hey guys,

ive tried to do my research but coming here just as a "make sure" effort. so ive mainly rode 2 strokes my whole life (i did have a DR-350 or 400 back in the day) and i recently got back into it and purchased a cr125.

now that im older, i realize that im not gonna be going to the tracks and whatnot all the time like i thought i would and have mainly done trail riding and just general riding on dirt type things.

my question is this.

i think my riding style has changed (less balls ><) and i dont really need a bumble bee of the 2 stroke and have to worry bout the clutch and stuff so much. so i am thinking about moving over to 4 strokes.

so, i wanna make sure i understand the difference between something like an XR engine and one of the new hi output 4 stroke engines (like the yz450f or something).

my take on things is the XR has less power, doesnt rev as high and takes FAR less maintainence to keep running. where as the MX 4 strokes are like a ferrari engine and are much higher revving and therefore need more engine working tweaking and such.

is this correct? i figure for me something like an xr400 would have more than enough power, and from what i understand is they are pretty much bulletproof as long as you do the basics and such.

im not trying to have this utopian bike that never needs any repairs, i just dont want to end up spending 3k on a used 450f, and iin a year of riding spend 1500$ on maintaining it.

any suggestions and knowledge is much appreciated

I think you've got a pretty good grasp of the 4 stroke scene based on this post.

Sounds like you nailed it to me, go with the XR 400.

Great job on the research. Go find that XR and have fun!!!

I just picked up a 2000 XR400. I couldn't be happier. I have not had a dirt bike in the last 15 years. I have been an ATV guy. Before deciding on the XR I rode a CRF and a YZF 450. I did not like the feel and it was too much power for me.

I am 6 foot and weigh 210 lbs. The XR moves me around just fine. It does great anywhere I take it. I do not think you can go wrong with this bike.

thanks for all the responses guys,

im gonna go ride the CR again this weekend and make my final decision. but i still think i am leaning towards an XR for sure. i was also thinking about getting a 2 stroke 250, and just changing sprockets and putting on flywheel weight to get it toned down to act more like a 4 stroke. we will see

by the way. locally i found there is a 2001 xr650r for sale for 1500$. it looks absolutely perfect. this seems like a REALLY low price to me, so im skeptical ,but im gonna go take a look at it, but i have a feeling that will be WAY too much bike for me, but its hard to pass up a corvette for the price of a saturn ><

btw, im 5'8" and 170 lbs, am in good shape, but i still think that would probably kill me >< i can just flip this cr125 around like its not even t here, but add 100 more lbs and im not soo sure

thanks again

The XR650r is a heavy, tall bike. A good friend of mine that is much taller than you had one and it completly wore him out on the tight trails. IMO, for your size, the XR400 would be a better fit.

But that XR650 would be a nice road bike...

Pick up a nice XR250 and punch it out a bit, you will have a bike a little better suited to your size as well as one that has plenty of power while maintaining that low maintenance lifestyle. I speak from experience.

those old school xr's are great bikes, friend i used to ride with had a couple, a 250 and a 400. it always amazed me how for an old tech air cooled engine you could rev the absolute crap out of it and yet they seemed to need next to no maintainence. well compared to a modern 4stroke anyway...