Bike vs quad

[ryan243]

Ok so I have been riding quads for a long time, raced a lot, I'm top of local a class and have ridden some nationals. Just moved to Florida so I could ride more but I'm starting to think quads are just too expensive, I can't afford to fix my quad when I have crashes and what not. I'm at the bottom of b level locally on a bike. I'm thinking about switching to bikes because atleast then I could afford to ride. I could sell my quad and buy like an 06 250 and have lots of money left over to ride. Give me your guys opinions, I'm afraid I may be switching to the dark side

[440racer66]

i just made the switch. if you can ride a bike i would deff go through with it. i just picked up this lil 04 yz 250f and i regret not doing it sooner

[honda400ex2003]

Around where i live atvs are the only thing you can ride on the trails so for me going from bikes when i was younger to atvs was an easy switch and i will never go back lol. bikes can be a lot of fun too though. steve

[backwoodsracer]

Originally posted by ryan243
Ok so I have been riding quads for a long time, raced a lot, I'm top of local a class and have ridden some nationals. Just moved to Florida so I could ride more but I'm starting to think quads are just too expensive, I can't afford to fix my quad when I have crashes and what not. I'm at the bottom of b level locally on a bike. I'm thinking about switching to bikes because atleast then I could afford to ride. I could sell my quad and buy like an 06 250 and have lots of money left over to ride. Give me your guys opinions, I'm afraid I may be switching to the dark side

Bikes are great but i cracked a back rim it ran me $580!

if you make the swap i suggest a yz250f best bike out there

[ryan243]

I have been looking at the yamaha and suzukis. I bleed Suzuki so I'm partial to them haha. I'm looking for about an 04 or newer, what do y'all suggest? Why the yamaha?

[J.Brown121]

i've ridden a crf, yzf, and a kxf. and i liked the yzf the most, but i couldn't tell you why lol. it just felt the best i guess

[300extreme#8]

Originally posted by backwoodsracer
Bikes are great but i cracked a back rim it ran me $580!

if you make the swap i suggest a yz250f best bike out there

You must have bought a exspensive rim....

QUAD
well i broke the ball joints on my quad and it messed up the a-arms = $795.99, Flipped it and busted all the plastic = around $500 for full plastic, Bent the axle = $410. Set of tires r around $350+... Suspension cost roughly $1800. Motor had about $1100 in it.... ECT!!!!!
Had 6 visits to the hospital in 4 years

BIKE
broke the brake lever from fallin off the stand.= $25
Replaces tires= $150
Suspension = $200
Graphics= $45


no other mods needed for the bike. its pretty much competitive completely stock! Had to replace a lever and get new tires with in 2 full years of racing.....
Had 1 visit to the hospital, and then i was drinkin and playin in the backyard...

Bikes are way better! Quads are fun bc they are easier to go faster on... But quads are rougher on your body and the wrecks are worse and they are not forgiving.

you can case jumps on a bike and never realize it. If you do that on a quad then you hurt yourself or broke something that will cost money.

If I had money then Id race quads bc I was better on them.
But it sure was nice racing for 2 years and only spending about 500 on the bike and havin a great season!


Not hating on quads, but I myself must agree when saying I wish I would have switched alot sooner, or even started on a bike to begin with!

Aint nothing like whipping a bike!

[jesseweaver]

yea thats why i swithed to bikes. go spend 2500 on a 250f and you dont really have to anything to it and you can be competitive in the B class. do some suspension work then and throw a pipe on and your golden.

[300extreme#8]

Originally posted by ridin'MX365
i've ridden a crf, yzf, and a kxf. and i liked the yzf the most, but i couldn't tell you why lol. it just felt the best i guess

Im 6'1, the yami was a nice bike, but even for me it seemed too tall. In ruts it was awesome but the rest of the time it felt different for me, esp jumpin. power was good! 04 model

Suki has that forward motion feeling, when you ride it that makes you wanna charge the corners. but the Suki I rode didnt impress me powerwise. 05 model

havent rode a kawi 250

Honda - suited me the best, comfortable turning and jumping, good power throw every gear. The honda really talked to me and I felt more at ease. 06 model

So if i could pick again then it would be a Honda or Suki. I liked the suki but maybe the one I rode needed to be rebuilt or something bc if it had more power then I would have bought one.

