I got speaking to Calum122 about bikes on another forum and he invited me over here.
I'm a first time rider, but have always wanted to get a mx or supermoto for years. So I'm thinking about finally getting my cherry popped, doing my cbt, and getting a 125 sm to learn the basics, and hopefully moving onto do my full license.
I've been heavily into Japanese performance cars over the years, so have a some basic mechanical knowledge......2 wheels isnew to me though....I'm still learning daily, and I still have like 101 questions, which I've been asking Calum122 daily (thanks dude).
Looking forward to speaking with you gusy to get some more info and more importantly getting a bike!
-- Edited by djaniero on Wednesday 16th of July 2014 10:37:44 AM
haha @ Nathlaad. Still undecided what to do really....i.e. to play it safe and start of with a DT sm, or be slightly more extreme...get a mx, something along the lines of a yz or cr and make it road legal?
Baring in mind that I have never ridden before, the DT seems like a more safer option...but I tend to get bored pretty quickly, and always like to mod things.
The dt's more than enough power for a begginner rider like you, you would be suprised how quick they are if you pin it, i have a dt 125 sm, i also converted it into a dtr a while back to take it offroad, try find the vids in the video section gives you an idea of the dt's pull offroad
As an sm on road it is awesome aswell, i found because of the power of the bike you could get quite low and not worry too much about spinning out like on the bigger bikes, you can put the power on early so much fun
I would strongly recommend getting a dt, a mx is a fully race tuned bike and is always on the go, very pokey for a road bike
I own a kxf250 and 450 aswell, so if you are interested in going down the mx route i'll be more than happy to answer any questions you may have, just dont ask me any thing about mechanics because i' am useless at that!!
It depends on your age. I'll go for the CBT on the test centre's geared 125CC. See how you go from there, if you can clutch control and nail the riding, I'll go ahead and book the A license (I'm assuming you're 24 or over here)
However, if you aren't very good with balance etc, go and buy a DT maybe even something less? A CG 125 would be fine for practising on.
A MX bike, again this depends on your riding abilities. If you've never rode before I wouldn't jump on a MX bike, and get a DT. The DT is really tame compared to its MX counterparts of the same CC.
Also another thing to note, is how often will you be riding the bike? If daily or doing the country lanes every sunny day, avoid MX bikes, the DT will outlast a MX bike by a lot of hours. MX bikes are maintained in hours, DT's are maintained in miles.
Yeah we've discussed this to death. For a fair weather rider the mx bike will suit the purpose. R eliability will always be an issue with the mx bike lol. But to be fair, 10-30 hours a year. Under much better loads than what an mx bike is used to, i reckon it'll last.
@2strokemx - I think I'm swaying more towards the DT mate, as Calum and I already discussed :). The last thing I want is to get to ahead of myself with a bike thats way too powerful for me.
Speaking of which, What are the kxf250 and 450 like to ride in comparison to the DT? How long were you riding until you got onto bigger bikes?
lol @ being hopeless at mechanics.....I'm the exact same, but recently have started working on my cars, and learning as I go along.
@Luke,
Thanks mate!
Yeah, I'm over 24 :). I've always been into riding road bikes...especially bmxs....totally different to motorbikes I would imagine, but I'd like to think my balance is pretty good.
I won't be using the bike to commute at all, it will just be used as a toy to bring out during the summer months or when its dry for a sunday ride really.
As Calum said, will the mx bike last under this load?
About 10 hours a year, maybe it'll last. But I'd much rather to do the tests and ride something like a 600CC supermoto. Also bigger bikes are easier to ride.
And balance on the motorbike is pretty much a trick of where you look. If you're only looking in front of the mudguard, you'll end up putting your foot/feet down during the U-turn and figure of eight. And back brake and clutch control is a trick as well, bikers rely on the clutch a lot more than anyone would in a car. I'm sure your training school will discuss this all with you on your CBT though.
Also on the subject of MX bikes, it's a bit of a ball ache to get them on the road. Waiting around for the logbook to come back, etc etc. Wiring up the lights and all that. Personally, if you see yourself sitting on L plates for at least a year, then DT is the one to go for.
You'll probably catch the bug though, and end up wanting to ride more and more as soon as you get into it, which is why I'm kind of against the MX idea. I went into biking thinking I'd get a car when I was 17, two years later I'm still on the road, anxiously waiting for a year to pass to upgrade bikes and bin the L's.
Luke an mx bike can last about 50 hours if not more if you service it regular and everything! I done 30 hours on a piston on my 4 strokes and that's only because I was racing, mate welcome to the forum if you're looking at getting a mx on road I'd look at getting a 250f nice power delivery still fast but not as pokey or as much work as a 125 with the 250f you can sit it in 3-4 gear and plop a long happily all day! Owned both 4 stroke and 2 stroke crossers!
__________________
FASTER FASTER UNTIL THE THRILL OF SPEED OVERCOMES THE FEAR OF DEATH
Luke an mx bike can last about 50 hours if not more if you service it regular and everything! I done 30 hours on a piston on my 4 strokes and that's only because I was racing, mate welcome to the forum if you're looking at getting a mx on road I'd look at getting a 250f nice power delivery still fast but not as pokey or as much work as a 125 with the 250f you can sit it in 3-4 gear and plop a long happily all day! Owned both 4 stroke and 2 stroke crossers!
True, buy my MX'ers have never lasted that long. Even with a oil change after every ride.
The wiring and lights wasn't that big of ajob. Less than a days work. flew through the mot.
Yeah the engine won't last forever but it'll do more than 10 hours. Remembering that you would never get away with riding an mx bike on the road like you would on the track. That combined with riding it where it's getting loads of air, coolant and geared correctly. From the just a weekend toy, The mx bike is great.
The 250f is brilliant, don't get me wrong, but a four stroke mx bike for the road. No thanks. When you know you have got to rebuild it so often then you will want to stay away from full blown race engines. At least the two stroke is relatively cheap.
But I'm sure we all agree that starting with the dt125 is a great choice.
The 250f pulls like a fkin beast, even if you got on an 80 mate you would sh*t yourself at this stage, liams right i'd go for a piggy but i think the 250f will work a little too hard on the road, they are made to be rode on the limiter, a 450 would suit the rode better but then again i don't think you would have as much fun on it because tbe power is immense
Get a dt, nice little bike for on/offroad, and if i cant ride it flatt out to the max of its capabilities offroad to the point where i need more power and ive been racing mx for 2 years, i dont think you will find the power a problem offroad :) i must emphisize on the gearing though, get the right gearing offroad you make much more use of the dt's power, realky fun bike too ride offroad as you can see from mine and others videos in here
So the consensus is to start with a DT, and see how I get on from there? What are the aprilia mxs like?
Also what sm would be a good bike to upgrade to after a DT....if I decide against getting an sm and converting it to ansm? Someone suggested a ccm, but I don't know anything about them.
Oh if you want to be really sneaky, do what i did it works out cheaper if you find the right bike... Get a dt sm, then convert it to a dtr. Everything you need for the dtr is cheap cheap but if you did it the usual way round by getting a dtr then eventually going sm, just the forks and rims your looking at £200, then you might have to stick a coupla tyres on top of that
I got my dt sm into a dtr for under £100, speedo drive 520 sprocket and chain conversion everything, under £100... Say something
Yeah, I'd go for a newer DTX model as well, to be honest. But some people selling them take the SM setups off as they know what they're worth. And don't adjust their prices without them.
Even with a oil change after every ride.
