Dirt Bikes

by **Dansedgli** » April 16th, 2008, 5:54 pm

Yeah the shitty LED job. $220 and it runs off your ignition power.

apparently its crap but its enough for rec reg and better than paying $450 us for an aftermarket stator to run real lights.

I wont be riding at night anyways.

by **Dansedgli** » March 30th, 2009, 1:35 pm

This needs a bump.

What is everyone riding these days?

I sold that RM250 when I got hit by a car and am starting to look for a replacement now. Cant decide between the CRF450x, WR or KTM. I want rec reg, push button start and 450cc for trail riding.

Apparently CRF's have valve problems but they are cheapest 2nd hand. Any ideas what it costs to have valves replaced on one of these things?

by **t1MMy** » March 30th, 2009, 1:49 pm

http://boostedfalcon.net/viewtopic.php? ... 0f#p115161

This was my bike. Sold it last year due to lack of time to ride anywhere. I used it for moto-x and just trail riding up in Noojee. Only problem I had was I used to run out of fuel faster than my mate who has a WR250.
Never had any problems apart from the usual fork seals deminishing.

by **nstg8a** » March 30th, 2009, 2:25 pm

what does rec rego allow you to do? im guessing not ride to work lol

by **Dansedgli** » March 30th, 2009, 2:28 pm

It pretty much just lets you ride in forests.

Was the 426 okay on long fire trails or did it run out of gearing too early?

by **t1MMy** » March 30th, 2009, 2:38 pm

Dansedgli wrote:It pretty much just lets you ride in forests.

Was the 426 okay on long fire trails or did it run out of gearing too early?

If you're asking me...the bike was a 450cc. It was fine for uphill climbs, infact it shit all over the WR when it came to that, but only having 4 gears it topped out at about 100km/h, which is plenty fast going through dirt tracks, never reached that speed in such a dangerous enviroment tho, barely ever got out of 3rd when tracking through the bush.

by **Dansedgli** » March 30th, 2009, 2:40 pm

Whoops, dunno why I wrote 426.

Thanks for that reply.

by **Tocchi** » March 30th, 2009, 5:28 pm

[quote name='Tocchi' date='Mar 27 2009, 03:30 PM' post='149731']
i decided ill get back onto a bike.

2008 KTM 250sxf

its Causeway KTM's promo bike, so its got a sticker kit, a few anodised parts, etc.. pure cosmetics.

so i decided to buy some performance parts

ally bash/skid plate
ktm triple clamps - black
flexible brake/clutch levers
Akrapovic titanium exhaust with silencer

if you want to know costs, PM me, cos for another 2 weeks i can get you WAY cheaper than wholesale, all ill say is i saved $1800 on the exhaust (compared to what bike shops pay... let alone resell for)

[/quote]

by **oneredED** » March 30th, 2009, 6:05 pm

Dansedgli wrote:This needs a bump.

What is everyone riding these days?

I sold that RM250 when I got hit by a car and am starting to look for a replacement now. Cant decide between the CRF450x, WR or KTM. I want rec reg, push button start and 450cc for trail riding.

Apparently CRF's have valve problems but they are cheapest 2nd hand. Any ideas what it costs to have valves replaced on one of these things?

I got rec rego on mine, but I ended up ripping off all the lights and going out to Broadmeadows MX Park quite a lot, since it was about $20 a ride, and no membership required. It's not too bad, but I wouldn't say it's for beginners, the table top over the back is at least 90-feet and the double over the very back is about 60-70 feet too.

As far as 450's go Dan, have you looked at the Husqvarna TE450? My step-brother has a new WR450, and he loves it but I think it's gutless and boring to ride... and it's got full exhaust and jetted right too. Another friend had a CRF450X and he hated it, said it was very over-rated, especially the motor. He traded it on a Husky 450 and hasn't looked back. I haven't ridden nor been around the KTM 450 though =(

I read somewhere the other day these new CRF/YZF things need piston/rings every 50 hours according to the owners manual? Is this bullshit? That's almost 2-banger territory?!?!

by **Dansedgli** » March 30th, 2009, 6:40 pm

Im so jealous of your toys tocchi.