[Brad77]

I feel pretty fortunate because over the years I spent my money wisely and saved and I was able to afford both. I currently have a few quads and a bike.
I don't feel its justifiable to say one is better than the other. Its all about opinions and personal preferences. I grew up on three wheelers then went to four wheelers and had a couple of bikes in my teenage years. I am more partial to atvs than bikes. Although I have a LOT of fun on my bike too.
They both can be as expensive as you want them to be. I know a guy who has more money in a pit bike than I do in my YZ450f.
A friend of mine just spent a little over $1400 in his KX250f motor.
In most cases you can get by cheaper on a bike vs a quad if you keep things close to stock.

[ryan243]

thats what i love about bikes, you can compete at a high level with a basically stock bike. look at windham, his bike this year has little on it that doesnt come stock. just the thought of switching is getting me excited to be honest, something new is always fun

[mxpimp2000]

yeh bikes are soo cool chase snapp just lost a couple fingers from a bike crash (pro am quad rider) i'll stay on 4 wheels

[KXRida]

Originally posted by backwoodsracer
Bikes are great but i cracked a back rim it ran me $580!

if you make the swap i suggest a yz250f best bike out there

Sounds like you bought a whole wheel. A back rim is only $110 new and even cheaper on ebay.

Made the switch some years back and haven't regretted it at all.


Originally posted by ryan243
thats what i love about bikes, you can compete at a high level with a basically stock bike. look at windham, his bike this year has little on it that doesnt come stock. just the thought of switching is getting me excited to be honest, something new is always fun

loooooool that's a joke right? His suspension costs more than most peoples bikes cost. Not to mention he had factory honda backing at one point in time, so I'm sure some of those parts are found on his bike.

Bike wise the only thing you really need to set up is your suspension which a revalve/respring will run around $650 or so. That gets you a good set of Aarms on a quad, if that. Do a little motor tweaking and you have a pretty good bike setup.

I liked my yzf, but the 03-05's felt way top heavy with the steel frame. The power was decent with a steady pull all the way through. Suspension was great right out of the box. If you're looking for an overall, good running, right out of the box bike, the yzf is great. Personally I switched to a kxf this year and love it. Power definitely suits me better. Has a healthy hit in the mid range and lots of overrev. Still waiting for some powdercoat to come in and I can put my growing parts surplus on hopefully this week and send the suspension out to RG3.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z152/Rmrider125/003-6.jpg

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z152/Rmrider125/006-3.jpg

And my yzf...

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z152/Rmrider125/028.jpg

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z152/Rmrider125/104_0297.jpg

[440racer66]

i love kx 250fs. ^ nice kx and what year is the yz?

[CRE Performance]

Originally posted by 300extreme#8

Bikes are way better! Quads are fun bc they are easier to go faster on... But quads are rougher on your body and the wrecks are worse and they are not forgiving.

you can case jumps on a bike and never realize it. If you do that on a quad then you hurt yourself or broke something that will cost money.


Quads are easier to ride, but I would highly hesitate to say they are easier to go fast on. Not through the XC tracks, and definitely not on the MX track. You can also ride a bike twice as long when riding hard as opposed to a quad. Just because you have to use your feet to keep it upright when you stop doesnt make it harder to go fast on.

I have raced bikes "almost" as much as I have raced quads, but I still love my quads a lot more and thats why I dont switch completely over to bikes...you have to love it.

[CRE Performance]

Originally posted by ryan243
. look at windham, his bike this year has little on it that doesnt come stock.

Horse ****. Total Horse ****. Please dont believe everything you read, not one person in the supercross division run anything close to stock on suspension, or motor....which are the only two things that matter.

Just like those Suzuki quad guys tried to run all stock suspension when the LTR came out.....see how long that lasted didnt you?

[BakerRacing40]

Originally posted by mxpimp2000
yeh bikes are soo cool chase snapp just lost a couple fingers from a bike crash (pro am quad rider) i'll stay on 4 wheels

wow what happened to chase? i haven't heard anything about that??:confused:

[KXRida]

Originally posted by 440racer66
i love kx 250fs. ^ nice kx and what year is the yz?


The yzf was an 05. The kxf has backgrounds on now, but like I said it's half torn apart for me to finish my powdercoating and put the rest of my parts on. Should look/run pretty good when it's finished.

