I'm looking to get into off-road riding have no idea about anything! HELP!

[Mr. Rock]

hey,

decided i would start some off road riding.. my mate has a 2005 KX250F and ive taken that for a hoon a couple of times and really enjoyed it..

after that i brought my self some new boots, helmet and pants.. going to get the rest as i see fit since i dont own a bike.

thing is.. ive been looking at bikes on here.. on trade me and where ever else.. i have NO idea what anything really means.. i know you have to rebuild motox bikes like CRF250s and my mates KX205F less than the 2strokes like YZ250s and what not..

but when i read bike has 140hrs total.. is that lots? is that half way threw its life.. is that get rid of it..

when is a total rebuild due? when do u do rings? $$?

i am only looking to do trail rides at the moment.. prob not race.. and guessing ill stick with the 4 stroke 250 and not go to the 2 strokes.

what should i look out for etc? any hints and secrets to not buying something that sucks..

[Waxxa]

have a look at the four stroke 450cc class. light, affordable, lots of torque, forgiving for the rider and perhaps requires a little less maintenance engine wise...

[YellowDog]

Off road riding is not something you should start doing on your own.

You need to get acquainted with some locals to point you in the right direction.

[Crisis management]

How about go to your local bike dealers and talk to them? I don't know the hamilton shops so can't recommend any but that is possibly a better way of gathering info than asking on the net, you will get some good advice here but sometimes it's a bit hard to sift out the crap that turns up.
I understand you aren't trying to buy new or even off a shop, but what you need right now is good advice and a competent salesman who rides off road should be able to give that to you.
If you can, get to Pukekohe, Mr Motorcycles and talk to Scott there.

Other than that, get something small, light and cheap you can thrash to death until you work out what you really want to ride. KDX200.

Enjoy.

[Mr. Rock]

i had a small talk to some of the hamilton dealers couple of the guys were good to talk to another couple went against everything the other person said..

[Mr. Rock]

for example one said they would be suprised to see a motox bike get over 200hrs?? is that true?? cause then 140 would mean its mostly dead! but then i see trade me has a 2008 YZF250 with 100hrs on it

[cave weta]

i had a small talk to some of the hamilton dealers couple of the guys were good to talk to another couple went against everything the other person said..

I dont know of one single Hamilton salesman who rides in the dirt.
Come and have a skid with me and try a few different bikes.- you will soon know what fits you best.

I only have 4 strokes. I have some 230s and 250s- a 400, a450 and a 525.

Get a buddy to ride with- Yellow Dog is right, we dont want to hear that you have dehydrated and died while trying to lift your bike off yourself somewhere out in the sticks!

[BM-GS]

This is roughly where I was a year ago. It depends what you want to do. If you want to try motocross you'll be wanting an MX bike. But talk to your local club first.

If you want to try trail riding (not trials riding, which is different), where you meet up with mate(s) and thrash around a track which could be 50km long then you may want to start gently, on something vaguely sensible, which will minimise the expensive maintenence (not the normal maintenence, which is compulsory or the bike will eat itself) and maximise the riding time & enjoyment.

Basic 4-stroke sensibility comes in Honda CRF230 or Yamaha TTR230 flavours. These are competent, but you might find them less than exciting after a few months and hanker after something more. The 2-stroke option is the KX200 discussed in an earlier post, though that has more scope for enjoyment.

As my situation was complicated by having to follow 2 small children and account for my wife as well, I got a CRF150-F (not the MX -R version) which does the job perfectly - it knows what it's doing better than I do and is lower to the ground than the 230.

Plenty of threads on here about first bikes, but best to start with an idea of what you want the bike to do and what you want to do with it. People can blather on about bikes on here forever, but if you don't ask the right questions you'll get conflicting answers. The hard bit is knowing what the questions are...

Good luck!

[Mr. Rock]

I dont know of one single Hamilton salesman who rides in the dirt.
Come and have a skid with me and try a few different bikes.- you will soon know what fits you best.

I only have 4 strokes. I have some 230s and 250s- a 400, a450 and a 525.

Get a buddy to ride with- Yellow Dog is right, we dont want to hear that you have dehydrated and died while trying to lift your bike off yourself somewhere out in the sticks!

i may have to take you up on that offer!! i think i want a four stroke 250.. seams to be manageable that i dont die but fun enough that it keeps me on my toes :-D

i got my mate with his kx that is super keen to get into riding again just needs another to ride with aka ME!!

what the life of a mx bike? or does it depend on its previous owner? is 140hrs heaps??

[Ride it till the red]

i may have to take you up on that offer!! i think i want a four stroke 250.. seams to be manageable that i dont die but fun enough that it keeps me on my toes :-D

i got my mate with his kx that is super keen to get into riding again just needs another to ride with aka ME!!

what the life of a mx bike? or does it depend on its previous owner? is 140hrs heaps??

140 Hours is by no means too much, but it's nice to know whats been replaced and when as far as pistons, rings etc are concerned.
If the bikes slightly older it's likely to have done well over 140 and depending on the ownership will have well over 140 left in it too.

As your looking at 250 4 strokes, I know of a few 08's around in that class that have done over 400 and are going strong.... But as is always the case, lack of maintainence will shorten life....

[cave weta]

what the life of a mx bike? or does it depend on its previous owner? is 140hrs heaps??

with a 250 that is raced - I would look at oil change every 5 hours-filter every 15 hours. 100 hours- piston, rings and valves and valve springs. 200 hours full motor and gearbox rebuild.
If the bike is just trail ridden - double these hours.

My KTM 525 has a lazy life- it has never been redlined
it is on 442 hours and has had 9 rear tyres, 4 fronts, both discs replaced, more brake pads than I can count, 3rd set of sprockets and chain. But the valve clearances have been checked twice and that is the only work the motor has had. It is still even on its first spark plug!
just change the oil regularly and keep the valve shims checked.

sweet as!

