Just like I have, you have probably asked yourself many times! Is there a way to reduce my dirt bike’s weight?

Honestly, there are somethings that you can try, and there are somethings that will not affect your dirt bike’s handling at all.

The weight of your dirt bike is mostly defined by your machine’s engine and how powerful it is.

As an enthusiast, you probably know that there are two-stroke dirt bikes, and there are four-stroke dirt bikes.

Therefore, two-stroke dirt bikes are usually lighter than those 4 stroke ones.

Either way, it’s important to note that two-stroke dirt bikes allow for less movement, and they’re built with fewer parts which essentially makes them lighter.

However, a two-stroke dirt bike doesn’t necessarily mean a lighter dirt bike.

There are still some ways to reduce weight, noticeable weight. Some other ways that I’m going to mention are probably not that effective, but you can try them out.

EFFECTIVE WAYS TO REDUCE WEIGHT

EXHAUST

The exhaust is where you save the most weight, and it’s the most common replacement that people do to make the dirt bike lighter.

Exhausts are usually made out of aluminum or stainless steel. Such materials are known to be quite heavy, so the exhaust definitely adds a noticeable amount of weight to your dirt bike.

However, this weight can be lessened if you replace it with a titanium made exhaust.

In theory, titanium is heavier than aluminum, so you might get confused. Although in practice, titanium is stronger and it can be built in different measurements, in lighter and thinner pieces.

HUBS AND AXLES

The hubs and axles are probably the most useful areas. This unsprung weight is really important, especially in motorcycle racing and on the dirt since suspension plays a huge role in such situations.

Getting the information about reducing your dirt bike’s weight is the easy part though. The hard part is finding companies that actually make lightweight parts.

There’s only one small company I know that makes lightweight hubs, TCR wheels. Other companies most commonly make billet hubs, which is basically heavier than the cast.

NULTS, BOLTS, SCREWS

To be honest, this won’t really change your dirt bike’s handling because they won’t reduce its weight as much. However, replacing the nults, bolts, and screws with titanium ones will lessen the weight a bit.

If you want to do everything possible to reduce weight, you can try doing this.

But take in mind that replacing such small things will still cost you, and titanium is expensive. If this is an upgrade you’re willing to make, then you’ll benefit from this cost.

PLASTICS

If your dirt bike still has the same plastics that it had when you first bought it, it’d be wise to replace them with other plastics.

To be more precise, you can find specific racing plastics on the market that are built to be lighter.

They will not only reduce the weight of your dirt bike, but they also add an eye-catching look to the overall aesthetics.

What I have figured out so far is that such plastics also reduce the air resistance that usually occurs when you’re riding at high speeds.

AN EXTRA TIP TO CONSIDER – CURB WEIGHT

If you haven’t bought your dirk bike yet, or your planning on buying a new one, curb weight is something you might want to consider.

I suppose you don’t know what this is, well I don’t blame you. Curb also refers to wet, and it’s the wet weight of the bike when it’s full with all the needed fluids within.

For instance, curb weight includes a full tank of gas, the oil, water, coolant, and any other fluid that is necessary for the bike to run.

Before this, companies used to include only the weight of the parts in the bike’s specifications.

As the sport become more and more popular, people were starting to realize that curb weight is very useful information to know.

Therefore, this is also critical information that you should know as well because you won’t be riding your bike at the dry weight.

The guideline is if in any case you’re trying to buy a new bike or you haven’t bought one yet, make sure you check out the curb weight.

If you can’t find the information listed in the bike’s specifications, then try asking the salesmen about it.

You might not take this seriously, but speaking from on-ground experience, curb weight can add more weight than you think.

FINAL VERDICT

There are other minor ways to “reduce weight”, but not crucial weight. You see, people try to reduce noticeable weight from their dirt bike so they have a lighter handling, not only a lighter dirt bike.

A piece of advice, anything that seems small and will cost you much is probably not a good investment to reduce weight.

Think of it this way, you want to make your dirt bike lighter for lighter handling, not only lighter so you won’t even notice it.

I hope you got all the answers that you need from this article. From all the above-mentioned examples, I think that there’s something that will be of help to you.

Another tip that I would like to give you before I end is to hit the gym. Before trying to make your dirt bike lighter, maybe try to manage your weight first.