Cotton Mouth

I've never had good luck getting parking lot vouchers. One thing you can do assuming you aren't running paddles is have one of your group tow your bikes in from the campground. Just hook a few of 'em up to a pickup and 'ride' them to the entrance, once there you can take just the bikes in. As someone mentioned the local cops are pretty lax about most things, EXCEPT riding non-lincensed vehicles on the streets, so a lot of quads, dune buggies, and bikes get brought in this way from nearby campgrounds. Just another option, my personal preference is to load up the truck and park it at the beach all day with gas, tools, cooler, girlfriend etc.

Thanks for all the advice guys, I've made up my mind now that the 250 is out and will be looking for a 400 or 450. Getting excited about this summer now! Thanks again! I'll probably have lots more questions once I get one

Thanks again for the advice, the more I think about it maybe I should look for a 450. I talked with someone else who echoed the same sentiments about flogging on the 250 to get anywhere with me on it and in the sand, I think the 450 would probably last longer since I can take it easy on it. How about a 400 if I could find one? Pretty sure I'll pick it up pretty quick enough, the first couple rides through the woods might be a bit unnerving though! Found an '05 450EXC sorta nearby with 10 hours on it for 6K (2k more than the 250! ) ) Anyone know of one for sale in or around Michigan?

Darnit! Why can't I change the title!! Thanks for the reply. The sales guy was leaning towards the 450 for me too (525 too!) until I expressed my interest in something tamer. I've heard the "don't twist it as far" thing before but knowing me I would twist away! The sand dunes part of the equation is what makes it tough... Do they make throttle stops, or I assume the throttle cable rides on a cam of sort, do they make cams that would slow the throttle opening? Just some thoughts? My goal would be to eventually get on a 450 and with buying a house and marriage in the not so distant future I wouldn't mind not having to upgrade in a couple of years. the valve issues with the Honda, whether real or not concern me with buying used.

Hi all, I've been looking into getting my first dirt bike and had some questions etc. Been reading the forums and found a lot of good info there but have some questions. I am a total newbie to motorcycles though I have ridden quads and snowmobiles some and am a halfway respectable mountain biker. I am 29, 5'10" and around 200 Lbs. I found a 2004 250 EXC four stroke that looks brand new and is going for a decent price. My concern is if this will be enough bike for me? I live in Michigan and plan to ride trails probably 60-70% of the time and hit the Sand Dunes for the rest. I'm leery of jumping right into a 450 as I think you would tend to develop some bad/poor riding habits learning on a powerful bike. To say nothing of it getting away from me! How does this compare to a CRF250X? The used trail bike market seems a bit scarce around here. They had a 2004 CRF at the dealership that was pretty beat and they were asking the same as the KTM. According to the sales guy the owner of the KTM only rode it once, he bought it in '05 and hurt his knee so he traded it in for a street bike. It looks brand new, no scuff marks on the clutch cover etc... Sorry for such a long post, lots of questions I guess. Thanks for any input!