What bike to get to practice wheelies and sh*t?

[1footdown]

Naked SV650 is a wheelie-monster.

 

[angelsndevils]

Ya well you want to know what's gonna happen to a person trying to learn how to ride wheelies on a modern 450? And they are not cheap to buy or own.

 

[YellowBastard]

Define this "full speed" ?

I think I did: I can fall off the bike at this speed and laugh it off, because neither me nor the bike got hurt. And maybe that's not the top speed the bike would do on a salt flat, but the speed you'd do after revving it a bit for fun in a sweeper. Like high 3rd on a 230 dirt bike in the mud. Fell off that, nothing happened. Got back on and continued riding.

 

[Caddywumpus]

I think I did: I can fall off the bike at this speed and laugh it off, because neither me nor the bike got hurt. And maybe that's not the top speed the bike would do on a salt flat

you know salt provides shitty traction right?

 

[YellowBastard]

Naked SV650 is a wheelie-monster.

How is it a wheelie-monster? I think it might be too powerful. Lack of power is not the reason I don't wheelie, too much power is the problem. I guess the naked SV650s nakedness would help when I drop it, but still feels too much like a real bike, not a toy. I want a toy bike.

 

[Ironbutt]

Ya well you want to know what's gonna happen to a person trying to learn how to ride wheelies on a modern 450? And they are not cheap to buy or own.

Wait.. yes these new 450's are cheap to own and their easier to fucking start and pickup. No, the XR400 offers absolutely no advantage, NONE..

It's pretty obvious you haven't handled an XR400 or a modern 450 lately. I have.. and I'm here to tell you; an XR400 is a BAD idea, unless you want every ride to be a 'vintage motorcycle ride'.

Crazy Barfer is crazy!

Ouch.

 

[Papi]

I think I did: I can fall off the bike at this speed and laugh it off

Ah, so at Idle or 0 MPH, got it.

Listen champ, falling off at any speed isn't something you should look forward to. Hell you can walk outside, trip on a twig and kill yourself.

Just get a used 100cc dirt bike, go to an OHV area, suit up, gas up and have fun. Keep it Off Road and you will be fine.

Riding is about having fun, learning our boundaries and having fun and having fun. Everything you stated in your OP you can do in the dirt. Just wear protecting gear please, broken bones or paralysis is a game changer.

Enjoy

 

[MXjunkie]

Someone else's bike.

.....

 

[angelsndevils]

Wait.. Blah blah blah...

You would be surprised by all the dirt bikes I've owned... Including modern 450's. I think you are having trouble looking at this from a non-racing, non-cool factor, learning perspective. We will just have to agree to disagree. Bring your modern 450 up to cow mountain someday if you would like to experience what it's like to try and keep up with a 40 year old man with grey hair on an outdated piggy 4 stroke. Hahahahaha I'll even keep it a secret. Funny thing is, I don't think the OP is interested in either one of our ideas. Sounds like he wants a very small bike.

If it was me (or you), who have years Of dirt riding then no doubt. It would have to be the 450! But for somebody that's LEARNING he better keep a good supply of extra radiators, rear fenders, slip-on's, and such for when it gets bucking like a wild horse.

 

[Ironbutt]

Wait.. I'm 39, whut's that mean? 40 years old is a huge jump and I'll somehow be impressed that someone who's only had snickers bars for breakfast that can ride an XR650 around cow mountain; and I won't make it off the mountain without falling over from exhaustion trying to keep up your candy-bar pace??

Fuck pasta.. snickers bars rock!

Yeah, I get it, it's no small feat to ride an XR650 up at cow mountain. I raced a D36 enduro season on an 86 XR600. I'll NEVER do that shit again on a Honda XR of any vintage. Nor would I suggest it to anyone.

so why steer someone toward a pig-o-potimous motorcycle with a hinge in the frame who wants to learn how to ride hard? Just because YOU like the outdated motorcycles don't mean they want one.

(I'm having fun here)

You would be surprised by all the dirt bikes I've owned... Including modern 450's. I think you are having trouble looking at this from a non-racing, non-cool factor, learning perspective. We will just have to agree to disagree. Bring your modern 450 up to cow mountain someday if you would like to experience what it's like to try and keep up with a 40 year old man with grey hair on an outdated piggy 4 stroke. Hahahahaha I'll even keep it a secret. Funny thing is, I don't think the OP is interested in either one of our ideas. Sounds like he wants a very small bike.

