chinese dirt bike? good buy?

the respectful prowler

Hi guys been looking at a few dirt bikes lately and id like to get back into it after a a year or two...ive owned bikes in the past a few motor bikes like the nsr80 nsr125 nothing too special lol and ive owned a few dirt bikes over the years like the py90 suzuki rm125 a few chinese 125's like the loncin and a few chinese 250's like the loncin skyteam and zongshen etc. But id like a yz450 dirt bike but i found out that there very high maintainence and require alot of engine rebuilds and valve checks etc. So i dont want to break my wallet while trying to get away for a sunday so i was thinking what would be a good buy for me i was thinking of another chinese 250cc and if you buy them in mint condition there not bad but there not very reliable because of alot of eletrical problems cheap metals and plastics etc. So can anyone recommend a good brand name 250 or higher that doesnt need alot of maintainence. I only want this for a bit of trial riding so sense im not racing i dont see a point in buying a race bike and breaking my wallet in the process haha. Any suggestions will be welcome'd thanks for reading

the respectful prowler

the respectful prowler wrote: »

Hi guys been looking at a few dirt bikes lately and id like to get back into it after a a year or two...ive owned bikes in the past a few motor bikes like the nsr80 nsr125 nothing too special lol and ive owned a few dirt bikes over the years like the py90 suzuki rm125 a few chinese 125's like the loncin and a few chinese 250's like the loncin skyteam and zongshen etc. But id like a yz450 dirt bike but i found out that there very high maintainence and require alot of engine rebuilds and valve checks etc. So i dont want to break my wallet while trying to get away for a sunday so i was thinking what would be a good buy for me i was thinking of another chinese 250cc and if you buy them in mint condition there not bad but there not very reliable because of alot of eletrical problems cheap metals and plastics etc. So can anyone recommend a good brand name 250 or higher that doesnt need alot of maintainence. I only want this for a bit of trial riding so sense im not racing i dont see a point in buying a race bike and breaking my wallet in the process haha. Any suggestions will be welcome'd thanks for reading

Short answer, no they are pieces of ****. Why do you think a top quality Japanese bike needs valve clearance checks but for some reason a poorly build Chinese one doesn't need one? all bikes need them but people just dont get them done!

Valve clearances are piss to do yourself on a motocross bike anyway. shouldnt cost much at all, do it yourself.

What are you gona do aswell when you go to sell it and you take an 80% hit on the Chinese bike?
Mate its your body but you could pay me to ride one, whats your life worth.There is a reason they are cheaper,they are built **** with **** components.

If you are getting an MX bike get a Honda or a Kawasaki.

Dont mean to sound like a dick but not sure what you want to be told.No enthusiast is going to ride one, if you have your heart set on one go to bike world or somewhere else that sells them and ask them or a specialist forum. Theres no getting away from the fact they are terrible machines though.I dont know anyone who does MX that would ride one.

the respectful prowler

Milena Salty Pint wrote: »

Short answer, no they are pieces of ****. Why do you think a top quality Japanese bike needs valve clearance checks but for some reason a poorly build Chinese one doesn't need one? all bikes need them but people just dont get them done!

Valve clearances are piss to do yourself on a motocross bike anyway. shouldnt cost much at all, do it yourself.

What are you gona do aswell when you go to sell it and you take an 80% hit on the Chinese bike?
Mate its your body but you could pay me to ride one, whats your life worth.There is a reason they are cheaper,they are built **** with **** components.

If you are getting an MX bike get a Honda or a Kawasaki.

Thank you for your input. Well i wouldnt worry about the loss money wise as if i did get one id drive it tell its no good ha i can buy a 250cc shipped to my door for 1500 quid i know i could put another 500-1000 and get a nice second hand bike on donedeal but is it really worth spending a 1000e on it every 60hours for a engine rebuild if im not racing?

the respectful prowler

Milena Salty Pint wrote: »

Short answer, no they are pieces of ****. Why do you think a top quality Japanese bike needs valve clearance checks but for some reason a poorly build Chinese one doesn't need one? all bikes need them but people just dont get them done!

