Going from road riding to off road

[Duc796canada]

All has been mentioned. Most people usually start out on dirt and then street I have both, I use both brakes all the time, of-course front is always first on the street then a little rear. On the dirt, rear brakes are used to square off turns, slow the rebound down, drop front wheel if too high off jumps(very advanced move, always have your clutch in, nothing worse than a silent bike in the air with the front dropping like a rock!) I just started road riding going on my third season(low miles), still learning, it is like going from a PC to a Mac, lol! Different on the street, I would like track time on street.

[bikepilot]

What sort of dirt riding (tight woods, desert, motocross, long-distance, multi-day rides)?  What part of the world (Chile?) ?  The more info you can fill in as far as details will help me give a helpful response.  I've competed in almost all types of off road riding there are (haven't done speedway at all or dirt track competitively yet, otherwise I've pretty much done it all in some manner).  The bike you'll want for new england enduros will be very different from the bike you'll want for baja and motocross will be a whole different sorta machine yet again.

As a general matter small bore two strokes are the most fun (somewhat subjective) and the best learning tools and create the best riders (objective fact in most folks' opinion - mine included).  Dual sports are generally heavy, poor handling and relatively expensive to crash.  They can be a lot of fun, but are the most fun when you are already a good off road rider.  If  you can possible haul the bike to the trails you'll have a lot more fun and rewarding off road experience.  

Dirt riding is huge fun, really the most fun I've ever had and I've put 60k miles on a superbike, flown aerobatic WWII airplanes, gliders, raced DH mountainbikes, and generally done a lot of fun stuff and off road riding beats it all by miles imo. 

And for fun, here's a few pics

Alpine singletrack


Baja beaches


Fooling around in the back yard


Successful completion of the longest off road race in the U.S. - solo of course!


Motocross


dirt track

[IZ]

Hey BP(2).. 

what age did you start riding trials and were you doing that on a bicycle prior?

[thought]

those pics are awesome 

[duccarlos]

What sort of dirt riding (tight woods, desert, motocross, long-distance, multi-day rides)?  What part of the world (Chile?) ?  The more info you can fill in as far as details will help me give a helpful response.  I've competed in almost all types of off road riding there are (haven't done speedway at all or dirt track competitively yet, otherwise I've pretty much done it all in some manner).  The bike you'll want for new england enduros will be very different from the bike you'll want for baja and motocross will be a whole different sorta machine yet again.

As a general matter small bore two strokes are the most fun (somewhat subjective) and the best learning tools and create the best riders (objective fact in most folks' opinion - mine included).  Dual sports are generally heavy, poor handling and relatively expensive to crash.  They can be a lot of fun, but are the most fun when you are already a good off road rider.  If  you can possible haul the bike to the trails you'll have a lot more fun and rewarding off road experience.  

Dirt riding is huge fun, really the most fun I've ever had and I've put 60k miles on a superbike, flown aerobatic WWII airplanes, gliders, raced DH mountainbikes, and generally done a lot of fun stuff and off road riding beats it all by miles imo. 

And for fun, here's a few pics

Alpine singletrack

Mostly will be doing more like the alpine above. I will start in the easy trails close to where I live. They have a ton of trails up and down the mountains. Hopefully by the time I leave here I should be a decent trail rider.

[bikepilot]

Awesome, that sort of riding is some of the most fun there is!  I prefer fairly small cc two strokes for alpine riding like that as you don't need a huge amount of power on a narrow trail.  The only tricky bit is that there currently aren't any fuel injected two strokes so you'll need to play with the jetting a bit to get it correct for your altitude.  There are many good options, the KDX200 is excellent, simple and easy to ride.  A KTM200 is a bit faster and more capable, the KTM150 is more revvy and feisty (I really like it), a Husqvarna WR125 or 150 is similar to the KTM150 but maybe a bit more mellow.  Any of the 125cc two stroke MX bikes will be fine too if you can keep them revved up - they'll make a great rider of you, but won't let you be lazy - huge fun

One other consideration is that if you will be at very high altitudes it can be difficult to make a two stroke run well due to the effect of the altitude on compression and jetting.  For example, if your trail starts at 5,000' and goes up to 14,000' you may find that a 125 that is jetted properly for 5,000' will barely run at 14,000'.  Four strokes, especially larger ones, are more tolerant of big altitude changes. 

If you want something a bit more relaxed a newer fuel injected four stroke like the Husqvarna TE310 or KTM 350 Freeride would be really good, but fairly expensive.  

