It's one thing to ride dirt bikes your whole life, it's another thing to just hop on one in your 40s.
Not saying he can't do it, but your comparison is kinda apples to oranges.
It's one thing to ride dirt bikes your whole life, it's another thing to just hop on one in your 40s.
Not saying he can't do it, but your comparison is kinda apples to oranges.
Crf230. I'm 6'4 220 lbs and have no problem with it. A little more power to pick the front end up when cruising would be nice, but by no means a deal breaker.
I ride my bike 3 times a week around the track i have at the shop to stay in shape.....I'm 45. Its alot more fun than forcing myself to go to a gym. If you can't handle riding a dirt bike for a few hours without being sore for days, then thats your body telling you to get off your ass and exercise.
I did buy a SxS at the beginning of the year but only to short course race it. I'd still be doing MX races on a dirt bike at 45 but with my current job and responsibilities, a cage, helmet and 5pt harness has become a necessity for the kind of fun I want to have. Growing up sucks.
Michigan single-track is 24" wide anyway. It's in the woods. As I predicted the thread would descend into a listing of everyone's favorite bikes.
He's looking for a lightweight bike that has trail (tractor) power that also skims across sand. The single-track is basically a sandy rut for most spots, there are other areas and shared ATV/motorcycle trails.
It's all trees and he needs bark-busters and no signals or any of that shit.
I am by far not an expert, I'm barely competent and only rode for a couple of years a few years ago, after having a bike as a kid. But lugging even a modern 450 through the single-track gets to be a chore, fast. People still use them but 250s, the KLR 300/klx 230, KTM 300 are extremely popular for a reason.
A hi/lo beam headlight, talight light with brakelite, enough generator to power it, a horn, and DOT tires will get you past a police inspection for street legal. Get a rearview mirror for the helmet last I knew.
Then a motorcycle endorsement.
He also needs bar bark-busters, not the plastic paddles. Narrowing the handlebars is almost a must on a couple of trails.
He knows this already but I'm just saying.
Can't really go wrong with a DRZ400S. Reliable, street legal, not as big or heavy as a 650 dual sport.
But not as light and nimble as a real dirtbike though, but as big as you are I think you would be fine.
...Those long stages get unenjoyable fast. You're tall and big so you're going to have to work harder anyway, this is a system where smaller people have a distinct advantage.
At 45, I'm seeking my first dual sport or enduro to enjoy Michigan's trail systems with my teenaged kids. The kids are each riding a '05 & '06 Honda CRF150F that I got from a friend last year. I'm ~6'5" @ ~275#. I'd plan to buy used this fall-winter or whenever a really good deal presents itself. If given the option, I'd choose reliability over speed. Being street legal is positive, but not a requirement as I won't be driving it to work. Budget, probably somewhere around $5k but preferably less.
What say ye' Irate?
Seriiusly, look at a Yamaha WR250R. Fuel injected and has as good of power as the DRZ, but better parts and whatnot.
A KTM exc350 are awesome but $$$. A brand new Honda CRF450L would be great too (basically street legal race bike) but they want almost $13K and good luck finding one used.
The Yamaha is basically the best mix of cost, reliability, performance, and maintenance.
I have a KX 500 and a WR 426. The 500 is for "OH My Fawking God!" and the 426 is great on the trails. Doesn't blow the tire off like the 500. Just pulls and spins some. If you ride where there's altitude, the smaller bikes are serverlly lacking. In Colorado I'd have to pin a 250 size bike to get it to climb up above 8,000ft. Big bikes work MUCH better.
5k should get you into a brand new honda 250 dual sport.
Too Tall Mike Bell was a motocross rider for Team Yamaha & his height was credited to become a Supercross star.
Be a "motor mouse" to be a legit achiever
To the Eman~ find a reliable bike & hit those trails with the boys
But taller people have a harder time on bigger bikes on 24" single-track.
Jesus fuck someone back me up.
Im 6'2 and have been riding single track all my freakin life.
What the fuck are you talking about???
It looks like you're unaware that you suck.