Valve clearances are piss to do yourself on a motocross bike anyway. shouldnt cost much at all, do it yourself.

What are you gona do aswell when you go to sell it and you take an 80% hit on the Chinese bike?
Mate its your body but you could pay me to ride one, whats your life worth.There is a reason they are cheaper,they are built **** with **** components.

If you are getting an MX bike get a Honda or a Kawasaki.

Dont mean to sound like a dick but not sure what you want to be told.No enthusiast is going to ride one, if you have your heart set on one go to bike world or somewhere else that sells them and ask them or a specialist forum. Theres no getting away from the fact they are terrible machines though.I dont know anyone who does MX that would ride one.

Oh no i understand what your saying but could you recommend a good brand dirt bike thats low maintainance like suzuki dzr400 or a yamaha ttr250 etc. As i dont want to spend big money on a dirt bike when i could invest it into something else

Wossack

get a 4 stroke jap, if the maintenance is of concern

st1979

the respectful prowler wrote:

Thank you for your input. Well i wouldnt worry about the loss money wise as if i did get one id drive it tell its no good ha i can buy a 250cc shipped to my door for 1500 quid i know i could put another 500-1000 and get a nice second hand bike on donedeal but is it really worth spending a 1000e on it every 60hours for a engine rebuild if im not racing?

If your racing yes you might do engine rebuilds that often and will probably change oil every second race weekend. But I would question if its really necessary. I have a KTM 4 stroke. Done a few races and ride it every day on the farm. No idea of hours but I probably done 200 hours in the last 6 yrs. Only thing I had to do is clutch and valve clearances and then other small things like wheel bearings and tyres.
I paid 1500 for it. And its still worth that. Don't get a Chinese bike. I have been tempted before but its a bad plan.
2 stroke jap bikes are cheap to rebuild

the respectful prowler

st1979 wrote: »

If your racing yes you might do engine rebuilds that often and will probably change oil every second race weekend. But I would question if its really necessary. I have a KTM 4 stroke. Done a few races and ride it every day on the farm. No idea of hours but I probably done 200 hours in the last 6 yrs. Only thing I had to do is clutch and valve clearances and then other small things like wheel bearings and tyres.
I paid 1500 for it. And its still worth that. Don't get a Chinese bike. I have been tempted before but its a bad plan.
2 stroke jap bikes are cheap to rebuild

These bikes are ticking time bombs.! What people dont realise is' is that these bikes arent toys there high preformance race machines... i dont know what to do just yet my mind is boggled XD but please open up your engine or atleast do a pressue test

stewygriffin

Personally speaking,the 2nd word in the thread title is the answer to your question.

the respectful prowler

stewygriffin wrote: »

Personally speaking,the 2nd word in the thread title is the answer to your question.

Can anyone here recommend a good bike just for trials thats low maintainance? I heard the suzuki dzr400 is good?

Pat Dunne

the respectful prowler wrote: »

Can anyone here recommend a good bike just for trials thats low maintainance? I heard the suzuki dzr400 is good?

Suzuki DRZ400, Yamaha TTR250, Honda XR250/400 are Enduro/Trail bike's and very good at it as well.
Trials bikes are very specialised bikes and are exclusively orientated towards competition.

Pat Dunne

the respectful prowler wrote: »

Oh no i understand what your saying but could you recommend a good brand dirt bike thats low maintainance like suzuki dzr400 or a yamaha ttr250 etc. As i dont want to spend big money on a dirt bike when i could invest it into something else

Add the Honda XR into that mix and you can't really go wrong.

the respectful prowler

Pat Dunne wrote: »

DRZ400 is an Enduro/Green lane bike and is completely unsuitable for trials.

