Noob ATV harescramble racer converting to dirtbikes.

Hello everyone, my name is Tim. And I'm pretty much new to dirt bikes period! My total hours on a dirt bike my entire life is under a hour! lol Im a 38 year old man thats 5',6",but...... I am a quite capable of racing atv's since I have been doing it for 6 years. But....... with the economy the way it is, I feel its time for change in a large way. And that brought me to travel to a local BMW dealer and purchase a 2011 Husky TXC250i. Now, I know dirtbikes and ATV's are two different breeds in handling and sorts. But I think I gonna need some help just with basic setup from all of you. I will take any advise and go with it! Now......... I don't plan on racing this Husky until I feel I can handle it to a certain degree. To give you a idea, I left all the restrictions on it including the half throttle screw just for the simple fact I don't want to kill myself! But, I have got a FMF S/O enroute with a JD tuner. But I will not install that stuff until I feel comfortable.

So, I have a few questions. Yes....... I searched. But no defining answer. First and foremost. The seat height! What is the proper way to lower this thing? Link? Shave the seat? Shock work? Naturally, I haven't set the sag yet,but once thats done, I seriously doubt thats gonna resolve my issue. And I have zero issues tossing some coin at the suspension. Think about it, I spend about $1500.00 to set up my KTM 450XC quad, so money isn't a issue. And no........ I not rich either.

2nd, What is the reliabilty of this bike in a harescramble race. To be quite honest, I'm scared shittless of EFI when it comes to quads. Its more headaches compared to a FCR39/40mm carb. Should I tear into it and Di-electric grease all the connections?

3rd, if there are any dual racers(atv/dirtbike), please Give advise!

Mods.......... sorry if I posted in the wrong section!

You'll find a couple things. The TXC will be a lot cheaper to operate and maintain than your quad. Dirtbikes have fairly long learning curve, so be patient with yourself & it's a good idea to take a couple off-road riding courses in your first 1-2 years.
Once you get the hang of what you can do on 2 wheels, you'll be glad you took this step.....

Changing the internals on the suspension is by far the best way to lower a bike. Teach yourself to stand all the time & the height will be less of an issue.

Watch this young fella on his:
http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/he-may-be-getting-the-hang-of-this.23497/#post-210541

Thanks everyone. I'm moreless a newborn to the bike thing in general. I don't plan on any type of racing on the TCX anytime soon. I'm moreless still drooling on this bike. I still can't believe I own it. lol I caught the last day(yesterday) of the 2011 clearance models. I walked out the door with it for $5300.00 ! To me thats a steal considering I was looking at YZ250F's that still ranged in 6K range for a 2011.
Anyways........ the dealer told me that its slow until the break in period ends, but also said once I put the POWER UP KIT on it, it will scare the crap out of you! lol And the dealer also mention the suspension will beat the crap out of you also until it settles in. So I'm assuming this dealer out of many I dealt with in the past is actually telling me the truth. They also mentioned a plastic elbow to look out for if I remove the tank??? Any idea what they are talking about?

Thanks for being easy on the noob. I'm just a old man thats a adrenalin freak.

The bike is tall so you have ground clearance. What's your inseam? weight? Once you're experienced, the height will be less of an issue.

Old man? I've been doing dirt for about a year and I'm 11 years older than you. But I did start riding street bikes 30 years ago. That helps... a little.

Where are you from? Is there a decent dirt bike park/place to ride near you? Something with n00b trails? Do you want to ride motocross or trails?

I never understood the appeal of racing ATVs since there's rarely any room to pass.

30" inseam, 150lbs with race gear on. I'm out in the St.Louis area. We have St.Joe(Flat River) state park. So its moreless trails and possible harescramble racing in the future, so no MX for me. Strictly trails. As for passing with a atv. You gotta make a line if the person in front of you wont move. lol And that sometimes requires mowing down a tree. lol

I will tend to ask really,and Im mean really stupid questions occasionally. Please just keep in mind Im clueless.

Hi Air, Im pretty much in the same boat as you, riding and racing three wheelers and quads for a long time. Just got a 449 and feel like I just started to walk again!
Good bunch of folks here with a ton of knoweldge.

No sir, it was Gateway BMW out here in St.Louis

Everyone seems cool. I spent his morning learning how to dismount and stop. lol My plan is to ride this bike everyday regardless if its only 10 min. or a hour or so. I learned it takes more leaning to steer this thing. lol

Dumb question........ It appears this bike has spring rates very close to the recommended specs for my weight. So if the bike still tends to be harsh after break in, Should I just have the shock revalved?

No worries.

It'll run about $600-800 to get the suspension lowered properly (ie: not using hacks like lowering links and raising the forks) by changing the internal spacers. It's easily reversed or adjusted later (at a similar cost, though) - ie: the changes aren't permanent.

Forget everything you learned with Quads. Remember everything you learned when you rode a bicycle.

The plastic elbow is on the bottom of the tank and it's part of the fuel line fitting. It's plastic, so more likely to break. I think you can get a brass fiting to replace it from Zip Ty racing. I wouldn't worry about it right away unless you're going to be pulling your gas tank to work on the bike. Just remember, you have to push in on BOTH white tabs (yes, there's one on each side).

I'd recommend taking the MSF dirt bike class if you can find one locally. Barring that, any novice/n00bie level training class would be good.

Well......... I can't forget everything since Im still racing them. lol I just got done riding again. I think Im gonna hold off with lower anything at the moment. Im getting used to it. I dont have the balls to go up into a trail yet, so I will stick with gravel roads for now. Actually, there is a class offered by the dealership, and Im already signed up.

Let me ask this? Am I able to lower it via different tire size? I think between a tire swap and a shaved seat, that will put me more me in control of it. Im only asking now since I had the pleasure of dropping it this morning. lol If I choose to put lower tires on it, what size? It comes with 110/100/18 rear and 80/100/21 front.

Ok....... according to Race Tech web site, I need a 5.2kg rear spring for my weight. Rather kick love to a site sponsor than purchase from a non sponsor Yea...... I attempted to set static and race sag and Im not close to the numbers. lol Also...... I see this shorter seat 8000H2442 showing up on threads as I seach, will this work on a TXC250? I rather buy a extra seat and butcher that. lol

Get the seat that is a start, and going with a 100/100-18 will drop you about an 1/2inch more. It will added up to an overall seat hight.