Dirtbiking in Colorado

[def90]

Used to ride bikes way back in my teens in the 80s, yz125 back then. Thinking about getting back into it and riding some of the backcountry trails and fire roads. I'm 6ft 195lbs but as I said I haven't spent any significant amount of time on a bike in years, would a 250 be fine? I am thinking of a used Yamaha WR250 or something similar.

Thoughts?

[SouthPaw]

I wound personally look at an older yzf400 or yzf426. Built like tanks. Real stump pulling son of bitches too. I'm 5'10" and 180lbs my 426 is plenty. My brother has an '08 kawi 250 four stroke and that still has plenty of power.

[ray1970]

It depends how fast you plan on going. I'm 5' 9", 210 lbs and a 250 four stroke will take me wherever I want to go. It just won't take me there quite as fast as I want.

[Colorado Osprey]

WR250 2 stroke is a great choice with its larger tanks and wide ratio transmission. This is the bike I ride. The only thing you will need is a flywheel weight so you can lug the engine to lower RPM when needed and make it less responsive so you don't throttle over something or spin the rear when you wanted traction. The WR426f would be my second choice. BTW I am 6'2" 240#s.
The YZ and KX's have small track tanks and are designed for quick throttle response with it's close ration transmission. They are great track bike but not a great woods bike choice.

The 250 4 stroke bikes are equivalent to your old 125 2 stroke. Probably under powered for a 200# adult and the wrong kind of power for trails.

[def90]

Thanks, was wondering what the differences between the 2 vs 4 stroke were. I have read somewhere that the WRs are just tuned down YZs and that you can do easy mods to reverse these modifications? Do you know anything about that?

[MattR]

WR450's are pretty cool, a detuned 450 so it has good torque on a 250 frame so it is still fairly light and maneuverable. They don't need the maintenance like the race bikes and they have lights and a kickstand. The kickstand is nice, they may not always be a tree to lean the bike up against. The 250 has some goofy throttle limiter on it so it will pass a street decibel test, the 450's don't. Yes you can take it off and make it right but its a little pricey. I have a YZ250f and ride with guys on KX450's and a KTM450 and for being track bikes they still do good in the hills. Really KTM has the bike for Colorado but pricey.

[wctriumph]

Find yourself a good used KTM 300EXC. Plenty of power, these things are like mountain goats, light weight, way less expensive to rebuild than a four stroke (and if you are looking at a 2 to 4 year old four stroke, it will need a rebuild) and, they hold their value way better. I am 6-4 and 280 and I ride a CR500, the 300 EXC pulls my old fat ass anywhere I want to go.

[RCCrawler]

I happen to have a clean 426 I was thinking about getting rid of.

[Mazin]

Find yourself a good used KTM 300EXC. Plenty of power, these things are like mountain goats, light weight, way less expensive to rebuild than a four stroke (and if you are looking at a 2 to 4 year old four stroke, it will need a rebuild) and, they hold their value way better. I am 6-4 and 280 and I ride a CR500, the 300 EXC pulls my old fat ass anywhere I want to go.


+1
Pumpkins (KTM) are simply awesome bikes. Broke my arms on a 450sx and still miss the hell out of it. When talking Yamaha's the Wr series are more set up for multipurpose riding (trails and roads). The YZ series is more of a race / MX / SX. Yamaha's are awesome bikes as well. If you want a wider range in the powerband / throttle response go 4 stroke, if you don't mind pinning the throttle everywhere then get a 2 stroke. It's all in the twist if the wrist when it comes to power. If you like knowing you have power in any gear then get a 450, if you can't trust yourself with having extra power then get the 250. Just my $.02 on the subject. Have fun and be safe!

[ray1970]

Not to throw a wrench in your plans, but I find ATV's much more enjoyable in the mountains.

[Jim B]

The YZ and KX's have small track tanks and are designed for quick throttle response with it's close ration transmission. They are great track bike but not a great woods bike choice.

I've got a KX250 and a CR250; both work great in the woods. Two gallon tanks are good (at least on my bikes) for 40-50 miles or so.