Havent looked at the huskis, how are they for spare parts?

by **nstg8a** » March 30th, 2009, 8:07 pm

oneredED wrote:[I read somewhere the other day these new CRF/YZF things need piston/rings every 50 hours according to the owners manual? Is this bullshit? That's almost 2-banger territory?!?!

pretty sure your at least partly right... i dunno about 50 hours, but yeah the new generation of 4 strokes need a lot more maintenace than the old xr600r/250r of the 80s and 90s... i remember seeing a pic of a modern four stroke piston and it was tiny... think it only had one ring too, but could be thinking of something else.

i prefer two stroke myself, dosnt matter how good they make a 4 stroke, a same capacity 2 stroke will absolutly smash the 4 stroke, and rebuilds are just so easy.
plus i love the sound of a hard running two stroke :drinks2:

by **oneredED** » March 30th, 2009, 8:09 pm

Dansedgli wrote:Im so jealous of your toys tocchi.

Havent looked at the huskis, how are they for spare parts?

I'm jealous of tocchi too :oops:

Availability is fine, they're considered one of the big players. The pricing is similar to KTM, although they run a lot of high end "aftermarket" stuff stock (aka excel takasago rims), so replacing parts can be more expensive in that regard, but they're less likely to break too.

by **wicksy** » March 30th, 2009, 10:11 pm

fancy getting a KTM haha

fiances brother rides all around QLD in motocross and has a 09 CRF 450 and a 08 CRF250 and loves them he has a 07 CRF250 for sale as well,

by **Dansedgli** » March 31st, 2009, 1:44 pm

Apparently the valves in the honda CRF's are dodgy and need to be replaced if not done already. They wear out stupidly quick. The pistons in the later model KTM's are suss too. From what Ive read they get 2 stroke mileage from the 4 stroke.

Everything seems to have its issues and its making the choice damn hard.

The WRF seems to be the bike to get if you want reliability. 2nd hand ones are still $6-$7k and who knows how they have been treated.

Ive been researching this and reading forums over and over for the last few weeks (at work

) and thought I had it narrowed down but now i cant decide. I only wanted to spend about $5k but it seems like its going to be a bit hit and miss with regards to the quality of bike I will get for the money.

What does an engine rebuild cost for a CRF/WR?

The more I read the more I want a new bike but having $10k worth of bike sitting in the shed not being used for 29 days of each month would annoy me.

by **t1MMy** » March 31st, 2009, 2:00 pm

Dansedgli wrote:The more I read the more I want a new bike but having $10k worth of bike sitting in the shed not being used for 29 days of each month would annoy me.

Exactly why I sold mine.

I'm a bit biased toward Yamaha coz I used to own 1, but if you don't want to spend too much then buy yourself a motocross rather than a enduro. They are normally a few grand cheaper and you can always have a lighting kit installed afterward if you needed to get rec rego.
The other upside to owning a 4 stroke compared to a 2 stroke is the maintenance. You can pretty much half it with a 4 stroke.
Always easy to start too, never had to kick it more than 3 times to get it started, even when cold.
IMO if I was in the market of buying another reliable, well priced bike it would certainly be the YZ range.

by **oneredED** » April 1st, 2009, 6:18 pm

t1MMy wrote:The other upside to owning a 4 stroke compared to a 2 stroke is the maintenance. You can pretty much half it with a 4 stroke. Always easy to start too, never had to kick it more than 3 times to get it started, even when cold.

I disagree with you there t1MMy. A full top end rebuild on a 2-banger is around the $120-$200 mark if you do it yourself, and it shouldn't take more than an hour to do it. On a 250-300 it only needs to be done every 40-50 hours for trailriding use (ie. a KTM 300 EXC). Whats a top-end rebuild (piston, rings, valves, shims, etc etc) worth on a 450 and how often are they required? Isn't it like $1000 every 100 hours or something?

