How tall do i have to be to ride a 250cc dirt bike?

Question

because im thinking of getting a WR250F or a YZ250 from yamaha and the problem is that im 5'5 feet tall

Answer 1

Well im 5'9 and i have a rmz 250. I would say you should be about 5'7. You would probably be fine with 250 you would probably have a hard time touching the ground. The seat hight for a yzf 250 is like 36 inches so measure it out and see if its too big.

Answer 2

im 5ft 8in and i have a pro factory team crf250 and i can just barley get on it still strugle to start the bike though

Answer 3

Whats up with the thumbs down for Auburns answer? It seems that half her answers seem to be targeted by users for no reason.

If you are under 5'6" tall will struggle in certain situations both riding and racing.  If you want to race and have to start on concrete you definitely need contact to balance the bike with both feet touching the  ground as stated by Auburn, to maintain a straight exit from the gates you will need starting blocks for this. Chad Reeds trainer teaches this starting position.   If you put your bike down in a awkward position and you wont be able to start it without repositioning the bike.  Sure you could ride a 250 and be 4' tall as long as someone helps start it and pick the bike up  when you come off.

By altering the rear linkage and the springs in the front forks and cutting down the seat you can overcome some of the difficulties of being on the short side, but if you are short and thin you will still struggle as your power to weight ratio is incorrect.  This makes the bike want to stand up more in corners making it feel like the bike is in control instead of you being in control.  

It would be nice on this site if people could give answers without others giving thumbs down when the answers are quite good.   Thumbs down should not be used for basic difference in opinions and I have noted especially on the racing section that this seems to happen a lot.

Answer 4

Tall enough to touch the ground with your tip-toes.

Answer 5

That is plenty tall. Set the sag. SDG makes a cut seat and there is a lowering linkage kit available.

Answer 6

about your height 5'5

Answer 7

A lot of pro motocrossers were short.  I too am 5,5" and being lighter may not put more traction to the ground but it does put more power to the ground and besides us little guys have something to prove so we naturally got bigger balls. Go for it man and just ride every chance you get and go to the edge but not over your limit. Remember. Like Ricky Carmichael says, if you,re not crashing, your not going fast enough.

Answer 8

My son races a crf250r and when he first went onto it he was about your height. He is now 5'6.  He finds it a bit heavy for him but can manage it although he cannot throw it around like he can his crf150r.  

He uses starting blocks on the start line to get away smoothly, but does have to combat wheel spin a bit due to his being light in weight.  

Just go along to a shop and sit on a few and also feel the weight of them so you can judge if you think you would be capable of picking one up when you go down.  But if you are a beginner you may want to consider something smaller. Cutting the seat down does help and we have done this with one of our bikes with an electric knife.  If you remove the cover and carefully cut the foam and replace the cover and staple it back on it does get you a bit lower to the ground.

Answer 9

You DO NOT have to be able to touch the ground with both feet in order to ride a dirt bike. One foot on the peg with one on the ground. Most people can not touch both feet flat on the ground who ride. Last time I saw Ricky Carmichael at Budds Creek last September at the Moto Cross of Nations on his 450 Suzuki he did not look 6 feet plus tall and he rode just fine. I have not looked lately but a RM125 had a taller seat height then an RM 250 by a 1/4". Just by what you want and quit listening to all the wrong info. When I was racing the GNCC's all the starts were dead engine starts. It's kind of hard to get a hole shot in a dead engine start race if you have both feet on the ground.

Answer 10

When you have enough guts to hop on it. You can still hop on it at 5'5". You'll just have to place your thigh on the seat and let your leg sag over it.