I cant think of anything besides a chinese 250.. i was gonna get a second hand yzf450 but if i red for about 3 hours every weekend im looking at getting a mechanic to rebuild it every 5-6 months at about 1000e :L and to be honest for me personally its just not qorth it

the respectful prowler

Pat Dunne wrote: »

Add the Honda XR into that mix and you can't really go wrong.

Thanks for the option ill look them up

Pat Dunne

the respectful prowler wrote: »

I cant think of anything besides a chinese 250.. i was gonna get a second hand yzf450 but if i red for about 3 hours every weekend im looking at getting a mechanic to rebuild it every 5-6 months at about 1000e :L and to be honest for me personally its just not qorth it

Can I ask what you actually want to do with the bike?

Four stroke motocross bikes such as the YZF, KXF, CRF, RMZ along with there European counterparts are genuinely serious competition bikes. They're not really suitable for trail riding or "flogging around a field" and are most definitely not low maintenance bikes.

What do you classify as low maintance?
Off road bikes (motocross, enduro and trials) are maintance intensive because of the high impact nature of the terrain they are ridden in and then you have the "normal everday maintance" on top of that.

I've always used a rule of thumb over the years. For every hour you spend in the saddle of a genuine off-road bike, be prepared to spend the same time looking after it.

the respectful prowler

Pat Dunne wrote: »

Can I ask what you actually want to do with the bike?

Four stroke motocross bikes such as the YZF, KXF, CRF, RMZ along with there European counterparts are genuinely serious competition bikes. They're not really suitable for trail riding or "flogging around a field" and are most definitely not low maintenance bikes.

What do you classify as low maintance?
Off road bikes (motocross, enduro and trials) are maintance intensive because of the high impact nature of the terrain they are ridden in and then you have the "normal everday maintance" on top of that.

I've always used a rule of thumb over the years. For every hour you spend in the saddle of a genuine off-road bike, be prepared to spend the same time looking after it.

Thanks for the reply i only want it for driving up my local mountains and driving along dirt tracks and that so i dont want to be spending big money on a race bike if im not racing. What i personally call low maintainance would be changing the oil after every couple of rides and a hardy engine that doesnt require rebuils every 60hours or so and after washing it after every ride just re-grease the chain and change the wheel bairings and fork seals when they go

Pat Dunne

the respectful prowler wrote: »

Thanks for the reply i only want it for driving up my local mountains and driving along dirt tracks and that so i dont want to be spending big money on a race bike if im not racing. What i personally call low maintainance would be changing the oil after every couple of rides and a hardy engine that doesnt require rebuils every 60hours or so and after washing it after every ride just re-grease the chain and change the wheel bairings and fork seals when they go

Best thing to do is stay away from genuine Motocross bikes.

daveyeh

the respectful prowler wrote: »

Any suggestions will be welcome'd thanks for reading

Don't buy it.

the respectful prowler

Pat Dunne wrote: »

Best thing to do is stay away from genuine Motocross bikes.

Well thats what its looking like would the honda xr be a good buy for low maintainance?

Pat Dunne

the respectful prowler wrote: »

Well thats what its looking like would the honda xr be a good buy for low maintainance?

Having read through all your posts, I don't think I would have recommended it if it wasn't reliable and reasonable to maintain. The 400 is simply lovely, but its equally hard to fault the 250, any year it doesn't matter, Honda got them right from the word go!

the respectful prowler

Pat Dunne wrote: »

Having read through all your posts, I don't think I would have recommended it if it wasn't reliable and reasonable to maintain. The 400 is simply lovely, but its equally hard to fault the 250, any year it doesn't matter, Honda got them right from the word go!

Thanks for the help i say ill get an xr as id doesnt need rebuilds also no you now how fast these would go? I only need it for trials so it doesnt really matter jusy curious i must go on Ddeal now and check them out

the respectful prowler

Pat Dunne wrote: »

Having read through all your posts, I don't think I would have recommended it if it wasn't reliable and reasonable to maintain. The 400 is simply lovely, but its equally hard to fault the 250, any year it doesn't matter, Honda got them right from the word go!