Kicking a 400+ 4-stroke can be a major pain in the arse too, especially if you're tired, after a fall, or on a hill. Two strokes (well kept) will be far easier to start, by a factor of 10. Get a 450 with an electric leg Dan, or make sure it has a hot start button.

There's a 450cc bike shootout in the latest ADB Magazine too, it's got all 6 of the big players in it. Yamaha's WR wins.

by **nstg8a** » April 1st, 2009, 6:31 pm

oneredED wrote:I disagree with you there t1MMy. A full top end rebuild on a 2-banger is around the $120-$200 mark if you do it yourself, and it shouldn't take more than an hour to do it. On a 250-300 it only needs to be done every 40-50 hours for trailriding use (ie. a KTM 300 EXC). Whats a top-end rebuild (piston, rings, valves, shims, etc etc) worth on a 450 and how often are they required? Isn't it like $1000 every 100 hours or something?

Kicking a 400+ 4-stroke can be a major pain in the arse too, especially if you're tired, after a fall, or on a hill. Two strokes (well kept) will be far easier to start, by a factor of 10. Get a 450 with an electric leg Dan, or make sure it has a hot start button.

There's a 450cc bike shootout in the latest ADB Magazine too, it's got all 6 of the big players in it. Yamaha's WR wins.

fully agree.... 2 stroke rebuilds are stupidly easy, no valves, cam chains etc to get in the way...

and id rather have to start a 2 stroke on the side of a big gnarly hillside than a thumper any day... (unless thumper has that magic button of course)

and the noise of a big thumper always gave me ear-splitting head aches lol.

by **Parfrey** » April 1st, 2009, 6:33 pm

yeah a new 4stroke will need just as much maintenence as a 2stroke.. a rebuild will vary depending on what stuffed. you could spend $1200 pretty easy on the top end of a 250f/450f if it was in bad shape.
i'd get a wr450f, easy to ride, fast and reliable.
crf250's had alot of valve problems, 450s aren't as bad. the yamaha has the best engine for sure!

edit. found a wr450f 07 manual... it says rings every 1000km and replace piston as required lol. most guys would do 4x that before pulling them apart.

we also do the oil every 250k and filter every 500km

by **Dansedgli** » April 1st, 2009, 6:36 pm

Thanks guys, I think Im gonna go with another 2 stroke. They are cheapest and not as many horror stories about valve issues.

RM, YZ or CR.

There is an 07 Yz on calaisturbo for $5k atm and an 01 CR on bike sales for $3.5k or 4k with rec reg from a shop. Its local so Ill go check it out on the weekend.

Any opinons on which 2 stroke would suit bush riding better?

by **nstg8a** » April 1st, 2009, 6:52 pm

Dansedgli wrote:Thanks guys, I think Im gonna go with another 2 stroke. They are cheapest and not as many horror stories about valve issues.

RM, YZ or CR.

There is an 07 Yz on calaisturbo for $5k atm and an 01 CR on bike sales for $3.5k or 4k with rec reg from a shop. Its local so Ill go check it out on the weekend.

Any opinons on which 2 stroke would suit bush riding better?

i wouldnt go 01, thats getting pretty old for a mx bike, unless its been reeeeally well looked after. 2 or 3 year old mx bikes are perfect imo.

brands dont realy matter imo, each year one is better at some things than others, but it seems to swap round every couple of years.

yamaha always been my favourite.

by **dimmy101** » April 1st, 2009, 7:06 pm

(VIC) FOR SALE:
'03 suzuki DR-Z 125
4- stroke
runs good i have grown out of it so i dnt need it anymore
good condition
$2500

by **Dansedgli** » April 1st, 2009, 7:10 pm

4 stroke 125? Im not 14 years old.

by **Dansedgli** » April 1st, 2009, 7:12 pm

Ill check out that yammy, thanks nstg8a.

There are a few 05/06 crf250x's with under 2000ks on bike sales around $5k as well.

