What should I buy for $2,000?

[SMOKEU]

I have around $2,000 to spend on a dirt bike, and I'm unsure about what I should buy. I was thinking about buying a DR250 or XR250 as they seem to be quite reliable and low maintenance.

A mate of mine who has a KDX220 said I should buy a KDX as he has had his one for a few years, and he runs it on cheap mineral oil and he's never done any proper maintenance on it and it still runs mint.

Are the 2 smokers really as bad as 'they' say in terms of reliability and needing frequent rebuilds? I have very little mechanical knowledge so I won't be able to do even a basic top end rebuild myself, and I don't have the money to spend on rebuilds.

I'm quite tall so I should be able to fit on any sized dirt bike.

[onearmedbandit]

Next we'll be answering questions about what you should have for breakfast lol.

A 2 stroke 250 (RM/CR/YZ/KX) will whip a DR250 or XR250, both in power and handling but you'll pay for that in pistons and rings, which on a 2 stroke are incredibly easy to replace. A DR or XR will not have the poke but will probably be a better bike to live with if you're not racing, but make sure you buy a good one. A 2 stroke may need rebuilding more often, but they are a sight lot cheaper than rebuilding a tired 4 stroke.

[Blagger]

Get a mechanically minded mate to look over a mainstream twostroke 250 for you and pay them in lots of beer. KDX or CR or KTM etc, the main thing is the individual bike and how it's been looked after

[Kickaha]

KDX200, best all round trail bike for the money, you can get a early to mid nineties one and still have change for any repairs

[Rupe]

I have around $2,000 to spend on a dirt bike, and I'm unsure about what I should buy. I was thinking about buying a DR250 or XR250 as they seem to be quite reliable and low maintenance.

A mate of mine who has a KDX220 said I should buy a KDX as he has had his one for a few years, and he runs it on cheap mineral oil and he's never done any proper maintenance on it and it still runs mint.

Are the 2 smokers really as bad as 'they' say in terms of reliability and needing frequent rebuilds? I have very little mechanical knowledge so I won't be able to do even a basic top end rebuild myself, and I don't have the money to spend on rebuilds.

I'm quite tall so I should be able to fit on any sized dirt bike.

If you don't do proper maintenace and use correct oils, dirt bikes blow up at some point which costs alot of $$$

A dirt bike will only be as reliable as how well it's been maintained and how well you maintain it. If you don't have the money to spend on looking after it I'd sudjust getting a bike without an engine.

[porky]

KDX200, best all round trail bike for the money, you can get a early to mid nineties one and still have change for any repairs

Air cooled KDX175. Try as hard as i could the damn thing wouldnt lay down and die. The more rooted it got the quicker it went. Only negative was they were prone to spitting off the kick starter. stupid clip arangement from memory.
And yes i prefer mineral over synthetic, but thats a personal choice thing, i recon mineral is easier to de coke.

[B0000M]

any correctly tuned bike doesnt coke though....

[SMOKEU]

Next we'll be answering questions about what you should have for breakfast lol.

So, what should I have for breakfast?


Anyway, my mate with the KDX says he's done over 50 hours on his without a top end rebuild and it still runs mint. There are a few cheap KDX200s on Trademe in Christchurch at the moment, are those ones worth looking at? They seem to have had recent top end rebuilds.

[Crisis management]

Breakfast? A bowl of HTFU?

The KDX is a good bike, go and look at some of these and find out what your money will buy but remember the most important part of a bike is it's supension system, not the motor. A 2 stroke motor is cheaper to fix than a thrashed running gear......

My take on cheap trail bikes is that they are usually ok for paddock bashers but it soon becomes obvious how limiting they are when you need to take on some more interesting terrain and the advice I always offer is to buy the best you can afford, saves replacing the bike in 6 months when you have outgrown it.

Good luck.

[Azzman]

IMO def go for the KDX if spending that sort of money.
They will well over 100hrs without even putting rings in, super reliable and the best bang for your buck trail bike ever made. nuff said.
Mods lock this thread!

[Henk]

KDX but get the 200 not the 220.

[SMOKEU]

Looks like I'm going shopping for a KDX200, once I sell my cage.

[SK1TZ]

If you are a bigger fella, is a 200 really going to be ideal? I managed to score a fairly SOLID* DR350 for $500, admittedly I have had to do some minor repairs and a general tidy up, but looks can be decieving, when we stripped things down, and had a good look, the motor is in pretty good nick and the front forks need new seals etc, but any bike would prob need such a tidy up. Admittedly, my bike is heavy, and 13years old, but well capable in the bush, with plenty of torque. Its not like I am gonna go out there and blitz Ben Townley and the King Brothers, lol

for $2k, you can get a pretty later model bike, but how much more will you need to spend to get it to a stage you are comfortable to take it out riding for 6+ hours with no worries?

Shop around, and dont buy the first bike that "Appears" to tick all the boxes. Mine fell into my lap, pretty much

Sam