How many of you ladies dirtbike, too?

Me!! I got a DR-Z250 last spring. It's been so much fun and I think it really improved my climbing too. I now can look at technical climbs and see a line where I used to just see the impossible. I wish we got a chance to ride more, but we have to drive about 45 min away to get to the nearest riding areas. So a lot of our riding is on Moab trips. It really expanded our horizons on the distances we can cover, so we hit trails we never would have tried on MTBs. Have you ever ridden before? It's been fun learning, and MTB skills will help you pick it up faster.

Shiny new bike...


Which didn't stay that way for long... (We generally don't get mud here it UT, so when there was a mud puddle in the middle of the boring dirt road we were taking to get out to a trail, I tried turning in it.... which didn't work. Who knew? My friends found it pretty hilarious that I could find the only mud puddle in the state and wreck in it. )


I wish I had some action shots, but no one ever stops to take pics. We've ridden some awesome trails - Kane Kreek to Pritchett Canyon is a blast. Makes it quite an adventure (esp. on unknown trails) to ride step ups and drops when you know you HAVE to do it - you can't just get off and walk your bike if you chicken out. I've ridden most of Porcupine Rim, but don't have the guts to try and get through Jackass Canyon. One of these days...

Sweet! Is that your first bike? A 250 is pretty big to start out on (so, I've heard-don't have first hand experience with that )

No, I've never ridden before. I was a passenger once when I was 10 yrs old and have had that darned bug ever since then

I went to check out that used Yamaha and it was hard to get started (no electric start and the salesguy couldn't even kick it) so it looks like a pass. Another dealer offered me a really good deal on a Honda CRF100F plus 15% off gear. Its not quite the bike I really wanted but it may be too hard to pass up. The only other Yamaha dealer around is closed today so I'll see what I can do tomorrow. Oooo, I hate the wait

So, what was your first bike and how long have you been riding? All of my riding is going to be at least 45 mins away, too so I'm really hoping to get my kids involved so it can be a family thing

It's my first bike - So I've been riding for 14 months. It has an electric start, which is a big plus, esp. with my bad knees. It's heavy, but I can pick it up (even when it's upside down and on top of me... which has happened once or twice.) But I'm fairly tall - 5'8" and muscular for a woman, so it seems comfortable to me - my feet reach easily on both sides. I had a few salespeople try to talk me into a smaller starter bike (which for me just seemed like an excuse to buy two bikes in a year instead of one that would last a few years), but since the DRZ is a 4 stroke, it has a nice low end and doesn't have the throttle like an on/off switch like a 2 stroke or the even bigger bike would, it was fine to learn on. And I guess, knowing my competitive nature, I knew I'd be pushing myself like crazy to keep up with the guys as soon as I could get the hang of shifting and such, so I wanted something I wouldn't need to upgrade right away. I actually got to ride my friend's DR-Z400 recently, which made me want an even bigger bike- the suspension is better, it's faster and powers up hills like they're nothing... but I'm totally broke right now so that isn't an option anytime soon.

Anyway, first bikes are tricky, because it's hard to account for how comfortable you're going to be right off, height, strength, handling skills, etc. If you can find someone to let you test ride, that would be nice - I didn't have that as an option though. My friend is the same height as me (but she's rail thin) and her husband tried starting her on an XR250. She couldn't lift it, could barely get her toes on the ground (I think because she's so light she didn't compress the suspension at all), couldn't kickstart it and was basically scared every time she rode. He traded it in and got her a CRF230F - a little lighter but the center of gravity is lower so it's easier to pick up, the seat is lower and the suspension is meant for a smaller person so now she can reach the ground comfortably, it has an electric start, and though it's less powerful, she feels more comfortable and since she's so lightweight, she powers right up hills. Now she's riding 100 times better. So starting on a bike that fits you right and you're comfortable with is super important.

OH, and if you haven't found this already - you need to check out the womens forum at DirtRider.Net. That's where I started doing research when I was bike shopping. Just like here (complete with loads of "Bike for the Wife?" threads), but for dirt bikes! There are lots of women who started on TTR125s and such and love them. Tons of advice on what bike to buy and reviews from women.

http://www.dirtrider.net/forums3/fo...1&pp=15&sort=lastpost&order=desc&daysprune=60

hi kpicha, how are you? the ttr is a swell starter bike, especially for someone shorter (or timider). i'm starting to see a fair amount of used ones now that they've been out for a couple years.

i personally would steer away from the honda 100. the 150 is a much more sensible bike in my opinion. i think you would find the 100 underpowered for the kind of trails a mtn biker enjoys.

on the original topic, this girl i've dated off and on for many years started with mtn bikes, but got a dirt bike a couple years ago. now she likes dirtbiking way better. she's pretty timid on downhills on her mtn bike, and has MUCH more confidence with the motor and extra suspension. we mostly hike and dirtbike together now. i guess i should see if i can get her out there to pedal a little and see if the dirtbike experience has improved her mtn biking attitude or not. i don't much feel like pushing her into something she doesn't feel like doing tho.

mw

I used to dirtbike. I started out on a ’70 Hodaka Super Rat, which I still have. I’m going to restore it someday. I then moved up to a ’80 Honda CR250 Elsinore for trail riding (also still have this bike). Then I got into sport bikes, and started road racing the sport bikes, so that’s been taking up all of my time. My main race bike is an MZ, which has the Yamaha XTZ660 engine in it (660cc, 4-stroke, 5-valve single…yeah, it’s a thumper) which was put in a few dirt bikes and the Yamaha Raptor quad. I think if I ever went back to dirt I would take the vintage Hodaka up to the local dirt track and work on sliding the rear in corners. Other than that, it’s road racing for me.

Right now my husband is getting into the Supermoto thing, and he's got a '95 Honda CR500. He prefers roadracing the motard bike though. He did a few supermoto races (combined dirt and pavement sections) and hurt himself a few times on crashes in the dirt. So it’s back to pavement for him. Still, he likes embarrassing 600 sportbikes in the races on what’s basically a souped up dirt bike.

Great to see more women on motorcycles (of any type)!