Good bike for a n00b?

[nomnomnom]

Hi and hello!

Just looking for a little advice on a good learner bike for a 23yr old chick to start out on. I want to start off with trail riding and work my way up to cooler stuff from there

My ultimate long time goal is to do a backflip (I LOVE JOLENE SHE IS MY HERO)

I know laugh it up, learner chick with big aspirations :P

Just looking for something easy to ride, easy to handle, easy to maintain (so probably not a dirt bike yeah? :P)

I have experience on road bikes, but they werent as exciting as I had hoped, so have sold my bike and selling gears and hoping to get a dirt bike asap.

I dont want to spend too much $ as I kinda want an expendable bike, I plan on crashing a lot hehe

Something probably 2-$3000 ish. Less is better but I guess that depends on bikes available and whats best for me!

Any suggestions would be awesome, I've had a lot of help from Sharyn on here so far which has helped me HEAPS, now just looking for more more more opinions.

Please dont confuse me with just model numbers, something along the lines of:

Make;model; its good because soft suspension low seat etc

Thanks heaps for any and all help

[Taz]

I would look seriously at a kdx200 for your first trail machine. Very reliable, good low down power, easy to start and light. How tall are you?

Did you see the article in the last DRD mag about the flight school?

[nomnomnom]

I would look seriously at a kdx200 for your first trail machine. Very reliable, good low down power, easy to start and light. How tall are you?

Did you see the article in the last DRD mag about the flight school?

Will check tardme tonight cheers

I thiiink im like 163cm? I think im a little bit taller than average....pass hahaha i dont often measure myself!

No idea what mag that is....sorry! lol

[Taz]

Dirt Rider Downunder. www.drd.co.nz. They have an article on the FMX flight school run by Peter Broxholme and Nick Franklin. They'll teach you to jump safely and they also have a foam pit www.broxy.co.nz

Taz.

[scott411]

a KDX200 might be a bit tall at the biggining, depending on what your confidence

level is like, do you want to be able to put both feet on the groudn at once?

do you know if you want two stroke or four stroke?

do you want Kickstart or only electric,


there are heaps of options, you may be better with a small four stroke like a DRZ125 at the begining, before getting something better,

[SpikedPunch]

Generic noobie girl bikes for trail riding:

Suzuki dr-z 125 (also sold by Kawasaki as the KLX125 but they don't make them anymore)
Yamaha ttr 125
Honda crf150f
Kawasaki KLX 140

If you are a bit taller:

ttr 230
crf 230

These bikes are all low maintenance 4 strokes, they have a low seat height and un-intimidating power, they are good to learn on if you're happy toodling around trails. I think the Kwaka is supposed to be the highest spec of them. You can jump them if you like but I don't think they'll handle that kind of abuse long term. I know some boys who have DR-Zs as playbikes for their MX track and there's been a broken subframe or two. Any one of these would probably do what you're looking for but if you're a keen/agressive rider you might find yourself getting bored with them soon. A totally good place to start though, and they should get around pretty much anything you'll find on trail rides (expert sections maybe not included) with enough stubborn determination. Whether you own one short term or decide it's the bike for you forever, they don't seem to loose much on resale after a certain age, which is good. I sold my DR-Z for about the same price I bought it for I think?

Another option is a small-bore MX bike, such as a cr85, kx85, yz85, or rm85 (kx and rm also come in 100 models if you can find one) It will need more maintenance and will be a steeper learning curve than the little four strokes, but will also (maybe?) last you longer and (jmo!) have more fun factor. They are lighter as well which is a godsend when you're learning and dropping the bike all the time, but they'll stall more easily, which is not! On the other hand, you'll learn good clutch skills The 85s are also suitable for mx which it sounds like you might be looking at doing in the future too?

Any bike you have for your first dirt bike will be giving you big smiles though...

These suggestions are given assuming that as a chick, you are a shortarse! If the considerations of seat height aren't an issue, any bike that noob guys would ride would be fine for you, the only setback being you probably won't have as much upper body strength as the average dude and will find picking up a full sized bike pretty awful. But the ones I posted are all a good starting point for learning on anyway

[Taz]

She's as tall as I am and I could get both feet on the ground on my KDX. It's a bike you can grow with

[Qkchk:Me]

Yamaha Tricker. Its an XT250 motor fitted into a stunt bike frame, very capable onroad (even tho 110kph maxed out) and offroad - its a great all-rounder. We have two of them for the riding school as they suit the job well - low seat height for short people but room to stretch out for taller peeps, takes the knocks well, low gearing and great looks to match! They are quite hard to find in NZ as they were only made for the Japanese market but Wellington Motorcycles do bring them into NZ. Have a look at my website for pics...

[nomnomnom]

having one I can get both feet on the ground would be a plus. My road bike was a 96 Suzuki Bandit and that was a perfect size for me (height wise soooo not weight wise, i couldnt pick it up lol)

I feel like such a nerd, im writing down all the suggestions so I can check out prices etc on trademe when I get home later hahaha

[The Baron]

Yamaha xt250 - just the thing.

[scott411]

kawasaki super sherpa is another bike that will eb similar,

but may be hard to get in that price range, i think the Trickster will be in the same boat

[SpikedPunch]

Are you after a dual sport bike? Or a straight up dirtbike? XT, trickster and sherpa are all dualies I think.

Here's an older xt225 I was looking at as a cheap commuter/thing to hoon across paddock on the way to work for me, it's too far away tho being in Welly, might be worth a look for you if you want something you can take on the road? http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Mo...-348434965.htm

[nomnomnom]

Kinda only need one for trail/track riding at this stage. Not keen to have one on the road, i love riding on the road but my eventual plan is to get another bandit for road use so itd be cool to have something for dirt only

damn i cant check out that auction! using work comp at the mo and trademes blocked lol

[Jay GTI]

Christ, she's already been put off road riding because it was too boring... please no more suggestions like XTs, Sherpas and other such dual/no purpose crap. Trying to trail ride those things would put me off for life...

KDX is a good option as has been suggested already, plenty of good examples to be found. I'd also consider a nice WR250, with a lowering link and the forks dropped, a mate in the UK is a fair bit shorter than you and has kitted his out as such, he has no problems. I'd even put a 125 mx bike on the list. You're not short, so you'll fit one, plus it'll teach you to ride properly and would be much better long-term than an 85.

You can ride already, buying some soft-arse pretends trail bike is not going to do you any favours... ain't nobody backflipping sodding XT225s...

[SpikedPunch]

Christ, she's already been put off road riding because it was too boring... please no more suggestions like XTs, Sherpas and other such dual/no purpose crap. Trying to trail ride those things would put me off for life...

KDX is a good option as has been suggested already, plenty of good examples to be found. I'd also consider a nice WR250, with a lowering link and the forks dropped, a mate in the UK is a fair bit shorter than you and has kitted his out as such, he has no problems. I'd even put a 125 mx bike on the list. You're not short, so you'll fit one, plus it'll teach you to ride properly and would be much better long-term than an 85.

You can ride already, buying some soft-arse pretends trail bike is not going to do you any favours... ain't nobody backflipping sodding XT225s...

I agree, but wasn't sure if she wanted something road legal as well. There's not much available in the $2-3g range for that. Of course an actual dirt bike is better for off road, duh.
...I'd love to see someone backflip a KDX They are good trail bikes tho