First Trail Bike

[G30]

Hi,

So I'm a newbie...

I'm only small and light (5ft7/140lbs) so what would be good for me? I was thinking of a XR250/DRZ250/WR250 or EXC300 even a XR125.

Thanks!
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KTM RC390 -- Kawa ER6f -- Yam YZF R125 -- Yam YBR 125

[G]

Uusal advice would be the 300 EXC - light weight, very easy to ride with engine and suspension that will be ahead of your abilities for some time.
Are reasonably tall, but can be made shorter (when I got mine it had a lowered shock, for example and the seller was maybe slightly shorter than you), but more it's just about learning to move your body when you come to a stop etc - they are light, so there's not much to hold up.

[thx1138]

Yamaha Serow

[stevo as b4]

What do you want to do with it specifically?

If you want to explore gentle trails, gravel tracks, and green lanes you don't need a vey capable, high tech or specialised off roader.

I would think that for easy routes and a bit of play riding in the woods, unmade tracks etc, that a bike like a GasGas EC300 is way to good and a bit too powerful to have fun on.

If the bike is too good for the environment, you will either:
1, get bored as its no fun
2, want to explore much more serious terrain more soon and or want to ride a lot quicker and or take more risks too.

A 50odd bhp trail/competition enduro_ bike would be way overkill for some situations in the same way that buying a competition trials bike would be for riding up a set of shallow steps or over a 6" log etc.

[yen_powell]

[Fladdem]

I love the EXC300, but out the box it is not a beginners bike. I would say it is best aimed at someone that has ridden for a couple of years and wants to go fast easily, rather than potter about. The suspension and engine cover up mistakes quite well, but on another note, the can cause it to get out of hand VERY quickly. Which will happen as a novice, wrong positioning, lack of confidence. It'd be like a gsxr 1000 as a first bike, easy engine at the bottom, due to torque of large engine, but too easy for corners to start arriving faster and tighter than expected, so you get a little flustered and the controls get muddled so you get spat off.

My advice, aim to get the 300 next. Start with a Serow or XR 250/400 or a KMX 200 if you fancy a smoker or even a Pampera 250. Something small, slow-ish, simple and cheap. It's the first trail bike, you will throw it down a hill, you are going to come off and it's better to do it to something easy to fix.
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Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

[G]

[stevo as b4]

I just think it's more a case of not always needing the off road ability and the capabilities of say the EXC300 when something much less specialised could do a lot of stuff reasonably well, but not so easily that it's not fun most of the time.

Even a softly tuned 50bhp 300cc two stroke engine, will have a hard hit of midrange if you give it a handful, and I've seen EXC300's ridden on the road shortshifted and still rearing up on the back wheel very easily through the gears from pulling out of junctions etc.

Given a big handful on a loose surface and you'd be quickly on your arse. I flipped a Yamaha WR200 on a motocross track when I landed a jump badly and grabbed a handful by accident.

I bet theres a lot of off roading you could do and a lot of fun to be had on something like a Honda XLR125, and still be capable of a lot more than you think, without being too much to really use and abuse etc.

I still remember 2years ago watching a bloke on a Honda XL600R cleaning nearly all the clubman sections in a local trial, when guys on current Beta's, Montessa's and Sherco's etc were struggling to make it at all.

[G]

Sure, a XR125 in the right hands can be pretty capable, no doubt.
But, put it in inexperienced hands trying to ride at a pace they could easily on something like the EXC and I suspect it's a lot more likely to end badly.

To start with, the XR is listed at 15kg heavier than the EXC. Pick that up a few times and you may well be starting to notice it, for a start.


If you give the EXC a handful in the midrange, you're going to get a reasonable hit. Which is why you ride it a couple of gears up until you get used to it.

And how do you think the guys on the Betas would have done on an XL? There's a reason that he could handle a heavy road 4 stroke and I'd suggest that's because he's got the skills already - those that don't such as myself, do better on a light weight competition 2 stroke .

Similarly, there was a video of someone ascending a pretty steep hill very comptently on a XR250, which are pretty capable bikes. But I still bet if you give an inexperienced rider a XR250 or a 300EXC, they'll do better on the 300 and probably be less likely to hurt themselves too.

I've ridden a reasonable range of bikes off road, from a DT50 to a ZX9, via most sizes of competition and road 2 and 4 strokes. Small capacity 4 strokes and more road biased 2 strokes are hard work if you don't want to dwaddle - because you have to be really on the gear changes and keeping it on song.
Some of my first proper green laning was done on a DR600. They're not TOO heavy and I was generally a gear or two higher to just use the bottom end - but for people that weren't generally reasonably confident already, having to muscle the extra weight around isn't ideal.

I still think the 300 enduro bikes provide the most user friendly introduction to dirt biking. With the caveat that the rider isn't a total twonk that's going to try and set lap records - which certainly will end in pain.

[Fladdem]

I may be wrong, but that 300 of M1kes is a pussycat because the PV is playing up and because him and Rhys, the lad that had it before, spent a lot of time messing with it to make it that way. It was his first trail bike but even after that he said it was a bit much for him.

As to a hit there is none... it pulls like my TTR off the bottom, then at half revs, where my bike stops making power and the throttle just controls noise, the KTM keeps making power in a very linear smooth method until the rev limit. But the revs change MUCH faster than my bike and being so light I reckon a novice could get over excited quickly.

Also, imagine keeping up with orange bikes on a Serow, how easy would it be when you upgraded? I started on my MT5, you needed to be on it constantly to get anywhere, my TTR made it so much easier afterwards.
____________________
Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.