south central hoon wrote:assuming from your screen name we know the terrain you ride, but at what level? honestly...
hieght?
wieght?
these things all make a big difference in chassis preference.
i am 5' 6" and around 2 bills. i ride singletrack mostly and i prefer the gen 1 with close ratio gear box....geared 14/48.
SC Hoon and All,
I ride he desert in and around Las Vegas.
Although ripping across the virgin terrain at speed feels like flying, it is very painful when the inevitable invisible rock, or barrell cactus sends you crashing into the ground. So since I like/need the rush but don't like the pain, my riding gets more and more technical. This way I have the same fear factor to get the blood flowing but if an unplanned dismount occurs, the body pays a smaller price tag. My buddies and I have been riding some of the coolest, gnarliest washes we can find. Not the kind of washes that are full of sand but the ones where there isn't really a line but it's more like survival thru the boulders, drop, shelves, stairsteps, etc.. I would say I'm a very good intermediate rider.
I am pretty big and strong. 240 lbs and 6'2". Need to drop a few lbs [like most of us] or just do some porting on the motor to help move the load around.
I enjoy single track, washes [most all kinds], extreme hill climbing, insane downhills and basically making a trail where it loks like you shouldn't even consider going. My buds ride smaller two strokes. The 4 strokes just don't work well in these conditions.
I have a 1994 CR500 geared 13/52. I loss alot of top end but can go granny slow when I need to in the technical stuff, which is alot of the time.
I have a limited budget, right now it's around zero, but this is my vice or addiction and I'm not looking for an intervention. Some times you spend 10-15% more and get 25-35% improvement. But simple and cheap is kinda my favor. And the enemy of good is perfect.
I love chicken cutlets and baked macaroni......ah, I'll stop here.
Thanks for all the replies. I really appreciate it. I don't think I can get this type of honest answers from a non 500 site. I'm not a 250 rider, i'm a big bore junkie and that 500 is the spike in my arm. And I think there maybe quite a few of the career junkies in here.......
Thanks Bros!
Dez500Rider