[BakerRacing40]

Originally posted by BakerRacing40
wow what happened to chase? i haven't heard anything about that??:confused:

not sure on how but seen the pics of the end result... that by far trumps any injury pics i've ever seen... :eek2: :eek2:

[mxpimp2000]

Originally posted by BakerRacing40
not sure on how but seen the pics of the end result... that by far trumps any injury pics i've ever seen... :eek2: :eek2:


when he went down his leg got stuck between the back wheel and the swingarm while the throttle was stuck wide open from having twist throttle and it was rippin the hide off his leg so he was tryin to push the bike off and his hand somehow got in the spokes and got some fingers. they had to amputate them they were soo cut up and trashed. now his dirtbike is forsale:confused:

[ryan243]

Anybody else have any opinions on any certain bikes? Thanks a lot by the way for the feedback

[440racer66]

Originally posted by ryan243
Anybody else have any opinions on any certain bikes? Thanks a lot by the way for the feedback

get a yz or a kx and you will be happy. hondas are nice too but i would stay away from zuki

[Dansc90]

I'm in kinda the same boat as you. I went to college and just cant afford racing quads anymore. . . Your best bet in my opinion is a 250 2stroke. Thats what i'm doing. I'm gonna try and get a newer CR250R. 2strokes are cheap to buy, easy to find, and cheap to fix. Plus now you can race them in 250 class with the 125's and 250 4strokes.

[mjc597]

i just finished rebuilding my 04 450r and gave it to my wife to race. i bought a mint 05 cr250r off a guy who kept it like new!! i love the thing, just having to get used to riding it like a 2-stroke and not like a 4-stroke!! lol but it's definetely a blast.i'll be racing that this season, looking forward to it!!

http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo321/mjc597/my%20dirtbike/dirtbike001.jpg

other reason for getting the bike is that there are currently only 2 tracks in the state of arkansas that allow quads to race on them!! wtf..soon there will be 1 more,but 3 tracks out of the whole state sucks..so i got the bike so i could race at more tracks!

[jesseweaver]

i have an 06 yzf250 and had an 06 kxf250 for a while. i will say stock the kxf was definately faster but with a pipe on the yzf its got it beat now. i was more used to the yzf so that felt a lot better for me. it seems a lot more stable than any of the other 250fs i've riden (never been on a 250sxf though). reliability wise the yzfs really good the kxf was decent.

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff71/1999_416ex/DSCN2497.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff71/1999_416ex/DSCN2500.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff71/1999_416ex/DSCN1777.jpg

[yellowhonda400]

IMO its all about how and what your ridding stle is. i ride trails and have a stock quad so thats fine with me and i probably never sell my quad for a bike. if id race it would be different because there is no where to race quads where i live so id buy i bike. thats just my .2
P.S. if you could save money so you have both thats what i want to do someday

[ATVMX33]

ive been on quads forever so i just picked up a cr250 to do some riding on

[ryan243]

I think I may start parting out my ltr soon to buy a bike I guess. My motor has been sitting at the builders for months but I can't afford to pay him.

[KXRida]

Originally posted by 440racer66
get a yz or a kx and you will be happy. hondas are nice too but i would stay away from zuki

for the first few years a kxf and rmz are almost the same bikes. 04-05 being identical.

[Kevslatvin]

Originally posted by mxpimp2000
when he went down his leg got stuck between the back wheel and the swingarm while the throttle was stuck wide open from having twist throttle and it was rippin the hide off his leg so he was tryin to push the bike off and his hand somehow got in the spokes and got some fingers. they had to amputate them they were soo cut up and trashed. now his dirtbike is forsale:confused:

It seems to me, though in the heat of the moment one doesn't think as clearly as while typing on a keyboard, if he could reach the clutch and pull it in the wheel would stop spinning. Also the kill switch is there as well. Still a bad deal but people have had some pretty bad crashes on quads as well. I think they are both dangerous in there own way.

[Kevslatvin]

I just made the switch about three weeks ago. Finances forced me to sell the quad to get a bike but it's something I wanted to try. Picked up an '06 YZ250f. So far I think I will like it but it's different world. I'm not as comfortable on the bike as the quad yet, but in time I think I'll like it better for MX. I can't say for sure 'till I get to the track though. I'd like to maybe get another quad to set up for flattrack one day.

[jesseweaver]

Originally posted by Kevslatvin
I just made the switch about three weeks ago. Finances forced me to sell the quad to get a bike but it's something I wanted to try. Picked up an '06 YZ250f. So far I think I will like it but it's different world. I'm not as comfortable on the bike as the quad yet, but in time I think I'll like it better for MX. I can't say for sure 'till I get to the track though. I'd like to maybe get another quad to set up for flattrack one day.

same thing i did. had a 99 400ex sold it and got an 06 yz250f cause of money. i know exactly what you mean at first its almost scary to ride a bike, not comfortable at all. but it doesn't take long at all to get used to it.

