Never owned a dirt bike as a kid. Came close, but never did get one. A lot of my friends had one. Kinda looking to scratch the itch.

Any recommended brands and size for a middle-aged guy wanting one for trail riding and putting along? Value reliability over everything else.

KTM 640 or Honda XR 650L with the Big Red Pig done. Those two will take a lickkin and keep on kickin.

Look at the suzuki dr650,4 stroke and a lower seat height than the honda, it can be lowered another 2 inches. Its great on the road or dirt and gets great gas mileage and is still gotta carb. I love mine and at 67 ride it a lot just out puttering around

I'm 57 and have had a few over the years. '78 RM 125, '81 RM 250, '85 YZ490, '87 KX500, 2005 Honda CRF150, 2005 Suzuki RMZ450. I still have the last two.

That's the only experience I have. With that in mind, I would go with a Honda, like a CRF350 of something in that size range.
I hear the KTM's are nice, but I have never owned one.

Tony

Honda 4 stroke.

About 250cc.

Thanks for replies so far guys. I own an ATV and find them more fun than a side-by-side. DO you have more fun riding the dirt bikes over the ATVs?

https://www.bobcatsmotorsports.com/ICE_BEAR_125cc_Street_Bike_Champion_PBZ125_2_p/pbz125-2.htm

I had an XR650R for 20 some odd years. I cant say I would recommend it as someones first bike. If I had it to do over I would buy a CRF450. Much lighter bike and way more nimble.

They have advantages over ATVs. They can obviously go down narrower trails and it's often easier to find a line on trails with 2 wheels rather than 4. If you get a street legal dual sport you can ride it to the trail head or forest service road. I have owned quite a few dual sports. DRZ400, DR650, XR650L and a few others many years ago. Of those, the DR650 fit my style of riding best. It had much better range and was much more at ease on the roads that get you to the off road trails. The XR650L was more dirt capable than the DR650 and the DRZ400 was better yet off road. If I were to buy a dual sport today it'd be a CRF300 Rally.

Ever heard the saying you’re never too old to learn? Ya well that’s bullscit!
If you can’t be talked out of it get a Rukus scooter,… The fat gals will be all over you!

laffin’

CRF 250F

Yeah, I wouldn't start off with a tall and powerful dirt bike, especially not for trail riding and putting along where you'll want to be able to put your feet down occasionally. Also, you have to decide if you want a pure dirt bike that you'd have to trailer or put in a truck or a dual sport that you can ride on a paved road if needed. For the intended purpose - not bombing over jumps or seeing how fast you can break bones - a dual sport might be a better choice.

These four are name brands known for reliability and would make good bikes both for a beginning dirt rider and for the purposes stated.

Honda CRF300L or LS, the LS has a 2" lower seat height. Or they even make an XR150L which is cute but might be a bit too under powered.

Yamaha XT250 is tried and true as is their TW200, again the T-Dub has a lower seat.


There's always the latest iteration of a classic trail bike, a Honda Trail 125 although they are expensive for what they are and scarce as hen's teeth in America.

I raced motocross for 10 years.
Motocross went to [bleep] when it went 4 stroke.
I won quite a few races and was riding in the pro class when I got hurt.
We didn't take many photos back then...
You don't want a race bike to learn on.

You can’t get more reliable than a 95-99 Suzuki DR350. Off-road capable and street legal.

Stay in the 250-400 cc range. 650 is way too much bike for trail riding and putting about.

well first to find the term middle aged..

For a first dirt bike, I would recommend something in the 250cc range in a dual sport bike. Now, these bikes, whether from Honda, Yamaha or Kawasaki, are a little short on torque and a little short on fuel capacity. They are also a little tall in the seat if you have a short inseam. My KLX 250 will manage about 120 miles on a tank with a little reserve. Performance is adequate for city traffic and ok for secondary roads, but freeway stints make you feel like you will be getting an automobile suppository at any moment.
For pure off-road use, the 250 dual sports are OK, but off-road capability is highly dependent on rider ability. For dirt track and logging road exploration, they are perfect.
I much prefer riding bikes to riding an ATV, but that's maybe because I rode bikes for twenty years before I even sat on an ATV. I might be stretching it a little to call myself middle aged, but at 74 I still like to ride. In my mind, I could still race if I wanted, but in my mind is where any inclination in that direction will stay! GD

Depends on the trail, and the man on the bike.

Eggzachary.

last dirt bike I had was a KLX 650R.. which do most people's standards I was probably middle-aged the time I own this. which might actually be the best time to own something like this when you've got years of experience under your belt already..