They seem like a rare bike a few 125's and a red 650.. would the red 650 be good do you know?

galwaytt

Forget Chinese - btdt. Rubbish. Buy a used jap bike instead. Both my kids on Honda's now : bulletproof, but not always easy to find. Being expensive new means they're sold in small numbers.

DR350 or a DR200 is a simple reliable bike, other than that the aforementioned TTR, XL, XR, KLR are all good choices. I'd be avoiding pure competition bikes, and only buy road legal ones.

the respectful prowler

galwaytt wrote: »

Forget Chinese - btdt. Rubbish. Buy a used jap bike instead. Both my kids on Honda's now : bulletproof, but not always easy to find. Being expensive new means they're sold in small numbers.

DR350 or a DR200 is a simple reliable bike, other than that the aforementioned TTR, XL, XR, KLR are all good choices. I'd be avoiding pure competition bikes, and only buy road legal ones.

What do you think of the drz400 when it comes to maintainance? I seen i nice one just there on Ddeal for 2'800 for a 2008

Pat Dunne

the respectful prowler wrote: »

Thanks for the help i say ill get an xr as id doesnt need rebuilds also no you now how fast these would go? I only need it for trials so it doesnt really matter jusy curious i must go on Ddeal now and check them out

You're now drifting into "silly bugger territory with your questions!

If you can hang on to XR DRZ or a TTR at full tilt and can do that all day, your at World Enduro Championship and there are only a couple of riders in the whole of Ireland at this standard. In other words they're plenty fast for you and some!

No you won't be riding Trials, as I explained earlier this is a completely different specialised sport with it own unique bikes, what you are doing is called Trail Riding, as explained by yourself earlier

Your basic choices for reliability and reasonable levels of maintenance are as follows, Honda XR250 or XR400, Suzuki DRZ400, or Yamaha TTR225 or TTR230. If by any chance you come across a Kawasaki KDX200 or 220 grab it, but they're as rare as Rocking Horse Sh1te.

You won't be able to hold on to any of these flat out and if you can you'll be world championship material within 2 years!

Pat Dunne

the respectful prowler wrote: »

Thanks for the help i say ill get an xr as id doesnt need rebuilds also no you now how fast these would go? I only need it for trials so it doesnt really matter jusy curious i must go on Ddeal now and check them out

You're now drifting into "silly bugger" territory with your questions!

If you can hang on to XR DRZ or a TTR at full tilt and can do that all day, your at World Enduro Championship level and there are only a couple of riders in the whole of Ireland at this standard. In other words they're plenty fast for you and some!

No you won't be riding Trials, as I explained earlier this is a completely different specialised sport with it own unique bikes, what you are doing is called Trail Riding, as explained by yourself earlier

Your basic choices for reliability and reasonable levels of maintenance are as follows, Honda XR250 or XR400, Suzuki DR 350, DRZ400, or Yamaha TTR225 or TTR230. If by any chance you come across a Kawasaki KDX200 or 220 grab it, but they're as rare as Rocking Horse Sh1te.

You won't be able to hold on to any of these flat out and if you can you'll be world championship material within 2 years!

the respectful prowler

Pat Dunne wrote: »

You're now drifting into "silly bugger" territory with your questions!

If you can hang on to XR DRZ or a TTR at full tilt and can do that all day, your at World Enduro Championship level and there are only a couple of riders in the whole of Ireland at this standard. In other words they're plenty fast for you and some!

No you won't be riding Trials, as I explained earlier this is a completely different specialised sport with it own unique bikes, what you are doing is called Trail Riding, as explained by yourself earlier

Your basic choices for reliability and reasonable levels of maintenance are as follows, Honda XR250 or XR400, Suzuki DR 350, DRZ400, or Yamaha TTR225 or TTR230. If by any chance you come across a Kawasaki KDX200 or 220 grab it, but they're as rare as Rocking Horse Sh1te.

