Im considering buying a dirt bike. Nothing fancy, just something to mess around with. I would like something inexpensive but with enough power to do wheelies. Im not looking for a beautiful bike just one mess up and not care if i crash. IM not afraid of older bikes. Any suggestions? Would a 125 be to small? I am 6'1. 190 pounds.

Quote from: Higgins13 on March 25, 2013, 05:58:26 PM
Im considering buying a dirt bike. Nothing fancy, just something to mess around with. I would like something inexpensive but with enough power to do wheelies. Im not looking for a beautiful bike just one mess up and not care if i crash. IM not afraid of older bikes. Any suggestions? Would a 125 be to small? I am 6'1. 190 pounds.

Yes IMO a 125 would be too small for you. I would suggest nothing less than 250.
Again just my opinion

What kind and brand?

Suzuki of course 

Na not really, I would personally be looking at Honda BUT it a personal choice.
I am sure others will chime in shortly

I have an old Suzuki 1979 TS185 which is not too bad - although the old shocks are probably in need of replacement..

xr650 honda. will fit someone 6'1" i rode one and im 5'10" had to mount the thing like a motorised bicycle. push off and swing leg over. and dismount same way. we sold that bike for 1900. was an 06 model.

hrrrrm... you want to road it or just paddock bash/bush tracks? ...

Honda CR250? ... for off road only ... i picked up an old 89 model last year .. still waiting for time and $ to do a few minor repairs... but have been told .. although old... they were/still are a 'track weapon' ... dont take kindly to putt putt putt... they have to get into the band and be 'get stuck into it'

if you can find a XR 350 - registerable .. used to have one of them too (86 model?) and kinda regret selling it... still enough power to lift the front... without the big grunt of the 600 .. lovely stomp to shift strong gearbox too.. (used the clutch only to start or stop mostly) ..

being older ... cheaper usually?... still plenty of parts around mostly..

lots of older dirtbikes around a lot of places i guess... many brands..

and while i love my Zooki GS .. was never a fan of the RM's .. or the KX's .. KTM are not too bad .. YZ's are good also but mates one was always 'fiddly' with the tuning?... maybe just him messing with it too much

have had 'several' to many hours riding on all of the above in both 2 and 4 stroke

for my dirt riding i always headed back to the Hondas though... my personal observation was that while they might not have been always cutting edge .. the reliability and maintenance were 'simpler'?? i mean.. didnt have to fool with them as much ....

thats only from my very very basic mechanic view though 

aye 2smokers dont take kindly to halfassing the throttle. its either all in or all out. even my goped is like this. to a point. ive ridden an 85cc  kawi. would lift me. even after health problems caused my weight gain. got this old suzi 100 i think sitting in storage @ shop. time to resurrect that pig.

Xr250 ,400, 600

Xt 350

Dr350

All great fun, cheap, bullet proof

how tall are they @ the saddle? that xr650 if you had less than a 34" inseam, not recommended to ride

mmm yeah .. DR 350 .. had a total mind blank before... know several DR owners currently... they love them!!!

(slight thread jack) .. last time i was on board a CR250 (OMG 14 years ago!?!?!  ) .. i was still a hefty size lad... but that thing came ON!! .. i was almost like a flag in the wind hangin onto the bars!!! ..

i know its really nothing like the same... but i felt kinda like this dude

after a few laps of the local MX track where i possibly near killed myself about 20-30 times... i handed it back to the grinning owner and gratefully went for a bit of a lie down!! 

See if you can find a Honda XR250. Those bikes were great. I got one probably 10-15th hand (was a 1986 I believe) and it took a beating and a half and kept on going.

Quote from: Kijona on March 25, 2013, 10:55:07 PM
See if you can find a Honda XR250. Those bikes were great. I got one probably 10-15th hand (was a 1986 I believe) and it took a beating and a half and kept on going.

+1 on that comment. Those bikes would still be going after everything had fallen off.

I agree with those guiding you to the xr250.  I have a 1980 XL185S, which has the exact same motor with a smaller piston to the XR200 all the way up to 2002 or 3.   I have the same build as you, and I can do a wheelie on the 185 by dropping the clutch.  It doesn't have enough power to unweight the front much with just throttle.  The best thing about the xr is that they can be found cheap and parts are plentiful.  Very simple "bulletproof" engine.

If you want fun, I would suggest the CR250. A friend of mine even rotated some disks in his back with that bike,l had to sell it!! lol

I cant find anything for less then 1500

Get an old yz250

Wheelies are a must huh?

Well the 4 strokes will do it but not like the 2 smokes.

I run a street legal Xr400 and love it, as mentioned they are bullet proof, but now its running on 20 year old tech.. surprisingly they are not terribly heavy. I am 6' 200 lbs. I would not like to ride a 650 on heavy trails.. not flickable enough.

I say Xr250 or XR400.. good thing is if you dont destroy it you will probably be able to walk away for the same you have into it when you are done.

http://www.xrsonly.com and http://www.thumpertalk.com/ are good resources. Thumpertalk is good for a large variety of bikes, but they have an XR only section, etc.

Whats everyone think of this?

http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-motorcycles-dirt-bikes-motocross-1978-Yamaha-DT-400-W0QQAdIdZ468740879

Quote from: Higgins13 on March 26, 2013, 07:41:01 PM
Whats everyone think of this?

http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-motorcycles-dirt-bikes-motocross-1978-Yamaha-DT-400-W0QQAdIdZ468740879

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/mcy/3641317900.html