[Repeater]

what to buy if your not an off roade rider or well the last dirt bike i roade was a cagiva 50 in Sicily. now i'm looking for dirt riding. what to get. i'm pretty sure i want a 2 stroke. mainly due to the cost of maint. I'm also wondering if a 125 would be better than a 250 or if i should just take the plunge to the 250?

whats the differnce with the motocross bikes and the ones with the lights like the ktm 200 ex.

[SomeStrangeGuy]

Is the 50 the only thing you've ridden? If so I'd say a 250 2 stroke might be a handful off the get-go. If you're just doing trails and really learning to ride - a 250 4 stroke or some 125 2 strokes will do the trick nicely.

The thing with the stroker in this case is that for that class of bike you have alot more options for whatever type of riding you do. If you want to smoke, you pretty much have to get an MX bike and make changes - sort of negating that whole cost effective thing. I'm not saying you must get a 250/125 class machine I'm just saying if you're new to riding I wouldn't recommend getting something with 45hp out of the box.

This is in regards mainly to the Japanese offerings though - you mentioned KTM and while they are a nice machine, The only folks I know with them have bigger then 250cc rides.



That said - the 250x pretty much gets my vote for about anything in case you haven't noticed . Unless you need the extra ~19hp of the 450 version, that bike is awesome and very 'fun' in alot of situations.

[RRWANTR]

Originally Posted by SomeStrangeGuy

It's silly alright - but unlike a street intended bike they get boring at supra-hooligan speeds. If you're going to the store alot, have a kewl backroads commute, or a tight windy track to race it = game on.
But long straights or anything requiring actual non-dynamic seat time, that 450 would just be obnoxious. If you choose to make even the long straight sections lots of fun for long periods, befriend Baketech and buy some valves cause your about to realize everything stated about 2 smokes being cheap is painfully true

250x would be interesting as a motard I guess, but only if it already came with the wheels and cost me 0$ to do it. That motor is fast in the woods cause its so light, you can just whack the throttle any build speed anywhere it's so damn easy... but when it comes time where flickability is not imperial and you just want to screw - you'll be torturing the thing.

The 450x I might actually buy motard wheels for and take to a trackday, and I say 'might' meaning - after I get the mud off of it



p.s. You're on the right track - because although 4 strokes are expensive, Honda makes some of the lesser expensive to maintain strokers out there.

I could pick up a set of Behr 17" sm wheels for it right now for 950 obo...It wouldn't be used for sm much...just for shytes and giggles once in a while at tight local sm track (pretty much a kart track).I've read of some issues with the valves on the 250x...know anything about that?

[luvtolean]

Yeah, they're high maintanance. Not as bad as the Kawis and Suzukis...but these things are hard on valves.

[luvtolean]

If you want to research bike engines, it's pretty hard to beat Eric Gorr at Forward Motion. He stands to make no money (well for a specific brand, he works on everything) on this info...and his prices are lower than most anyways.

He did my 265 kit/porting, and it's great work at a great price.

http://www.eric-gorr.com/services/fourstroke.html

[RRWANTR]

Originally Posted by luvtolean

Yeah, they're high maintanance. Not as bad as the Kawis and Suzukis...but these things are hard on valves.

I know you have to check them quite a bit etc.( I can do the checking and shimming)...What kind of $$ figure are we looking at when you have to replace the valves etc and how often would that be likely to be?

[luvtolean]

See my above post.

[johnnycrash]

Originally Posted by Repeater

what to buy if your not an off roade rider or well the last dirt bike i roade was a cagiva 50 in Sicily. now i'm looking for dirt riding. what to get. i'm pretty sure i want a 2 stroke. mainly due to the cost of maint. I'm also wondering if a 125 would be better than a 250 or if i should just take the plunge to the 250?

whats the differnce with the motocross bikes and the ones with the lights like the ktm 200 ex.

The KTM 200EXC has a wide ratio tranny and gearing that allows it to be better ridden in the woods than a true MXer, which generally have a tall first gear. They also have a pipe/porting combo that gives it a smoother midrange with less top end pull. ... and they have a stator for lights. Kawasaki used to make a KDX 200/220 which was basically the same thing - not sure if it's available anymore or not.

They'd be nice overall bikes for anything other than pure motocross.

[RRWANTR]

Originally Posted by luvtolean

See my above post.

LOL you posted this as I was typing my reply.

[BDA116]

The titanium exhaust vlaves in the CRF450 CAN be suspect, though not all bikes have a problem. To check them is a piece of cake, and to replace them isn't that big a deal, and not that pricey either - even if you go with a SS replacement kit..
Remember you are dealing with a single cylinder bike with everything simple to get to.

[RRWANTR]

Originally Posted by BDA116

The titanium exhaust vlaves in the CRF450 CAN be suspect, though not all bikes have a problem. To check them is a piece of cake, and to replace them isn't that big a deal, and not that pricey either - even if you go with a SS replacement kit..
Remember you are dealing with a single cylinder bike with everything simple to get to.

Ti valves on the 250x also? Yea...seen that checking and shimming look pretty simple and easy to do....

[luvtolean]

Originally Posted by BDA116

Remember you are dealing with a single cylinder bike with everything simple to get to.

Yeah, MX bikes are actually fun to work on. They're built to be serviced.

[SomeStrangeGuy]

Originally Posted by RRWANTR

Ti valves on the 250x also? Yea...seen that checking and shimming look pretty simple and easy to do....

There were some changes made to the valves and seats in recent time...I honestly cannot recall if the valves are Ti or not, I still have YZ on the brain.

I haven't personally experienced (or anyone I know directly) valve issues, I think the key is maintenance and keeping an eye on things as you would with any high compression precision machine. The parts are more costly and abundant then a 2 stroke, but if you keep up on them you won't need them as often. The first time I checked valves on my YZ it was about an hour once I figured out how to contort myself in there. After that it was 10 minutes and that included stripping the tank and hoses. The unicam on the Honda would make it a little less contortional too it looks like - but I haven't done mine yet.

[BDA116]

I'm not positive on the 250x valves, either. But like SSG stated, the seats and valves were re-worked so the Ti mushrooming isn't a real problem any longer.

[RRWANTR]

Originally Posted by BDA116

I'm not positive on the 250x valves, either. But like SSG stated, the seats and valves were re-worked so the Ti mushrooming isn't a real problem any longer.

When did that happen? 06?

[BDA116]

There really haven't been much more than spotty problems for years. Some say the '03 was really bad, but my valves never went bad. The '04s and up haven't seen much of it at all.

[phobiaphobe]

Just get a XR650R and ride the piss out of it.

[RRWANTR]

Originally Posted by phobiaphobe

Just get a XR650R and ride the piss out of it.

Um no.

[RRWANTR]

What about this...and get the stock dirt wheels.http://www.supermotojunkie.com/showt...php?t=12144One thing about the 250x is it could probably be plated here in CA, so I could run it to work (4 miles).

[RRWANTR]

Well, I'm picking up an xr50 for my 5 yr old daughter in a few hrs.........it has started.

[Mattress]

My CR500, 1996, green sticker legal

[RRWANTR]

Originally Posted by Mattress

My CR500, 1996, green sticker legal

You really don't want me to see my 31st bday do ya... You should have seen my 5 yr old daughters face when she seen the XR50 in the back of the truck! It was priceless!

[SomeStrangeGuy]

Originally Posted by RRWANTR

You should have seen my 5 yr old daughters face when she seen the XR50 in the back of the truck! It was priceless!

kickass your a good dad