| Author | Message | ||
     Slaughter |
Too much else going on with Jean-Marc's death. Yesterday it was really windy but Sunny needed to get some break-in miles on her XT225 so off we went. (ignore date stamp, camera operator was defective) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) Kinda nice having wide open roads, mountains and some really great twisties so that we can go out and burn some of that $4 gas. Somehow on simple, flat dirt roads, I can't bring myself to put on the dirtbike gear. Great way to get in 60 miles after work (yeah, working on a Sunday) | ||
| Rain_bolt |
I need a dirt bike again.  | ||
| Slaughter |
We got both of those in the past month. Sunny bought hers first! She told me that NO, I could NOT use hers as a pitbike and that I just had 2 weeks to get one of my own. | ||
| Berkshire |
I hope you don't mind me asking, but what model is her bike and how tall is she? I'm riding a Blast now, and thinking about getting a dirt bike - but they're very tall, and I'm not. The regular Blast seat is a very comfortable height for me - could even be a little higher. An XB Lightning "low" is about the tallest I'm really comfortable on, but I could get used to a regular one with low seat. The enduro type seems like a great idea - I could just ride down the street and look for dirt, or ride it over to the public forest trails, instead of having to load & unload every time. | ||
| Slaughter |
Brad, FUNNY you should ask! It is the XT225 Yamaha. Full sized wheels but sits just a little lower. Nice thing is that it handles nicely in the dirt and the rough - but if you REALLY want to jump a lot, it doesn't really have competition-type suspension travel. It is a GREAT fun, utility-type bike. Air-cooled. Pretty similiar to Blast in power (less HP but a hundred pounds lighter) She got that bike SPECIFICALLY because it FITS. She is 5 feet tall and "inseam challenged" It really is a nice bike. Can't wait til the break-in is over and she (and I) can ride it a bit harder. If you are curious, you can download the owner's manual and see some details for yourself: http://www.enduco.com/xt225/service_manual/own_man .pdf Wish you lived in the area, I'd say just take it out and give it a shot to see what you think. Call a Yamaha dealer and throw a leg over one. I don't know how long they've been made (so not sure how much $$$ you can find one for). We got Sunny's "used" with 19 miles. The orignial buyer just transferred the title, rode it home and sold it back to the dealer when he shipped out overseas. $3000 for a 2007. Nice thing is that they are becoming so popular that it's pretty easy to get accessories and tires. | ||
| Berkshire |
Thanks for the info! The manual lists the seat height as 31.9", so I'm thinking at 5'-5" I would be comfortable on an offroad bike with about 34" seat height. The XB12Scg is listed at 28.6" - I've heard that comparing dirt bike vs. street bike seat heights is like apples & oranges, so I'm not surprised there's a difference, but I AM surprised the difference is so much! It's good news for me though - puts a whole lot more bikes in my "fit" range! | ||
| Slaughter |
Dirt bikes ARE tall with almost double the suspension travel that we have in our streetbikes. It took a few days of getting used to. Sunny at just a shade over 5 foot tall can ALMOST flat-foot the XT. I got curious about used prices and it seems that it's hard to find one for less than $3K right now - even 4 year old bikes. At least try one on for size at a Yamaha dealer. I really like Sunny's - nicely put together and because they're so popular, the aftermarket has TONS of stuff and they've got lots of info on the off-road boards. | ||
| Slaughter |
I should clarify - the suspension IS fully adjustable for preload and compression/rebound damping. It's just that it isn't really intended to be raced... so it's kind of geared for most off-road riding - just not hyper aggressive stuff. | ||
| Slaughter |
Aaaarrrgggh - I lied in the last post. We went riding tonight - and the REAR is fully adjustable. I'd have to look at the manual to see how much adjustment you have in front. Looks like preload only with damping by changing oil viscosities? | ||
| Berkshire |
That's still much fancier than the Blast! There's a TTR225 that looks a little more MX-ish and only 2.3" taller, but it doesn't have lights. What model is yours? (Message edited by berkshire on May 17, 2008) | ||
| Slaughter |
Mine is the DRZ400S. A really great bike and it can very easily be lowered using lowering links in the rear like http://www.koubalink.com/drzinstall.html Koubalink is not the only game in town - but their link system was used by a friend on her DRZ (Zina also writes for Ducati Corse - very readable): http://www.ducatigirl.com/inventory/suzuki.html Front can be lowered by simply sliding the forks up in the triple clamps. Have to lower front and rear the same or handling ends up really weird. DRZ400 is a reliable, liquid-cooled bike. It is slightly heavy compared to the more "racier" bikes but for LONG dual-sport rides, it keeps going, and going, and going... DRZ400 has TONS of aftermarket stuff too. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I think the Kawasaki super sherpa is a lower dirt bike as well... under 33 inches, but like you say, width makes a big difference as well. It's electric start, 250cc, and water cooled. It should pull up to 70mph fine. | ||
| Torqd |
The Honda CRF230L is also a street legal bike that gets around 90MPG and has a low seat at 32in. It will do a tad over 70mph. I have a nice big bore kit that will really wake this thing up... my 252 makes between 25-30rwhp for around 500 in parts and your labor. Tons of fun and bullet proof. Here is a nice little write up about it. http://www.cycleworld.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=812  | ||
| Cityxslicker |
couldnt wait any more  street lights and plate en route. |
