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Desert? 250 is fine. I wouldn't even tame it down for the desert. If it's rocky stuff I'd put the biggest flywheel weight you can on the thing and call it.
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Jan 14, 2015 22:55
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DOONZ: a 250 starting out is probably fine. Everything else you'll want to start smaller. The best 'all around' bike is a 4t 250 - but buyer beware when buying any used dirtbike. Be prepared to spend a lot on fixing things. Don't delay valves/pistons/etc unless you like selling bikes in pieces on ebay.
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Jan 15, 2015 06:30
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ChewedFood fucked around with this message at 20:48 on Dec 27, 2021 |
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Jan 15, 2015 08:06
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ChewedFood posted:A 250 four stroke dirtbike is strictly for beginners. Dual sport rider spotted
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Jan 15, 2015 14:56
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"The power valves can and do stick if they're not ridden regularly, or grannied. it'll have nooo bottom end when they stick." True story, mine did this and it was either chug chug or full blown on the pipe. A rider buddy of mine rode it and said it made it so hard to ride that it dropped him down to B or C level rider trying to. Also every bike you see on craigslist = 2 stroke has a recent top end. 4 stroke, valves have just been checked and were in spec. Coming from someone who rode an XR80 back in the day and got into dirt bikes late. You want a 250 4 stroke. Go with a WR250F or CRF250X, both e-start and good starter bikes. I started on a 200EXC and the learning curve between 4 and 2 strokes is vastly different. 2 strokes are cray. 4 strokes definitely more forgiving. Hoping to get a new bike this year, starting to lean towards 4 strokes even though 2 strokes are amazeballs fun. Just my 2 cents. VTNewb posted:Dual sport rider spotted lmao, truth.
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Jan 15, 2015 15:25
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A 2 stroke will flat out make you a better rider, that being said, a 2 stroke will take more time to learn how to ride properly. I'd say you want a WR / X / trail model if you think you'll be keeping the wheels on the ground. If you think you'll be jumping, you want the YZ / R / etc version of the bikes that are out there. Stuff that is harder with a two stroke: The powerband requires a lot more use of the clutch - especially when riding slowly and cornering. The idea that your clutch is actually your throttle is much more relevant with a 2T bike. You keep the bike on the pipe and you slip the clutch to moderate your speed. Jumping is tougher on a 2T bike, because there is very little engine braking on a 2T the bike will stay at the same angle you go off the jump at. The front of a 4T bike will start to drop right away because of the engine braking the rear wheel has - this is a much easier to control - if your nose starts dropping too much you just gas it to bring the front up. If you jump nose up on a 2T bike it will stay nose up unless you slow the rear wheel - by pulling the clutch and hitting the rear brake in the air - which is easier said that done. The best is when you accidentally kill the bike mid air, and you just lawn dart your front end into the ground. I'd be much more willing to buy a cheap 2T bike as they are far far easier/cheaper to service. There is a lot less that can go wrong, and even a relative amateur mechanic can do basically anything until you're at the point where you need to split the cases. If I was going to buy a 4T dirtbike I'd want to be in the $3000 - $4000 range and buying a bike that has clearly not been ridden much. Right off the bat you can get on top of the maintenance and stay on top of it. You'll probably want to have a real mechanic checking the bike / working on the bike from time to time. You can do the basics, but having someone that knows what a loose cam chain looks like, can leakdown check a bike easily, etc etc is much more important. The best path imho is to start on a 125 2T - they are cheap and easy to maintain. Do a compression test and that's about all you really need to do. I started out on a 125 and I rode DOONZ (albeit pretty small DOONZ) and it did just fine. A paddle tire on a 125 for places with small dunes can be fun as poo poo. It won't cost you much to get into it, and it won't be so fast as to get you into trouble. A 125, especially on dirt, is still a pretty fast bike, especially if you've never ridden offroad. If you stick with it step up into the relatively expensive 250 4T bike after that.
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Jan 15, 2015 17:19
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Thanks guys, I'll be posting back when I do pick something up over the next month. It'll be a 125 2t or a 250f.