What do people think of these? Valves are suss but if fixed then they have a button and good suspension from all reports.

by **t1MMy** » April 1st, 2009, 7:13 pm

nstg8a wrote:
oneredED wrote:I disagree with you there t1MMy. A full top end rebuild on a 2-banger is around the $120-$200 mark if you do it yourself, and it shouldn't take more than an hour to do it. On a 250-300 it only needs to be done every 40-50 hours for trailriding use (ie. a KTM 300 EXC). Whats a top-end rebuild (piston, rings, valves, shims, etc etc) worth on a 450 and how often are they required? Isn't it like $1000 every 100 hours or something?

Kicking a 400+ 4-stroke can be a major pain in the arse too, especially if you're tired, after a fall, or on a hill. Two strokes (well kept) will be far easier to start, by a factor of 10. Get a 450 with an electric leg Dan, or make sure it has a hot start button.

There's a 450cc bike shootout in the latest ADB Magazine too, it's got all 6 of the big players in it. Yamaha's WR wins.

fully agree.... 2 stroke rebuilds are stupidly easy, no valves, cam chains etc to get in the way...

and id rather have to start a 2 stroke on the side of a big gnarly hillside than a thumper any day... (unless thumper has that magic button of course)

and the noise of a big thumper always gave me ear-splitting head aches lol.

Ah yes, kicking the starter and having it flick back into your calf fu***** KILLS!!!!!!!!!

by **oneredED** » April 1st, 2009, 7:34 pm

Dansedgli wrote:There is an 07 Yz on calaisturbo for $5k atm and an 01 CR on bike sales for $3.5k or 4k with rec reg from a shop. Its local so Ill go check it out on the weekend.

Any opinons on which 2 stroke would suit bush riding better?

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/KTM-250-EXC_W0QQ ... 240%3A1318

Something like this would be best suited to the bush. They have nicer suspension valving than the MX bikes along with better trail suited gearing, and if you ever wanted to you can get full rego on them.

They'll still handle a MX track with some no-cost susp mods (playing with clickers and preload), but they're a bit heavier due to the ADR shit (like 5kg) and the plush suspension valving falls short if you're going ballistic on doubles and flat landing jumps frequently.

View first before buying on eBay though, I made that mistake once.

by **Dansedgli** » April 1st, 2009, 7:37 pm

That looks pretty good!

Is 4000kms too much?

by **oneredED** » April 1st, 2009, 7:57 pm

Dansedgli wrote:That looks pretty good!

Is 4000kms too much?

I wouldn't say so. It really depends on how well it's been maintained more so than the KM or age of the bike. Assuming he travels at an average of 50km/h, which is reasonable, it's only 80 hours, so he would have changed the ring (possibly piston) at least once, maybe twice. You'd ideally want the transmission oil to be changed twice as often as the ring too, but some people's opinions differ on that (it's only ~600ml's, it's cheap insurance)

by **nstg8a** » April 1st, 2009, 8:18 pm

i wouldnt pay too much attention to whatever km's its showing either, one of the first things changed on any of my bikes was ditch the factory cluster and stick it in a box to keep it mint. i used to just use a pushbike speedo. $50 speedo vs $400+ for the original... back home it was a very common thing to do, dont know about over here though.

plus 1 for the ktm too. ive never owned one but ive only ever heard good things of the later model ones. only ridden a couple but long enough to know i like them...
i'd also budget for a freshen up on whatever you buy, that way you know what you have.

damn, this thread makes me want a bike again :cray:

mind you, i hear the riding spots in brissy are few and far between.

by **Parfrey** » April 1st, 2009, 8:36 pm

if you have trouble starting a 4 stroke your doing it wrong! 450's are easy as to start.

i wouldn't buy a crf250, the newer ones are better but still have valve problems. why go out and spend 5g on a bike only to have to spend another $500+ on fixing the valves? and then have it happen again later down the track..

by **Gunns** » April 1st, 2009, 11:22 pm

nstg8a wrote:damn, this thread makes me want a bike again

It is for this reason I am starting to hate this thread.

by **vulpine** » April 2nd, 2009, 8:46 am

although i havent seen one for ages, the ktm540 2 strokes were awesome.
always had a soft spot for the it490 aswell.
both were road registerable 2 stroke 500cc engines :thumbsup:

husaberg fe600 for a 4 stroke. made by former engineers from husky, and eventually bought out by ktm.
i had a worked cr250 which came 7th outright in the fink desert race. that bike was always interesting to ride and produced more hp than the husaberg fe600.

by **tuff4.0ed** » April 2nd, 2009, 12:17 pm

cr500 ftw, will eat anything

by **Dansedgli** » April 2nd, 2009, 12:29 pm

lol I dont have a death wish. There arent that many of them around either.

