New Bike

**thorns** · 16th April 2009, 11:44

Hi guys,

Myself and a mate are looking at getting dirt bikes. Now I have ahd some experince many moons ago when I used to have a DS80 (back in the early 90s lol). Now looking at teh bikes available and seeing whats about. Do you think a 450 4 Stroke MXer would be a bad idea for someone like myself who hasnt thrown a leg over a dirt bike in so long? The other options I guess are looking at a KLX300, DR350-400, but would they be a bit soft? I want to be able to ride MX tracks (not competitivley at this stage), but also be able to run some trail rides that are often organised in teh Canterbury area. So what would be th ebest option do you think at this stage? I am a bigger guy, about 6ft 3 and 110kgs if that helps.

Cheers

**noobi** · 16th April 2009, 11:55

depending on what you prior experience is, i wouldnt recommend a 450 mx, there just a bit ballistic in the wrong hands, maybe a honda crf450x, a tame 450r but with electric start and plusher suspension, the equivelant bike is made by yamaha, a wr450, and made by kawasaki the klx450, ktm make a 450 enduro also, the 450excf
i think that the mx parts may be transferable between the enduro models and the mx models, so go fast mx parts in the future maybe
thats the four strokes, if you dont want a 250

then theres two strokes...

**Hazza** · 16th April 2009, 12:20

I think you will be far better of on a 250 four stroke a 450 is likely to be a bit of a handful.

What are you going to be using the bike for trail riding or mx?

**B0000M** · 16th April 2009, 12:43

if you like your bike to feel gutless, get a 250 4 stroke.

if you want to get tired quickly especially with lack of bike fitness, get a 450

if you want ultimate fun, speed, performance, ease of maintenance, cheap parts, get a 2 stroke 250

**kezzafish** · 16th April 2009, 12:45

yeah what boom said except make sure it's a KDX. he'll agree with that too

**noobi** · 16th April 2009, 13:01

Originally Posted by B0000M

if you like your bike to feel gutless, get a 250 4 stroke.

if you want to get tired quickly especially with lack of bike fitness, get a 450

if you want ultimate fun, speed, performance, ease of maintenance, cheap parts, get a 2 stroke 250

yea, fair enough, a newish 250 two stroke with a ffw and a pipe would be fine for trails and mx, just have to get use to the way the power comes on

boooom, if you dont mind me asking what have you done to your cr to make it more trail friendly if anything?

**honda_power** · 16th April 2009, 13:25

i think a 450 is fine to learn on as they are smooth [and in my opinion somewhat boring].

i dissagree about a 250 2 stroke mxer... i think a 450 is much easier to learn on, the 250 has a way bigger power hit. but youl learn way more and pay way less bills on a 2 stroke.

**thorns** · 16th April 2009, 13:33

Cheers for the suggestions so far guys. With a 250 2 stroke, do they require a lot of fiddling to keep running sweetly such as regular tuning and the like? I havent had much experince with anything like that, so am really after something pretty reliable as my first bike. I am looking to spend in teh region of 4k all up (including helmet, boots etc), so prob around 3-3.5k for teh bike. I have been scouting trademe, and theres lots to choose from it seems in taht price bracket.

**honda_power** · 16th April 2009, 13:52

Originally Posted by thorns

Cheers for the suggestions so far guys. With a 250 2 stroke, do they require a lot of fiddling to keep running sweetly such as regular tuning and the like? I havent had much experince with anything like that, so am really after something pretty reliable as my first bike. I am looking to spend in teh region of 4k all up (including helmet, boots etc), so prob around 3-3.5k for teh bike. I have been scouting trademe, and theres lots to choose from it seems in taht price bracket.

nah not really, more reliable than 4 stroke anyway. But being a MX bike it will require regular maintanace.

They do have quite a kick for begginers though... perhaps have a blat on someone elses as a test? You cant ride them slow either.

**barty5** · 16th April 2009, 13:57

Shit only took booom 59 minutes to bag anything that is 4t must be havin a slow day. Personally id go with the 4t although a 450mx can be a handfull if your not use to it but onthe other hand a hell of a lota fun. Nothing wrong with the 250 4t dont know bout the others but with the WR250 you can fit all the mx parts for a bit more punch mate has just done it to his and it really impressed.

**B0000M** · 16th April 2009, 15:26

its not about bagging 4t's. but seriously, 450s feel heavy to ride, and the way their power is pretty much all on, all the time, makes for very tiring riding.

the 250 on the other hand wont tire you out, but at 110kg, you will very quickly find that it feels gutless and that you need to continuously ring its neck to make it move

the 250 2 stroke has the option of the balls out power if you open it up, as well as the sedate smooth power down low. as well as being light weight and low(er) maintenance than a 4 stroke equivalent.

2 strokes when jetted correctly dont require any special tuning apart from if you go from riding in extremities of altitude eg sea level then 20,000ft. you may need to adjust your main jet.

most people tend to ride within their area, so this isnt a big issue and your bike will still run just fine, just not as well as it could.

as for mods to my bike, it has a fmf fatty pipe, a shorty muffler that gets re packed regularly with silent sport packing, boyesen fibreglass reeds.

for some reason it has a more bottom end power compared to others ive ridden, but not a huge amount more, so pretty normal CR.

**barty5** · 16th April 2009, 15:43

I would agree with the heavy part when your talkin bout the new cr450f damm they feel very wide and heavy to ride wasnt impressed at all and the bulldozer blade of an exhuast across the front what up with that.

**Dent** · 16th April 2009, 15:50

A 450mx'er is probably not a good fit for you, from what you have said.

A decent 250 4 stroke (eg WR250R) has a lot more power than the old XR250cc bikes from way back. Its also fairly tame in the low part of the rev range - good while your getting used to it, or really tired.
I personally am quite happy with a modern 2 stroke.

The biggest issue with MX bike on trail rides is the close ratio 5 speed gearbox (or even 4 speed on some). Its hard to find a balance that gives you a good 1st for the hills, and decent top speed. Suspension may also be really stiff, but you can re-valve to help that.

Whatever you look at, try riding it, at least a short distance. Also, as you've been away from bikes this long, you may want to take it to a shop for a check over before buying. Its not hard to spend several thousand fixing up a poorly maintained, or really hammered bike (which initially looks good as it has new plastics).

In chch I can suggest Dirt Action Services to check out the bike. Im sure there are other choices.

**honda_power** · 16th April 2009, 16:11

Originally Posted by barty5

I would agree with the heavy part when your talkin bout the new cr450f damm they feel very wide and heavy to ride wasnt impressed at all and the bulldozer blade of an exhuast across the front what up with that.

the long header pipes give more bottom end. I rode raglanash's 09 crf450 and thought it was bloody great, felt life a 250f in terms of handling and weight, in fact better than my 06 250 but each to their own. I think hondas are a little wider than most bikes, but i like that... prob due to riding them for almost 5 years.

**B0000M** · 16th April 2009, 16:15

Originally Posted by barty5

I would agree with the heavy part when your talkin bout the new cr450f damm they feel very wide and heavy to ride wasnt impressed at all and the bulldozer blade of an exhuast across the front what up with that.

lol i too thought the 09 was smaller feelign than the 08s etc, still heavy feeling tho compared to a 2 smoker