I've ridden bikes throughout my life, just never owned my own or rode regularly enough for me to consider myself a novice or better rider. Currently when I ride dirt roads and the back yard with the kids I'm borrowing my BIL's '78 Honda XL250S. I could continue to ride that at my leisure, but I'm ready for my own.
Don't buy a small girl's bike. Crf230 is probably the most boring bike you could possibly get. A cr80 is a more exciting bike than that.
Now, OP, don't be a bitch, get an old yz490.
Are you happy with riding the XL250? Do you feel you need more bike than that? The CRF230F would be a good match. Actually it will have a bit more power, better suspension and handle better than the XL250. MSRP is a bit over 4k brand new. It would defiantly be a step up from the XL, without being any more work to ride and have fun on.
It's way too easy to say "I'll just get a 450 motocross bike and not turn the throttle all the way". It just doesn't work that way. They're made to be on the gas hard or on the brakes hard, period. They don't handle good just cruising around. My YZ450f sucked on tight single track just goofing around with friends but, it was great on a motocross track if I kept on the gas.
You shut your whore mouth with the yz490 talk. I had a '83. Power of a 490, powerband of a 125, nonexistent brakes and handled like shit. There was literally nothing to like about it. Broke the frame on it and blew out my ACL. Fuck those things. There were probably more "injury forces sale" with those than the old TM400's.
The WR250 is far more street legal bike for only a little more money.
Are you happy with riding the XL250? Do you feel you need more bike than that? The CRF230F would be a good match. Actually it will have a bit more power, better suspension and handle better than the XL250. MSRP is a bit over 4k brand new. It would defiantly be a step up from the XL, without being any more work to ride and have fun on.
It's way too easy to say "I'll just get a 450 motocross bike and not turn the throttle all the way". It just doesn't work that way. They're made to be on the gas hard or on the brakes hard, period. They don't handle good just cruising around. My YZ450f sucked on tight single track just goofing around with friends but, it was great on a motocross track if I kept on the gas.
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Yea, I feel I need more bike than the XL250. The XL250 is adequate for putting around the yard or dirt roads. It's way under-powered and quite a beast to keep balanced in flat sandy trails.
Good luck riding with kids. Yesterday I did around 20 to 30 miles on OHV trails on my XR650R chasing around a guy on a 850 sportsman ATV. I'm 58, 275 lbs, don't exercise much and my hands regularly go numb from carpal tunnel and the other guy is around 50, skinny and trains for half marathons regularly cycling and running. I am durable as hell though, had 1 minor go down on a steep downhill sandy washout that I barely hit my knee on the ground. My leg muscles feel a bit sore today, more noticeable than the minor abrasion I got when I planted my knee in the dirt and tore my pants, which were just jeans not my padded riding pants. I had no plans on this tent camping trip to go hitting trails fast, just thought I'd be riding it to the store mostly. Pretty much not that fun a time for me but I survived fine. He openly admitted he couldn't do it on a bike but it didn't make me like going faster than I wanted to chasing a maniac on an ATV. At the end of the day he got way ahead and lost me and I casually made my way out of the trail system with no further issues.
Good luck riding with kids. Yesterday I did around 20 to 30 miles on OHV trails on my XR650R chasing around a guy on a 850 sportsman ATV. I'm 58, 6'2", 275 lbs, don't exercise much and my hands regularly go numb from carpal tunnel and the other guy is around 50, retired office worker, skinny and trains for half marathons regularly cycling and running. I am durable as hell though, had 1 minor go down on a steep downhill sandy washout that I barely hit my knee on the ground. My leg muscles feel a bit sore today, more noticeable than the minor abrasion I got when I planted my knee in the dirt and tore my pants, which were just jeans not my padded riding pants. I had no plans on this tent camping trip to go hitting trails fast, just thought I'd be riding it to the store mostly. Pretty much not that fun a time for me but I survived fine. He openly admitted he couldn't do it on a bike but it didn't make me like going faster than I wanted to chasing a maniac on an ATV. At the end of the day he got way ahead and lost me and I casually made my way out of the trail system with no further issues.