Dirt Bike Rental?

Where can I rent dirt bikes for Metcalf park? Should I take a lesson or
does my street experience transfer over to dirt riding?

Thanks

 

Lessons are always good, though I don't know where you'd go for that. Some
things will transfer, but not others. I don't think I'd recommend Metcalf
as a great place for your first time on a dirt bike--it's pretty tight,
hilly and confined. You need a place like Carnegie on a weekday that's got
some open flat terrain to get comfortable at first.

Here's a rental company: http://www.montereymotorcycles.com

 

O.K. I'm going to draw some serious ridicule here but here it is folks:

I've been riding street for a while, but I haven't *really* ridden
dirt. My teen age son rides dirt (almost) exclusively... he
is in So Utah. I've done a tiny bit of fire-roading and I would really
like to ease into dirt riding. I *want* to ride a small
bike and experiment with washing it out. I want to get sideways. On
the street I am always afraid of some cell-phoner
blasting out of a driveway at warp speed and putting me in a wheel chair
that I want to try dirt.

A couple of friends told me to buy a P.O.S. 200 and thrash the hell out
of it (I wiegh 225 Pounds I'd have to flog it).
My son tells me go for no less than 400 - 650 is better. (My son has
an inflated notion of my skills.) I personally
would rather outride the bike than have too much to handle. Besides,
riding an under powered bike teaches you more
than having HP to spare. Besides, ... I'm basically a pussy biker: I
love to ride but I love being able to walk even more!

What would you recommend?

 

How about sarting with an older 250-400cc enduro bike? It would
certainly not have too much power, unless you get one of the newer w/c
bikes, and you can ride it on the street as well, increasing it's
versatility.

Paul

 

But if you keep it slow and simple as you start, it's a lot of fun. Don't
let Brian's warning scare you off--he's right though.

Not from me ;-)

This is a fine way to improve your skills, in my opinion.

You might even consider a 125. They can be a lot of fun. You'll be
surprised--even 25 horsepower goes a long way in the dirt!

The other thing to consider is 2-stroke or 4-stroke, and whether you need
a bike that can be street legal. I would stay away from a 400-650
four-stroke for a starter bike because they're heavy. The ideal bike is
something light, easy to start, and with smooth power that you're not
going to be worried about dropping. I'd probably look for a used (3-4 year
old) XR200 or XR250, a TTR125 or TTR250 or a KDX200. The XRs and TTRs are
air cooled 4 strokes, low maintenance, some even have electric start.
Their only disadvantage is they're on the heavy side, and don't have great
suspension, but do well in the easy to start and smooth power side. The
KDX is a favorite of mine--it's a 2-stroke that's got more power than the
4-stroke 250s, lighter weight, better suspended, but still easy to handle.
You won't outgrow it for a long time. None of these are street legal
though, and if that's what you need, I'd probably look for a DRZ400.

 

I'm basically a pussy biker: I love to ride but I love being

Hey John,

I think someone has already mentioned the Honda XR250. It's
pretty much ideal -- they made a zillion of 'em, so they're not
scarce when buying and easy to get parts for, and it's a great
size for someone just out to have fun and learn rather than win
motocross races. I myself did the Suzuki DR350 path; it's a
dual sport, so you can actually ride it to Metcalf, flog it,
then ride it home. But of course you can't flog it too hard or
else you must WALK home. Anyway, those bikes are fairly
easy on the wallet and very common. I bought my DR off eBay,
and sold it on craigslist.

There are a few options for training. Doc Wong does a dirt
clinic from time to time, and there is a reportedly fantastic
offroad riding school that I forgot the name of right now
(will try to remember and then send you the info). There's
also a Honda dirt-riding school down in Southern California,
near Riverside.

One other avenue, the one I recently discovered, is trials.
The bikes are incredibly light and nimble, and -- here's the
very attractive part to us pussy bikers -- they are designed
and intended to be ridded at extremely low speed. Often at
ZERO speed. Seriously. And I know of three dedicated trials
schools, two of which are in California (also Southern).
Trials riding is all about balance and control. The downside
to trials bikes is, modern ones have no seat. I've had mine
at Metcalf a couple of times with a buddy riding his Honda
CRF-230F, and we did regular trail riding for a couple of
hours, but I'm here to tell ya that two hours on the pegs is
not yet something I can do very often without resorting to a
large bottle of Advil.

--
-Craig Haggart
Sunnyvale, California
'99 Honda CBR600 F4
'02 Montesa Cota 315R
'69 Honda CB350 vintage racer
DoD #2120

 

Wise words deleted

Your friends seems to be more interested in your good welfare than your
son!

I own both 200 cc and 400 cc dualsports. The 200 is the far better teacher.
Both have been used exclusively on pavement, there being no accessible dirt
in my (former) neighborhood. The 200 is a street-legal trials bike, which
makes it a little bit unusual. The 400 is a drz400s, a standard and very
popular dualsport. Both are fun, but in different ways and I'd strongly
suggest playing with a 200-class machine before tackling a 400.

You're much bigger than I (5'7", 140 lbs) but I still think the weight
and especially the height of a drz400s or similar machine would greatly
hamper your willingness to experiment. The only advantage of big bikes
is speed, which isn't an issue in this case. Lighter is righter.

Oops, that's a decent slogan, but it's not quite true: 125 2-strokes are
light, but they're _not_ righter. My first exposure to dirt riding was
under ideal circumstances with a 250 Husky and a 125 (Yamaha? Can't
remember). The 125 required fabulous clutch skill to make it get out
of its own way. The 250 was heavier but _much_ easier to ride. So, I'd
suggest staying away from 125's

More details on the bikes at
http://www.zefox.net/~bob/mc/reflex/
and
http://www.zefox.net/~bob/mc/suzuki/drz/

Good luck resolving a good question!

bob prohaska

 

It seems so! Folks here have given me a cornucopia of information. I
think there is a consensus!

Thanx for the info. It seems like the consensus is a used 250
dualsport. I'll start checking the ads and
see the used prices.

I have played a little with some 2 strokes and they have such a narrow
power band that I don't thiink
there are as much fun for my purposes. maybe if I get really into dirt
bikes, I'll want one. But my goal
is to improve my street riding and to ride without dealing with the Bay
Area traffic.

JGB

 

You mean San Francisco Bay area? Lots of wonderful, low-traffic roads
to practice on, especially in the East Bay. Pinehurst and Morgan Territory
roads are highly instructive and generally not crowded. If you haven't
tried it already take a look at http://www.pashnit.com/motoroads.htm

bob prohaska

 

Oops. I should mention I have been riding street for a while, but I
never spent much time on dirt so things like
sliding back tires make me pucker so hard I tear a hole in my seat! I
noticed that dirt riders (like my boy - who
lives in Utahr) tend to be more comfortable in those situations
(sometime they even yawn as they low side and
that is the sort of improvement I am looking for. I really appreciate
the advice to buy a 250 and flog it on
some of the trails (my job is flexible so I can work Saturday and take
off a weekday - so I can hit the trails when
they aren't too crowded). BTW: Thanks to everyone who gave me advice
on it. BTW2: from my experience buying
tires for my son (who rides his dirt bike on the street sometimes) I
think it is cheaper to buy an old 1/2ton PU truck
than keep putting new knobbies on an enduro and riding it to the rec areas.

I agree with you on the E Bay Roads: I've hit pinehurst (my boss lives
on Palomares, so I sometimes take that up from Niles).
They usually have light traffic and are pretty fun ... but if we say
that on this news group others with discover them.

Arg. They all suck - Redwood Road has potholes, oil slicks ... and
snipers! Stay away.

Thanx again everyone!

JGB