trail bike questions

[duckman nale]

i am in the market to buy a bike that will be strickly for trails only and not on the track but i still want it to have some grunt thats why im gun shy at getting a dirt bike im 6ft 1 and 260 pounds i am looking at maybe a crf honda bike but still undescided any opinion will gladly apprieciated thank you

[coachcw]

i've had everything from yz's to 650 husaburgs .In my old age (43) I ended up buying a yzf250r fuel injected electric start . I put a good tire on it . nice to have plates too . im 6-2 265 and she pulls me up about any hill i dare try . I'd say a drz 400 would also be a good fit with a agressive tire if you want a bit more pull.

[dreamunelk]

My TW gets me everywhere I want to go.  Not the fastest but reliable and stable.

[coachcw]

tw's are cool !

[whitey]

CRF450X or WR450F are both woods weapons. Great trail bikes and as long as you dont mess with the exhaust (Like I do) they are very quiet.

[HuntandFish]

My vote is for any of the WR's they are wide ratio bikes that are specifically designed for trail riding. Yz or other motocross bike have close ratio boxes in them. As for size 250's are just as fast in the tight stuff if you know how to ride them, 450's are awesome though if you like to play around or want extra strong pull in the open stuff.

I would also like to add that IMHO the Yamaha TW is one of the worst trail bikes made as far as performance goes. I have had the displeasure of having to ride these bikes out of the woods for some. And my father in law owns one and I have ridden it quite a bit. Basically they are not capable of any seriouse trail riding, and this is due to there gearing to power to wide wheel ratio. If it is muddy or slick you cannot attempt any steep technically riding because the bike just doesn't have the ability to get you up the hill. Yikes!!

Anyway, good luck!
H&F

[mossback91]

The new wr450 are some slick bikes!!

I hate the tw also

But You cant take too much advice from me Im a diehard two stroke fan

I did own a 450 for awhile though and there sure are fun!!!

My only question is how much riding experience do you have??

Gonna ride tight trails or fire road type stuff?

Without much experience you might wanna becareful the new fuel injected 450s are rockets with a snap of the throttle!

[whitey]

I own and ride both the Yamaha WR250F and the Honda CRF250X as well as a Husky TC450 (Motocross)
Both the X and the F are wide ratio trannys and are mountain goats in the woods as well as the more open stuff like we ride during the Desert 100 (Im a Stumpjumper member)
Either way you would not ever be sorry you bought one.

[Skyvalhunter]

IMO you probably want to stay away from the tw200. I am only 6'04 220 and it is a little underpowered for a good trail bike that is unless you want to change out the sprockets or install dual sprokets to make it geared lower.

[adamR]

In my opinion the drz 400 is to heavy for trail riding it doesn't balance right.  Wr's and yzf's are geared to high they won't put down in a tight corner so you have to really feather the clutch... Go with and older Honda xr or a Honda crf.  Awesome trail bikes.

[coachcw]

wr250r injected lower compression run on any fuel sipping it at that !

[Wa hunter]

tw's are cool !

agree I love mine for just ratting around.  Not much of a highway bike but great to get around in the woods. 

[coachcw]

they are old man bikes with a cushy seat , good hunting bike

[lagnar]

I'm going orange.  I have a KTM for scouting, take the GPS and can hit the trails quickly.  When the season is on however, I ride a Honda trail 90, ( 1968 old school orange bike the putts right along all day long)

[jrebel]

Nice thing about the Yamaha XT 250 or Yamaha TW200 is they are air cooled.  They are bullet proof in the woods.  If you buy one with a radiator and you puncture it in the woods you are screwed.  I have seen this happen and refuse to to do water cooled for trails. .......I know, I know...they are more throttle responsive and have more power etc. etc. but I like the reliability of the air cooled engines.    

I may add that I ride a Yamaha XT 250 and it is plenty enough power for my 6' 250 lbs body and gear....  But I am also not interested in doing wheelies.      It will do 60-70 down the highway with me on it.

[wildmanoutdoors]

If Im riding trails and roads I use my 83 XR500R that I got plated.

If I wanna burn up the trails only its an 88 CR 500R 2 stroke.

Do you wanna go fast or just putt around? If you wanna really go fast the 450 is your bike. With your weight and style of riding you should get the springs and valving changed in the shocks.

Your 260 pounds is no match for any 450. It can easily hurt and scare you!

[superdown]

I have an 06 Yamaha xt225 and it has more power than i need and I am 6'1 and 230lbs almost forgot to ad that i modified the exhaust and dropped the front sprocket size by 3 teeth.   

[gasman]

Another vote for the WR 
Fuel injection, electric start, and ready to rock N roll...........


I ride a WR250R, plated and ready to go any place i put it.

Im a 6'3", 300 lb fat guy and it hauls my big butt every where 

[Orion88]

Definitely WR. 
I have a WR450F and it is a monster of a bike with plenty of power.