Dirt bike general question

[Dunndm]

I’m more or less using it to ride from my house into the hills 5min from my house that I can hunt in. Trails everywhere for as long as you want to ride, so I figured I’d do 2 things at once. Scout and also ride around on a dirt bike haha I know it’s not great to ride in with a bike, but it’ll be fun. So in reality I’m doing it mostly to ride; get out of town, glass and enjoy myself


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[def90]

I recently moved away from the ocean were I spent a lot of my time surfing, body surfing, etc. I moved close to a lake and have a smaller boat to fish with and do basic water sports but I know it’ll only keep me interested for so long. That being said, I am looking into dirt bikes to play around on. I have minimal experience with dirt bikes and road a scooter (laugh all you want) and an electric clutch motorcycle for a long time. I am curious if there is any dirt bikes similar that what I’ve ridden to at least get started on. I know no one where I moved to that can help teach me to ride a clutch and with having minimal experience on dirt/trails itself (except mountain biking). So I’m trying to get my foot in the door with what I do know. I’m just looking to trail ride around my local hills in NV, not doing any crazy moto cross. Not a huge adrenaline junky so as long as I can puts around and it gets me to and from my truck is all I truly care about.

Electric dirt bikes I’ve seen, they aren’t legal for hunting in all or most states. E bikes that are assisted are but not fully electric dirt bikes. So I might as well get something with a motor and use my E bike for hunting if I want to.

I’m also 6’6-6’7, 245 cause I know that does make a difference. Thanks for the help in advance.


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Get a 4 stroke 250, something like an older Honda XR, they are pretty much bullet proof and will have more low end torque making it easier to ride at lower speeds. Motorcycles for the most part have wet clutches so you can ride them a bit unlike a car so learning to shift a bike is simple. You can even down shift without using the clutch and upshift as well once you learn how to match your rpms and speed.

 

[Bluefish]

You are a big guy and most beginner bikes will be small for you. Don’t worry on the clutch, you will figure it out quickly. A rekluse is a nice addition, but about an extra $1k. E-start is really nice which rules out the yamaha 2-st. Any 250/300 e-start bike from the last 15 years would be a good choice. Light, good power, great resale. Surprisingly newer ones will be more mild as the trend has been to reduce peak power and tune for broad power. Ktm, husky, gas-gas, or beta all make bikes in this category.
if you prefer 4-st there are lots of 450 options. If you want street legal, Ktm exc line is aimed at the 90/10 dirt/street, Honda offers a few more street oriented options.

 

[Dust Rider]

For riding around on a dirt road or a parking lot...yea ok

Anything more than that, and you are talking out you're ass.

How am I talking out of my ass? A 250 is not good enough for a beginner?
Or is that not how a clutch works?

 

[Dos Perros]

Technically speaking yes, am I good at it? Not at all. I can drive it but I stall out on anything beside a flat road


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Are you a generally coordinated person? Like, do you struggle with manuals because of inexperience or you can't pat your head and rub your tummy at the same time?

 

[Dunndm]

Are you a generally coordinated person? Like, do you struggle with manuals because of inexperience or you can't pat your head and rub your tummy at the same time?

I’d like to think I’m a very coordinated tall guy haha I mean I’ve played sports and got a full ride to play sports in college so that’s not the issue it’s a lack of experience for sure. I just don’t want to be on my ass 24/7 and have to wake up in the morning feeling older than I already am


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[Dunndm]

You are a big guy and most beginner bikes will be small for you. Don’t worry on the clutch, you will figure it out quickly. A rekluse is a nice addition, but about an extra $1k. E-start is really nice which rules out the yamaha 2-st. Any 250/300 e-start bike from the last 15 years would be a good choice. Light, good power, great resale. Surprisingly newer ones will be more mild as the trend has been to reduce peak power and tune for broad power. Ktm, husky, gas-gas, or beta all make bikes in this category.
if you prefer 4-st there are lots of 450 options. If you want street legal, Ktm exc line is aimed at the 90/10 dirt/street, Honda offers a few more street oriented options.

Quite a few bikes around me have the rekluse already installed so I’m talking with a few people that the bike would be ready to go for me all around the 2-5k range


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[Steve300xcw]

How am I talking out of my ass? A 250 is not good enough for a beginner?
Or is that not how a clutch works?

I could have worded that better.