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Jan 15, 2015 23:37
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ChewedFood fucked around with this message at 20:48 on Dec 27, 2021 |
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Jan 16, 2015 07:40
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idk I never rode dirt before and I got an xr100 and I got a lot more comfortable doing things on that to learn and play than the few weeks my cr250 was going. Obviously I wouldn't seriously tell another grown man to ride an xr100 but don't discount small and slow when it comes to building a foundation for new skills.
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Jan 16, 2015 12:45
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ChewedFood posted:The mentality of new riders needing very small bikes is ridiculous. I think its worth pointing out that in our championship enduro and harescramble series not anyone in our top 10 has a bike over 250cc
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Jan 16, 2015 14:39
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ChewedFood fucked around with this message at 20:50 on Dec 27, 2021 |
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Jan 16, 2015 15:37
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ChewedFood posted:The mentality of new riders needing very small bikes is ridiculous. How so? As a new rider a smaller bike is going to let you build your confidence more quickly and be way more forgiving. Even if you've been on the street for awhile and know how to ride motorcycles. Dirt is completely different. So you want to toss a newb dirt rider on a YZ450F throw him on some single track? He's going to hate riding dirt and hate you. Beginners on dirt should go smaller e-start 4 stroke or smaller 2 stroke. Honestly having done the beginner thing and started out on a 200 even that was possibly a bit of a mistake that has hindered my learning curve. Hoping to get a new bike this year and seriously thinking of switching up to a 250 e-start 4 stroke. EX250 Type R posted:Obviously I wouldn't seriously tell another grown man to ride an xr100 but don't discount small and slow when it comes to building a foundation for new skills. I would, riding smaller bikes is super fun. We have a little series here that runs sometimes called Chiva Kenieval that is all about grown rear end men riding XR100's or 110's or whatever on small MX tracks/single track. It's awesome.
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Jan 16, 2015 15:41
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ChewedFood fucked around with this message at 20:49 on Dec 27, 2021 |
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Jan 16, 2015 16:36
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Silver posted:I would, riding smaller bikes is super fun. We have a little series here that runs sometimes called Chiva Kenieval that is all about grown rear end men riding XR100's or 110's or whatever on small MX tracks/single track. It's awesome. I agree. This is why I am supermotoing my xr100 and racing it at a track in a few months. Yeah its not, like, dirt racing, but there is a dirt section. It is an absurd amount of fun to ride a little bike "hard" and when the little bike weighs 170lbs, you can basically go anywhere.
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Jan 16, 2015 17:57
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Also a lot depends on what you ride. If you're into single track and whatnot a 250 going to be much better imo for starting out on. Much more forgiving and easier to ride than a 450. Already riding in dirt and knowing how to ride then it's pretty much figure out what you like. We're just talking about beginners here. But yeah on the street bike to dirt bike rider thing, vastly different no matter what they ride on the street. Also it's not so much as start out on a small bike OR U GONE DIE type thing like the sportbike guys or whatever. It's mostly that you're going to crash. Do you want to crash with a light bike with e-start? Or a heavy loving bike that's kick start only? Alternately you're going to end up being wonky on the throttle. Do you want that throttle to get you to light speed in 2 seconds or give you some time to recover? I do mostly woods and single track so next bike will be a 250. I realllllly like my 2 stroke, but I honestly think my learning curve, confidence, and abilities will increase with a 4 stroke. You can get away with a lot more on them. I tested out my buddies 250XC-F for a few hours the other day. By the end of the day I took two vids, one of my 200 and one of the 250 and put them on the same spot in the trail. I gapped myself by like 2 seconds on the 250 in roughly a mile, probably less, and it didn't feel like I was going as fast as I go on my 200. Crazy. Anyhow,  have fun on ur dual sport riding dirt roads gnar. :pedit: That's awesome on the sumo part. Super fun I've done that on 110's with street tires and in full leathers. Feel all ricky racer dragging knee at 15mph around corners and whatnot. Super fun stuff.
