Dirt bikes

I use a hand rear brake but also have a foot brake. System I made myself that’s pretty trick. I have my clutch lever so it’s not positioned in the primary location as my rear brake is there but it’s still very usable. No way I’d not have a clutch lever and be able to ride where I ride.

 

Looking forward to learning what all you have done. I'll be methodical with my changes so I don't get too lost, but am plotting quite a long list of them now that I've made the decision. Which hand guards I like is up first, then figuring out which of the ECU swaps offers the best results will be close behind. I am fortunate to be in the Atlanta area so many great choices for reputable and experienced suspension experts to narrow down, as I'll be working to tune them for me soon as well.

Thank you, I joined it a while ago when I first began considering the move to an Austrian bike. Still not the best at finding what I'm looking for there yet, though. I'll stay after it and get better in time though

Thank you for these notes, especially regarding the T.M. tail light option. Reading up on preferences of the GET vs Vortex ECU's and which allows for what, etc. Plenty of stuff to spend my money on at Slavens, Taco Moto, and Twisted Development, I've seen.

I believe I saw they reduced the axle size on at least the rear of this bike, so have to figure out which wheel sets will fit without different spacers. I'll be busy for a while, for sure.
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Had a pretty comical time "riding" a rented '24 YZ250FX this past Friday. The offroad park I was at wasn't helping, but damn that sumbitch felt fat and uncomfortable.

I realized afterwards that the '24 FX didn't get the updates the MX bike did for ergonomics.

I checked out a Husky TC125 at the dealership I rented from, and that bike felt perfect - more like a mountain bike than anything. The problem is, they don't rent 125s.

Do the KTM 250s ride a lot smaller/thinner than the YZ? There's a shop I can rent a 250 SX-F from.

 

The YZ's tend to feel a bit bigger and heavier than the other brands because of the airbox setup with the reverse mounted motor. My TX300 feels quite light and nimble, the 125's share the same ergonomics with the rest of the line.

 

Thanks. I hated that YZ lol. The 125 is what's speaking to me, but I know the new injected 125s have had some issues and I don't want a carb bike as I won't be riding this super often (4x a month).

 

My 2019 KTM 150SX, last of the carbs, was gas and go, didn't care how long it had sat. I never bothered screwing with the jetting other than trying a JD kit once, not liking the result and putting it back to factory. I have a new in box smartcarb ready to go for when the 'crap' Mikuni acted as bad as everyone claimed... never happened. I did change the jet block gasket to an improved version out of the crate. Bike was used for MX and Supermoto in Maine and NH, never even a hint of issues.

 

yeah the TBI 125's definitely had issues when they came out but I haven't really kept up with it. I know some 250's and 300's did as well but mine has been flawless. Really I wish they made a 200 again, as I feel like that would be a super fun all around engine size. My 300 though is so easy to ride and the power is telepathic like so it does everything quite well and I love it.

 

just keep in mind the SUSPENSION valving on the sx is NOT gonna be fun on trails/woods use. it's an mx bike. i'd opt for the XCF (or even the W model) vs the sxf, as you get woods valving, clear bigger tank, kickstand. the trans for the sx isn't a problem really, for woods, and the ktm factory offroad guys run sxf/sx, but they are factory riders, and get the cone valve forks and trax shock, etc. the kickstand and bigger clear tank are a good thing .

 

the counter balanced 2T ktms/husky/gasgas ride better than the yz. The yz comes with better boingers for a stock bike. Look at gasgas 250s too... the 24s are on holy moly fire sale clearance. The only 24 that didnt get the new WP closed cartridge forks is the GG EC250/300. They got the old Xplor forks.

 

Man, am I ever digging my new '24 FE350s!! 327 miles in 12.7 hours of 85 to 90% Forest Service roads. Runs fantastic, even at extremely low revs, and sudden throttle. Gearing is good also. Still have a lot of suspension tuning to do, as I'm only making one change at a time. Softened the fork compression damping second ride, and lowered the tire pressure a bit for my 3rd. Bleeding the forks and will leave negative pressure in them next. Haven't cranked up the rear spring pre-load yet, being a bit vertically challenged, though I need to. It's got a bit of 'Carolina Squat going on with my fat-ass on it, as the front is way stiffer than the rear. I may drop the front fork tubes a few mm soon also. Seat Concepts seat was ordered a week ago. Changed the oil at about 7 hours, and it needed it, from the looks of it. Only holds a quart, though it was over-full from the factory.

