Thats right ive been bugging my dad for the longest time to teach me to ride and he finnally agreed:) He went with me today and i picked up my first bike, it is a dirtbike but thats how i wanted to start slow! its a 98 hondaxr100r and this thing is near mint i had my dad ride it and he said i got it for a pretty decent deal, 1 step closer to getting a motorcycle:)
dirt’s a whole lot more forgiving then asphalt.
thats why I got it lol my grandparents have a huge yard were my dad is teaching me the basics of shifting and bike control, then i wanna move up to a honda rebel maybe next season
Somewhat of a mistake man , getting to learn shifting and so on was a good thing . But dirtbikes Nd streetbikes are so very diff and require diff riding styles . There really isn’t to much in common between em .
+1 to that. Ive seen people who can quote on quote “ride dirtbikes” go way wide on turns and go off the road into a ditch…shifting is about the only thing thats the same
Congrats man!
Congrats on the bike! Still gonna suck no matter where or what you fall on though!
Yes I am aware they are night and day, this is my first time on 2 wheels and I am well aware after I get the dirtbike down I wont be an experienced rider, I will have to learn alot more when it comes to getting my cruiser or enduro
Congrads and good luck
And gravel pits :lol
This is true, my first day on a 600 was an eye opening experience.
that’s great man, have fun!
fyi, the rebel is rly rly slow (like 65mph top speed slow)! check out the Ninja 250 instead, you can usually find a pre-2008 model for around $1500 or lower
With a lot of looking, I’ve been trying to track down a 2005 to 2007 ninja 250 for a few months. Once in a blue moon you find one for 1,500 in perfect working order. Most people want 2,700 to 3,800:banghead
I learned on an 05 ninja Great bike very forgiving.
i flipped a quad on gravel once. i probably wouldnt be typing this if i hadn’t worn a helmet. i’ve never gotten out of 3rd gear in that section of trail again…even thinking about it hurts.
weirdly enough for my age im not into sports bikes lol i prefer enduros, cruisers, choppers, and bobbers lol, the ninjas dont look bad thou! I would look into a black one maybe sometime soon
Welcome to the wonderful sport of two wheels.
Dirtbikes are quite fun and are better than no other training, they will teach you the same basic principles you would learn on the first day of a street bike, brake modulation, clutch, gearing, throttle, basic balance issues etc.
Ride it, practice, take the MSF course as soon as you can and then move on to a street bike which would make you happy. Bigger is not always better, some of the best times on the motorcycle I’ve ever had are on my 38hp Motard and some of the purest riding feel was on my Ninja 250.
Gundam, we should go 250 riding if you ever find one for yourself :lol
I would love a motard!!
I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Slow, ugly, doesn’t make sense to average people nor average bikers, will barely do 95 but the go anywhere feel and the looks you get on you for being an asshole riding a “dirtbike” on the streets as you’re backfiring next to open windows in rush hour traffic is priceless.
The 250 would be for my GF, but odds are she would ether wreck it or stop riding it so it would become mine to tinker with:rofl
I will also agree with Vlad on this statement “some of the purest riding feel was on my Ninja 250.”
:lol
Just borrow it from her on occasion.
The bike is so unassuming and easy to operate, combined with being light and a narrow profile makes you feel literally like you are flying. Hard to describe but those that rode the bikes will agree and know what I’m talking about.
almost got a newer ninja 250 for my first bike. I’d have to say my first few months would have been more enjoyable if i did. I dropped my SV650s just coming to a stop the very first time. Had never been in a sport riding position before, and the unfimiliairity of the position, coupled with the nerves of approaching a real street for the first time caused me to just completely forget myself and the bike was leaning well over before i even took my feet off the pegs. Lol, yes this happend AT the dealership. Allow me to plug Sportline in queensbury (or is it warrensburg?) they were unbelievely cool about it and even replaced some parts (turn signals). Owner ended up delievering the bike himself (over an hour away) for free, i’d definetly go back there for sure.
probably wouldn’t have had the mishap on the lighter and lower to the ground 250. the fact that i could only touch my toes to the ground caused confidence issues at first.
once you get used to riding the dirt bike on the grass and dirt… take it to an empty parking lot. and put some pads on.
dont put your feet down in turns and get used to the commitment going into, through and out of turns feet on pegs, and focusing on your body position.
Get your starts, stops, and tight turns down, then just cruise around the parking lot in 2nd & 3rd gear doing faster turns.
Remember knobbies dont like pavement, not only will they wear out fast, but they will be slick. So when you get control of it sliding out a bit here and there, a proper street tire will have much more grip. AKA if you can do it on knobbies, you can do it on a street tire = confidence.