Help with dirt bike questions

[BHeth]

Hi folks,
My father in law wants to buy a dirt bike for his son. The boy is 13, but not very big, and has no experience. They are looking for a 125cc give or take and don't want to spend much. I keep hearing different stuff from people about the rules for tracks around denver, so I thought I'd ask the experts.

Do the local tracks and trails allow 2 strokes? This dude I work with tells me you pretty much can't ride a 2 stroke anywhere in CO????

They looked at a 2, but were put off by "all that smoke coming out of the pipe". I don't know how bad it was, but it's making them lean towards 4 stroke. They seem to understand the differences between 4's and 2's.

Trouble is, all the cheap dirt bikes seem to be 2's. Hell, I don't know, I grew up on dirt bikes, but that was a lot of years ago. I think the DR series from Suzuki were 4 strokes, and maybe the KLX?

I'm going out to look with them on Sat. If anyone has any suggestions of decent older 4 strokers under $1000 I'd love to hear them. Anyone got something they want to unload?

Thanks for lookin'!

[NineTwoFour]

Depends on what sort of riding the kid is going to want to do. If he is wanting to ride the MX track, they should probably look for a YZ/KX/RM/CR 85. Yes, a two-stoke.

They are small enough for him to be comfortable. Have good suspension. And maintenance is cheap and easy on the smokers. Best of all, there are tons of them used for good prices.

As far as riding on the trail. All they'll need to do is get a spark arrester for it, and register it with State Parks.

If they just HAVE to have a 4 stroke. They can look at the TTR-125, CRF-150F, and I think Kawi and Suz have a TTR knock-off from their "partnership". Those will be great bikes to learn to ride on, and to put around the trails. Won't be good on the MX track unless the kid weighs 75 lbs... and even then, it won't be adequate for long.

[BHeth]

Great tips! Thanks for your help. I'm going to try to lean them towards the 2 strokes.

[R1chie]

Great tips! Thanks for your help. I'm going to try to lean them towards the 2 strokes.

I think it is California that does not allow 2 strokes. Colorado does.

If he is going to go to the motocross track do not get a 4 stroke unless it is one of the current motocross models like YZ250F or YZ450F or competing models.

For lower price defiantly get him a 2 stoke 125 if he can touch the ground. If not an 85cc 2stoke. (The only two sizes that are competitive in their classes for motocross)

As recommended above you need the state sticker on your bike and a spark arrestor. For motocross bikes I would say if you are going to ride the trails, you need a skid plate or that protects you engine case from rocks and if you drop it. http://www.steahlyoffroad.com/ I have seen a couple broken cases in the last year, one in Moab where the bike fell over onto a rock at camp and blew a hole in his sidecase on a brand new Honda 250F 4stroke. They are about $60 but could save your bike, breaking a case in many cases on a used 2 stroke could cost more than to replace the bike with another used one. (blown engine, replace case, piston, rings, bearings, labor to take it apart and put together)

If again you are going to ride mostly trails and the person riding is new, I would recommend a steahly flywheel weight ($100). It helps new riders ride areas in the mountains that are more difficult and saves the clutch. The bike will stall less in the slow stuff. For beginner riders, I would suggest this even for motocross (eventually once they progressed to the expert class you would want to remove it) it smoothes the power delivery, makes the bike more controllable, and makes it easier to ride faster. The engine braking helps the rider go faster through flat turns. People overlook this part often but it turns motocross bike into great trail bikes and makes it easier to ride on the motocross track.

[BHeth]

Cool, thanks Richie. His dad has no idea what kind of riding he'll do, or how much. I guess that's why he wants to find a cheap one, JIC the kid doesn't use it much. I can't imagine that, but whatever. How could a kid not love a dirt bike? I wouldn't mind picking one up for myself!

[Bertha]

I know where you can get a 125 for cheap... PM if you want to know.

[BigE]

I could probably be talked into selling our 97 XR100 (thee perfect learning bike) if the price is right (it'd be under $1000). If it's something he'd be interested in pm me and we can figure something out.
Keep in mind if the kid has not ridden before a 85 or 125 is a race bike and have very "peaky" powerbands. Not exactly the best thing for a new rider and a good way to scare him off bikes.

[BHeth]

I've been playing phone tag with the dad all night. So I'm not sure where we're at. I need to pin him down on a price.

I agree, an XR100 wouldn't be a bad learner. My first bike was a JR50. I was 3 years old and my old man had to weld training wheels to it. He raced Maaco's and couldn't wait to get me started. I saw many years later that Suzuki started to offer them that way, which was a great idea.

[BigE]

I'm pretty sure we're going out to Berthoud (VDR) on Sunday, if they want to come out he's welcome to try out riding on the XR.

[BHeth]

I'm pretty sure we're going out to Berthoud (VDR) on Sunday, if they want to come out he's welcome to try out riding on the XR.

Wow, thanks Eric. That's a really cool offer. They spend a good portion of Sunday in church, but I'll try to find out if they have plans other than that.

[R1chie]

For a 13 year old (my neighew) are riding today, for the trail I have a TTR125, it is a bit underpowered for him but it works pretty well on mountain trails. I would recommend that bike for a beginner. He could not take it on the motocross track, he would get jumped on. I would have prefered an 85cc mxer with a flywheel which while peaky, the flywheel weight smooths the power out. I have seen kids learn on that. (I have seen kids learn without the flywheel weight as long as they have all the right equipment knee pads, chest protector elbow pads). It really depends on what they are going to do. I would not take a ttr125 or even an xr230 on the motocross track. They go too slow and they are undersuspended for jumps. At the track here, you have to ride with the big bikes and the racers. A ttr125 would not be a good idea. Great for trails but then you are back to the 4 strokes again and I think TTrs are $1300-1500 used
Always a hard decision.

The good thing about an xr100 is that you will probably be able to sell it for what you paid for it, they hold their value pretty well. For a trail bike it is a good one and the price sounds right. VDR has some trails and a small track (I think) which would be a good place to try it out.

[BHeth]

The good thing about an xr100 is that you will probably be able to sell it for what you paid for it, they hold their value pretty well. For a trail bike it is a good one and the price sounds right. VDR has some trails and a small track (I think) which would be a good place to try it out.

My thoughts exactly. It would make for an nice learner bike, and could sell for about the same money if he upgrades or doesn't use it. If it were my kid it would be a no brainer, but I don't know if this guy is thinking about a $400 bike or a $1000 bike. I left him a couple messages, but he has a bunch of kids, works a lot of hours, and has a long commute so I guess I'll have to be patient and wait for him to have the time.

[FZRguy]

I’d go with the XR100 for a small kid that has no riding experience. He won’t be able to touch the ground on a full size 125 MX bike, and they have way more power than he can use. An 85 or KX100 could work okay but I’d stay away from full-sized race bikes until he’s bigger and ready for it.