This is the perfect bike for me right now. I've never owned a more fun dirt bike, and feel like I should get pulled over when I'm riding on the roads. Great deals to be had on the left-over KTM / Husky / Gas Gas bikes these days! Great to be riding off-rad again.

 

My new TX300 has tried to kill me several times.

But she's so pretty and I love her!

 

But more importantly, my little guy wants to ride again!

 

Need to settle or modify the right tool for the job. the FX series from Yamaha are their off road/woods/cross country bike. Softer suspension, gearing, fuel/ecu mapping etc... Than the yz/yzf mx, sx bikes. You need to decide if you are a woods/trail, or track guy, then choose the best weapon, for your budget. good luck. Ski

 

Yeah that’s what I’m struggling with. Local shops rents an Xtrainer, which seems like a decent option to try some trail riding. I’m leaning vet track MX right now, but need to try both.

 

The Xtrainer is just a "trail" bike, definitely not a race bike if that's what you're looking for at all. On an 'XC' bike you can totally moto down on a vet track likely with no setup change but still rip in the woods. You can ride regular MX tracks too but will need to make clicker changes for hitting the bigger stuff.

 

Yeah unfortunately there just isn't a ton of variation on what to rent out my way. The Xtrainer shop is close and they know a lot about the local trails.

Just wanna try MX and trail riding and see if swapping to dirt is something that interests me .

 

The Xtrainer, is a beginners bike, made to do a lot ok, nothing well. Mostly set up for females and younger or starting riders (low, soft, lower power). The rear shock on the early models were breaking under "normal use". If you plan on getting into this long term, dont buy a starter bike, buy once cry once. You are doing it right, test riding and renting so, do your research and buy what suits you. Ski

 

with an XC, EX or TE model its a good mix of mx & trail. A few vets I ride with have these models for a weekly mx track & single track trail duty. The Japanese bikes are similar. If you are trying to clear SX sized triples then not so much without serious suspension attention.
If dualsport comes off of your tongue then those might not work either. My buddies old WR450 is a pretty good DS work horse for trails & pavement... its a couch on an mx track. The YZ250x is kind of primative with kick starting and no counterbalancing... but the engine can lug if properly jetted or carb'd
The more experienced single track riders like a mx bike softened just enough to not beat them up on longer rides and an 18" rear. Pure MX setups are designed for shorter motos on groomed surfaces vs hours of trail hunting.

 

The X trainer is actually very good in very technical singletrack so I wouldn't call it a beginner bike. I mean, it is a good fit for a beginner off roader due to its size and power delivery. BUT in hard enduro terrain, it's no baby bike it's the real deal. This probably isn't perfectly relevant to this thread as I don't think the gist of these posts covered hard enduro at all, I just wanted to toss that out there. I do agree that sampling as many bikes as possible before you buy is the very best way to go about this, but unless you have buddies with a lot of different bikes that can be hard to do. Good luck!! To me, woods riding is the absolute bomb I'm horribly addicted.

 

I ride MX and I have a 2023 CRF250r.. I love the bike. I ride trails / single track stuff at times with it also. The suspension does fine... The issue is when you're getting into some hard enduro where big suspension changes need to happen. I found that a stock off the show room floor MX bike works great for trails / woods suspension wise. There isn't a big need to have such a plush suspenion.. the thing is a MX bike will work great on the trails but a trail bike will be terrible on any MX track.. so you have to figure out what you want.

The biggest issue with a 4T MX bike is the overheating. If you're putting around on trails try to open it up on straights, ride a gear higher when you're going slow etc. I ride mine in the southeast in 100-degree temps and have yet to had it overheat. I just try to stay away from super slow technical stuff. ( its boring to me anyways )

You need to learn suspension on a MX bike if you plan on riding MX. You should be constantly adjusting clickers throughout the day as the track breaks down unless you enjoy a harsh riding bike lol.

Edit - I mentioned 4T MX bikes due to most people being on 4T now. Sorry I wasnt sure if you were looking into a 2T mx bike or just the X trainer as a trails bike