Who makes the best bike? and why?

[Marauder01]

lets hear some opinions fellow 2-wheelers!

right now, i am a honda boy... it comes down to the reliability,...

i know that no-matter what, this little kitty will start, and ride
RIDE RED!

whats your make? and why do you ride said color?

 

[takethebounce]

I went with a Kawi....bottom line was the price. I had researched all the models I was looking at prior to purchasing though.


The dealer I had recently bought my sled from had ticked me off (not the salesman, but a certain dealer employee who no longer works there) So I opted not to go there at the time.

Went to a few places...one of the KTM dealers in town ignored me the entire time I was in the show room.

The Honda dealer wouldn't budge on the price of a bike sitting in the show room for 2 years.

The Suzuki dealer had nothing on the floor.

The Kawi dealer I dealt with was helpful from the moment I walked in the door. I had no intentions on buying the day I went in, but I did have cash in hand if there was a great deal to be had. And there was.

I have been throughly impressed with the Kawi. In the future I might be on something orange. Mostly due to the type of riding I do.

 

[Summiteer]

Schwinn

 

[SHIFTmx]

I got my Suzuki back in 2001. No real reason, first bike and has been bulletproof. I got nothing against the other bikes what ever gets you out there!! :d

 

[suzuki_ryder]

kawasaki for me. I owned an rmz and it was the slowest i've bike ever been on. Bought my 08 kx250f brand new and was the best bike at the time (and every year after lol). would like to try a new honda, i've heard nothing but good things about them.

 

[northern bear]

I'm kinda torn between Honda and Yamaha. Started out and grew up riding a couple different Yamaha mx's. Never any problems with them. Owned a kawi once. It blew up after 2 weeks, but in it's defense it was old and wore out. Currently I have 3 Hondas ( xr400 xl500s and a cbr) and just picked up a Yamaha yz125 this spring. Not disappointed with any if them yet.


Sent from my iPhone because dial-up sucks!

 

[teeroy]

I got my Suzuki back in 2001. No real reason, first bike and has been bulletproof. I got nothing against the other bikes what ever gets you out there!! :d


View attachment 92817

wtf kinda seat is that? for short dudes or something?

 

[Bnorth]

pretty happy with my Yamaha, next bike will be a 300 2 stroke my buddies are loving their Gas Gas's

 

[Waxy]

Had Yamaha, Honda, and Suzuki over the years, all good bikes, but after buying a KTM, I won't go back. My next one will be orange too.

Power delivery, ride quality, e-start, light weight, ease of maintenance and most important of all, street legal or very easily made street legal all make it the best option for me. They cost more $$$$ up front, too much to be honest, but they do come stock with a long list of components that would be aftermarket upgrades on the Japanese bikes, and they hold their value pretty well.

Waxy

 

[Marauder01]

that is one thing i noticed about the orange bikes... they do hold value well....

good luck buying a 2008 or newer 250 4-stroke for less than $5000.00

found ONE for $4500, but i had bought red by the time i found it lol

 

[PowMower]

I'm kinda torn between Honda and Yamaha. Started out and grew up riding a couple different Yamaha mx's. Never any problems with them. Owned a kawi once. It blew up after 2 weeks, but in it's defense it was old and wore out. Currently I have 3 Hondas ( xr400 xl500s and a cbr) and just picked up a Yamaha yz125 this spring. Not disappointed with any if them yet.


Sent from my iPhone because dial-up sucks!

Ever thought about selling youre Xr400?

 

[northern bear]

Ever thought about selling youre Xr400?

I've thought about it and was gonna let it go this spring, but then I would need to get myself another bike. Right now is just a bad time cause I don't have the cash to invest into a new bike.


Sent from my iPhone because dial-up sucks!

