Ducati Monster Forum

Been thinking about doing some dirt riding.  Apparently its a blast.

Not sure how to approach it though.  Been thinking about a KTM 450 or so.  too much for a dirt novice?  All my riding has been street. 

a 450cc dirt bike has alot of snap to it.
They make a ton of power and it may be a handful for a dirt novice. Unless you are going to race a 250 4 stroke MAY be the better choice.

BUT another huge factor is where you will be riding and how big you are.

950 Super Enduro then?  Sounds good to me.  Think I'll take out a new loan for one tomorrow!

Ah, you are the opposite of me! I have always ridden in the dirt, and now have switched over to the street.
I can mix it up with anyone in the dirt, but am more careful on the street.
Years ago, I started an on-line 4 stroke dirt bike site. It is HUGE now, although I turned it over to new owners many years ago.
Search through it. Everything you ever wanted to know about riding and what to ride is on the site:

www.ThumperTalk.com

BTW: I was always a Yamaha 4 stroke rider.

Cheers,
Bryan...

What kind of dirt? Trails, Desert, Motocross?

That KTM 450 is more of a motocross bike.
There are better options of trails.

There is a lot out there, two stroke, four stroke, water cooled, air cooled -- it really depends on what you are getting in to.

well.... don't know really  [laugh]

I was basically watching  this video that got my interest piqued..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cVpBP0hiq8

Also considering maybe an xr650r or L as well.  something street legal that I could still get around on.

Bryan - that is a great site.  I learned alot when I first started in the dirt several years ago. 

KTM makes several 450's - some are better for woods, enduros or motocross - they have a model for each.  Even a real offroad 450 with street gear and a tag!  They are also indestructible.  A 450 isn't too much for your first.  They will all bite you if your technique is bad.  All I can say is DO IT!  Your street riding confidence gains will be huge when you get comfortable sliding around in the dirt.  And you may also find it a much much much cheaper alternative to roadracing.  And you won't run into too many radar guns or $1000 wheelieing fines riding offroad!  Then pick up a set of 17" wheels for it and try motarding - THE most fun on two wheels.

One word of wisom - suspension work is worth every penny to have the bike sprung and valved for you and the riding you do.

Personally, I enjoy 2 stroke bikes (KTM 200 for me) over 4 strokes in the dirt, they just seem so much lighter and more responsive.

Enjoy. 

That dude in the video is good at riding wheelies. But he seems to be crashing a lot in fairly easy terrain. Personally, I liked to keep the rubber side down when possible, although I've had my fair share of get-offs on my WR.

Like others have said, the bike you get depends on what you ride, and your riding style. I didn't mind the extra weight of my WR over a two stroke. But I am tall and didn't mind the extra weight, and my forte is riding fast on roads, fire roads, double track, and high speed single track.

My WR was the perfect machine for riding in Moab, Utah. I could go over 100 mph on the straights on jeep roads, and highways between trails. But I had the low torque to walk up the nastiest stuff you could ever imagine. But in the tight single track, like some of the terrain near Steamboat Springs, the extra weight reared it's ugly head after hours and hours of muscling that sucker around.

Before my WR, I had a Honda XR 650L. That bike had gobs of torque and was a fun bike. But the more I rode, the more I wanted it set up for off road. After about 2 years, I ended up with a SUPER heavy dual sport that could handle the abuse of any off road trail. But at the expense of all that weight. I finally got tired of pulling over 300 pounds out of the ditch, and bought my WR (still not a light bike).

When I first bought my 650L as a dual sport, I thought it would be cool to have a bike that is the best of both worlds (on road and off road). But when I sold it, I was convinced it was actually the WORST of both worlds (great at neither).

If I had to do it over again (which I may some day), I would get another Yammy, or equivalent, with electric start (probably a WR426), and dual sport it, which doesn't take much effort depending on what state you live in. Then you get a true dirt bike, that you can ride on the street. (In fact, some of my old riding buddies are converting their WR's into Super Moto bikes, which is a whole new world).

I've never had  a KTM, but have many riding buddies that do. We always joked that you need 2 KTM's but only 1 Yamaha. 2 KTM's because you can ride one while the other is torn apart in the garage, since they seem to break down a lot. Of course we were only joking and they are great bikes too. But they are ORANGE! YUCK! Everyone knows that blue is 8 to 10 feet faster! :)

And you can ALWAYS jus ride ur street bike to visit us on our DIRT/SAND road anytime-lemme tell ya how much FUN that is...
NAWT! 
Seriously considering selling house....helluva way to LEARN to ride street bikes!

xr650r for sale round here too.... thinkin about it...