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Jan 16, 2015 18:07
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VTNewb posted:I think its worth pointing out that in our championship enduro and harescramble series not anyone in our top 10 has a bike over 250cc here in the midwest the top enduro and harescrambles riders are similar, nobody consistently rides a 450. Mid range 4t bikes are popular (husky 310, ktm350). anybody around here that races a 450 in enduros and harescrambles is considered crazy. 4t vs 2t and 250 vs 450. there are so many variables. Terrain, rider skill, condition of the bike, how the bike is set up, etc. Making blanket statements about what bike you should get as a beginner is sort of ridiculous. Even saying get a 250 4t (which in my opinion I think would be the best to learn on) is problematic, because there is vast difference in a newish 250 4t and a 10 year old 250 4t. Buying a POS bike of any flavor can end up causing a new rider to be frustrated. Ideally a rider would be able to test ride a wide variety bikes and find out which one they have the most fun on, because that is what riding and racing should be about (unless you are a pro athlete), just having fun. picturessssssssss me and a buddy at last years Loose Moose National Enduro, this was my favorite race from 2014, really neat  http://youtu.be/4Mai3j92Q7Q a muddy race from last spring:  winter maintenance, left is XC 300, right is 250 KX. I did not have very good luck this year  XC300 cylinder   I went to US Chrome recently, neat place. they are probably the nations largest cylinder re-plating company (for all sorts of 2t stuff) and i found out I get dealer pricing, which is nice. Vork!Vork!Vork! fucked around with this message at 20:05 on Jan 17, 2015 |
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Jan 17, 2015 20:00
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Silver posted:2014, Go Pro year in review. Didn't ride as much as I should have but got some decent stuff in. Good times. You're my favorite kind of weirdo! Great vid, I love the quadrotor race footage you got. e: and also to chime in on the "Which bike to start on" discussion... You guys are also forgetting even smaller playbikes, I know it's something just about anyone will grow out of, but crf 230f's are a dime-a-dozen, super cheap, bulletproof, and super easy to ride. I find that the first rule of learning how to ride, is to keep it fun and within a person's comfort zone. You can resell the bike for same price, or keep it around to teach other people/buddy bike! That's for straight up newbies, of course. A 250 2 stroke can definitely be a man's bike if you get it into the right part of the powerband, but my YZ250 is actually really easy to ride smooth on the technical trails, it lugs wonderfully and everyone who tries it is always surprised by how not-insane it is. Honestly, the KTM 200 I owned previously was quite a bit more nuts, because it always wanted to lurch off the bottom and was hard to ride smooth. PoopSok fucked around with this message at 22:24 on Jan 17, 2015 |
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Jan 17, 2015 22:10
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Gullous coming from behind - jesus. Did you get every pick correct?
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Jan 18, 2015 22:52
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Training grounds!! 250 4T vs. 200 2T and other misc stuff from this past weekend. http://youtu.be/33IBB3m54E8
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Jan 23, 2015 16:32
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Silver posted:Training grounds!! 250 4T vs. 200 2T and other misc stuff from this past weekend. Nice man, how did you like the 4T? Also if you goons aren't watching this Supercross season, then you loving should be. It's 4 races in and goddam bananas. So much good racing and dicing in the pack, both 250's and 450's.
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Jan 27, 2015 02:02
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PoopSok posted:
Def. Youtube users have upped their game, the main events are up just hours after the TV coverage. Also playing Fantasy SX, and losing horribly. Gullous is whooping all of our asses. Pretty excited for the huge snowstorm that's on the east coast. It'll mean I can feel OK about going to the Snow Day GP and the Snow Run Enduro. Last year the snow races sucked (and my knee was kaboomed), but I usually love doing them because I spent so much time riding in the snow I can actually do well. Here's a pic from 2013 at a hero section hill that dramatically cut down the course length if you chose to hit it.  Can see people hit it at ill advised speeds at about 40 seconds here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_A302KFGZA
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Jan 27, 2015 03:55
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So I bought a 1992 YZ125 because I got a great deal on it and I've always thought the livery was hilarious. It runs great and is hilarious to ride. I'm now reading all the hilarious articles about how I bought the shittiest 125 two stroke made in 1992. Maybe if I actually give a poo poo I'll fix the squish band and do some porting when I wear the top end out. Probably not though. http://davestestsandarticles.weebly.com/uploads/4/8/4/5/4845046/dbjun92yz125.pdf
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Jan 27, 2015 05:08
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PoopSok posted:Nice man, how did you like the 4T? I liked it. Would like to ride a 250XC too for comparison but the 4t was good stuff. Still on fence on next bike but leaning more towards a 250XC-F right now.