I'm much like salmonella. Today there's a yz125, yz250 xt225 and my kids ttr125 in our garage. I've ridden an awful lot of bikes and if you were a newish rider wanting trail manners and ease of learning...I'd look at some of the 230 class bikes. I can still have fun on my old xt and get 130 miles on a tank. It doesn't eat up bumps like my 250 but its everything I need and nothing I dont during hunting season. I typically out 500 miles on every September in the mountains of Idaho and beyond a flat and fork seal it's been bulletproof.

There's few things I miss more than the adrenaline rush of the gate dropping.
Just the adrenaline rush and the feeling of being up front or in the lead.
Friends have gone back and raced vintage or old timers.
I just can't risk the injuries anymore.

I always liked the KDX/ klx for recreational riding. I started out on a dr200 back in the 80's and then the dr350 came out again in I believe 89. Folks sold my bikes in the early 90's while I was in military. Since then, rode a few kdx's from "vintage" to modern. Not bad for just hitting the trails and even light sand dune riding.

Most fun is my buddies kx80. A tad small for me but dang, for bopping around his 26acres it's a blast. Wouldn't recommend a days riding when your 6'1" and 50 but it's still fun

A Yamaha TW200 is your Huckleberry.

Coupla nice big bores you had there with the YZ490 & the KX500.
My big bore was an RM400 but my favorite was the KX250 dang I miss my two strokes

For off road only... on a budget a clean KDX 200 OR KDX250. No budget... KTM or GAS GAS 300.

If I were to get back up on two wheels (something I have been considering lately that my wife is pretty opposed to) I would not be interested in a true dirt bike. What has got my attention are these "adventure" bikes. My son, who rides almost daily, got a Honda Africa a few years ago. After several months, he reluctantly came to the realization that all his other bikes were just gathering dust. Now he has just one.

I’m 67 and I had four dirt bikes up until a couple days ago, sold one. 3 Motocross and one trail bike.

I raced in my when I was younger, they quit dirt bikes for many year. Got back in it a few years back. Bought a trail bike to get my feet wet again. Then realized didn’t have many trails to ride so I bought an MX bike and then a couple more. I just bought a Beta 300 RX few weeks back.

Dirt bikes are fun. Check out areas to ride, what acceptable and buy accordingly. I’m retired so I can hit a MX track during the week and ride when it’s not crowded. Some times I’m the only one there for the first couple of hours. It’s a lot of fun to ride an MX track at your own pace. I’m not as fast as I used to be. It’s still fun.

You rock

I miss the two-strokes as well. In fact, if I ever found a clean KDX 220, I think I'd buy it. I've had two KX 500s and KX and CR 250's. I just like the 2 stroke power delivery, the sound, and the smell of that oil! GD

Lota you boys have been out of the loop for a while. Been a long time since I have seen half the bikes mentioned.

Four strokes an 2 strokes kinda flip flopped. Dunno the budget. But a ktm 250 or 300 exc/xcw is the mellow bike these days, it'll still scream with the best of them though.

Just got dad on a 300. He fought it like hell cuz "2 strokes are track bikes" LOL. Pretty sure he would stab you if you said anything bad about that husaberg 300..

I just picked up a ktm 150xcw. Its a friggen riot. But you have to ride the thing. A guy can get pretty lazy on the 300's

Trials bike is the only one I own nowadays. Beta Techno

I have a TW200. I've done a lot on it. Top speed for cruising is 55ish.
I'm looking for anther bike, something in the 400-500cc range. Longer legs and faster.
If you're not a good rider, a 650 is quite a seatful to start out on.

I.
Do.
Not.





#recycle

You state your vintage when you rode a Bultaco Pursang…

If you get the metal bits out, they make a very cool shadow box display of a pleasantly misspent youth. Mine came from a shattered femur courtesy of an '02 FZ1, purchased after a long life riding enduros. For the OP, 250-350cc bikes are your best friend. Enough snot to have fun, not enough to kill us middle aged (50-60 or so) guys deader than Duane unless we reeeaaallllyyyy work at it.

I never had one, probably a good thing

We would mix some high quality two stroke oil, with a one to one ratio of premium gas and race fuel the we would buy at the airport. Talk about some extra power and the smell...😀

If you want to just say screw it and get the baddest beast ever made, find a used Honda CR500. Great beginner bikes.

I think the early 70's TM/RM 400 is thee baddest dirt bike ever. The CR - KX 500s were tamed controllable beasts.

a good friend of mine has been reliving his youth buying restored Hondas from the 80s. Dropping serious money on them, buys them from a guy in Arizona and has them shipped. So far he's bought 4. Has no interest in buying new. I think he snagged a couple of 250Rs which are pretty good rippers. I think he races in a vintage league

Suzuki DRZ 400
Honda xr650L

Street legal

-Jake

Your question is rather vague. Lot's more pertinent info required to accurately answer your question. What's your height, weight? What type of terrain, trails will you primarily ride? Will you plate the bike? If so, how much road riding vs trails? And most importantly, what's your budget? Do you prefer new or used? Ton's of great options available nowadays, but buying the wrong bike will make your experience miserable. On a positive note, it's a great time to purchase a motorcycle, especially used, as the prices are in the sh!!ter.