Im gonna go check out that CR250 this weekend and see how it is. Its closer to what I want to spend compared to that YZ and it will come with rec reg.

I dont really want to fck around getting rec reg on a motocrosser if I dont have to.

Looks how sexy it looks.

by **nstg8a** » April 2nd, 2009, 1:39 pm

^^^^^that actually looks quite nice and original....

nothing wrong with cr's.

by **oneredED** » April 2nd, 2009, 4:17 pm

Ok, when ya look at the CR Dan, some shit is cheap to fix, some not. Check the action on both the forks and shock... if either is sub-par, it's anywhere up to $1000 to fix. Shock linkages are neglected far too much by dickhead owners, check if it's alright and properly greased, if it's all shot, it's around $400. Check the frame for cracks, that could be an expensive problem too. The gearbox can be an expensive thing too, so make sure it's alright. Other than that, everything can be bent/replaced/welded for very little on the bike.

One thing I hate, is mismatched bolts on old MX'ers. They rattle out if not loctited, and some bikes have everything from 5mm through to 18mm all in the wrong spots. Check it over and make sure the bolts seem to be consistent or it'll be a **** to work on while you forever swap spanners.

Oh and that bike has a pro-circuit pipe, but I'd consider it half rooted (dent).

by **Dansedgli** » April 3rd, 2009, 8:13 am

Thanks for that mate.

I sent them an enquiry on Wednesday and they havent replied yet. It might be sold already.

Ill drop around tomorrow. The good part is they are willing to organise rec reg and its from a local dealer so you would hope its in good nick.

by **Dansedgli** » April 3rd, 2009, 2:43 pm

oneredED wrote:
Dansedgli wrote:There is an 07 Yz on calaisturbo for $5k atm and an 01 CR on bike sales for $3.5k or 4k with rec reg from a shop. Its local so Ill go check it out on the weekend.

Any opinons on which 2 stroke would suit bush riding better?

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/KTM-250-EXC_W0QQ ... 240%3A1318

Something like this would be best suited to the bush. They have nicer suspension valving than the MX bikes along with better trail suited gearing, and if you ever wanted to you can get full rego on them.

They'll still handle a MX track with some no-cost susp mods (playing with clickers and preload), but they're a bit heavier due to the ADR shit (like 5kg) and the plush suspension valving falls short if you're going ballistic on doubles and flat landing jumps frequently.

View first before buying on eBay though, I made that mistake once.

Cr guy hasnt called back yet so Im gonna go check out this ktm on Sunday.

He says the piston and ring has done about 40 hrs so it would be up for another one soon but other than that its perfect.

It looks well looked after but Ill know more on Sunday.

Already having rec reg and lights and sht is a plus because I want it for next weekend.

Ill let you know how I get on.

by **fullygreek** » April 3rd, 2009, 3:52 pm

cheap $100 bikes are the best http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcJWhNRa ... annel_page

by **Fritzz** » April 4th, 2009, 12:19 pm

heres my ktm after some new graphics. needs some go fast parts now

by **Dansedgli** » April 7th, 2009, 8:16 am

Looks good Frittz.

I went and saw that KTM last night and was happy enough to bring it home. It rides soooo much better than that RM250 I had. I didnt ride it really hard because it was raining, really dark and the guys neighbours came out straight away but it felt quick and was easy to ride slow as well. I was surprised.

It even kicked over 1st go.

The guy seemed to look after it. It came with all the rwc parts, the stock muffler, the kickstand which I need to fix and some other sht. Even the KTM manual in a KTM business looking pouch.

Cant wait to test it out this weekend. Here are the ebay pics to look at.

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