For simple 100-150cc bikes other than the more competition-oriented ones mentioned above, the KLX140L is one of the better air cooled four strokes in that displacement range and most all mfg's make something similar.  These are simple air cooled bikes, not intended for competition, but they are reliable and fun so long as you aren't in a huge hurry - sort of like a monster 620 compared to a 748 (the 125cc MX bike would be the 748).  The KX100 is a small two stroke MX bike, very high performance, huge fun to ride, like a 125 you've gotta keep it revved up all the time, but it really goes when you do.  A CRF150RB is similar to a KX100, but a competition four stroke so it has a bit broader power curve and is easier to ride, a very good bike but expensive and a bit maintenance-intensive. The CRF150F is basically like a KLX140L, only heavier and with less-good brakes, but it is reliable, simple and works fine.  

If you come across any models in particular that interest you post up and I might know something about them.

In the end, the bike doesn't matter too much, especially for singletrack where the trails usually don't require a huge amount of power and are not horribly bumpy, so if the fancy bikes are too expensive or not available in  your area you'd be just fine on most any dirt bike.  As a general rule the less weight the better.

One thing to consider is range - most dirt bikes have fairly small fuel tanks.  Most of the time that's not an issue, but if the riding you have in mind would take you more than ~35 miles from your truck/house/gas station then you should take range into consideration when picking a bike.  Acerbis, IMS or Clarke make larger aftermarket fuel tanks for many bikes and oem fuel tank sizes can vary a lot.  Also, fuel consumption varies a lot from one bike to another.  Typically 2-stroke motocross bikes use the most and four stroke trail bikes use the least with four stroke motocross and two stroke trail bikes in-between.


IZ  I started riding trials last June (a few weeks before my 29th b-day), hadn't done any type of trials before that.  I've sadly been working a ton this summer/fall and have only been on the trials bikes about 5 times.  Rode one observed competition (aced the noob class! ), rode for one Ryan Young class (highly recommended!) and rode around the backyard (where the pics were taken) 2-3 times.  Its huge fun, I recommend it if you are thinking about it    You can pile crap up in your backyard or driveway or wherever and have fun for hours.  It also really wears you out.  After 20 minutes in the back yard I have to take a rest.

[duccarlos]

There's a 2007 CRF 150F for sale in the area.

[bikepilot]

That would work just fine.  They are well made, last almost forever and very simple to maintain.  They are a bit heavy for their power output (which isn't much), but still light compared to most big bikes.  You wouldn't go wrong with it.  If that's the style of bike you want and you happen to see a KLX140L for sale for the same price the kawasaki is basically the same, just a bit lighter weight.  There is a big aftermarket for the CRF150F if you want to go crazy souping it up 

[duccarlos]

 

I wouldnot be souping it up. This is going to be more of my fun beater for a few years.

[duccarlos]

That would work just fine.  They are well made, last almost forever and very simple to maintain.  They are a bit heavy for their power output (which isn't much), but still light compared to most big bikes.  You wouldn't go wrong with it.  If that's the style of bike you want and you happen to see a KLX140L for sale for the same price the kawasaki is basically the same, just a bit lighter weight.  There is a big aftermarket for the CRF150F if you want to go crazy souping it up 

I could not find any used KLX140L through the local website. The lighter the better, but I would definitely prefer a 4-stroke.

[bikepilot]

There's nothing wrong with the honda, I don't even know if kawasaki imported the KLX to your country.  If its not available the honda will work just fine.  I've ridden one a fair bit and it carries its weight well  The honda is about 28lbs heavier than the KLX, otherwise they are quite similar (the klx has a better rear brake, but on small bikes its not that critical).

Here are details on the Honda:
http://powersports.honda.com/2009/crf150f/specifications.aspx

And the kawasaki
http://www.kawasaki.com/products/product-specifications.aspx?id=463

All model years of the KLX140L are the same.  The CRF150F is pretty much the same for all years other than that they added electric start about 5 years ago, before that it was kick start (I actually like the simplicity of the kick-start version).  The KLX is electric-start only and always has been.

If it helps your search the Yamaha TTR125L and TTR125LE is also very similar and a fine bike.

If you are also considering older bikes the XR200 is a good bike.  Very similar engine/frame to the CRF150F, just older-styling mostly.  I think it isn't much heavier than the CRF150F, but it is kick-start only in case that bothers you.  They were the same from the early 1990s to the present (or whenever they were discontinued).  The XR200 in the late 80s was actually a bit taller, faster and had better suspension than the newer ones.  When it first came out they had ideas of it being a semi-competitive off road race bike.  It wasn't really so they detuned it and made it shorter and less expensive.