The basic factor as far as dirt bike options go is comfort. You need to ride and feel a dirt bike to know if you can handle it on the dirt trail before you decide which dirt bike option to take and before you shell out any money for a dirt bike.

Vertically challenged aspiring dirt riders need not be stuck with riding pocketbikes and scooters all their lives. You can be a little over five feet but feel perfectly comfortable in an XR250. Likewise, tall people need not choose huge, powerful motorbikes just because they can swing their legs over them. You can be a six-footer happily cruising on your XR80. A dirt rider’s height is indeed a huge factor in choosing dirt bikes but more than height, balance and flexibility are important considerations when choosing the perfect dirt bike.

Generally, the higher the dirt bike’s cc number (or cubic centimeters, usually labeled in the dirt bike’s model, such as 50cc, 80cc, 250cc, 650cc; sports bikes and cruisers can go up to 1000cc or more) the more powerful the dirt bike. The more powerful the dirt bike, the more difficult it is to handle and the heavier it tends to be. Power is an important factor when you are dirt riding to race, but when you are in it for the sheer pleasure and freedom that trail riding gives, and then consider a lower dirt bike cc number that you can comfortably handle.

Another factor in choosing which dirt bike to buy is the weather. Kick-start dirt bikes tend to be problematic in cold and rainy weather. Electric start dirt bikes are easily started with a key, but will sometimes fail to start. Some models feature electric-start, but are backed up by a kick-start, and thus combine the best features of both electric and kick start dirt bikes.