Good luck with your endeavor. Dirt bikes/motorcycles can change your life in a very positive way. Certainly worth “scratching your itch”. I’m 54 now and have been ridding for over 40 years. Tons of great memories of riding with my Dad, friends and now my kids. They keep you young, so to speak. Riding dirt bikes keep me motivated to eat healthy and stay in shape. It’s a must in order to keep up with my boys and some of my younger friends. Ha.

Herse’s a few recent pics from 2 seperate trips this year, one to Utah and most recently, Colorado.

We had a small bike back when, we carried it on a windrower.

I still run avgas straight at 32:1 in my 81 YZ250 and 79 RM 250. They both seem to hate pump gas. Since they don't get run real regular the avgas doesn't foul jets or float bowls.

The TM400 is considered the worst dirt bike ever made. Light switch power and a swingarm pivot like a u-joint put a lot of people on the ground.
The Yamaha SC500 is a close second.

Bad ass pard.

I'm well past middle-aged, but I can inform you that the things that you do to your body when using them tend to become more troublesome as you age.

Your post hits the nail on the head. It isn't really something you can just step into and immediately enjoy it. To OP, the only thing I would to add to this post is to find someone to mentor you through this. Maybe find a local off road club to help out.

Are you on a Husky 250 or 300? A good friend lives in St. George and can ride right out of his house in all that open country for days. He bought a 23 KTM300 for out there then missed having a track bike and now has a 450SX as well. I still race at 66 and my class had 6 people in it and that is just police and firemen. Probably had 25 racers over 50. I'll ride/race until I can't get on a bike.

Great advice on the mentor or club. Dirt bike guy's are typically always a helpful and friendly bunch.

It's a Husky TE-300. I rode 250's for several years, but once I bought a 300, haven't looked back. The 300 2-stroke is about the most versatile off road engine ever built, imo. Can ride a gear high and lug it around the trails in a very friendly manner, or ride it angry and wfo, like a proper 2 stroke and have a ball. Nice having the capability to do either.

Good on you for still riding and racing. Share your exact sentiment on riding until you can no longer throw a leg over. Like they say, "you don't stop riding because you get old, you get old when you stop riding". As for racing, my racing days are long gone. I still enjoy riding motocross, but racing isn’t in the cards for me any longer. Just can’t afford to get hurt due to my job. I need all my limbs operating at 100%. I still follow MX/SX religiously though. Typically hit a National and a SX each year.
As an aside, on my recent Colorado trip, I ran into the guy in the pic below. You may recognize him. He was there riding with a big group.

Very cool meeting Andrew Short. Were you on a trail ride? I've been invited on several Colorado rides but I don't have a dual sport or real trail bike.

Yeah was pretty cool meeting Andrew. I was eating dinner with my riding buddy’s at a steak house in Crested Butte and happend to look over and saw him hanging with his crew just a few tables away. I normally don’t bug these guys, but knowing his reputation as a super friendly and approachable guy, I made a concession.

Yes, we were on a trail ride. Rented a house in Crested Butte and spent a week trail riding around CB, Cement Creek and Taylor Park. There’s 1000’s of miles of trail in that area. If you’re ever given another oppourtunity, I can’t recommend it enough. Just buy yourself a nice 500cc dual sport type(something you can plate) and have a blast. It will handle any of the trail’s in the area(sans a few of the more knarly ones that are better done on a 300 2-stroke). I have a plated, KTM 500 XCF-W that I brought along on this particular trip. Even though i normally ride my 300 on mountain trips, I never felt like the 500 held me back. Was also nice riding on the road and not having to worry about getting a ticket for not being plated.

This x100.

I'm on a fast track to thinking the 150 ktm's are the funnest bike ever made. But they would suck for anything but woods riding. 300 is a badass bike, but I wouldnt want one for desert riding.

Around here $5k can get you into a pretty decent bike, anymore than that and I would buy new

Can't ever go wrong with Honda..........Yamaha....___________________

For example

https://classifieds.ksl.com/listing/73394406

thats not a dirtbike

I am no expert but grew up riding dirt bikes. Then moved on to 3 wheelers , then quads.
Decided to get back into dirt bikes at the age of 50.
Bought a Yamaha TT230R , electric start, enough power to be fun with out killing my sorry old azz...
I loved that bike and had great times and zero problems with it.
Sold it last year as my riding buddies quit and I didn't want to ride alone.

Tell ya what.

With a little re-springin', handlebar lift, good tires and adding a tooth to the counter-shaft sprocket?

