dirt bike...

[method]

I'm gonna start riding with my friends this summer... any recommendations for a bike?

My friend says dont bother with anything over 125, and I'm about 5'9 140..

What should I be looking at eventually?

also.. anyone want to trade a bike for an ae86?

[ramminghard]

All depends on what you get. trail bike or a motox bike. they are quite different. Also 2 stroke or 4. i rode an 80cc and i am 6'2 and 205. i also rode a 125 and a 400. the 125 was the most fun i think. the 400 felt slow after riding the 125. What kind of riding will you be doing?

[method]

probably a bit of everything...

up in wyprus on occasion just on the trails, mud stuff.. etc..

my friend rides a 4 stroke and he says they have a lot more low end to work with, but you cant wind them up the same.. I know just from looking around at specs that the 2 strokes make crap loads of power at higher rpms in comparison to the 4s... not really sure what would be better for me.

[guitardemon]

well im 5'10 and 150 and i ride a 900 suzuki 2 stroke (yea)
very psycho of a bike, but if ur jus starting or jus gonna be cruzing in the dirt u might wanna have a 125 to maybe 175 but
any higher and ur nuts or u better be ride in comps like i do. i like 2 strokes way better for the high end, and i like where most of thier power bans are..

[method]

Yeah I sure as hell don't want a big displacement bike... I just want something for fun, not some kind of crazy competition grade bike... just something that will get the job done well.

[guitardemon]

i could prolly get ahold of a 125 but an old skool one tho pm me

[sillyd]

Where do you ride? Trail bikes are better for trails, but it's better to trail ride a motoX bike than motoX a trail bike. Almost everyone i know only rides trails but we all ride motoX bikes. It's the only way.

How strong and aggressive are you? I'm 5'9" 150 and my first bike is a '99 kx250. No regrets and i would never ride a smaller bike. But this bike would kill some people, so decide how much you can handle.

More maintenance on 2 strokes, but cheaper to buy.

Do you ever watch dirt bike videos? Notice how almost every bike in every video is a 2 stroke MX bike? If you like doing crazy shit then you need a bike that can handle it.

What do your friends ride? All but one of my friends ride 250cc MX bikes or 400+cc 4 strokes. We are always waiting for the one guy who doesn't. He's always bummed out 'cause his bike seems gutless compared to ours, can't jump well, looks gay, etc.
But on the other hand, he doesn't have nearly as bad "dirt bike ass" at the end of the day, hands+arms don't hurt as much, and not nearly as many near-death experiences.

If you're fairly aggressive, might ride MX tracks, have experience mountain biking, or want a bike you wont quickly become bored of get a 125 or 250 MX bike or a 4 stroke. If you want to start off easy, or go for all day long casual trail rides, get a trail bike (such as a kdx 220 or something).

Have fun

[method]

I'm a pretty light guy... I'm not a wuss, but I dont have a lot of weight to throw around (so I have a feeling I'd want a light bike) I also basically grew up on a mountain bike, so I have plenty of experience in downhill/etc.. on the other hand, I'm not the first to do crazy risky shit, but I'd want a bike that's up to a reasonable amount of abuse.

I'm not afraid of maintenance, so I suppose 2 stroke is the way to go.

thanks

[T5_X]

yup. My 125 2 stroke revs like hell and gets up to 100 km/hr fast. Unfortunatly, it tops out at 100 km/hr

[mxracer103]

get a 250, good in low revs, and typically have the same seat height, if not shorter then 125's. My first bike was a 250, and I learned really well on it

[mxracer103]

250 2 strokes are also one of the most versitile bikes out there, because you can ride them in low revs, or you could rev the snot out of them and blow a 125 out of the mud.... all and all you can make a 125 perform well too, it just demands the revs. A fourstroke will save you tons in maintenence, a 2 stroke needs engine maintenence regularly, like complete tear downs, and if your taking it to blackfoot your looking at around 250 minimum each time, so I'd look into that too before a purchase

[Initial-D-Nerd]

well if your looking at trail riding, im not too sure if a 2 stroke is the way to go... reasons being 2 strokes use up 2 times as much gas as a same displacement 4 stroke, and lots of high speed, flat out high rev stuff, depending on the bike, may give you overheating problems. SillyD is right about the maintenance issue, but if your okay with the mechanical stuff, a 2 stroke might be ur bike. Just make sure that you obtain a water cooled 2 stroke for trail riding, lots of positive benifits with the extra cooling.

Hope you choose the right bike, and have fun!