Motocross Bikes?
Discussion
Hello,
I've been without a bike for a few years now, previously had a Fireblade, SP2 & R1's.
I don't think I'll get another road bike but quite fancy a motocross bike as I have plenty of tracks near by.
I originally had a budget of up to £3000 but it seems I could get a new bike for just over £5000, can anyone give me any suggestions, advice and tips.
At the moment, I'm looking at the CRF450R & KTM 450, I have no plans to use it on the road.
Many Thanks
I've been without a bike for a few years now, previously had a Fireblade, SP2 & R1's.
I don't think I'll get another road bike but quite fancy a motocross bike as I have plenty of tracks near by.
I originally had a budget of up to £3000 but it seems I could get a new bike for just over £5000, can anyone give me any suggestions, advice and tips.
At the moment, I'm looking at the CRF450R & KTM 450, I have no plans to use it on the road.
Many Thanks
I've had a bunch of random £1,500 - £3,000 MX bikes in recent years. Yam's and KTM's mainly. Only advice that I can give is, get a road legal one, even a daytime only one. It makes life so much easier for when you want to get away from the tracks and hit the green lanes.
Don't buy new - you will bin it every time you go out!
Don't buy new - you will bin it every time you go out!
First question id ask yourself, do you have any dirt riding experience? If not much then 450 isn’t the best place to start IMO
2nd Q, how fit are you? Dirt bikes require a level of fitness from reasonable to full on athlete level. Motocross is extremely taxing on the body. A 450 exacerbates this fact and you will get yourself into trouble very quickly as you burn out mid session.
With those things in mind, I’d personally be choosing a ktm 350 excf
Best of all worlds
2nd Q, how fit are you? Dirt bikes require a level of fitness from reasonable to full on athlete level. Motocross is extremely taxing on the body. A 450 exacerbates this fact and you will get yourself into trouble very quickly as you burn out mid session.
With those things in mind, I’d personally be choosing a ktm 350 excf
Best of all worlds
DoubleTime said:
First question id ask yourself, do you have any dirt riding experience? If not much then 450 isn’t the best place to start IMO
2nd Q, how fit are you? Dirt bikes require a level of fitness from reasonable to full on athlete level. Motocross is extremely taxing on the body. A 450 exacerbates this fact and you will get yourself into trouble very quickly as you burn out mid session.
With those things in mind, I’d personally be choosing a ktm 350 excf
Best of all worlds
SO MUCH THIS!!!!! 2nd Q, how fit are you? Dirt bikes require a level of fitness from reasonable to full on athlete level. Motocross is extremely taxing on the body. A 450 exacerbates this fact and you will get yourself into trouble very quickly as you burn out mid session.
With those things in mind, I’d personally be choosing a ktm 350 excf
Best of all worlds
1. My dumbass went and bought a KTM 450 SXF, and it was too much. Should have just got a 125/250 to learn on. I didn't really have time to go out on it and learn to MX so I sold it but if I were to try again I'd definitely get a smaller bike you can ring the neck of instead of tickle the throttle.
2. Agreed. It's very physically taxing, you'll be gasping after a good lap or 2 if you're new to it.
Another vote for a ktm 350, either in SX motocross flavour or EXC enduro Road reg'd.
I had a EXCf250 for just over 3 years up until June and for the slow forest riding I was doing was great, easy to ride andlight enough to pick up everytime I dropped it, but on a mx track I did have to ring its neck to get the best out of it.
In June I changed it for a EXCf 350 and imo is the perfect alrounder. It does the slow stuff brilliantly, not really any heavier than the 250 and nice and nimble, but open it up and it's an animal (it annoys me when people say stuff like that, but it truly does go a bit wild). I've had it on its back wheel at over 60mph and will drift round fire road bends and the twitch of a wrist. I havnt tried it on a MX track yet but it should be brilliant. Carioli won the World or European championship, I can't remember which, against boys on 450s and I think a lot of the reason is its not so brutal in the bottom end so doesn't wear you out so much, but can then be rev'd like a 125 for the fast stuff.
I had a EXCf250 for just over 3 years up until June and for the slow forest riding I was doing was great, easy to ride andlight enough to pick up everytime I dropped it, but on a mx track I did have to ring its neck to get the best out of it.
In June I changed it for a EXCf 350 and imo is the perfect alrounder. It does the slow stuff brilliantly, not really any heavier than the 250 and nice and nimble, but open it up and it's an animal (it annoys me when people say stuff like that, but it truly does go a bit wild). I've had it on its back wheel at over 60mph and will drift round fire road bends and the twitch of a wrist. I havnt tried it on a MX track yet but it should be brilliant. Carioli won the World or European championship, I can't remember which, against boys on 450s and I think a lot of the reason is its not so brutal in the bottom end so doesn't wear you out so much, but can then be rev'd like a 125 for the fast stuff.
obscene said:
SO MUCH THIS!!!!!
1. My dumbass went and bought a KTM 450 SXF, and it was too much. Should have just got a 125/250 to learn on. I didn't really have time to go out on it and learn to MX so I sold it but if I were to try again I'd definitely get a smaller bike you can ring the neck of instead of tickle the throttle.
2. Agreed. It's very physically taxing, you'll be gasping after a good lap or 2 if you're new to it.
Could be worse, you could have bought a CR500 like a guy I worked with many moons ago. Scared himself silly on first outing and punted it on. 1. My dumbass went and bought a KTM 450 SXF, and it was too much. Should have just got a 125/250 to learn on. I didn't really have time to go out on it and learn to MX so I sold it but if I were to try again I'd definitely get a smaller bike you can ring the neck of instead of tickle the throttle.
2. Agreed. It's very physically taxing, you'll be gasping after a good lap or 2 if you're new to it.
I've got to piss about on a mountain bike to get any sort of bike fill now in winter 
obscene said:
It's very physically taxing, you'll be gasping after a good lap or 2 if you're new to it.
Coming from a background of heavy cycling, including downhill I thought, ahh yeah, it'll be no bother on a mx bike, don't have to pedal, just twist the throttle and stand up...How wrong was I..... It shocked me just how knackered I was after a pretty short session. At one point I didn't think I'd make it back my knees were like jelly and I had arm pump from hell. It's a genuine workout. Woke up the next morning feeling like I'd been put through a mangle. No joke.
DoubleTime said:
Could be worse, you could have bought a CR500 like a guy I worked with many moons ago. Scared himself silly on first outing and punted it on.
I would be stupid enough to do that. If I had, it would have been supermoto'd!
Cardinal Hips said:
Coming from a background of heavy cycling, including downhill I thought, ahh yeah, it'll be no bother on a mx bike, don't have to pedal, just twist the throttle and stand up...
How wrong was I..... It shocked me just how knackered I was after a pretty short session. At one point I didn't think I'd make it back my knees were like jelly and I had arm pump from hell. It's a genuine workout. Woke up the next morning feeling like I'd been put through a mangle. No joke.
I put in a good few hours a week on the bicycle and remember the experience day I'd done years ago killed me off when I was less fit. Thought I'd be okay years later, nope! Still physically taxing. Those MX boys are super fit. How wrong was I..... It shocked me just how knackered I was after a pretty short session. At one point I didn't think I'd make it back my knees were like jelly and I had arm pump from hell. It's a genuine workout. Woke up the next morning feeling like I'd been put through a mangle. No joke.
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