MotoX Question

I just learned that some of my coworkers ride trail and welcomed me to ride with them. Only problem is that I don't have an offroader. Any Honda recommendations for slow to medium paced trail riding?

Reason I am interested...glad you asked. Track day seems less and less my thing, and riding locally with friends seems a lot more fun than driving 2hrs and bustin balls on a tiny bike with non friends.


Thanks in advance.

 

New or used? Budget?

 

A VERY large % of the best times in my life are on a dirt bike with my friends and family. I fucking love romping a street bike, but the intimacy (yes) of ripping, roosting and cruising close quarters (or spaced out a bit in the dust) with buds and/or my wife is not easily matched in satisfaction.

CRF230F for starters.

CRF250/450X if you are pretty damn sure you are gonna groove on it.

Disclaimer: The 250/450X is based on a competition race bike. The piston has NO skirt. The valves are... "racey", is the best way I can put it. The (official) maintenance schedule is tight, hours wise.

I'm an old school mother fucker and can RIP my pretty highly modified XR400R with just about anybody. Heavy? Yes. Cool as fuck (to me)? Yes. Embarrassing to guys on their new-fangled-sparkle-farkles? Yes.

Shit, a big wheel CRF150 is a fucking BLAST.

Do it. You will love it.

 

Budget +

 

I started riding in the dirt when I was 15. 1963. I've raced and ridden Hodaka, BSA-350, Suzuki 250 Savage, Ducati 250, CT-125, AT1, AT3, MX360, SC500, YZ125, Maico 400, Maico 400aw, 1983 CR250, 1986CR250, Suzuki DR650, CRF125f, service honda junior x, Sunron x. I rode up until 6 years ago as I started breaking too many bones. I may try to ride my Suron x again sometime.

 

Hmmm. Gonna have to be 4 stroke, so you don't end up with a pesky red sticker and only have a limited riding season at the CA state OHV parks? As far as skill level, even if you do only plan on riding slow to medium trails....it never seems to work out that way. Make sure that you don't get something so tame that you get bored with it after a couple rides and end up replacing it.

Any newer Honda 4 stroke is going to have pretty tight maintenance intervals and a used purchase can be additional cash to get it up to snuff, as you well know. As far as the 450X, you can do all sorts of trickery with the early 2000's models, 2005-2007 TRX450 pistons can be utilized, as they add an extra ring and better side skirts for more reliability. You can also replace the ti valves with stainless valves and copper beryllium seats, which last a lot longer than the ti valves. You can also swap the 450R heads with the X heads, which means you can also utilize different years of cams from the 450 to make it more tame or more wild. The X transmission has a wider ratio than the R which make it more offroad friendly. There are still a lot of parts out there for them. Sadly, nothing is really cheap anymore.....