[KMac]

Here's the situation. We're selling my son's racing kart because he has to move up a class next year, requiring a different chassis and engine. However, the local club is in disarray, is very expensive, and there's only 1 track around....all the rest are many hours away....and I don't feel like driving to Ocala once a month for a one day event. So, when it's sold we're thinking of getting dirt bikes and spending our time trail riding, with a little bit of MX in there once in a while.

We'll be getting (3) bikes, one for a 9-yr old, one for a (16) yr old, and one for me (27 :sing. Neither of the kids has any riding experience to speak of; the 9-yr old has been on a PW50 before and took to it like a fish to water. Right now I'm considering the following bikes:

CRF70 - The 50 is too small. The other option is the TTR110, which is the same physical size but weighs a LOT more. The Honda can also easily be made to exceed the power of the 110, as well. He has a twin sister who will likely ride this from time to time as well.

CRF150F - Was considering the TTR125L, but the 150 is a highly rated bike and has the power advantage, plus appears to be a little easier to work on.

TTR230 or WR250 - Can't make up my mind, yet. The WR is almost 2x the price of the TTR. I could ride the 450, but it's more expensive yet, and as long as I'm going to be riding along with them I don't think I'm going to need the power.

The plan is for both boys to move up 1 bike in a couple of years, and maybe I'll get the 450 then. (and the 70 will become a pit bike).

That's my thoughts right now. Fire away at will with your opinions. (I already know a lot of people are gonna say the CRF250 instead of the TTR or WR, but I have to have a Yamaha in there somewhere.)

 

[plimmer]

Here's the situation. We're selling my son's racing kart because he has to move up a class next year, requiring a different chassis and engine. However, the local club is in disarray, is very expensive, and there's only 1 track around....all the rest are many hours away....and I don't feel like driving to Ocala once a month for a one day event. So, when it's sold we're thinking of getting dirt bikes and spending our time trail riding, with a little bit of MX in there once in a while.

We'll be getting (3) bikes, one for a 9-yr old, one for a (16) yr old, and one for me (27 :sing. Neither of the kids has any riding experience to speak of; the 9-yr old has been on a PW50 before and took to it like a fish to water. Right now I'm considering the following bikes:

CRF70 - The 50 is too small. The other option is the TTR110, which is the same physical size but weighs a LOT more. The Honda can also easily be made to exceed the power of the 110, as well. He has a twin sister who will likely ride this from time to time as well.

CRF150F - Was considering the TTR125L, but the 150 is a highly rated bike and has the power advantage, plus appears to be a little easier to work on.

TTR230 or WR250 - Can't make up my mind, yet. The WR is almost 2x the price of the TTR. I could ride the 450, but it's more expensive yet, and as long as I'm going to be riding along with them I don't think I'm going to need the power.

The plan is for both boys to move up 1 bike in a couple of years, and maybe I'll get the 450 then. (and the 70 will become a pit bike).

That's my thoughts right now. Fire away at will with your opinions. (I already know a lot of people are gonna say the CRF250 instead of the TTR or WR, but I have to have a Yamaha in there somewhere.)

:thumbup finally decided to get dirty huh....
You should get the bikes that they can easily reach the ground with. When learning to ride in the dirt, newbies need to put there feet down a lot, so having a bike that they can comfortably reach the ground with makes learning a lot easier.Woods riding also involves a lot more feet down than MX. They can step up after they become comfortable dirt riders.

9 year old - The TTR125 might be his bike? The CRF150F is also a great bike.

Most experienced 16 years olds are on 250R four strokes, but they are hard core MX bikes which might be difficult to learn on. Therefore the WR250 might be a great bike, assuming he can reach the ground easily. Else the 230 would be great.
The CRF70 might be a little to powerful for you:hammer: Select something with a little less power. Seriously WR for you = good.

FYI: Generally, MX bikes do OK in the woods but trail / woods bikes suck big time on the MX track. WR type bikes will do great on a MX track. Therefore the F type bikes will get abused if you plan on doing a lot of MX, but will be perfect in the woods.

 

[GAMBLER]

the playbikes are lot's of fun unless you really get into it... but by then you'll know what kinda bikes you want for the type of riding you enjoy most


dirtbikes have become more focused & niche orientated then sportbikes in my opinion - especially the Orange variety


welcome to the party

 

[fjorn]

You know my thoughts on it...

WR450F for you
WR250F for the oldest
TT-R 110/125 for the youngest.

All three are severly detuned, and as you all get more familiar with the bikes, you can mod them to get decent power.

Just as an FYI, my wife's TT-R was severely lacking in power. She'd of had to ride really stupid in order to get hurt on it. But, once I put a JD Jetting kit in it (blue needle with a 115 main), and did a bit of air box mod (remove snorkel and cut 3" hole in top) it opened up right away. Still could go a lot more in power, but that's a quick 1 hour fix for great power gains.

:thumbup

 

[fjorn]

Also, FYI, in terms of size:

My wife is about 5'6" @ 120 pounds and my son is 5'[email protected] pounds. The TT-R is technically too small for my wife, but that's fine because she doesn't ride hard and can easily put her feet down (there's a good couple of inches between her and the bike with her feet planted).

My son rides the YZ250F, and it's perfect for him in terms of size. I know that's not what you're looking for though with you son.

 

[MAD*BRAPPER]

Dont forget about the older 2-Strokes! The CR 80's and big-wheel CR and KX80's are awesome bikes and still very easy to find. They are super easy to work on and theres not anything on these bikes that should take you more then a day to do. (Great bike's to learn basic maintenance on.) Parts are cheep and the bikes are very in-expensive compared to the newer four-strokes. They dont have all the bells and whistles of the newer bikes like electric starter and you have to mix fuel and change out fouled plugs every once in awhile. They are more MX but do good in a trail setting as well. I just bought my Wife a mid 90's RM 125 and rebuilt the top-end. She loves it, and it runs awesome. Best part is that im into the bike less then 1000 bux with the new top end and a graphix kit, the bike looks and runs like new! I ride a 97 CR 500 2-stroke myself and the things bullet proof and faster then i'll ever need. The only thing that sux about the 2-stroke's is that once you get big enough for the 125's, they sit just as high as the 250's or 500's...Im talking about MX 2 strokes here. My wifes RM is maybe 1/2 Inch shorter then my 500. My point is that once you fit on a 125 its all about how much bike can you handle. With your situation, one regular 80 and one big wheel 80 with some hop-ups depending on riding ability and size, will go a long way for most kids while saving you some major coin. Plus these bikes are still heavily supported in the after market. A well built big wheel CR80 is pretty much a scaled down version of a CR 250 or 500. Top notch upside-down forks, disc brakes, the works. A lot of the new 4 stroke mini's still run the drum brakes and the crappy forks and IMHO you get a better bike for less money with the 80's.

 

[BC_CO]

get 3 mountain bikes, get in shape, loose your gut and double chin, get your kids in shape, see some nature & learn about a real workout

 

[KMac]

Well, we went to dealer today and the CRF150 is out of the question. He dwarfed that bike. Dealer has a good deal on an 07 TTR230 I might get for him, and the WR250 for me. Little guy is gonna get the CRF70 for sure (because it's too much power for me. :lol )

 

[KMac]

Found out the local dealer has a 07 WR450F going for $5699. That is $500 less that Lakehill Motors is charging, which is usually the lowest around. Anybody else have pricing data on this bike to compare to?

 

[fjorn]

That's not a bad deal! My local dealer usually sells for about $500 below MSRP on most bikes depending upon price.

 

[fjorn]

BTW, MSRP is about $7199 for a WR450F. That's 1,500 below MSRP