Landrew

iTrader: (2)

Official OFF-ROAD motorized thread!

I love the dirt, the mountains, the air. Here's some stuff to get started.


September 8000ft up BC, Canada


Sand dunes near Hinton, AB I had a head on collision with a Razor - bend his bumper, ripped of his ball joints etc. Bike was ride able but I was soooo close to breaking my femur - ouch. The bike was fine - that Yamaha has taken a beating and never looked back


Muskeg, took the wrong line and wasn't leaning back. Took 2 of us to barely pull it out, and the stuff stinks, my boots were full of it.


Glacier in BC


This year was the first time I could afford some decent used bikes for my oldest boys, getting family out is amazing.


Little used trail that heads to the previous glacier pic I posted. Thought I should walk it first to show them it's safe. It wasn't, but we made it "safer" and walked them across.



I've got no end to these and I even have the head on collision on GoPro/Youtube.

I also ride ATV's when I can't ride my bike.


Let's see who's getting dirty

Fireindc

iTrader: (13)

What would you recommend for a cheap, used, trailbike I could ride into the mountains and still jump and race around with my friends?

I'm thinking some kind of 400. But I'm down for a bike with less power as long as the weight is right. Not completely against two strokes either.

hi_im_sean

iTrader: (3)

as a 2 stroke nut i can only condone the use of a 2 stroke. you cant go wrong for cheap, used and bullit proof with a kawasaki kdx. preferably a 95-06'.

i know you liked my drz, but she is a heavy pig, i call her the dezert couch. it was my first bike, bad choice. it stunted my growth. a yamaha wr250 is awesome to but they are hard to find. you can also detune a motorcross model (kx, rm, cr, yz 250s) for the trails and have a mid-weight bike that is excellent at nothing but really good at most things.

Landrew

iTrader: (2)

YZ250 99 and up, add a flywheel weight and it'll climb anything and rip up at the track, easy to maintain, light and good initial price. A 250 is not a noob bike but a few hours on any mild bike prior to this and you've got the twist throttle motor skills developed. A 125 2 stroke is great as well but struggles a bit on slow technical climbs. While I do ride a 450 motocross bike they need more maintenance and the used market is full of ticking time bombs. I always suggest motocross bikes because of the weight and suspension. Power can be tamed with flywheels and restrictive pipes but you'll never enjoy landing a big jump or a small one wrong on a soft trail machine. My sons 02 YZ125 is so flick able and fun to ride. When we swap he laughs at my stump pulling torque (and I added a Rekluse clutch) and I love the 125's screaming momentum loving ride.
If your under 150lbs a 125 will be very sufficient.

hi_im_sean

iTrader: (3)

a 10 hr team gp i did, the start. we did $1000 in damage to bikes that day



















i fuking love this trail









this landing ended horribly... imagine what would happen if the ground was like an adhesive based quick sand




we call this fatman pass










**** street riding


lolz were not had





old volcanoes, cinder hills




mining ****






that would be scottsdale in the backround




this is me 10 seconds after i broke my left foot.



on this rock, dont hang your toes


switchbacks from hell... with a broken foot

hi_im_sean

iTrader: (3)

i love gp style starts, this one was mayhem












aforementioned broken left foot-rock incident


we have some crazy rock formations








ill post more later

Landrew

iTrader: (2)

Love all the pictures. How much of the year can you ride out there? It's frozen ground season starting about now. Here I stud up and ride at my house for short bursts in the winter but you have to ride groomed trails and in reality you don't head out anywhere wild. There is a winter motocross race series with a groomed track but I've never done it. Plus we have a famous 24hr ice race.
I'll plaster some more pics up later as well.

Landrew

iTrader: (2)

[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]


My pride and joy:


I don't think I own a vehicle without a magnet somewhere in the lubrication system picking up angry ferrous particles. My first 4 stroke a 2005 CRF450R. After I had the soft intake valve problems I never went back to Honda. Granted this was because of some soft Ti, I love my Yamaha and haven't been pulled over to the red side for years and years (except for our Rancher 420 but I hate the SRA)[URL=http://s120.photobucket.com/user/Landrew109/media/Picture006.jpg.html][IMG][/IMG]



[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

First 450 - sold it at over 100 hours. Went through 1 set of OEM Ti valves. Upgraded to the Ferrea steel intakes then sold it all blinged up.
[IMG][/IMG]

hi_im_sean

iTrader: (3)

we ride year around. we drive a few hours north or get up very early in the summer. and in the winter we stick around phoenix or go south.

some of that terrain looks incredible. i find in general, that razor pilots are fucktards, that looks like it hurt.

turbofan

iTrader: (1)

Fireindc: A vote for a 2000-up Honda CR250 for a playbike. We bought one new in 2000, put a one tooth larger front sprocket and an o-ring chain on it. Never had one single darn problem with that bike. Play rode it for 5 years then traded it in on my last dirt bike, an '05 CRF450R. Absolutely loved that bike til I busted my ankle and sold it. Haven't had one since, besides my trials bikes. I'll share some photos later.

You don't need anything super tame. You are coming from a Buell. You'll catch on real quick. Those Hondas are cheap cheap, fast, ergonomics are unbeatable in the class, and dead reliable. Find a clean one for cheap and enjoy.

