my son can ride, teach my wife on it, etc.

Some people just like to buy new.

[Missy B]

To give you a reference point, my kids have the Honda 50's. My son has the 06 CRF50 - he's 5 and flat foots it just fine. My daughter is 9 and is beyond flat-footing her XR50. I'm thinking the 50 is not something meant for you. LOL

We have an XR100. Karl rides it but I dont. I'm 5' 7" with a 34 inch inseam, but I'm a tad on the heavy side. LOL He's 5' 7" and 165 and does fine with it. He loves to ride it. I'm thinking, like LDS said, a 150 or so would be fine. And like he said, the motocross bikes are really tall. We prefer the trail bikes.

Our neighbor is a Yamaha guy and just bought a TTR 250 for his adult daughter. Really nice bike and can be made into a dual sport if you want to. Lower seat height than the motocross.

If you are looking dual sport, the XT225 also makes a great dual sport, too. Not that I'm biased or anything. :mrgreen:

The Honda CRF230F can also be made into a dual sport, too.

Ok, I'm done now. :mrgreen:

[hudrock85]

I just went up the Honda web site and jotted down some info on their off-road models.

CRF100F, $2369, 30" seat
CRF80F, $2069, 28" seat
CRF70F, $1649, 26" seat
CRF50F, $1349, 21" seat

The CRF50F seems a tad too short, very much for a tall child. My knees would be in my nose. The 80F and 70F seem like a good compromise of price and performance. I am not looking to do 100 foot leaps or 0-60 in 2 seconds. I just want to have fun in the dirt on two-wheels.

Thanks for the tip.

My 11 year old has the XR80, which is exactly the same as the CRF 80 and he had a KLX 110 which is the same size as the CRF70F and both of these bikes are too small for a full size adult. You will find you knees up with your elbows, but more importantly the suspension on these bikes are set up for kids and won't handle a full size adult on much more than flat level ground. I would say the same for the 100 as well. At a minnimum you need to go to a bike around the size of the CRF150F or the CRF230F.

I wouldn't get too hung up on the height as long as you can at least tip-toe the bike, these bikes weigh in the 225 lb range so you don't have to worry about the weight as much as you would on a 500 to 700 lb cruiser.

I'm 5'10" with a 31 inch inseam and I ride a DRZ400 with a unladen seat height of 36". With me sitting on it I can get the balls of my feet on the ground. You will need to sit on the bikes for fit as they will have much more travel in the suspension and will not be as tall with you on the bike as their claimed seat height.

Powerwise I would reccomend staying with the 4-strokes as they generally have a friendlier and more linear powerband.

[Rhenium3]

I am going to get a Suzuki DR 125 for my first dirt bike. It is on the shorter side, which is nice for me... I am not sure if it is available there though....

[Missy B]

Just googled the DR125...nice choice! Looks a lot like my XT, actually. Hope you find it there!

[Rhenium3]

Just googled the DR125...nice choice! Looks a lot like my XT, actually. Hope you find it there!

Oh, we have it here for sure... you guys have it there? I will be buying it in fall/winter, I can't wait! :)

[Missy B]

Sorry..misread your post about availability.

I honestly dont know if we have it here. I know there is a Suzuki DR sumfin' here, but...something says we dont have it here, tho. LOL

[azpenguin]

Nice thing about a dual sport is that you can ride it out to the trails instead of having to load and unload it...

[LoDownSinner]

I know we get the DR200. I rode a new one a couple of weeks ago, and it was pretty nice. A little hard to get the front wheel up, but nice and light and forgiving.

[Missy B]

A little hard to get the front wheel up...

LOL Ya know, they should really include this little factoid in bike specs on manufacturers' websites, doncha think? :mrgreen:

[DukeRyder]

I'm gonna go against the grain here a little bit and reccomend the Kawi KLX250S and the DRZ400S 2nd, for PURE DirtBikes the KLX300 is hard to beat, there's some air cooled Honda CRFs and a DRZ250 too they're all very manageable for any adult rider.

The thing about the little bikes (XR100/200s DR200s, XTs etc) is they're ANTIQUATED, these bikes were cutting edge tech back in the EARLY 1980s. The KLX and DRZ are far from high-po MX racers, but they've got great suspension and bullet proof motors.

[lolygizmo]

New or used, what would make for a good and reliable first dirt bike that will find itself only used twice a month, at most?

Should I focus on 4-strokes for the simpler maintenance?

With any advice given, I am 5'10", should the bike you are thinking of being really tall (KLR-650, anyone? *chuckle*)

You may try whit an APOLLO ORION 250 L.C....good and reliable bikes.No problem with parts...

[LoDownSinner]

A little hard to get the front wheel up, but nice and light and forgiving.


LOL Ya know, they should really include this little factoid in bike specs on manufacturers' websites, doncha think? :mrgreen:
I don't know what kind of trails you ride, but around here, if you can't loft the front tire, you're not getting over a lot of obstacles.

[Missy B]

Maybe that's why I keep sliding off ravines! I keep trying to RIDE up 'em instead of wheelie'ing up 'em! :mrgreen:

I've only done little tiny wheelies. And that's only because of the pitch of whatever I was going over enabled me to try it. LOL I'm a wuss. :mrgreen:

[LoDownSinner]

Yeah, well, I'm guessing you don't have a lot of tree trunks and branches blocking your trails, and the water crossings...

[Born2BMild]

Worked for me...

http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/images/4/43/1970-Honda-QA50-Yellow-1.jpg

And, wheelies were a snap!
:woohoo3:

[LoDownSinner]

LOL!! QA50!!! Three-speed, automatic clutch, rear brake lever on the left handgrip.

My first was a Z50. Same motor and tranny, but different handlebars and a bit bigger seat. Yep, wheelies were easy, just lean back and give the bars a slight tug as you hammered the throttle, LOL!

[Born2BMild]

LOL!! QA50!!! Three-speed, automatic clutch, rear brake lever on the left handgrip.

My first was a Z50. Same motor and tranny, but different handlebars and a bit bigger seat. Yep, wheelies were easy, just lean back and give the bars a slight tug as you hammered the throttle, LOL!

Yours had 3? Man, I'm jealous - mine only had 2!:notworthy
Yep - 2 speeds, slow & slower. Topped out at about 20 m.p.h., but you could go just about anywhere on one. And, they'd float.:thumbsup:
Managed to break just about all the rules of common sense on mine, but I always remembered to wear my old Bell 3/4 face helmet. Full-face helmets weren't commonly available, and if I'd really done something outrageous I probably wouldn't have lived through it. Sigh. Good times...

Anyhow - getting back to Caeman's original request; +1 on a dual-sport, just 'cause it's so much easier to get it to/from dirt. I'm quite fond of the TW200, m'self, but unless you're a short-legged critter it may be a bit cramped. The XT250 gets props, as well as the XT225, natch. The DR200 was nipping at the heels of the TW when I was in the market - if anything it would've probably been more suitable just 'cause I can flat-foot one. And, Honda just came out with the CRF230L, which is already dual-sported for you. Darn nice of 'em.

Far as 2 vs. 4-strokes, I'd just stick with the 4's, even if you're doing a straight dirt bike. For what you've described, pretty much any of the low-end bikes'd be fine - with a 4-banger there's no mixing of oil (probably not so much anymore - suspect most 2's have oil injection or something similar now), and any landowners you run into'll probably appreciate the lack of noise & smoke.