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Jan 27, 2015 15:38
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Yerok posted:So I bought a 1992 YZ125 because I got a great deal on it and I've always thought the livery was hilarious. It runs great and is hilarious to ride. I'm now reading all the hilarious articles about how I bought the shittiest 125 two stroke made in 1992. Maybe if I actually give a poo poo I'll fix the squish band and do some porting when I wear the top end out. Probably not though. Heck yes. Find a track and pin it to feel like a hero.
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Jan 27, 2015 18:11
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I'm gonna take it to my semi-local OHV park this season that has a pretty alright MX loop. I found a set of NOS decals on eBay. Also talked to my buddy today and he said he's pretty sure he has a couple porting setups written down in some dusty folder for the 92-93. I'll post pics when I get it into the basement, hopefully with full OEM decals and a sweet Mika bar.
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Jan 31, 2015 04:39
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VTNewb posted:Can see people hit it at ill advised speeds at about 40 seconds here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_A302KFGZA Holy poo poo some of those guys are hauling, is there a favored tire for riding out in the snow there?
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Feb 3, 2015 03:21
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Most folks run trelliborgs with 5/8 studs. Some crazy people run Tapcons, but they're much better for ice than snow,
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Feb 5, 2015 02:16
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Hey dirt bike bros. I have a question for y'all, what sort of hours would a dealer/mechanic charge to do a full top/bottom rebuild on a 2010 Husqy TE250? Some of you (probably not, but whatever), may remember it seized up on me mid last year and I'm now in a position (i.e. located where the bike is and will have the ca$h in the next couple of months) to fix it, but am wanting to know an estimate from an outsiders POV who doesn't have a stake in the repair (i.e. anyone but a dealer/someone who is taking my money).
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Feb 15, 2015 10:03
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All depends how bad things got inside. If every little part got nuked and has to be completely stripped down - oil system, transmission, replace case bearings, remove valves, check guides. It can go from mild to wild. Taking your bike to a dealer may have them incur sublet charges on you if they have to send work out that they can not do in house; pressing a new rod onto a crank, plating or sleeving a cylinder. Working both sides of the dealer / moonlight coin, I normally start off with around 8 hours on the best case scenario with having to remove / renstall the engine from the bike. Once I get an engine opened up and take tally of the parts that need to be replaced, I give the customer a parts quote and possibly an updated time quote. If you can swing it with the shop / person, bring them just the engine apart from the bike, to help save on time. Going to take a stab in the dark here, but if your seizure was oil related and took out the head, your parts bill might run around the 2 - 2.5K mark.
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Feb 15, 2015 13:34
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I finally got around to taking apart the XR400 that suddenly stopped working about a month ago. Looks like it will need a piston/rings and probably could use valves/valve job/springs as well. I don't think this bike liked it's relatively short life as a roadgoing track bike. I've never done this extensive of a rebuild, so I think my options are as follows: 1. Replace entire engine. Transmission was starting to give me some quirky problems (would DOWNshift under WOT on occasion at the track). A quick ebay search yields just one and the guy is asking 1,500 for it. o.O This may be out of my price range. 2. Rebuild including piston/rings/valves/springs/valve-job I have never done any of the things listed in step 2 with the exception of removing and installing a head. A shop manual would probably be a good place to start. I would take the jug and head to a machine shop for the heavy lifting and would only really have to install it myself.   Any and all suggestions appreciated. 