Was talking about the clutch. On a bike it gets used way more after its moving. But thats something you learn as you go

 

[Dos Perros]

I’d like to think I’m a very coordinated tall guy haha I mean I’ve played sports and got a full ride to play sports in college so that’s not the issue it’s a lack of experience for sure. I just don’t want to be on my ass 24/7 and have to wake up in the morning feeling older than I already am


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Well that's good!

That being the case, I think if you bought a bike with a regular manual transmission you'd figure it out pretty quickly, so you don't have to factor in transmission when making a buying decision.

 

[Bluefish]

If you are buying older used, go 2-st. 4-st are reliable, but need a diet of replacement parts at the right time. Very expensive if they go boom. Used ones are often neglected and unless you trust the seller it could pop on your first ride costing thousands to fix. The 2-st might let go as well, but a piston and cylinder are less than 1k. Cranks can usually go 3+ pistons, so 600-900 hrs.
I have bought a bike and had it grenade 2 rides in. Wasn’t fun, but had the crank rebuilt and it ran long after I sold it.

 

[Dunndm]

So I ended up going to a couple local stores and got a Drz400. The 230s were just way to small for me, they had 1 300 for waaaay to much and the Drz400 came with everything I could possibly want for 6200 out the door. I’m learning how to ride clutch without the rekluse and if I get the hang of it I’ll do without, If not I ordered it already (free return). Taking it out today for an on and off-road little put around. I appreciate everyone and there input on this topic!


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[Bluefish]

Rekluse imho is more to prevent stalls. Really handy if you are a gear high and come around a corner and there is a hill. Instead of possibly stalling, it will slip and keep going.

 

[Dunndm]

Rekluse imho is more to prevent stalls. Really handy if you are a gear high and come around a corner and there is a hill. Instead of possibly stalling, it will slip and keep going.

Yeah that’s what I was thinking, it won’t matter a whole lot in normal street riding but going off off roading I think it will really help a lot


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[Bluefish]

Some like them, some dont. I really liked it on my 350 as it stalled easily. With the rekluse, it didn’t ever stall. Made the bike much more pleasant to ride. on my 300 it’s not as critical and I could have gone without, but it is nice when you get tired and are struggling.

 

[YZF_88]

Absolutely do not get a 450! Mortals don’t “need” that much power. I have had great luck with the YZ250F. They aren’t hard to rebuild and they are reliable. I would recommend finding a newer YZ250FX for your situation. Electric start and fuel injected. The modern 250’s have enough power.

I took a 16 year hiatus from Moto and got back into it the last couple years. Make sure your medical insurance is solid.

Also there are so many great resources on youtube for learning PROPER form and techniques. You have the advantage of starting from scratch. Us old timers need to break old habits or break bones. Bikes are known to make us miss work on Monday….or worse yet…miss bow season. I’m already worried about being ready for this August because of a bike crash 7 weeks ago.

 

[Dunndm]

Ouch that looks painful painful. I’m a very “scaredy Cat” type person when it comes to most things so I don’t plan on doing much beside cursing through hills to scout (where legal) and just enjoy myself. Don’t plan on jumping, moto or tracks even. Doesn’t interest me… yet. Until I get better I don’t push limits. Learned the hard way years ago


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[TheTone]

Get a 4 stroke 250, something like an older Honda XR, they are pretty much bullet proof and will have more low end torque making it easier to ride at lower speeds.

I wish Honda still made them or used ones were easier to come by. The last generation is basically like gold now it seems

I rode for a long time when I was younger. I always used the clutch for shifting

 

[Luked]

Was huge into Dirt bikes when I was younger, Raced them quite a bit on a 99 YZ250 2 stroke.
Have had the bud for one just to trail ride for some time.
Ended up trading a trailer I was not using any more and got a 2000 KTM 250 2 Stroke.
Had quite a few things I had to fix or do correctly to it mechanically, but I have been having a ball on it so far.
Made a small track again at my parents house and been out there quite a bit. Plus its great exercise.

 

[Baddog]

Get some dirt tires and proper springs for your weight. Run the drz until you need more performance and then step up to a ktm exc.

 

[Dunndm]

Get some dirt tires and proper springs for your weight. Run the drz until you need more performance and then step up to a ktm exc.

Bike came with dirt tires which is a huge plus, I’m currently looking to see what spring I should get and then hoping to find one used if possible


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