These bikes usually don’t make good beginner bikes. In fact, many of them are intended as strictly racing machines. Almost all of them have two-stroke engines, which means that you will have to mix oil into your gas before you fill your tank, which is a messy, time-consuming process. And inconvenient, should you find yourself miles from home without a can in which to mix fuel.
Dirt Bikes are machines intended for off-road use and aren’t legal to ride on public roads. Sometimes the term pure-dirt is used to distinguish a dirtbike from a dual-sport motorcycle. Dirtbike riders are sometimes referred to as dirt donks.
Adding to this inconvenience is the fact that puredirt bikes aren’t legal to ride on public roads.
Dirtbikes also feature an extremely abrupt power delivery. When the engine starts, it unleashes a whole bunch of horsepower in a most-surprising fashion. Riders inexperienced in handling these machines commonly suffer from broken bones in their hands. This is because the power catches the rider by surprise, causing the bike to flip over backward, crushing his or her hands with the handlebars. I’ve seen it happen more than once.
There are alternative bikes available for those who want to do serious off-road riding. The bikes I’m referring to are four-stroke trailbikes. Honda has long been a proponent of such motorcycles, and its XR series (not to be confused with the XR-L series—this gets confusing) offers terrific alternatives. Yamaha has also jumped on the four-stroke bandwagon with its Y2426F, Y2250F.
With four-stroke dirtbikes, you won’t have to premix fuel, plus you’ll find that they have smooth, easily-controllable power. Some even feature electric start! Unless your ultimate goal is to race, and you have some familiarity with off-road riding, these bikes may make a better choice for your first dirtbike.
Probably the biggest disadvantage of a pure-dirt motorcycle is that it’s not legal to drive on public roads (hence the term pure-dirt). This means you’ll have to transport the machine from your garage to the place you intend to ride - for example, in a pickup truck or a trailer. These bikes don’t meet the emissions or noise requirements for street legal vehicles, nor do they have the electrical equipment, like turn signals and horns, required in most states. In some states, it is possible to manipulate the legal system enough to license an off-road bike for use on public roads, but by doing so, you may be setting yourself up for future legal problems.