You won't be able to hold on to any of these flat out and if you can you'll be world championship material within 2 years!

Haha i understand what your saying XD im just curious as i want to pick the best bike out of the lot you suggested.. im thinking of the drz400 out of the lot but what would you suggest as you dont seem like some 15 year old kid who doesnt know what there talking about so what ever bike you think is the best out of the lot when it comes to speed and low maintainance thats what ill go for

the respectful prowler

Pat Dunne wrote: »

You're now drifting into "silly bugger" territory with your questions!

If you can hang on to XR DRZ or a TTR at full tilt and can do that all day, your at World Enduro Championship level and there are only a couple of riders in the whole of Ireland at this standard. In other words they're plenty fast for you and some!

No you won't be riding Trials, as I explained earlier this is a completely different specialised sport with it own unique bikes, what you are doing is called Trail Riding, as explained by yourself earlier

Your basic choices for reliability and reasonable levels of maintenance are as follows, Honda XR250 or XR400, Suzuki DR 350, DRZ400, or Yamaha TTR225 or TTR230. If by any chance you come across a Kawasaki KDX200 or 220 grab it, but they're as rare as Rocking Horse Sh1te.

You won't be able to hold on to any of these flat out and if you can you'll be world championship material within 2 years!

Oh and theres a kdx 220R for sale on Ddeal for 2250 and he sais theres 6 hours on piston and rings so i was wondering how many hours could i get out of them untill they'd have to be replaced?

Pat Dunne

the respectful prowler wrote: »

Haha i understand what your saying XD im just curious as i want to pick the best bike out of the lot you suggested.. im thinking of the drz400 out of the lot but what would you suggest as you dont seem like some 15 year old kid who doesnt know what there talking about so what ever bike you think is the best out of the lot when it comes to speed and low maintainance thats what ill go for

I'm not even going to respond to your question about speed as I answered it in my previous post!
Maintanence, is all down to yourself all bikes can be low maintenance for a while.
My preferences would Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha.

the respectful prowler

Pat Dunne wrote: »

I'm not even going to respond to your question about speed as I answered it in my previous post!
Maintanence, is all down to yourself all bikes can be low maintenance for a while.
My preferences would Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha.

While i was waiting for your response sir i did my own digging on them and what i found is that they produce between 32-35 bhp and they go between 70-100 mph (more that enough for what i intend to use it for) but you can get more power out of them if you do the 3x3 mod which is making the air filter intake bigger' getting the carb re-jetted and installing a new exhaust. People are saying with these mods its a totally different bike... also you can install a big bore kit but this is something that ill avoid as the piston dont last as long as standard and i want low maintainance over speed. Its a low maintainance bike all you really have to do is change the oil and filter every 1000miles clean your air filter when it gets a bit dusty (for me ill do it after every ride) and check your valves every 1000k when changing oil.. they should be a 20mm gap between the valve and valve seat but i heard its rare they go out of spec and the piston and rings will last thousands of miles also so thats great as if i only take this out every weekend for 3hours tops this should last me a long time untill i have to really spend money on it besides your oil changes and maybe the odd valve adjusment.. well thank you for helping me of steering me away from buying a chinese 250 and sticking to a real bike as this doesnt need much maintainance' itll have a good resale value if i ever decide to sell on and its easy to get parts for them compared to those chinese bikes.. i do have one more question.. what could i be expecting to pay for a valve adjustment when i do eventually need one? Thanks for your help

Pat Dunne

the respectful prowler wrote: »

i do have one more question.. what could i be expecting to pay for a valve adjustment when i do eventually need one? Thanks for your help

Honestly haven't got a clue, I do it myself.
Which ever bike you buy, have a ball on it.

the respectful prowler

Pat Dunne wrote: »

Honestly haven't got a clue, I do it myself.
Which ever bike you buy, have a ball on it.

Ok no problem im buying the suzuki drz 400.. im allready looking at parts on ebay for it o-0 .. thanks for everything' Safe Biking