Dirt bike general question

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Feb 3, 2014
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Boundary Co. Idaho
14T front
47T rear


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Look at you. You're a full on Bike Nerd in a day. And you're worried about riding it??

I will advise you to be very careful in sand, sandy washes, etc. Whole different riding style and requirement. You really have to surf and float a bike.

You will be able...in 4 minutes....to cruise down a dirt road successfully. Use caution on gravel road corners. Takes some skill and practice to drift and rally around corners at speed. But straight down pavement, dirt roads and desert roads.....you'll be off the training wheels in 2 minutes.
 
Joined
Jun 5, 2017
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Portland, OR
Best advice I could give is ride, ride, ride, and ride some more. Eventually you'll get pretty comfortable and then will figure out if it's the right bike for you long term or not.

Do you have a couple buddies that you can ride with? I do go riding by myself, but I don't like it much. I always have the worst-case scenario (breaking down, injured, etc.) going through my head which takes away some of the fun. When I do ride alone, I make sure I have my Garmin Mini with me as cell service is very spotty where I ride in the PNW.

Have fun, be prepared to be sore, and get in as good of shape as possible. Riding hard on a dirt bike is one of the most physically exhausting things you can do!
 
OP
Dunndm

Dunndm

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Best advice I could give is ride, ride, ride, and ride some more. Eventually you'll get pretty comfortable and then will figure out if it's the right bike for you long term or not.

Do you have a couple buddies that you can ride with? I do go riding by myself, but I don't like it much. I always have the worst-case scenario (breaking down, injured, etc.) going through my head which takes away some of the fun. When I do ride alone, I make sure I have my Garmin Mini with me as cell service is very spotty where I ride in the PNW.

Have fun, be prepared to be sore, and get in as good of shape as possible. Riding hard on a dirt bike is one of the most physically exhausting things you can do!

The sad part is I only have 1 buddy that rides at all and he is moving in 2 weeks so I’ve only got about a week for him to teach me. And within that week we both work so it’ll be a 1 or 2 time training lesson. So I’ll be mostly self taught


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Dunndm

Dunndm

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Front sprocket from rockymountainatv is going to be around $15. Worth playing with IMO

Going down a tooth will give you a bit more bottom, a lil harder to stall. You do loose some off the top but I dont think you are to worried about that

I’m not a ball buster that wants to go fast so I truthfully don’t care about top speed. I won’t be going on the Highway much or at all. So to me it’s all about not stalling ojt and learning


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DiabeticKripple

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the thing about a rekluse clutch is the bike will roll backwards on hills. they suck big time if you dont make a hill and can make it a bit dangerous actually if the rider doesnt know how to bail properly.

My bike also ate Rekluse's, I put a Hinson race clutch in and havent had an issue in 6 years.

OP I would start on a 250, 4 or 2 stroke. I learned on a 4-stroke as its easier to control the power over a 2-stroke. Less power but that bike will take me ANYWHERE and im 230lbs.
 
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Dunndm

Dunndm

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the thing about a rekluse clutch is the bike will roll backwards on hills. they suck big time if you dont make a hill and can make it a bit dangerous actually if the rider doesnt know how to bail properly.

My bike also ate Rekluse's, I put a Hinson race clutch in and havent had an issue in 6 years.

Are Hinson clutches the same as rekluse? I didn’t even know something like rekluse existed until one of the first commenters said something


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DiabeticKripple

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Are Hinson clutches the same as rekluse? I didn’t even know something like rekluse existed until one of the first commenters said something


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no its a conventional clutch.

Id stay away from a rekluse and just learn to use the clutch. Its really not hard once you learn where it slips on your bike.
 
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Dunndm

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de989cd7d46af8c059376b5d310d86cf.jpg


Took our the bike for my first ride and loved it. Stalled it out.. a lot but when I was riding it was fantastic!


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That thing looks clean! Is this thing going to be a pavement bike or a dirt road/off road bike?
 
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Dunndm

Dunndm

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That thing looks clean! Is this thing going to be a pavement bike or a dirt road/off road bike?

Both, I plan on using it as both. I got all terrain tires so I can do both
I don’t plan on doing any crazy tracks just cruising around on the street and going up on tracks around my house/city


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KHNC

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the thing about a rekluse clutch is the bike will roll backwards on hills. they suck big time if you dont make a hill and can make it a bit dangerous actually if the rider doesnt know how to bail properly.

My bike also ate Rekluse's, I put a Hinson race clutch in and havent had an issue in 6 years.

OP I would start on a 250, 4 or 2 stroke. I learned on a 4-stroke as its easier to control the power over a 2-stroke. Less power but that bike will take me ANYWHERE and im 230lbs.
You probably had a core EXP from Rekluse. I recommended a Rekluse X. I am a very experienced former MX'r . Adding the X to my YZ250F has been by far the best upgrade I have ever done to a bike. Rarely, if ever, stall anymore, even if i slide out in a turn or fall over on a hill. The advantages far outweigh any perceived disadvantages you may have had. I havent seen any at all myself. Its made me a better rider too. My lap times on my track increased by 2 seconds consistently lap for lap. You have to check the free play on the rekluse every time you ride. If you dont keep it in adjustment ,it will wear out quickly. But i rarely have to adjust mine at all.
 
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I've been looking at the new Honda CRF 300L dual sport. They look awesome. I have an XR 650, its heavy and a gas eater, but it'll get you up the hill quick. I think the 300 would be a good middle ground.
 
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You probably had a core EXP from Rekluse. I recommended a Rekluse X. I am a very experienced former MX'r . Adding the X to my YZ250F has been by far the best upgrade I have ever done to a bike. Rarely, if ever, stall anymore, even if i slide out in a turn or fall over on a hill. The advantages far outweigh any perceived disadvantages you may have had. I havent seen any at all myself. Its made me a better rider too. My lap times on my track increased by 2 seconds consistently lap for lap. You have to check the free play on the rekluse every time you ride. If you dont keep it in adjustment ,it will wear out quickly. But i rarely have to adjust mine at all.

How often were you stalling the bike when it had a normal clutch?
 
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At your height/weight + some gear in a backpack, a 250 has its limitations but luckily won't overpower you easily around tight turns and uphill starts. Probably the perfect starter for you since you said you're not doing anything crazy and its light so you'll be able to keep it upright all day. I'm not far behind your size and anything smaller is pretty uncomfortable and underpowered.
 

KHNC

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How often were you stalling the bike when it had a normal clutch?
When I got the 4 stroke, Stalling was a problem when brake tapping or coming in hot on turns and hitting brakes hard. My 2 strokes bikes just about never stalled. The 4 stroke seems to require a LOT more clutch work than a 2 stroke. Wasnt as big an issue on MX track as it was for me in the woods on single track. When I stall in the woods, its almost always somewhere i cant touch the damn ground. (Im 5'10) . Having to pick up the bike and then start it again would drain a lot of energy. On a hard ride session in the woods, i would end up stalling 3-4 times. Way too many in my opinion. On MX track I would stall about once every 2 hard laps. I still have a kick start , so it can be a pain in the ass! Not having to worry about crashing after a bad brake tap stall on a big jump, or wasting time kick starting , makes it 100% worth it to have the Rekluse X in my bike. I operate it exactly like i did with the wiseco clutch i had before. Just without having to be bothered with engine braking and stalling. No engine braking on a big landing is awesome too. Im always on the gas, but its much different than the 1999 YZ250 2 stroke from my last race season in 2002.
 
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