[SRH]

i only really got ino quads because i had no one to ride bikes with, dont get me wrong i love riding and racing quads, but bikes can go so many more places and hit different style jumps...if i had people to ride bikes with...thats what i would of been on

[SRH]

Originally posted by KXRida
for the first few years a kxf and rmz are almost the same bikes. 04-05 being identical.

those bikes sucked!!!!!


i think if i was going to buy a bike id get the new yzf 450 or 250

the older yzfs sucked...the power and handling was comfortable but the tank and shrouds were real wide and i could never get up on the tank to get around a corner comfortably...and the crf 250 was nice and light feeling and narrowing but i wasnt as comfortable jumping it....

how come you guys stray from a 450 bike??? i always felt the 450s were easier to ride if you had throttle control, definetely more fun to play ride on

all of my buddies now have bikes it really pisses me off i cant hop on one and go riding

id love to have a ktm 450exc plated to ride the street and trails, then a 250f or 450f for riding mx

[KXRida]

Originally posted by SRH
those bikes sucked!!!!!


i think if i was going to buy a bike id get the new yzf 450 or 250

the older yzfs sucked...the power and handling was comfortable but the tank and shrouds were real wide and i could never get up on the tank to get around a corner comfortably...and the crf 250 was nice and light feeling and narrowing but i wasnt as comfortable jumping it....

how come you guys stray from a 450 bike??? i always felt the 450s were easier to ride if you had throttle control, definetely more fun to play ride on

all of my buddies now have bikes it really pisses me off i cant hop on one and go riding

id love to have a ktm 450exc plated to ride the street and trails, then a 250f or 450f for riding mx

The older rmz/kxf's weren't bad, but they weren't great. Still had some bugs as any new bike would. The crf's have always been narrow bikes. I like the feel of them the best, but can work with any bike I have.

As far as getting up on the tank on a yzf? I've never had any issues...

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z152/Rmrider125/022.jpg

[jesseweaver]

Originally posted by SRH


how come you guys stray from a 450 bike??? i always felt the 450s were easier to ride if you had throttle control, definetely more fun to play ride on



250s can race open and 250 classes, 450s only get 1 class. and you can throw the 250s around a little easier. idk last summer i thought about gettign a 450 because i rode my friends stock 2003 crf450 around breezewood a few laps and it was a lot easier than on my bike. you can keep the RPMs down and just cruise and go just as fast.

[400ex28]

I'm switching over.

[backwoodsracer]

Originally posted by ryan243
I have been looking at the yamaha and suzukis. I bleed Suzuki so I'm partial to them haha. I'm looking for about an 04 or newer, what do y'all suggest? Why the yamaha?

why the reliability?

Yamaha is the second best to honda selling in offroad

Its the benelli / browning of offroad a couple penny's more but the best there is.

the yzf is extremeley reliable and has awsome power for it's class
now yes im brand loyale but its a better bike in general.

[backwoodsracer]

Originally posted by 300extreme#8
You must have bought a exspensive rim....

QUAD
well i broke the ball joints on my quad and it messed up the a-arms = $795.99, Flipped it and busted all the plastic = around $500 for full plastic, Bent the axle = $410. Set of tires r around $350+... Suspension cost roughly $1800. Motor had about $1100 in it.... ECT!!!!!
Had 6 visits to the hospital in 4 years

BIKE
broke the brake lever from fallin off the stand.= $25
Replaces tires= $150
Suspension = $200
Graphics= $45


no other mods needed for the bike. its pretty much competitive completely stock! Had to replace a lever and get new tires with in 2 full years of racing.....
Had 1 visit to the hospital, and then i was drinkin and playin in the backyard...

Bikes are way better! Quads are fun bc they are easier to go faster on... But quads are rougher on your body and the wrecks are worse and they are not forgiving.

you can case jumps on a bike and never realize it. If you do that on a quad then you hurt yourself or broke something that will cost money.

If I had money then Id race quads bc I was better on them.
But it sure was nice racing for 2 years and only spending about 500 on the bike and havin a great season!


Not hating on quads, but I myself must agree when saying I wish I would have switched alot sooner, or even started on a bike to begin with!

Aint nothing like whipping a bike!

Heard of ebay? I had a ind. repair shop install a used tire on a new excel takasago rim with new spoke's and make it" true"

[Dansc90]

If you were to get a 4stroke i'd go with something newer. Dont get the first few years they came out. They all have problems when they first come out. The 04 and 05 kxf's have major problems with the timing and valves, but once kawi started putting the titanium valves in there bikes they have been amazing. And if you put titanium valves in the newer ones they work really good to. Everything has bugs when they first come out so a newer one would be your best bet with 4strokes as far as reliability goes.