----------------FEATURE - GO RIDING FOR $1500----------------

We chose to buy it from an online store. Here's what we bought:

Helmet AXO- Chute
$269.95
Boots AXO - Boxer
$89.95
Jersey AXO – Sr Jersey
$24.95
Pants AXO – Sr Pant
$67.95
Gloves AXO – Ride Glove
$19.95
Goggles SCOTT 83 Goggles
$19.75
Shipping
$30.00
Total
$512.50
You will also need:
Tie downs $9.95
Chain Lube $ 7.64
Gas can $27.95
Premix $ 6.54
Ratio-Rite for measuring premix oil $ 8.99
Ramp for loading the bike into vehicle $79.95
Total $141.02

Combined totals $653.52
Amount left for bike purchase $846.48

So with our gear bag full, (you might want to use a large duffel or check out the gear bag we review here) our wallet substantially lighter and roughly $850 we were ready to go shopping for a bike. We chose to look for a Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki or Kawasaki thinking it would be easier to find any parts we needed to make repairs. We spent a few weeks watching and bidding on bikes on Ebay but didn’t win anything. We should take a minute here to say you want to be very careful if buying a bike on Ebay. When buying a dirt bike you want to be able to listen to the motor to find any funny rattle,

engage the transmission, shift through the gears and engage the clutch to check for slipping. You don’t want to purchase a bike that will need serious service before you even ride it.

For our purposes Ebay was a dud, we really couldn’t find anything that fit our budget. So we turned to Craigslist. Searching through the Charlotte listing showed lot’s of bikes between $1,500 and $3,000 and a few in the range we were looking $500-$1,000. We looked at a few for $500 but they were all really beat. Then we saw it, the light at the end of the tunnel. It was a 1996 KX 125 with a Pro Circuit pipe, Pro Taper handlebar and a recent top end rebuild. The bad thing was the seller wanted $900 for it. The bike appeared to be just what we were looking for, albeit $55 more than we had to spend.

Upon inspection the bike had some short comings, it had some serious flat spots in the rims, the rear brake lever was loose/ floppy and it would need a clutch rebuild sooner than later. We pointed out these issues, offered the seller $700 and with some reluctance he took it. The good news is the tires were OK and the chain and sprockets had life left in them. The bike could be ridden as is and will be a great platform for some mechanical experience. We now had riding gear and a bike for just under $1,500. With our spare $146.00 we purchased a service manual for $20.00 off Ebay.

With our owners manual in hand we went out to the EDM shop to go through our new KX to look for any problems that would get in our way on first day out and to lube/ tighten all the fasteners. We made some shims for the loose gear shifter and rear brake lever using a soda can and with all bolts tight it was time for the test ride. For our inaugural ride we chose a riding area that would allow us to have fun without having to worry about clearing any massive jumps that would require the power of a bigger bike.