I'm getting into dirt biking

[057rxz]

as for it feeling a bit heavy, and having tired arms - give it a bit more practice, your arms are probably tired from arm pump since you're new to bikes.

get a 2 stroke 125 if you want a lighter bike but still want enough ponies to have lots of fun

get a 2t 250 ull get sick of a 125 once u pound it enough. but for there displacement there wiked toys. done ur top end yet?

[tigertim20]

get a 2t 250 ull get sick of a 125 once u pound it enough. but for there displacement there wiked toys. done ur top end yet?

Yup, top end done, see my thread for constant updates. hopefully more reassembly tomorrow

[SMOKEU]

CRF230 is a great bike to learn on. Very simple and reliable. You don't want a 250cc 2 stroke unless you really know what you're doing, because it WILL bite you in the ass.

[Borknagar]

Hey thanks for the replies guys. Do any of you know of a good shop that sells second hand bikes around Auckland area?
I am a bit cautious of buying a bike off Trademe as a friend of mine bought of a second hand bike from trademe and on his first ride it caught fire and he couldn't take it back.
Will a CRF150 be a bit lighter? Or is a CRF230 the way to go? I'm pretty sure I will get use to getting the bike into neutral and the weight of the bike after a few rides.

[Flicks]

Dont get a 150, you will outride it so fast. A 230 is a good start. Trademe is fine most of the time, but you sort of need to know what to look and listen for when you are buying it. Make sure you ride it around somewhere if you can and make sure all the gears are changing nicely and the clutch is fine. Put it this way it will be cheaper on trademe but you wont get that reassurance that the bikes ok, where as a dealer you will but you will pay more most of the time.

[Fast Eddie]

get a 2t 250 ull get sick of a 125 once u pound it enough. but for there displacement there wiked toys. done ur top end yet?

meh.. dunno bout that. I had use of a pretty sick yz125 with the pipes and carb and intake kit on. was heaps of fun.

I had kdx200 or 220, can't quite remember now.. think it was 220.

fuckn sweet bike, much easier to ride than cr250/rm250 that I borrow sometimes. not as violent haha, but still went hard. had fmf pipe on it n shit...

dirt riding is so sweet, I +1 on KDX range, 200/220

[057rxz]

meh.. dunno bout that. I had use of a pretty sick yz125 with the pipes and carb and intake kit on. was heaps of fun.

I had kdx200 or 220, can't quite remember now.. think it was 220.

fuckn sweet bike, much easier to ride than cr250/rm250 that I borrow sometimes. not as violent haha, but still went hard. had fmf pipe on it n shit...

dirt riding is so sweet, I +1 on KDX range, 200/220

the whole point of being in the dirt is to be violent. dont be lazy and get a 4t be ruthless and roll a 2t 250

[057rxz]

CRF230 is a great bike to learn on. Very simple and reliable. You don't want a 250cc 2 stroke unless you really know what you're doing, because it WILL bite you in the ass.

thats prime!

[Flicks]

the whole point of being in the dirt is to be violent. dont be lazy and get a 4t be ruthless and roll a 2t 250

Having a 2t 250 as your first bike to learn on is stupid. It would get flipped and crashed so many times haha

[Leyton]

(the bike is electric start and must be in neutral to start)

I had the same complaints with my CR230 when I had it, it was a bit heavy to pickup from a fallen position, and just felt heavy.. although it wasn't really, I have had worse.

The electric start is brillent once you disable the clutch and nautral switch And thats REALLLL easy to do. Just pull the clutch in to start to be on the safe side and away ya go.

They are a good beginners bike in terms of grunt and are not going to supprise you.

Once you get faster, you will find the suspension will be your limitation, It is still a farm bike. It will do trails ok but you as the rider will be doing more work with your body then if you were on a bike with fully adjustable suspension.. eg.. cross country style bike.

I have no bike suggesions that fit lite, with good suspension and mellowish other then a crf250x (You are looking at big $$).

Or get a YZ,RM or CR125 2-smoker. However! You must be able to ride them hard when given the chance on the trail to keep the bike from fowling and keep it cripst (Unless you jet it stupidly lean). They can be a bit of a all balls bikes, But the advantage is in.

No weight
Easy to kick start the 125 (I have done it with my hand in despirate spots)
Enough grunt if you dont mind riding on the power band and reasonsibly quickly
Or slower in 1st or 2nd gear on power band, slower..

I think a KDX is still a good all rounder learner bike to be honest, they are just getting a bit old now.

