Good bike for girlfriend?

[KJ790]

Hey there folks, haven't spent too much time in the 150 forum. Here's my situation. My girlfriend just started riding this past year on an XR100. That bike is great for learning basic controls, but the ergonomics are not very good for much more than trail riding. She has been putting around tracks and wants to get faster, but there is only so much she is going to do on that 100. She is 5'4" and around 125lbs.

 

I found an 07 CRF150 near me that is pretty cheap. It looks like it could use a little work, but I'm always up for a winter project. I want something that will be better sized for her, with better ergonomics for standing and hitting breaking bumps, and a better suspension for her. I also want it to have a pretty smooth powerband since she is so new to bikes. I am thinking a CRF150R with a flywheel weight to smooth out the power and help keep her from stalling it if she's in the wrong gear or something.

 

What are your thoughts?

[mjruopp]

We have his and hers 150RBs ('07 and '12)

My wife had a TTR125 until I let her ride my '12... She never let me have it back, so I had to buy another. She absolutely loves it and is the same size as your GF.

I had a '09 that I traded on a street titled '07... With that, the '12-current models have quite a bit more power on top than the '07-09 models. '08-09 had noticeably better jetting than '07. Buy the cleanest, newest bike you can afford and save up for a maintenance fund. Consumables go pretty quick on these machines; the 150F is more practical if maintenance intervals and cost are a concern.

[weantright]

+1, where in NY are you?

[KJ790]

I'm near Syracuse, NY.

 

Good to know it will fit her well. As far as jetting goes, can you jet the 07 the same as the 08-09, or did they actually change the carb between those years? I'm not concerned with maintenance intervals, as she will probably ride it 10 hours a year if that.

[weantright]

Get the 2008-2009 needle and jet the same. If you don't mind the drive, I will have in a couple of weeks a 2008 RB set-up for the woods with many extra's.

[mjruopp]

...As far as jetting goes, can you jet the 07 the same as the 08-09, or did they actually change the carb between those years?...

It's not as simple as changing pilot and main jets with the '07 carb. There is a different needle and, I suspect, a different pilot air screw/jet

If you run a 42/45 pilot with 138/140 main in the '07 carb, you can get it to work, but it's just not right. The '12 carb works better than the '08-09, but there's other engine updates that contribute to the better feel of that bike.

I'm digging into my '07 carb soon and will do a side-by-side comparison with the '12 carb

[weantright]

There are many needles to choose from. Going by memory our 2008 has the NMQS needle, 2007 should come with NHNT needle. Since you will/should get a new needle, consult your service manual to see what needle will work best for you. I feel our needle is a bit rich in the mid range and seems to fall in between position are. Fall back is the 2008 stock needle and any of the combos of jetting people have listed will be better than a stock 2007 settings. The biggest change to the 2012 carb was the AP arm was linked/stronger spring. The settings were better stock but a race prepped 2008-2009 would run the same in the end. Also in 2012+ the head and cam were different giving a better overall stock performance. Again if raced prepped then you would have changed these out on the older years or at rebuild times.

Edited October 23, 2013 by weantright