New Bike Advice

[sled obsessed]

Thinking about picking up a new or used enduro bike. Thing is, I have not been on one since I was 15, nearly 20 year ago. Back then it was a Suzuki 185 (a real POS) and honda 80cc's and what not. THe few rides i had on 250's, they seemed like an aweful lot of bike at the time. Always cat walking away from me and sliding out from under me (may have been trying to show off a little on those rides).

Anyways the question is, should a guy go with a 250 or a 450. Was thinking WR from yamaha or the equiv KTM.

Will a 450 be way too much bike for a beginner?

 

[250mark1]

Personally I like the ktm bikes over the jap bikes. Fit and Finnish and ease of maintience
I prefer the 450 over the 250 more power and not bouncing it of the rev limiter all the time
plus my 450 is street legal from the factory

 

[hdkawi]

The yz 450 is a good bike wish I had the wr though

 

[Scrambled]

I was kinda in the same boat except I had been on a quad for 10 years but13 since owning a bile,my last bike being a Yamaha IT465 2 stroke enduro ,it was a snakey ride but fun,so now I'm 49 I thought go 4 stroke for ease of ridie and smooth power so YZ 450 f it was,well after a year of that mostly just bombing around with the kids,logging roads and pits,slowly got some practice and morso confident I thought I'd buy new so started lookin at what was out there,after lots of research I settled on the KTM 300 xc w 6 day 2 stroke,man what a easy bike to ride compared to the yz,the weight difference alone is a big help,the bike is way more easy to control and has a ton of low range torque but still has the balls to get up and go,I've had it above 130 kms with some left,plus I think the maintenance is less and cheaper.so I went KTM and 2 stroke and very happy with my decision. The yz was a 2011 and the new bike 2014.

 

[sled obsessed]

thanks for the posts, all good comments, my riding would be all be trails, logging roads and and pits also. Was thinking 4 stroke though. Maybe the KTM 350xcf-w is just the ticket.

 

[Ramjet15x]

I have a crf 250 x, fair bike, great low rpm for bush riding decent torque, little flat on top compared to R but a great overall, the 450 is better alround, I think way better than the WR.
That being said the KTM 350xcf-w is the best overall bike I've ridden, fuel injected, great overall power, best of both worlds as it is quite light but still rocks on top end.
You can never go bad with orange, make sure you get a linkage KTM as the older straight shocks were a little rebound happy and less trackable in the rough

 

[the_real_wild1]

Get a cheap used 250-300 4 stroke for the first year. Sell it for the same price as you paid in the fall. Then if you want a little more power get a 350. if you want a lot more power get a 450-500. The smaller lighter bike will allow you to learn and have more fun.