I love my YZ 250. Its got all the power i need. Its got FMF exhaust, bars, gripper seat cover, and that is it. If your gonna run in the sand, you should really get a paddle. On my first trip out i ran a paddle and it hooked up hard in the sand. I went out with a knobbie on the 2nd run, so i could ride with my girl on her Warrior quad in other areas than sand, and it got like zero traction in the sand(no big suprise).
I can only ride it for like 10-15 min at a time however due to severe cramping of the hands. You really got to hold on to this sucker!@!!!
I had a Banshee before this, and it is a very different experience. WIth a bike you only concentrate on 1 path rather than 2. You can hit the whoops way better on a 2 wheeler. Anybody can ride a quad, especially when it comes to sand. It requries more effort to ride a bike.
If i were in your shoes, id get a Raptor. You will probably have much more fun with less effort. Its more versitale, you can ride at night easy to ride. I wanted a Raptor myself to replace the Banshee , but could not afford it.
With your weight and ability, id go with a YZ 125 if you want to ride on 2 wheels.
Im 5'11"@194lbs, and i can handle the 250 fine.
85 Toyota xtracab 4x4
94 Toyota stdcab 2x4
99 Yamaha YZ250
Got Sand??