Dirt bike suggestions

Chris

Chris

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Looking for some dirt bike suggestions.

The criteria is that it needs to be fuel injected, have electric start, and preferably be somewhat lightweight.

I'll mostly be riding it in the desert for fun. Not going to be catching any extreme air, maybe several feet of air at most.

I'm just looking for something fast, fun, and reliable.

I'd rather buy once, cry once, so cost isn't an issue as I'd prefer to buy new anyways.

KTM and Honda are currently top of my list, just not sure on which model I'd want.
 
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You can’t go wrong with the KTM line, same with the gas gas now owned by KTM. Some like husky but they are a little more expensive and some people have issues with the composite rear sub frames. Assume you want 2 stroke for the lightweight?

I had a Beta 2 stroke I loved, weighEd 210 and pulled like a 4 stroke. I went back to a 4 stroke as I missed the engine braking which probably isn’t a big deal for desert riding.
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Photocycler said:
You can’t go wrong with the KTM line, same with the gas gas now owned by KTM. Some like husky but they are a little more expensive and some people have issues with the composite rear sub frames. Assume you want 2 stroke for the lightweight?

I had a Beta 2 stroke I loved, weighEd 210 and pulled like a 4 stroke. I went back to a 4 stroke as I missed the engine braking which probably isn’t a big deal for desert riding.View attachment 273748
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That’s a gorgeous bike!

I find myself actually wanting a 4-stroke more than a 2-stroke. Of course I’ve also never ridden dirt bikes before. I’ve been riding street bikes for the past 20 years.
 
Chris said:
I find myself actually wanting a 4-stroke more than a 2-stroke. Of course I’ve also never ridden dirt bikes before. I’ve been riding street bikes for the past 20 years.
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Thanks, I loved the bike when I had it. Depending on where you ride weight may not be a factor. The trails here in Oregon are steep, narrow and hard to get good footing on if you stop so lightweight is ideal.

Any idea of what cc you want? Should probably think about a dual sport as it’s nice to be able to connect trails and hop on the road if needed. I am a big hones fan but unfortunately they are not considered a top performer when it comes to trail bikes. Although the Honda 450 dual sport is a great bike, somewhat of a unicorn in their lineup.

I suggest joining https://thumpertalk.com/ and checking out the manufacturer forums.
 
I have an XR650L, it's a bit of a pig offroad but you'd have to work really hard to hurt it
Seriously considering moving to a CRF450L, more horsepower and and a lot lighter

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Photocycler said:
Thanks, I loved the bike when I had it. Depending on where you ride weight may not be a factor. The trails here in Oregon are steep, narrow and hard to get good footing on if you stop so lightweight is ideal.

Any idea of what cc you want? Should probably think about a dual sport as it’s nice to be able to connect trails and hop on the road if needed. I am a big hones fan but unfortunately they are not considered a top performer when it comes to trail bikes. Although the Honda 450 dual sport is a great bike, somewhat of a unicorn in their lineup.

I suggest joining https://thumpertalk.com/ and checking out the manufacturer forums.
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I haven't any idea of what CC I want. I like going fast and there's plenty of places to do so in the desert. I'm a big enough guy that there may be too small of a CC for me.

The dual sport thing I considered, but here in Arizona it's very, very easily to make a dirt bike street legal, at which point you can drive it on the street all you want.

Zorba said:
Honda CT-90. Will go places the over powered and under geared "dirt bikes" cannot. :D
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You think 90cc would be enough to get my fat ass around at a decent pace?
 
Chris said:
I haven't any idea of what CC I want. I like going fast and there's plenty of places to do so in the desert. I'm a big enough guy that there may be too small of a CC for me.

The dual sport thing I considered, but here in Arizona it's very, very easily to make a dirt bike street legal, at which point you can drive it on the street all you want.



You think 90cc would be enough to get my fat ass around at a decent pace?
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It'll go 15 MPH all day long!
 
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True story: Back in my teen years when I had the 90, I certainly couldn't outrun the "dirt bikes" - but I could out slow them. In low range, granny low 1st gear, I could creep along at such a slow pace that the dirt bikes had to "orbit" me if they wanted to keep up (down?) with my pace... They couldn't go that slow, and didn't have the slow riding skilz I had as a result!

BUT - that bike could go places. There was a hill, a VERY steep one nearby. In the 20 years I lived there, only ONE bike made it to the top. Mine. The dirt bikes were overpowered, under geared and too fast to be able to climb it. Many tried, none made it.
 
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Zorba said:
BUT - that bike could go places. There was a hill, a VERY steep one nearby. In the 20 years I lived there, only ONE bike made it to the top. Mine. The dirt bikes were overpowered, under geared and too fast to be able to climb it. Many tried, none made it.
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Oh, and several 4x4 vehicles, Jeeps or otherwise tried it too. Fail.
 
Chris said:
Looking for some dirt bike suggestions.

The criteria is that it needs to be fuel injected, have electric start, and preferably be somewhat lightweight.

I'll mostly be riding it in the desert for fun. Not going to be catching any extreme air, maybe several feet of air at most.

I'm just looking for something fast, fun, and reliable.

I'd rather buy once, cry once, so cost isn't an issue as I'd prefer to buy new anyways.

KTM and Honda are currently top of my list, just not sure on which model I'd want.
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KTM 450EXC. It will go anywhere you want it to go. At any speed you want it to go.
 
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Chris said:
Delivery if what? The bike?

I have found a number of them in stock in various places. I may have to have one shipped to me, but no big deal.
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Yes the bike. Sorry, my daughter bought a small Honda for my grandson and she is still waiting for it to ship to the dealer. Good to hear you don’t have that problem.
 
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Zorba said:
Honda CT-90. Will go places the over powered and under geared "dirt bikes" cannot. :D
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We went camping with a group of folks a few weekends ago - there were dirtbikes, ATVs, Jeeps, it was an offroad fest all weekend. My buddy brought his CT-90, I was on that thing all weekend. I used it to trailblaze at one point looking for on of our dogs that got a little too far from camp, I was hopping logs & crawling through the woods with that thing long after everyone else had to stop. They're a blast.
 
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