beginner bike, suggestions?

[killahaas@gmail.com]

hey guys, i am looking to get my first bike. probably within the next few months. i am not looking for something that i will be traveling a great distance, i am mainly looking for local trail rides, and a few 2-3 hour trips here and there to upstate NY(i am on Long Island). no i am only 5,7 5,8ish tall so i would think a 250 dual sport would be right up my ally i am planning on going to a few more places and looking at them. but right now i am thinking about the 2013 CRF250l or a Husqvarna te250r. now i know the husky is ALOT more offroad oriented than the honda. but i am trying to think the other options i heard klx250's arent the greatest. basically i am asking what do you guys think is best for a beginner??
thanks Dylan

 

[desertrover]

Be carefull not to knock a "bigger" bike for seat height. That CRF has a seat height of 34.7". The Husky is 35.8". For comparison, pre '08 KLR650's have a 35" seat, and a DR650 comes stock at 34.8 with a factory option of 33". The bigger displacement machines are a bit heavier of course, but they tend to be in a lower state of tune than the 250's, making for a torquey, low maintainance, and not excessively powerful machine. I'm 5'11", and my DR650 felt cramped untill I fit it with lowered foot pegs and a seat pad. The Honda and Husky are both good machines, but there are plenty of options out there. As a first time rider, don't forget about the cost of gear. Pick up your basic riding pants/jacket/boots/gloves/helmet, and then figure out how much you can spend on the bike.
Welcome to travelling with fewer wheels!

 

[Cody1771]

DRZ400 would be a good place to start, its small and light enough you can do some technical stuff with it but it's big enough you can do some touring on it, and the aftermarket availability for parts is HUGE. they have a more modern dual overhead, liquid cooled motor compared to other bikes, are good on gas, and have just as much power as it's bigger brother the DR650. good starter bike with plenty of room to grow into it.

 

[ZMagic97]

I agree with the DRZ400. Easy to whip around in trails, especially in sand and mud, reliable, fairly comfortable, great selection of mods, and good all-around bike.

I have 2 (one legal for street use and one just for dirt) and loved them both. Never had to do work on either one of them. Miss them now that I think about it...

 

[killahaas@gmail.com]

thanks guys and i would probably like to spend around 6-6500$ i dont care if the bike it brand new, but i am going to go look at the drz crf and the te on sunday maybe friday depending on the weather. what is basic gear i know safety gear but what do you guys suggest? GPS? tool kit? what?

 

[Cody1771]

helmet, gloves boots, pants, jacket for starters, but otherwise the tool kit they come with is usually enough to do most maintenance, a tire repair kit (plugs for tubless patches for tubed tires) tire irons, and a small pump to pump up the tires. and a camel back is usually good enough for day trips. a GPS is not really necessary as they are hard to look at on the trail and i just use my phone for when im on the road, there are a number of mounting hardware kits for whatever you happen to want. twistedthrottle.com has a good selection of everything.

the gear you wear willd epend on a lot of things, the area you live, if you plan to ride year round or just on nice days in the summer. if you can't find a used DRZ in that price range i would be suprised as you can get them new for $6500, i would lean towards a lowmilage used one and leave yourself some cash to buy some gear, and a sidecase set if you plan on camping, that can easily run you $1000 if you want hard cases. there is a lot of really nice soft stuff available, there is a writeup of the Kreiga Overland 60 setup on the front page of ExPo right. i think that setup is about $900.

a good skid plate and crash bars are important though, will save you a lot of money in the long run, mostused ones may already have one. just do some googling, its an EXTREMLY popular bike and adventure riding is huge so the resourses are endless. advrider.com is a great place to get info and find people to ride with.

 

[killahaas@gmail.com]

thank cody!
i plan on making my own skid plates and if i want a side case i would just build one out of aluminum. hopefully tomorrow i am going to go to a few shops and check out the the drz, crf250, and the husky! thanks for the advrider link too! i will check them out! i also have to say i dont really like carb'd or air cooled motors, just a personal preference of mine i guess. so i have to really look at it.

 

[Clutch]

I would buy used for your first bike, something you're not worried about crashing. The Husky is a great bike, not a beginner bike though, not mellow enough, it might be a 250, but it is a completely different animal, full on race bike is what it is. Probably stay away from the DRZ400 too, even though it was suggested, start small and work your way up, is a good motto to have.

Wouldn't knock the aircooled bikes, they are BOMB proof, change the oil every 5 years, and adjust the valves...well never, and you're good. One of these days I want to toss a XR400 engine in a CRF450 chassis, to make the perfect Baja bike. Fuel injection isn't perfected yet in the dirt bike world either, it is proven to be finicky...plus carburetors you can usually fix along side the trial. Once you get a carb dialed, it is extremely rare you'll have a failure, FI, not so much.

Given your size, I suggest a CRF230 or XR250, both air cooled, no radiators to smash...because you'll be crashing a lot on those snot slick roots of the East Coast woods.

The XR sits a little higher than the 230, should go take a look and sit on them to see how you feel.

I get a lot of my gear off ebay, save 100's if not 1000's of dollars. A lot of brand new closeouts, and used gear, from people who gave up riding
or have gotten too fat to wear. Decent boots like Alpinestars Tech 3's are a good starter boot, you can find $100 Snell/Dot approved helmets. Cheaper
helmets must meet the safety regulations jut the same as the high dollar versions, you just give up some features, like venting and removable/adjustable padding.