 

[TheMuffinMan]

I'm definitely a Honda guy when it comes to bikes. After working on a few different brands you come to realize how much nicer the fit-finish and quality of the fasteners is on a Honda. It might sound like a lame reason to choose one bike over another but having high quality nuts and bolts goes a long way to making a bike last. Hondas keep that "new" feel longer than any other bike and I'm convinced this is the reason. Seperate oils for the engine and transmission is a brilliant idea too, so far only KTM has seen fit to copy it not sure what the other guys are waiting for. Yamaha would be a close second for me; their motors are arguably more reliable than Honda's (albeit a little slower) but the rest of the bike starts to feel clapped out after a few seasons. Kawis and Suzukis feel like they're going to fall apart after 30 hours. KTM gets better every year but they need to figure out how to make a seat you can take sitting on for longer than 5 minutes before they'll get my money.

 

[-LadyDirt-]

I've ridden a few brands, I started out on two Yamahas and they ran great - really no issues. My 3rd was a KTM, it was snappy as hell but I seemed to have quite a few minor issue's with it here and there...it constantly fouled plugs no matter how much tuning/jetting and adjusting the fuel/oil ratio we tried so many things and I was sick of going through a plug every time I rode the thing so it was time to go. I think I just didn't ride the bike fast or hard enough..it belonged on a race track, but puttsin in trails.

Now I am a proud owner of the Honda. I haven't had enough seat time on this thing yet to justify why I bought it but so far it has been the best bike I've had. Its reliable and although a bit finicky with starting sometimes, when she warms up she goes forever.. and this bike has the torquey, consistent power I needed to feel more in control and confident on the bike. Maintenance is a bit of a painful process, changing two different oil chambers each time, but I think Honda did that for a good reason so other then that, love this bike

 

[Marauder01]

is the 150r air cooled as well?

 

[-LadyDirt-]

It is liquid cooled

 

[Marauder01]

i love the 230... when you outgrow your 150, you should look at the crf230f
simple, reliable.. cheap...

it still has more than enough power for me.. however i am too big for it..
need suspension upgrades... 220lbs before gear

time for a diet

 

[-LadyDirt-]

I wont ever need to upgrade, this bike is more then enough for me lol. Going from a motocross bike to a trail bike is more of a downgrade for me since I started on a trail bike.

I used to have a trail bike similar to the 230F but Yamaha's version and I really didn't like it all that much. I felt I grew out of it, for a beginner bike it was good but eventually I wanted something with a bit more snap, as well trail bikes are friggin heavy for a 110lb girl. The 150R is %100 race bike but it does awesome in the trails, its light and torquey, great suspension and the best hill climber i've had thus far. I like it on the track too, but i'm not insane on tracks I just like to hit the jumps

 

[Marauder01]

yeah i started looking up the crf150r after i posted...

you would probably beat me in a race... i have a little more torque.. and what not..
but ultimately, the crf230f is a "maintenance free" trail bike..

the crf150r is a performance bike for the smaller class of rider..

i will eventually need a 250 4-stroke.. cuz i am kind of a big dude.. not tall, just fat (lol)
mostly for the suspension, and low end power that the crf230f doesnt offer..

either that or i could spend $5000.00 making it the bike i need (ya right.. lol)

was looking at a 2011 crf250x the other day... very nice bike.. i honestly DO NOT KNOW what make i will buy when i make the upgrade next season...

so many to choose from...

honda crf250x
yamaha wr250x
kawasaki klx250
suzuki dr-z250
KTM 250 xc-f
Husqvarna TE250


or just save up, and spend the $13,000 on an Aprillia RXV 5.5 v-twin ....

LMFAO

death

 

[-LadyDirt-]

Yes I definitely liked the maintenance free aspect of the air-cooled 4 stroke trail bikes but its been a nice learning experience from working on the high performance bikes too. My Yamaha and KTM 2 strokes were pretty easy maintenance, but the Honda 4 strokes have two separate oil chambers that must be changed, one for transmission and one for engine. Most other 4 stroke brands only have 1 type of oil. It sucks when my bf and I plan the bike maintenance day because it takes me twice as long to change the friggin oil in my bike! lol. Not to mention the one added step with the 4 stroke is changing the oil filter every time too... so yeah, it is a long process but it's good experience nonetheless and it's a fantastic little bike so I really don't mind keeping up on the maintenance. Now that I have my own garage it's a little more convenient too I dont have to go to someone elses house to work on my bike