CRF230 or XR200?

[XRsteve]

My buddy is going to buy a bike for his 120lb wife. She has ridden a XR200 and liked it. He can't decide whether to spend $1000 for a XR200 or $3200 for a new CRF230. The electric start is kind of important. Anybody have an opinion on this?

[socalxr]

She weighs 120, and the each bike weighs about 240. If the bike falls over, she's history. I would get her a TTR125le with a 150 kit. It's about 65 lbs lighter and it has an electric start.

[hotrod32]

Does that mean I can't have a 650 lb Harley? Should I get a Hondal Rebel with a 400 kit?

[Guardian327]

Does that mean I can't have a 650 lb Harley? Should I get a Hondal Rebel with a 400 kit?

I wouldnt see anyone dropping their harley, and even if they did, they are very low to the ground making it alot easier to pick up.

At 120lbs, a TTR125LE would be a great choice, or you could get an 06 CRF150 (its got electric start).

[socalxr]

Does that mean I can't have a 650 lb Harley? Should I get a Hondal Rebel with a 400 kit?

Yes . . . Yes it does.

Actually, I was at Elsinore today and I talked to some girl on a 230, she said she like it, but it was way too heavy. She was 5'6". I didn't ask her how much she weighed, maybe 125lb.

I rode the crap out of my friends TTR (one had a stock motor and the other had a 150cc motor) they are super fun bikes. As long as they have a BBR tall seat, they're a blast.

[Phatjonny]

This might be a little long...so bear with. A friend of mine had a 200 which she liked. Enough power to suit her tastes, and the price was right when she bought it. She has since sold the 200, and bought a new 230 which she doesn't enjoy riding as much due to the extra weight. A 200 weighs in at about 220lbs and the 230 is 240lbs or so. Not a lot of extra weight for some of us bigger guys, but for a 120lb lady, it is more noticeable. Also worth mentioning is the seat height. My girlfriend has a 200, and would not get anything else, due to the issue of the seat height. Believe me, I tried talking her into something bigger, but she would not have it. She is able to touch both her feet to the ground while seated on the bike. As far as the e-start, here is my two cents. Both my girlfriend and other friend mentioned above had NO trouble starting up their 200s. They are pretty easy for anyone to start, even beginers. I was in the same situation, deciding between a 200 and 230 for my girl, and ended up with the 200 and am glad that I did. They are fairly popular bikes and you should always be able to get $1000 for it in the future if you decide to sell it and upgrade. Better to find out the cheap way if this is going to be something they are going to stick with...

[nate992v]

The 200 has an automatic compression release, so it's just a matter of fine-tuning the kicking procedure. Once I got my wife to kick it over right, I never have to start it for her.