Dual sport on MX track?

[I'm that guy]

I got into dual sporting and after about two months I decided to check out an MX track just to ride for the fun of it and LOVED IT. I want to start riding at the track but would the dual sport do it? I don't have money for an MX bike and even if I sell it I would have to pay over $1000 for motorcross gear (knee brace, neck brace etc...) and to maintain the bike as well as buy a trailer which I don't have. I tried hitting a table top and I didn't clear it and the bike bottomed out so hard I almost got launched off the bike. I'm 130 pounds so if I tighten up the suspension to the max will I be able to hit most of the jumps? My bike is a 2012 klx250s if that helps anything.

[Texan]

That's like taking a knife to a gunfight.

[NoFiddyPilot]

You bought a bike where the engineers that designed it never intended it to be ridden in the conditions you are asking it to. I'm sure it can be improved for the track, so ask yourself how much money you want to toss at a bike that even massaged will never be a good track bike. If you're balking at a grand for good safety gear, I think you have your answer. There are factory dual sports that can do the MX track ok, but my guess is that they are outside your budget (KTM, Husqvarna, Beta).

[ohiodrz400sm]

That's like taking a knife to a gunfight.

More like a slab of granite. The suspension and frame of that bike were never intended for a motocross track. To do so will likely cause premature failure of both you and the bike.

 

[wielywilly-g]

That Beta looks yummy!

[MentalGuru]

 

[S10gto]

I have a 14 klx and it's a great bike but it's not a mx.  You could have the suspension done but they are low on power and of course 280+ pounds.

Dollar for dollar it would be cheaper to buy a used mx bike. I have seen many in race ready shape for cheap.

Edited July 12, 2017 by S10gto

[SnowMule]

Oh it can most definitely be done. 

Most appropriate tool for the job?  Absolutely not. 

But - build your skills.  A better bike isn't magically going to make you a better rider. 

Not to mention it's an awful lot of fun honking the horn at slower riders, or using turnsignals around the corners. ?

I've seen guys put 950 Adventures on a motocross track before.

 

 

[William1]

Any bike you go fast on must have the suspension setup for your weight. While you certainly can ride your bike on the track, expect all those on MX bikes to pass and roost you unless you are an A class rider and they are D class.

[76xtdrvr]

If it's fun and you don't ride over your head, go for it. Just don't set your sights too high. You're also going to be spending more $ on maintenance and replacing broken parts on your klx.

[MentalGuru]

Find a vintage track and ride it, they are mellower which will suit your bike better.  On a regular track the odds of someone landing on you are a real possibility.

[biglake]

I rode my wr250r on a mx track quite a few times but never in actual mx races. I raced scrambles on it for a few years when I didn't have a race bike to race, most scrambles include a mx track, I didn't try to clear the larger jumps or whoops as I'm chicken when it comes to that stuff lol. My wr is setup with racetech suspension tho, the stock suspension was pretty bad in that stuff.

My brother rides a kx300 with stiffer springs, he jumps it quite a bit off small jumps offroad but its no mx bike.

You can ride on mx tracks with your klx250 just don't expect too much from it and ride to have fun not to race.

[SnowMule]

Having a "race bike" (or "race sled") doesn't make you a racer, any more than having an expensive camera makes you a photographer. 

 

It's a lot more about the rider on the machine than the machine itself. 

 

I have a long-track mountain sled.  800 EFI twin, 155" soft-compound powder track, 2.6" lugs. 

Compare that to your typical "race sled" with a 600 carb'd twin, 121-136" hard comp track with maybe 1" lugs and a few hundred studs screwed in. 

And a completely different suspension setup - everything from shocks, to track approach angle, to ski stance. 

Very different machines for very different purposes. 

But I've put my Pro-RMK on the snocross track, and didn't do too badly.  Definite disadvantage having that much more track behind you, but again, a good rider will be competitive on any machine.