Yamaha XT-250:


Wet Weight: 291 lbs.

And the low-range torque is phenomenal.



Simply outstanding dual-sport.




GR

If you want to really scratch the “dirtbike” itch, get a lightweight 2 stroke…

Lots of interesting advice on this thread but if it were me I would be looking at something in a four stroke like a Honda in the 250-350 range. For experienced riders the bigger bikes are fun and will take you places but can also get you into trouble really fast if you're not experienced. I rode my brother's 450 Husky a few times and that thing was a beast and got me into trouble more than a few times. After that, a four stroke 350 Honda was a lot more enjoyable and controllable. You can also get a bigger bike later if you feel the 250-350 isn't enough, but starting out I think the 250 is the right choice. As long as you aren't riding on streets or highways you don't need the higher speeds of the bigger bikes anyway.

Closest I’ve been is 45,000 mostly street miles on a Kawasaki KLR650
and the same on a BMW R100 GS/PD. Heavy and OK for forest roads rather than off-road.

My #1 rule, never buy a motorcycle you can’t pick back up all by yourself, for off-road never buy a motorcycle you can’t pick back up all by yourself while injured 🙂

In your position I’d go sub 400cc four-stroke. Something quiet that can just putt along for the times when you don’t wanna run everything off. Street-legal a huge plus so you can use it to run errands too.

Don't forget the 300l nice and light.

I would also strongly consider something street legal, to open up more riding possibilities.
To add to the above:
Kawasaki Super Sherpa or KLR 250
Yamaha WR250R

That's a damn good choice. I like the larger fuel capacity of the Rally edition.

It's interesting to me when people start a discussion and 4 days later haven't taken time to join in on or follow up on the discussion.

Life is sometimes not what you planned. Showing grace is a good practice.

I made the decision to not by a dirt bike at 66 after a near 40 year absence. I too have ridden a trials bike all over the San Juan mountains in younger days and raced enduro in upstate ny woods. I’m pretty sure I can still ride with most younger folks but positive I can’t heal with them anymore. The kind of dirt bike riding I was craving; everybody falls.
I bought a used v star 650 instead and ride out to see my son in Colorado on that.
I have enjoyed the reading in the thread.
F01

A nice used XR250 is what you are looking for. Something from the 90's or early 2000's makes for a great trail bike. Air cooled, simple to maintain and as reliable as a motorized vehicle gets. The CRF is the newer version with more bells and whistles.

XR650’s are neat, but not what a newbie wants/needs for puttering around trails and learning. That’s a tall/heavy bike. Not that I’m any kind of “expert”. My only experiences are an ‘86 YZ250, a ‘98 YZ125, a Rokon, and a TW200. All “relatively” pleasant and manageable. When I got the YZ125, I looked at a few 250’s (we’re talking two stroke bikes, here), and the jump in power from my old ‘86 was just too much (not to mention that motocross has transitioned into more of a “big jump” style of racing, and the bikes to go with it). They were just too “touchy” on the throttle for my limited/mediocre skills. The 125 had the power I needed, without making me feel like I’d get killed doing it. (A KDX200/220 would have worked, too.)

A 250-300cc 4-stroke, with a few mods,would serve you well.

I just sold my XR250R. I just had no one to ride with anymore and was tired of moving it around the garage.

We need the OP to check back in and tell us where he plans to ride. I’ve had a lot of motorcycles and at least half of them were dirt bikes all the way up to a Husqvarna racing bike. The problem with riding dirt with a bunch of guys is that it gets competitive and I remember taking one guy to the hospital because he was pushing too hard on a bike that didn’t handle well. When I rode with guys from work, every year guys got bigger and bigger bikes and after a while we admitted that we saw more and enjoyed ourselves just as much when we all had the 125-175 cc trail bikes. These days I am mostly looking for deer sign and street legal keeps me legal on the county roads. I don’t go as fast so I don’t need all the suspension and seat height.
The OP asks if a dirt bike is as much fun as an atv? The atv is more laid back for just plunking along like berry picking, but you don’t see the ground as well as on a dirt bike going slowly. But lots of places an atv isn’t street legal. I think something like a Yamaha TW200 would be a good choice. For me it is a Honda CT110 with knobby tires these days. Though I don’t take those 100 mile trail rides like I did in my youth. Having the atv and the street legal dirt bike and a utility trailer to haul them scratches both the itches. Street bikes are too dangerous for lots of us. Me included.

I had lots of Motocross Bikes.
My KTM 495 and Honda CR 500 R were the best bikes I ever had.
I won lots of trophies on them.
Fantastic bikes!!!
Great handling and unreal power.

I can confirm the xr650l takes a lickin!
It is a tall heavy bike!

Decide what it is you want to do. Off road trail riding? Dual sport?

I have my eye on a yz250x and a beta 300rr