Deals are out to there to be had on the nicer helmets, just have to look.





You can do a lot with a 230, just watch this video, riding starts at 2:10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiF8Nen6lYU



Look at the Yamaha TTR230 and the WR250R as well.





I'll throw a curveball in there too, The Sherco XRide.

http://www.sherco.com/caracteristiques-produit-en/product/x-ride-125.html

 

[Mechanical]

+1 WR250R

They are a light, do-anything motorcycle. Very fun.

People even ride them to Alaska:

http://www.bigdogadventures.com/1Alaska.htm

 

[canuck479]

I have owned a DRZ 400 for about 6 years now mine is 2002 the thing has been bullet proof and you will much prefer the electric start to a kick only. I have an aftermarket gas tank that hold 4 gal and I ride to work most days and ride offroad on the weekends. It will do the trails with reletive ease and still do 80 mph down the road if you need. Like I said bullet proof beat on it during the weekend and ride it to work on monday. by the way with my current gearing and tires I get almost 50 mpg.

 

[Clutch]

+1 WR250R

They are a light, do-anything motorcycle. Very fun.

People even ride them to Alaska:

http://www.bigdogadventures.com/1Alaska.htm

Good bike...

...I don't know if I would say it is "light" because it is near the 300 pound mark, the Sherco I picture I would consider light, it is sub 200lbs.

Since the OP said he wants to ride trails, the WR250R wouldn't be my first choice, the TTR or CRF230's would though, they aren't exactly light either, but they are lighter by 40 or so pounds. Buy in price is cheaper too, can pick up a used one for under $2000. Most weren't ridden that hard either.

Beginners tend to crash a lot, I usually ask: what would you rather pick up when you are worn down and tired?

 

[killahaas@gmail.com]

thanks guys, i like the drz idea. i feel like power can be handled. i understand the husky is more of a racing bike than travel bike. drz400 i have been watching reviews and what not on it. and alot of people say its torquey not a speed demon or racing bike, but handles trails very well. Now this isnt the first motorcycle/dirtbike i have been on(friends and when i was younger) this will be my first street legal bike. the crf230 and ttr230 arent they dirtbikes? no lights or anything? apparently its extremely difficult to get one street legal in NY that doesnt have a title.

 

[Clutch]

Now this is just my personal opinion, but i think all riders should learn how to ride inthe dirt first, makes for a better street rider in the future, and start on a small bike that you can man handle easier. But people tend to get all starry eyed and go too big at first...just an observation. Why I suggested the 230, start with that then move up to a DRZ or Husky. Can always sell it, or keep it as a spare...it is good to have extra bikes.

Honda makes a street legal version of the 230. "CRF230L" I would pick that, nice low seat height, mellow power, mechanically simple. I have some veteran rider buds,
that love the 230, sure they can handle more, but is such a fun bike and super easy to maintain. I have seen those guys kick 450 guy's arses up and down the trails of Colorado.



Michelin makes a very nice DOT knobby the AC10, if you want a more serious street legal tire for the mud of the East Coast...(I am from PA, so I know what it is like back there)

Yamaha has the XT250 too: http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/products/modelhome/574/0/home.aspx



I heard NY is a pain to make dirt bikes street legal there, which is silly, they are all motorcycles, dirt bikes just have more suspension travel.

In AZ it is super easy, all of my dirt bikes over the past I made street legal, my Gas Gas 300 2-Stroke is street legal, heck just made my girl friend's KX 100 legal too.

 

[Mechanical]

Good bike...

...I don't know if I would say it is "light" because it is near the 300 pound mark, the Sherco I picture I would consider light, it is sub 200lbs.

Since the OP said he wants to ride trails, the WR250R wouldn't be my first choice, the TTR or CRF230's would though, they aren't exactly light either, but they are lighter by 40 or so pounds. Buy in price is cheaper too, can pick up a used one for under $2000. Most weren't ridden that hard either.

Beginners tend to crash a lot, I usually ask: what would you rather pick up when you are worn down and tired?

Fair enough. I guess I perceived it as light as I got directly off of the white Exxon Valdez and onto one of these for a day. That ogre has slightly skewed my sense of reality.

 

[Clutch]

Fair enough. I guess I perceived it as light as I got directly off of the white Exxon Valdez and onto one of these for a day. That ogre has slightly skewed my sense of reality.

Hope I didn't come off harsh, wasn't meant to be.

I borrowed my friends KTM 640 ADV for a couple days, then hopped back on my '08 KTM 300XC I had at the time, it felt like a mountain bike. Had a 505XC at
the same time as well, you could really feel the weight difference between the 300 and it, when swapping back & forth.

I keep on thinking I want a big touring bike, then I go see some goat trail to explore...thankful I am on my Gas Gas...which makes a decent dual sport bike
by the way.

Have been hoping that KTM would bring the 350 Freeride over here, it as about the size of the Honda 230, that would be an excellent beginner or play bike. Heck I want two of them, one for me the other for my girlfriend.

http://www.ktm.com/gb/freeride/freeride-350/highlights.html#.UTodr46fNUQ