[sniper7]

Wr450 would be the best. You could ride it up to the trails and have a bike that's easy on gas if you need to head a Couple miles from home quick.

[hurley842002]

Wr450 would be the best. You could ride it up to the trails and have a bike that's easy on gas if you need to head a Couple miles from home quick.

That would be my ideal dirt bike scenario. I used to be into the moto/supercross thing. Now I just want a do it all setup.

[TFOGGER]

I ride a WR250F. Other than the ridiculous seat height (I'm 5'9 190, and short of leg), it's about the perfect bike for an intermediate ride doing mostly trail riding. The biggest thing something like a WR250F or CRF250X has going for it as a trail bike over the motocross bikes is electric start. When you're old, fat, and out of shape like me, kickstarting a flooded bike that you just crashed at 12000 feet on a steep single track just blows. Either of these bikes, a late model KTM 300 EXC 2 stroke, Suzuki DRZ400, KTM400/450EXC, or Yamaha WR450F will have this magic feature. Don't sweat the power, my 250F will still loft the front wheel easily at 12000 feet in first and second gears, it's not really down on power until over 13K. The other advantage of something with electric start is that it already has a charging system, so that making it compliant so that you can plate it is significantly easier. Particularly when looking at late model stuff, the more enduro/trail targeted bike usually have larger cooling system capacity and oil capacity, as well as greater fuel capacity, and lighting systems for . If you have more questions, gimme a call at the shop tomorrow...
TFOG Wheelsports 303-216-2400

[Beer]
Jim

[T-Giv]

I am picking up a Honda CRF450 this afternoon actually. It's plated, dirt setup, supermoto setup, etc. I'll use it split 50/50 for supermoto and dirt. Let's go ride when you get a bike! Got a Moab trip planned for April. [Beer]

[XC700116]

When it comes to bikes I practically bleed orange, right now I'm riding a 13 KTM 500 XC-W GREAT bike. The biggest consideration IMO for CO trail riding is to get a bike that can easily be plated and that preferably has a wide ratio transmission for road work between trails. Running 65 on the slab to link up trails is much more enjoyable when you're not wringing the bike out the whole time. That typically means wide ratio and big bore, but I have a lot of friends that ride 250F's too. Perhaps the best all out woods bikes though are the KTM 300 2 strokes. Torque like a four stroke, light, nimble, and can rev out fast when needed. As mentioned they are also cheap to rebuild too. I personally prefer 4 strokes for the fuel issue as I ride long distance frequently so refueling without having to mix gas is a nice feature. I have a couple routes that we ride that are easily 200 miles a day (normally 2 day trips with a hotel overnight before coming back) that we hit maybe 20 miles of slab all the way through it. Also the new fuel injected 4 strokes are just heaven to ride, the fueling is always spot on and no bogging at inopportune times when you've gone from 4800-12K feet of elevation in the same day.

Also on the 4 strokes if you buy the right 4 stroke (long stroke, lower revving motors) you can get extremely long life from them. I know of a couple older KTM's with the RFS motors that have made it past 10,000 miles without a rebuild. My best friend has an 07 KTM 525 XC-W that's got just under 20K and it's on it's third top end with one valve job. The top end jobs typically run about $500 on those motors and a valve job (upgraded bigger Stainless steel valves, new guides, and re-cut seats) runs about $300. That said most 2 stroke top end jobs will cost you about $150-400 depending on if cylinder work is needed or not.

Unfortunately though my new bike sat in the garage all summer since I broke my collar bone on the 2nd ride of the year, it's now got a total of 20 hours on it. [fail]

[King]

If a 2007+ WR 450 is in your budget, thats what I would recommend. You will appreciate the extra power in the mountains. The CRF450F are very nice as well. What ever you do, get a 4-stroke

[Rabid]

What price range are you looking at? I ride a CR250 (2 stroke) but all the newer 4 strokes are beyond fantastic bikes. I will say Husaberg's are going to be the best trail bikes you can buy if you can afford them.

