I am 16yrs old and will be 17 at end of summer. l have raced a kx85 up until l was 14 then sold it for a yamaha banshee and have been riding that till now and just recently sold it. Im looking to buy a new 08 dirt bike to race would a honda crf250r be to big. Im 5'4 118lbs and strong?

250 or 125 im 14 and 5'8'' and still race 85s though.

You r probably not going to be growing much more at the age u r & so if u want to race at the age u r there r not too many options available to you. You can adjust the suspension on the bike to suit yourself & trim the seat down to make things a bit easier. You may also have to use starting blocks to start with, but it is achievable. Just a little harder for people who r not as tall as others.

My youngest son raced a crf250r at A grade level all last year & while he is taller than u at now 5ft 6 he is a lot lighter at around 105lbs. Getting the bike set up for his weight really makes riding it a lot easier & he has done very well on the bike.

So just see about making sure that the bike is set up to suit u to make it as easy as possible

l would recommend a 250, but with ur height u may need to adjust the suspension or get a lower seat for it if its too tall, should work out fine though if u have the experience to handle the bike. for the 08 lineup l would recommend the kawasaki kx250f, one of the best of the year, its an amazing bike.

i'm 5'3'' & when l ride my dad is yz250 l can not touch the ground & if l go around a really tight corner trail riding, l fall over & it sucks.

but if u ride/race on a motocross track, a bike u can not really touch the ground on would be fine cause mx tracks r a lot smoother than trails & not to mention faster & the faster u go the easier it is to keep ur balance.

you definitely need something bigger than an 85 - a bigger bike will allow u to go faster & become a more skilled rider. i'm gonna suggest a yz125, cause those r really fun, fast bikes & they're lighter than a 250. my friend races on a yz125 & he is about 5'4'' too & he places pretty well.

good luck racing :)