Cheers
Leyton

[Borknagar]

Hi everyone.
Went to my friends house today and tried his Forza 125 bigfoot out. It was much easier to ride than the CRF230 because it weighs so much less and the quick start was really easy also. I was just riding around a fairly flat not very bumpy paddock but every single little bump on the paddock I felt. The bike doesn't have very nice suspension like the CRF does.

I am not going to start on a two stroke 250cc bike it will tear me into two seperate pieces! So I'm starting to think a two stroke 125 is the they way to go because it is light and has plenty of power. I don't mind giving the bike a little bit of speed (I like to go as fast as possible on the long flat bits - the faster the better!) as I realise that they don't like to be riden slowly. Or maybe something like a DRZ 125.

But I am going to have a look at some of the bike shops and see what they have.

the whole point of being in the dirt is to be violent. dont be lazy and get a 4t be ruthless and roll a 2t 250

I understand that one of the points of dirt biking is to be fast and aggresive but dirt biking isn't about being stupid. Buying a 2T 250 for someone who has only ridden two times would be extremely stupid.

And I forgot to ask my friend rides a RM85, would an 85 be better for a beginner - easier to handle?

[Transalper]

Don't get the problems you guys are experiencing with the CRF230, did they do something different over the various years that I don't know about? The clutch switch (as on all bikes I've had) is to override the neutral switch so if you aren't in neutral you can start them in gear so long as you have the clutch pulled in. Ride, stall, pull clutch, start, go, never bother to find neutral.
Also weight is a very relative thing, to me the CRF230 is a light weight... but then I am actually comparing it to my DR650 and Transalp which are 160kg to 190kg+ (dry) Adventure bikes rather than Trail bikes which are again different to MX bikes etc etc.
Of course it's only river beds, forestry and the hilly farmland based fundraiser Trailriding I do on the CRF in case you lot haven't already worked that out.

One thing I must say is if you want to be riding 2 strokes then learning on a small (probably a 85 or 125cc) 2 stroke may be more advisable so as to learn to use the brakes properly. Just noticed you a light weight so maybe the 85cc will be fine but again I don't really know what the power output is like other than knowing you'll probably have to learn to really keep an 85cc 2T in it's power band.
I learned on XR200's etc and now 2 strokes scare me a bit as in my riding I tend to let the 4stroke engine braking do a lot of my slowing for me. 2 strokes don't slow down in the same way when you throttle off.

[Rupe]

for under $3k a 05+ yz125 would be a good choice. Just get a clean, tidy, well maintained one rather than looking at what bling bits it has.

[gerbilofgondor]

Just my $0.02,
I have both a KDX 220 and a TTR 125 (similar to the DRZ-125) , If you want something dead easy to learn on I'd go for the TTR-125/DRZ-125. Your friend already has one so you can try it out. You might grow out of it in 6 months, but you even then you can still have a shitload of fun on it.

If you get a 2T 125 or 85, they are a bit of a pain in the arse to learn on by yourself- you have to get use to the powerband, rev the guts out and stay in the powerband or you will find yourself not really getting that speed you want . In the long run you will be a better rider but you fun level as your learning might not be as much as if your on something like the DRZ-125. If your going to go the 2T route, KDX gets my vote - top heavy for sure, weights a bloody ton at times especially if you bail off in sand. but its soo easy to fix and is super reliable (you don't want to be spending much money fixing you bike every-time you bail) . Also it feels like a 4t as doesnt have a big powerband hit so you can still get all those 2T skills but without worrying about getting flicked off whilst your still learning.

But it you like the fonza got with the drz-125 , a more reliable and can have mods added to it if you fall in love but want to bore it up to a 170 without the added weight like the CRF230- so will easily be a faster more agile bike.


Either way as you get better what ever bike you get eventually your going to want something bigger and more powerful, but which bike will you have the most fun on learning, still be able to keep up with your mates and is a reliable workhorse - a DRZ or a KDX

[Borknagar]

Today I was just looking around the web and I found a 2010 Suzuki DRZ 125 Big Wheel for $2995. http://www.autobase.co.nz/motorbikes...ad/1429586.htm
The bike is in near new condition and is been sold from a Suzuki Dealer so if anything goes wrong I can take it back. It is in my price range and the bike looks in good condition also the bike is in Auckland.

So if you guys could have a look at that link and tell me if you see anything wrong with the bike please let me know.
I'm really keen on getting this bike it looks really good and from what I've heard the DRZ is a good choice.

Thanks