[def90]

What price range are you looking at?

Thats the next big question, trying to figure out what everything is selling for and what to expect. :)

Definitely a lot of information to go through out there.

[wctriumph]

What price range are you looking at? I ride a CR250 (2 stroke) but all the newer 4 strokes are beyond fantastic bikes. I will say Husaberg's are going to be the best trail bikes you can buy if you can afford them.

The word is, now that the guy that owns KTM is now the owner of the Husqvarna brand too, the Husagerg brand will soon be phased out.

[colorider]

The ktm 300exc is a brilliant colorado woods weapon. However, a real pain to get streetable.

[Rabid]

The word is, now that the guy that owns KTM is now the owner of the Husqvarna brand too, the Husagerg brand will soon be phased out.
Had not heard that, i am sure they will bring what makes the Husaberg line great to the Husaqvarna line. I always wanted a Husaberg with a linked rear suspension, maybe we will get something like that.

[wctriumph]

If I had any cash to start a business, I would open up a Husky dealership. There are none in Colorado at this time. BMW tried to force dealers to take on more than the market would bear and all three dealers said good by to Husky. Now that they are associated with KTM and their successful business model, this is a great opportunity to bring in a great brand and rebuild it in CO.


TEA

III

[Danimal]

You want something with low end grunt if you are planning on trail riding, and while a fly wheel on a two stroke is better than one without, they are just tougher and less capable than four strokes. Don't get me wrong I love two strokes but they shine on sand dunes rapped out flying through the air, not in low speed turns on rocky trails. IMO if you have to trailer it to the trail, you might as well just get a jeep and do that instead. Not having to license store and pull a trailer or load and unload the bike in your truck every time you want to go riding is way worth it. Plus insurance for my bike is $3 a month Getting something street legal is where it is at, and it makes the journey that much more fun. All the race bikes are cool to ride, but the maintenance intervals are too high so if you start really getting into riding you will be rebuilding it constantly. The smaller four strokes will feel gutless no matter what terrain you are on. Mid size fours, like the WR426 and WR450 mentioned earlier are great on the trails, but on the street at highway speeds they feel a little lacking and squirrely around town(not bad but just by comparison to other options). The bigger four strokes like the 650s are a little heavy for extended trail use.

The one bike that I have ridden that really stood out as an all around best of all worlds was the KTM 525 EXC. It has the power, the quality components and since 2007 came factory street legal. The weight, power and balance really is impressive. I would throw one of those into a lineup and test ride all of the street legal four strokes.

[def90]

I like the street legal idea as I could just drive up the canyon to Ned, top off the tank and then hit some trails. Traillering isn't the end of the world but..

Should I be able to find something a couple years old in the $4k range that is worth buying?

Think I need to start visiting a few shops here and there for info.

[XC700116]

You should be able to find a good bike you can get plated for that kind of money. My buddy paid 3800 for his 07 525 about 4 years ago. You can get a tricycle with a weed whacker motor on it plated in co so pretty much anything is on the table. What danimal mentions about 2 strokes is pretty solid with the exception of the KTM 300's they truly are in a class of their own. That said, they also hold their value incredibly well so you probably aren't going to find a really nice one in your price range. You'll want to look ar KTM 450 and 525/530/500's, yamaha wr 426/450's, honda crf450x's, and Suzuki drz400's the drzs are a bit low on power and don't have that great of forks on them though but have gigantic following in the dual sport world and thus very large aftermarket support options. Also one of the world's best drs tuners/motor builders is in Longmont.

In general KTM's are more expensive but imo they offer what none of the Japanese bikes do in a factory package too, all out woods bikes from the showroom floor.

For 4k I'd look for 05 and newer 450/525/530 xc-w's or exc's pre 07 the exc is the same bike as 07 and newer xc-w's. 07 and newer exc's are 50 state street legal from the dealer which means carb compliant for Cali. That equates to stopped up exhaust high gearing and lean jetting. All easily fixed and it is probably done by the previous owner if buying used anyway.