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Feb 16, 2015 03:44
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wow. that piston is destroyed. The valves look baked. 1500 for a new engine really isn't that bad when you start adding up all the parts it takes to replace the top end and rebuild the head. also... you're using a xr400 as a "road going track bike"?? what?
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Feb 16, 2015 05:37
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Thats hosed. hosed goooood. Topend and new valves.
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Feb 16, 2015 07:35
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Just go buy another xr400 for like 600 bucks off CL.
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Feb 16, 2015 07:41
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DefaultPeanut posted:All depends how bad things got inside. If every little part got nuked and has to be completely stripped down - oil system, transmission, replace case bearings, remove valves, check guides. It can go from mild to wild. Taking your bike to a dealer may have them incur sublet charges on you if they have to send work out that they can not do in house; pressing a new rod onto a crank, plating or sleeving a cylinder. Working both sides of the dealer / moonlight coin, I normally start off with around 8 hours on the best case scenario with having to remove / renstall the engine from the bike. Once I get an engine opened up and take tally of the parts that need to be replaced, I give the customer a parts quote and possibly an updated time quote. If you can swing it with the shop / person, bring them just the engine apart from the bike, to help save on time. Thanks man. It literally just stopped on me when I was riding it  ...It only had about 1500kms on it too and half of that was pretty easy riding (on dirt roads out the back of my house). I'm fairly sure it wasn't related to running out of oil though. On that note, my dad swapped the oil filter a couple months back and there were some small shavings, so I'm expecting the worst + the kick starter is seized.. I'm going to take it to the dealer sometime in the next couple of weeks and they'll pull down the bike and give me a quote for about $200, which isn't too bad (considering I imagine it may only take 5 minutes, but it might also take a couple of hours in some instances).
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Feb 16, 2015 09:49
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Guni posted:Thanks man. It literally just stopped on me when I was riding it Brutal I don't work on Huskys too often, but I have heard they are pretty decent machines all in all. Is there any sort of milage warranty that a dealer could honor, or call up the mothership and ask for a good will helping hand on parts? I'd be interested to see what caused the failure. The PO of my YZF decided to do a homebrew wet sump conversion, and eliminated half of the oiling system, and reduced the capacity by almost half. Guess how that turned out.cursedshitbox posted:Thats hosed. Doesn't look like the piston kissed the valves. If the cam journals look good on your head, like this: http://imgur.com/Kg6ZDBD, try and save the head. With the cam out / valves closed, pour some fuel into the intake and exhaust ports and cover the valves completely. Does any fuel leak past the valve onto the head? If its just a little bit slowly seeping out - you can most likely save it. Pours out? Pull the valves and find out why. Edit: "PO did an oil change just before I bought it. I guess he left the drain bolt lose"   
DefaultPeanut fucked around with this message at 10:25 on Feb 16, 2015 |
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Feb 16, 2015 10:19
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The valves looked a little burnty in the photo, not bashed in. Good idea on the fuel test though
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Feb 16, 2015 17:16
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Dirt bike movie of the century https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyUlhtm_0rI
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Feb 18, 2015 01:39
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Shimmin'
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Feb 18, 2015 01:43
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Sorry for the post and run earlier. The piston is thoroughly hosed, but it doesn't actually look like contact was made with the valves. Cam looks "looks" okay, so the head is probably salvageable. Transmission had some issues too (would downshift under WOT). I rode that Motard nearly every day and beat the piss out of it on road track about 4 times. PO used it as a track bike too. It was not a fan of highway riding. My plan is an engine swap and sell. My hunt for an xr trail bike begins. Budget: $1k. I've loosely re-assembled the bike so that I don't lose parts between now and the inevitable swap.
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Feb 24, 2015 04:34
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New post from Anna: http://imaginarydirtbikeblog.blogspot.com/2015/03/steahly-offroad-flywheel-just-like-mom.html
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Mar 17, 2015 17:44
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