If it was me (or you), who have years Of dirt riding then no doubt. It would have to be the 450! But for somebody that's LEARNING he better keep a good supply of extra radiators, rear fenders, slip-on's, and such for when it gets bucking like a wild horse.

 

[redtail]

Since I probably wouldn't actually go on the dirt,

One of those bikes where if you drop it at full speed you laugh it off and get back on it.

You might be making unrealistic goals here, those two things are mutually exclusive. Falling on the street hurts.

Ah, so at Idle or 0 MPH, got it.

Listen champ, falling off at any speed isn't something you should look forward to. Hell you can walk outside, trip on a twig and kill yourself.

Just get a used 100cc dirt bike, go to an OHV area, suit up, gas up and have fun. Keep it Off Road and you will be fine.

Riding is about having fun, learning our boundaries and having fun and having fun. Everything you stated in your OP you can do in the dirt. Just wear protecting gear please, broken bones or paralysis is a game changer.

Enjoy

Words to live by.

 

[Hooli]

Bring your modern 450 up to cow mountain someday if you would like to experience what it's like to try and keep up with a 40 year old man with grey hair on an outdated piggy 4 stroke.

Wait.. I'm 39, whut's that mean?

GERIATRIC FIGHT!

 

[angelsndevils]

Wait.. I'm 39,

Yeah, I get it, it's no small feat to ride an XR650 up at cow mountain. I raced a D36 enduro season on an 86 XR600. I'll NEVER do that shit again on a Honda XR of any vintage. Nor would I suggest it to anyone.

I'm impressed. Sounds like we both may have been underestimating the other here. Lol. Now I'm think more along the lines of a good riding buddy than my original impression of cocky youngster that has grew up riding these new age easy bikes. My hat is off to you my friend.

 

[angelsndevils]

GERIATRIC FIGHT!

 

[anytwowilldo]

I agree that an XR400 is a great, cheap, bike to learn on if you are large enough to ride it. I've had my street legal XR400 since new in 2002. After riding a WR426 and XR650R I chose the XR400, because it was so much easier to ride than the WR in technical stuff and had more ground clearance than the XR650R. You could also start it with street shoes.
I've ridden it many times with friends on their "totally tricked out 50HP" Dual Sport bikes and they get to the same place at about the same time or sooner. This year on the Sheetiron 300 the XR400 passed numerous bikes littered all over the Love Lady hill climb early Saturday morning.
If you want an inexpensive Dual Sport that can take a beating and get you home look at an XR400.

 

[Surj]

Just get a used 100cc dirt bike, go to an OHV area, suit up, gas up and have fun. Keep it Off Road and you will be fine.

This is right on the money. I myself have been thinking of getting a TTR125 or something like that to get more dirt skills back from my youth. I recently bought my buddy's li'l Dakar and that's fun, but it's too big (and expensive to fix, as I've already found out ) to really work on dirt skills with. I knew that going in and I'm totally enjoying the bike for what it is, but now I think I really need a li'l dirt bike to just thrash on.

So get a TTR125 (the big wheel one) and one of those bumper carrier deals, and go nuts. I see them on Craigslist all the time for about $1k.

 

[YellowBastard]

I must be the only person on BARF who doesn't live next door from Rich Oliver and who doesn't own a truck. The cost of buying and supporting a vehicle capable of carrying said dirt bike is prohibitive as f%*k.

You know how many track days I can do on a street bike before it adds up to buy a truck/van + renting a large enough garage in SF? They charge $25 per DAY for truck parking here. Instead of a truck, I could just buy a stunt bike.

 

[Tharkûn]

Not everyone lives in SF, and the vast majority of people don't ride to a trackday

And apparently you're not aware that people are allowed to ride dirt bikes at places without paying Rich Oliver and Brian Bartlow to instruct them. Do you do private sessions with Ken Hill at every trackday?

 

[Surj]

I must be the only person on BARF who doesn't live next door from Rich Oliver and who doesn't own a truck. The cost of buying and supporting a vehicle capable of carrying said dirt bike is prohibitive as f%*k

I don't own a truck, and live probably 45 minutes from dirt. See my post above—for probably $1200-$1500 you can get a small dirt bike and a hitch carrier and go nuts. Or get a small dirt bike and use a Ziptruck now and then.

 

[angelsndevils]

I must be the only person on BARF who can only see this from one point of view .

FTFY