Back to riding after hiatus...

[MisterMagoo]

Hello everybody, new to the forum nice to meet everyone. 

Little background, I'm 29, I grew up riding dirt bikes starting at age 6. Around 8 years ago I sold my bikes, due to he normal life, college work situation, and have been missing it ever since. 

I grew up riding 2 strokes, from 50s to 250s, my last bike was a 2007 cr250. I loved the power, of course the very powerful power band. As I stopped the sport, 4 strokes were on the rise and 2 strokes gaining a rep as "old" technology. I have never rode a 4 stroke , at least dirt bike four stroke. As you know where this is headed, I'm very torn on what bike to purchase. I will be looking  something fairly recent , 2016 and up, maybe even new or leftover model if price is right. I no longer have friends or a circle of people who ride so testing out a couple bikes is hard. The question is really should I hop back on a 250, or move to a four stroke. Around here it's hard to come by a dealership that will actually let you test drive a bike. I'm seeing a lot of good things about the new crf450r and rx 

Mainly the bike will be used on local small tracks, some trail and woods riding. I really just am looking for all your opinions and how all the two stroke guys who have made the change feel. 

Thanks everyone

 

Edited May 16, 2017 by MisterMagoo

[SenorThumpy]

The real answer here is to figure out a way to ride a newer 4t. With varied terrain, past experience and a budget to buy a brand new bike, you don't really fall into a category thats easy to just say "buy this". 

If you really can't figure out a way to ride a 4t I guess we can try and figure it out by your goals and priorities. How much track will you be riding vs trails/woods? Are you going to ride the track casually just for fun or are you going to be cutting race pace laps? Are you going to just goof around in the woods, are you going to race hare scrambles, are you going to try and ride like haaker or joey mac or jarvis,etc with super tech riding? Based on what you envision yourself riding, we can make an educated guess as to what bikes would be a decent fit 

Theres also the old stand by for track and trail use, YZ250. 

[SonsRexspensive]

2 strokes are still great bikes these days and far from old technology. KTM makes a bunch of good 2 strokes, Yamaha still has great 2 strokes and the rumor is that Kawasaki and Susuki are coming back out with some in 2018. So 2 strokes may actually be on a rise again, hopefully. One of the biggest differences in 2 strokes and 4 strokes is 2 strokes are cheap and easy to work on and 4 strokes are really really expensive to work on and not near as easy. So factor that into your decision on what to buy also. 4 strokes seem to have more probablems and need worked on more often also, there is just a lot more things to go wrong with them. A 450 4 stroke is a little easier to ride compared to a 250 2 stroke (my opinion) because of the 2 stroke power band. But me personally I would rather have a good reliable, cheap/easy to fix 2 stroke any day over a 4 stroke.

[MisterMagoo]

I will be mainly riding at a local track for fun , trails and woods. Unfortunatly I don't have a buddy's bike I could hop on to try out. I been researching and listening to reviews on the current two strokes available on the market. Led me obviously like you said to Kim and Yamaha. I owned three yamahas , swear the 1989 yz80 I had was fast as a 125 now lol. KTm has great reviews and a lot of new tech but that yz is tried and true, not to mention cheaper and easier to find at a dealer. So that's really where I am standing right now, not being able to hop on a 4. I know that 250t will put that smile on my face. I been seriously considering the yz 250x it seems to b geared for everything I want, trails and also can hop on a track for fun. Also I am wondering that since it's about that time the 2018 models are gonna be released , maybe wait to see if any upgrades or changes to the yz. When do the dealers schedule to release new bikes? And thanks for your replies I really appreciate it

Edited May 20, 2017 by MisterMagoo

[SonsRexspensive]

Your right the Yamaha is tried and true. Some people knock it because it has been the same for so long. But it is so reliable they just last forever and  parts are every where and relitively cheap. It's just hard to beat really and it can be modified to fit any riding track or trail. The Kim's are really good bikes also my 15yr old boy has a 250sx and it's been bullet proof and a great bike no complaints at all. The great thing about a yz250 is you can buy a used one cheap and rebuild it however you want it and have a great bike without having a fortune invested in it.

[MisterMagoo]

Is there a major difference in price on parts for an KTM?

[SonsRexspensive]

It depends what part your talking about. The KTM comes with some more quality race ready parts on it. It's a little higher tech than the old yz250. So if it's one of those then it's going to be more expensive than the Yamaha. It just depends what you are looking for really they both make great bikes. They are both reliable but the edge probably goes to Yamaha just because it's more tried and true and the KTM is newer technology. It just depends what you are going to do with it. If you are going to get serious about racing or getting fast the KTM is probably the one you want. If you are just going to ride for fun and want to stay on the cheaper side then Yamaha is probably the one. People knock the Yamaha because it's been the same forever but nobody has ever come up with a better suspension yet and they don't make a more reliable 2 stroke than the yz250. You wouldn't been disappointed with either one. I have been a Yamaha guy forever and really didn't want to buy a KTM when my boy wanted one. But I did and it's been a great bike and I can say I would by another one without any question. I would rather have yamahas spring forks on it but I can say his 250sx does have quite a bit more power than a yz250.

[MisterMagoo]

That's really the only issue it seems people have with the ktm is the suspension , im sure either way I'd hardly notice with the type of riding I'm gonna do. And I'll be happy either way, No racing or competition, I gotta go head to the dealer and sit on couple, and now you say 2018 might be the year of the two stroke, I can't wait , I'm ready to hop out there before the summer starts!