That isn't a dirt bike.

what is it then?  I'm not getting something I can't take on the street....

Well, you prove to me that it isn't a dirt bike by saying that you don't want something that you can't take on the street...

You really got to define what you are looking for. If you are going to do (way) more street than dirt, an xr650 is worth looking at. Other than that it really isn't. Unless you like picking 350lbs of beastly honda red up often.

I don't know where you live -- and that is a big differnce maker too. Out in the west an xr650 is better suited for trails then say here in the southeast. Y`all have wide open spaces, we have tight, narrow, tree on either side muddy hills. An xr650 would be a handful in my area -- a lot of weight to be throwing around.


This is like any other bike purchase. You really have to define what you are looking to do. Then you can start looking at what bike. And then it is all personal preferance.

What he said. All excellent points.

Or, you can just get something (anything), and figure out what you really want after you've been riding for a while. That's why I originally bought the XR650L (pig). At least I had something to ride, and after picking it up for a few years, it became more clear what I really wanted after I started to ride more and more true off road trails.

I can't believe that old 650 is almost as heavy as my Foggy, with about 1/2 the horse power. WOW!

Novice dirt rider that wants to have fun off road? XR650? Nope. Don't you already have a street bike? Buy a strictly dirt, dirtbike. Way more fun. My CRF450X weighs about 270 lbs. Way more fun on the dirt then a 650. And a dirt bike is no fun on the street, knobbies don't provide good street handling. If you want a trade off bike to ride mild trails with some street thrown in, the 650 works. If you want to have some serious fun in the dirt a 450 is as big as you want to go.

Try a DRZ400 for a good dual sport.  But like any other dual sport its not a motocrosser! The 650's are very big and intimidating in the dirt.  The DRZ feels alot smaller by comparison.  But you'll have to have the suspension done for quick offroad work.

Last I checked KTM was still producing an enduro bike that is street legal yet more geared towards the street. 

+1 on whomever mentioned a 650 is just to much in the dirt (yeah I am too lazy to scroll down and quote it).  I used to own a 450 KTM that was a blast trail riding.  Light, nimble, and you could still hit the street when you where done. 

I'm a girlie that has a CR250 and about a month ago on a moto track, I lost it off a jump about 10 feet. My leg wasn't broken but still refuses to heal. When purchasing  a new bike don't forget the gear!! BTW, I love the 250 but plan to get something else for trails. Moto x is the way to go!

Stacy

the lighter the better
125 2-strokes make for a good beginner bike, and they're a breeze to work on.
and did I mention cheap?   :o

Lots of good comments from others. I have a couple of years of experience with the dirt. Started riding dirt in 1968 and have never quit. More fun than a barrel of monkeys.

So it all depends on what you want from your bike. I`ll list a few of my current rides and what I use them for to give you some food for thought.

2001 Honda XR650R( BRP,Big Red Pig) Baja racing kit to make it road legal( barely), Full FMF exhaust, Hot cams Stage II, airbox mods, JD jetting, bash guards on everything, O-dot tires 90% dirt/10% street, (can you say hooligan!)oh ya and it is a kick start only.  Uses: hooliganism of course, logging road and trail exploration, when the trails get tight and ugly I leave them for the next 2 bikes


2005 KTM 525EXC ( The Ktoom), Setup for serious enduro riding ( of cousre full FMF exhaust, air box mods, Jd jetting and full crunch protection everywhere) Uses; serious off road riding, tight gnarly trails, still a blast on the open logging road( power wheelies at will)

2006 Honda CFR250X( The Little Lady) , Full FMF exhaust , airbox mods, JD jetting, all the bash guards, very fun light tight trail toy. Uses; Plenty of power for fun easy riding, tight trails and technicl trails. very controlable power.

So I guess it`s what do you want from your bike. It` is hard for me to pick one thing and you can see the results. ???  A life long addiction to motorcyles.  [moto]

ALso keep in mind, the bikes intended for the track uses (moto-x v. off-road) often have more maintenance requirements.  An older XR250 or XR400 for a dirt only ride would be an excellent, low maintenance choice.  Keep in mind the XR's are air cooled, so no radiators to smash if you throw it down.  My current dirt ride is a '77 TS185.  Almost zero maintenance, but it's not cut out for serious trails.  The XR's would be.  The DRZ-400 is good too, low maintenance, water cooled, plenty of power.  I would avoid CRF450R's, the KTM450, and the ones that are running at the same level.  There is also a dirt-only variant of the DRZ-400 that makes a bit more power than the Dual-sport version (emissions stuff on the dual-sport model).

JM