Some will say you need heavier flywheels and stuff... I disagree. The 2000 is probably the best year for this because it had a wide, mellow powerband. Ah what a great bike! I miss it.

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

I wish I had good places to ride like all of that above ^. There are few places around me to ride, and anywhere that is away from people is just thick, nasty pine woods. Thick pine woods at that. Not much fun or good to look at.

Fireindc

iTrader: (13)

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I'm a damn decent street rider at this point and i do have a bit of dirt experience. Throttle/clutch modulation are no problems, I'm not scared of power. However i'd rather have a lightweight medium power bike, than a heavy high powered bike if that makes sense.

I have not owned my own dirtbike since I was 16 though, so it has been a while since I've really hooned it up on the dirt. Tons of mountain bike experience in the last few years, so i "get" ripping it up in the dirt and sliding on that edge of traction.

After riding my buddies yamaha 400 the other day I really had the itch, and then looking through this thread really made me want to trek up some of the local hills on a trailbike. Time to start browsing craigslist for some of your guys's suggestions.

Stein

iTrader: (46)

Well, the title of the thread is off-road motorized so I'm taking it as not just bikes. I'm heading out for a weekend of rock crawling with my new truck this weekend. Will post pics next week!

Landrew

iTrader: (2)

I ride ATV's when I have to so anything off-road is better than sitting at home. We have a a sport, beginner sport and a ute atv and they all have varying degrees of off-road fun depending on time of year and who's coming out to play.


"Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I'm a damn decent street rider at this point and i do have a bit of dirt experience. Throttle/clutch modulation are no problems, I'm not scared of power. However I'd rather have a lightweight medium power bike, than a heavy high powered bike if that makes sense."


Have you ridden a 125 2-stroke or a 125 turned into a 144cc or some KTM 150-200 -2 strokes? Not crazy 450 4-stroke power but sufficient torque for most climbs if your light and you hit them with momentum. You can really feel the nimble chassis with these bikes and they are so forgiving. For direction changes and their response to body english they are at the top of the list. When your riding with friends it always ends up being the best rider not the most HP of the guy flying down the trail like a gazelle. Now granted on some big sand climbs and highmarking in the rockies on shale the most HP is very nice but not required. Plus a top end job (piston replacement) is so cheap and easy. Funny but at my house I really like jumping on the 125 for a quick jaunt, something about the smell and sound of the 125 that I like. I'd like to make a 144 out of it but my son wants a 250 2-stroke. The 125 could use a touch more torque, really a 200 in the latest gen YZ125 aluminum chassis would be an almost perfect bike. The big problem manufacturers have is the racing class. It's cc limits dictate what bikes the Japanese build. The there is KTM, they build what they want and people love them for it. They have so many engine sizes out there not just the typical 125, 250 and 450.

hi_im_sean

iTrader: (3)

that is the exact reason why my primary steed is my hybrid. its a 125 chassis, with a built, torquey 200 motor. that bike weighs 205lbs. its kind of like the Miata of dirt bikes. I can just toss a 220 top end on it when I want, and I have a low end torque pipe and a high end screamer pipe I can switch between. all the racing around here has a 200 class I run in, but it is a very small class. just a few 144s ad some 200xc's.

fireindc- I think any dirt bike will feel light compared to your street bikes. for what you are describing I think a 250 mx model will serve you well. if you want to spend more money and have (what I consider) the ultimate lightweight, do it all, trail weapon, go for a ktm 200xc. or any ktm xc model for that matter.


*drooooooll*

Fireindc

iTrader: (13)

Well god damn that KTM is sexual.

I'm around 170lbs, 6" tall. I know any dirtbike will feel light compared to my streetbike, but I'd like it to have as much tossability as possible as most of my dirt riding experience is on mountain bikes. I really like the idea of a 125 with a 200 swap. Didn't even know that was a thing. Maybe I could get a 125 2 stroke and mod it to my tastes down the road?

What bike would you recommend in that case? I'm wanting something with as modern suspension as possible, but my price range realistically next spring would be sub 3k, preferably sub 2k. I know that's not much, but if i could get a decent bike for that range I'd be happy.

turbofan

iTrader: (1)

I'm telling you man... Just get a 2000 cr 250. You won't regret it. From one Buell lover to another!

Put a one tooth larger front sprocket or stock front sprocket with 2 teeth smaller in back. The taller gearing effectively widens the ratios a bit. A piped KDX200 has roughly half the power of the stock 250. Since you've got some experience, it won't be too much to handle. We rode ours on everything from ugly single track trails to wide open desert. No it wasn't as flexible as a KTM EX/C would be, but you can find super clean examples for under $2k. For that price it's impossible to beat IMO.

Fireindc

iTrader: (13)

After looking at these cr250's i think you are onto something. I LOVE a good 2 stroke's powerband, and I've found several for sub 2k already. Hmm.

turbofan

iTrader: (1)

Just find a clean one and your golden. Put on an aluminum skid plate/underguard (should be able to pick one up for under $150... Check out rockymountainatvmc.com) and just enjoy the hell out of it.

Landrew

iTrader: (2)

I had a 2001 CR250 and loved it but my 99 YZ250 has a better powerband. More bottom and very linear. Its been voted the best 250 motor and or 250 bike for like 10 years in a row. Personally it did better for me in the rocky mountains, and I see way more of them up here. YZ's went to alloy frames in 05 I think.