Need advice in buying my first dirt bike?

Question

I am 5'11" 160 lbs and 23 yrs old. I want to use the bike for mostly off road riding, small jumps, and some street use as well. The main thing I'm looking for is simple maintenance and reliability. I hear that honda's are reliable, but not sure what size, year, model etc to begin with. I also was wondering why people say a 2 stroke engine is too difficult for a beginner.

I was looking to spend about $1500 on a used bike. thanks

Answer 1

CR250 are the best bikes love! them but like  camasap said its not really a begginer bike because its 2 stroke they have powerband and its dangerous if you learining on i think you should get a bigger 4 stroke but with $1500 you wont get far i think you should get one off the bikes pick your coulor

YZF250,KLX250,CRF250,RMZ250

when you get more experienced go look at these bikes

CR250,RM250,YZ250,CRF450,YZF450,RMZ450

im 12 years old and im getting a YZ85

Answer 2

KAW,SUZUKI,YAMI,HONDA, they're ALL good.

Answer 3

2-strokes are bad for rings and you will have to mix gas. I would go with the Honda crf 250 or for a lot of power the crf 450

Answer 4

I am nearly the same size an weight as you, and I ride a Honda cr250. It is a 2 stroke and believe me it is not exactly a beginners bike! I would definitely suggest a 4 stroke Yamaha or Honda bike. You wont do any better as far as reliability and rideability goes. Since you are a beginner I would suggest you go for a 250cc 4 stroke bike since it is the perfect combination of controllable power and still having enough to be fun. As you ride for a while you will probably want the power of a 450cc or a 250cc 2 stroke, but I would not suggest starting out on either of these bikes. Have a good time, and dont be discouraged on your 1st day of attempting to ride!!!!!!! If you have any questions feel free to contact me.

Answer 5

if you want a street legal dirt bike for $1500, you're limited to about a couple models:  Honda XR250L (kinda rare), Kawasaki klr250 and thats about it.  if you want to convert a dirt only bike to street use, it will run another $500 on top of the price of the bike give or take plus going through getting it legit through the dmv which is easy in some states and impossible in others.

a 250-350cc four stroke will be enough for your first bike.  the MSF now offers off road courses as well as the street safety classes

Answer 6

Finding the Street legal part makes things a little more difficult, If you are spending more time in the dirt, less on the road makes it very difficult for 1500.00. I think I would look for a Suzuki DRZ 250. Based on being a beginner, need it street legal etc. Good luck!