[B0000M]

crikey! lets clear some things up!

decided i would start some off road riding.. my mate has a 2005 KX250F and ive taken that for a hoon a couple of times and really enjoyed it..cool, good place to start

after that i brought my self some new boots, helmet and pants.. going to get the rest as i see fit since i dont own a bike.again, good move

thing is.. ive been looking at bikes on here.. on trade me and where ever else.. i have NO idea what anything really means..

i know you have to rebuild motox bikes like CRF250s and my mates KX205F less than the 2strokes like YZ250s and what not.. not true. both engines - 2 & 4 stroke are reccommended by the manufacturers to be rebuilt at the same time, except that doing so on a 4 stroke cost a lot more, as well as all the other non 'rebuild' maintenance such as regular checking of valve clearances, replacing engine oil, engine oil filters, along with the trans oil, cleaning of air filters and general lubing needed on any bike

but when i read bike has 140hrs total.. is that lots? is that half way threw its life.. is that get rid of it.. i dont consider 140 hours to be lots, but often by this time, depending on the maintenance done, things like the rear shock will be due for a rebuild, and theres likely to be slop in a few bearings etc. mt cr for example has nearly 200 hours on it, but everything is in excellent order due to maintenance. on that note id suggest aiming for the lowest hour'ed bike of reasonable price of the bikes you're considering

when is a total rebuild due? when do u do rings? $$? depending on how you ride, most will say rings around 40-60 hours, total rebuild is a broad term, bottom ends id suggest replacing every 100-150 hours max, then theres clutches, gears etc that will vary based on use.

i am only looking to do trail rides at the moment.. prob not race.. and guessing ill stick with the 4 stroke 250 and not go to the 2 strokes. this comes down to preference, a lot of the guys on here ride ktm exc seried bikes, the 2 strokes are always lighter than 4 strokes of the same power output if weight is an issue to you. i wouldnt suggest buying a 4stroke 450 as your first bike, perhaps a 250 4 stroke, or something like a KTM EXC200-300 (2 stroke) or one of the 2 stroke mx 250s (CR-KX-RM-YZ) as for the 450 4 stroke i wouldnt really reccommend them to anyone as a trail bike unless you're a particularly good rider - which with you saying its going to be your first bike ill assune you're not yet. most people find them a handful in tighter condition and you will find yourself getting tired, but not actually going fast. most people can ride a 250 4 stroke faster than a more powerful bike on a trail

what should i look out for etc? any hints and secrets to not buying something that sucks..[/QUOTE]

look for a bike that looks tidy from the pictures initially, this is usually a good first sign. if the seller cant be bothered cleaning it for selling it, then they certainly cant be bothered cleaning it to put it in the shed. people that are meticulous cleaners are usually also meticulous greasers / oilers / replacers too.

well maintained bike should feel flogged out to ride, footpegs shoulnt feel flogged out, cables should be free, there should be mimimal play in the rear suspension. air filters tell a lot too, check how clean this is. if the owner maintains his bike then it should be clean or nearly clean. chain condition, sprockets teeth shouldnt be hooked over, radiators that look crushed in shoud be avoided, ask about maintenance- if the owner cant tell you much then he probably hasnt done much. theres a good post on here somewhere with a checklist of things to check when buying a bike

[K6K]

hey,

decided i would start some off road riding.. my mate has a 2005 KX250F and ive taken that for a hoon a couple of times and really enjoyed it..

after that i brought my self some new boots, helmet and pants.. going to get the rest as i see fit since i dont own a bike.

thing is.. ive been looking at bikes on here.. on trade me and where ever else.. i have NO idea what anything really means.. i know you have to rebuild motox bikes like CRF250s and my mates KX205F less than the 2strokes like YZ250s and what not..

but when i read bike has 140hrs total.. is that lots? is that half way threw its life.. is that get rid of it.

when is a total rebuild due? when do u do rings? $$?

i am only looking to do trail rides at the moment.. prob not race.. and guessing ill stick with the 4 stroke 250 and not go to the 2 strokes.

what should i look out for etc? any hints and secrets to not buying something that sucks..

Trail/enduro bikes and MX bikes are similar but have significant differences. Enduro bikes (like WR250F CRF250X etc) are based on MX bikes but have enduro specific suspension. It is not just softer, (most enduro models use the same weight of springs as their MX siblings) but totally different internal valving. Enduro suspension is much more forgiving to a learner rider. The engines are almost exactly the same, just detuned a bit which makes them more forgiving again to the learner (and last longer). You can bring them up to MX specs later as you want more power to (as I have done). And of course the electric start.
I started almost 2 years ago on a 2005 Yamaha WR250F and think it was a perfect bike to learn on. The bike had 80 hours on it (easy hours) when I got it and I did the piston and rings at 130h. The piston looked perfect when it came out and only 1 valve was just out of spec. The build cost me approx $350 for parts and although it was first time I had done one it was pretty easy.
I would try to look at the 100 hour range of bikes (for a 2005 or so) if you can but 140hrs is not the end of the world. At this point however you will probably eventually need to rebuild suspension (which I have done) change bearings and do other ongoing maintenance tasks.

[Mr. Rock]

awesome.. thanks all.. i do think i have a better idea of what to look at and questions to ask now!!

[FROSTY:Me]

The usual answer to your question is to buy a KDX200. Theyre easy to get hold of and easy to offload if you decide dirt isn't your scene.
The best way to describe them is the Toyota corolla of the trail bike world. -not the best at anything but still very capable of doing most everything.
As two strokes go theyre pretty torquey in my opinion.
And best of all --theyre cheap as chips to buy and fix if ya need to