Moto on Budget - Tips & Where to Spend Your Money

First mod for every rider that is good enough to consider any upgrade would be suspension. 
Race tech gold valves is a great setup. Where else can you get a revalve for under $400? Not to mention, it you want moto to be “cheap” then working on your own stuff is a must anyways. 

*Don't install graphics on your bikes. Its just for show.

*Avoid premium parts like expensive chains. 

*Run Bridgestone M59 and x31 fronts because they just don't throw side knobbies.

*Use up as much of that rear tire as you can tolerate before changing to a new one. 

*Dont get knew grips everytime you fall.

*Change your oil every 7 hrs vs 5. 

*Car pool with fellow riders to races. 

*Do your own maintenance.

*Carry extra parts with you to the track so you don't have to buy parts at the track. 

*Stick with one or two colors of gear that are solid colors. Just buy new pants of that color when it wears out. 

If you’re new, take your bling budget and spend it on riding lessons

Assuming you have the bike, a truck or van to transport it, and a full toolbox.  

Areas where you should Spend:  Tires, Boots, Clutch kit, Chain, Seat Cover, or Replacement Parts.

Things you Do Not Need:  exhaust, rims, gearing changes, fancy fuel jugs.

Maybe I misunderstood the question. All good advice in here except the oil change intervals. That’s never something to skimp on. I would say change it sooner than later actually. 
Maybe change it sooner and use a “b tier” oil instead of a Motul. 

Aftermarket suspension pistons are waste of money. Just do shim shuffling on oem stuff if you want. It is easy and there is loads of info on thumpertalk

Have a set of spare wheels, and have the right tyres on it, if its dry as fuck, run the old tyre, if its prime, run the new ones. 

And if its wet in the morning and dry in the afternoon, swap them out. 

I had 2 bikes, one with hard pack tyres, and one with sand tyres, and rode whichever one the tyres were right for... they are both still good to go. 

They are old Evo bikes, i wouldnt have 2 new ones, but a spare rear wheel to save a tyre is money well spent. 

Last year's gear in shit colours from clearance . 

Run Rotella instead of the expensive oil that marketing makes you think you need.

Use WD-40 instead of expensive chain lube that marketing makes you think you need.

Steel sprockets, black chains, diecut numbers and pump fuel. Buy aftermarket oil filters in a bundle and buy older gear that’s on sale no matter the brand. Let’s be honest though most people want the new gear and shiny bike with graphics for the Insta bangers and everything else comes after that, not many soul riders left these days. 

Buy a low hour 1-2 year old bike off marketplace, don’t buy new.  Look at pictures to notice what sellers garage and vehicles look like. If super clean most likely can believe they took care of the bike. Skip the graphics kit unless you have a sponsor that wants their name/logo on the bike. Skip the race gas and run super unleaded ethanol free gas from a busy station. Skip the suspension revalve but set your sag and play with clickers. Make sure fluids are fresh. Spend your extra cash on tires and practice/race fees. Have fun and don’t take yourself too serious, this is just a hobby!

Wait to buy things until they go on sale. I have a ton of $10 gloves, $15 jerseys and $40 pants. Chains/sprockets and other consumables buy on sale as well during black friday or whatever else.

Suspension!!! When your suspension is set up for your weight and ability it allows you to ride the bike more consistently AND hopefully with proper technique, or at least better.  When the bike is too soft people tend to weight the rear of the bike which leads to arm pump never mind the rest of the out-of-position body on the rest of the track.  You don't have to go get cone valves or A-kit stuff but at least get the right springs.

Along those lines, take care of your wheels/spokes.  I did not realize how far off some of my wheels were until I got a KTM and they have the infamous always off spokes by the rim lock.  I bought a spoke torque wrench to help keep it consistent but then used it on other bikes.  Holy Shit!! Those bikes rode way different after some wheel maintenance.  That helped because as the wheels slowly move away from true you change your technique just a little to adjust for it.  Multiply that over a season of riding and now you and the bike are way off.  

Keep the bike well maintained.  It helps you understand differences in terrain and technique when you ride.  If your tires/suspension/clickers/etc are always set to the same settings then you can really concentrate on "What if I do this different with my technique and/or bike settings" and how it effects the bike.

Spend your money on a good front tire (whatever it is, but it gives you confidence, grip and comfort) 

If you ride different dirtbikes (modern, vintage...) use the same combo on all of them: front tire, handlebars, levers (I prefer oem) and footpegs. It will make the transition from one dirtbike to another easier.

Off topic but something I often wonder about.

How can the same handlebars feel the same on each bike given each bike has different geometry?

Maybe.. I’d bet more than 70% of the bikes on a pro gate are not on stock pistons. Not that that really matters. Race techs but thing is for their pistons to do less of the damping via larger ports. It’s correct. How effective is a discussion (I think very effective). 

Now, the real value is the setup knowledge. Shim shuffling as a novice or inexperienced tech is probably gonna be worse than anything. I can’t see a newer rider pulling his stuff all apart and having the feedback from the track to go “ahh yes! This clamping him is causing me all this blow through !” lol. 

Buy an Air-cooled, drum-brake, twin-shock, conventional forked two-stroke motocross bike and have fun.

Best budget idea, if you're gonna buy a new bike go Suzuki. 

Cheapest bikes on the lot, deals for days, don't need to worry about batteries and charging. Most reliable bikes as well. 

Suppose it all really depends on what you are trying to do. For me it’s to ride as much as possible and race a few times. 
1.Used YZ250 with 5-10 hours - keep everything stock

2. Used gear or blems off MX locker

3. Air filters at 3 hours, trans oil at 4

5. Premix, pump gas and tear offs

Oh and Dirt Tricks sprockets

Don't get caught up in the internet hype.  Leave the bike stock.  Stock suspension is fine.  Stock handlebars are fine.  The lower priced tires are usually fine.  Maintenance like you mentioned will go a long way in keeping the bike healthy.  A friend of mine has a stock 125 and can go flying by peeps on their 450's with $4000 of aftermarket accessories/motor work/suspension work all day long.  Motocross is rider talent not bike speed.  Just saying.  

Open up a new credit card and max that sucker out on all the cool stuff!!

For 200 more dollars you could have a professional work on your suspension. If you value you're labor then you lost money. I think gold valves are ways to get these small suspension companies to buy into the racetech deal.

Buy 2nd hand 450s with 20-35 hours on them. 

Conservatively ride them for 30- 40 hours and sell for $500-$1000 less before you need to do any real maintenance. (Clutch, bearings, brake pads, chain sprockets, fork seals, head stock, grips, rings).

Buy the same model again so all your filters etc fit -rinse and repeat.

If you ride a lot, buy a season or yearly Pass at your nearest track. At 50$ a day and 550$ for the pass at mine, I had to ride 11 times to break even. The first season, I got there after about 2 months  and still had a good 3 months to go. It also gave me the opportunity to make friends with the other local riders and some people to carpool with when we go to tracks that are out of town. I even attended my first supercross and my first outdoor national last year with a few of them!
 

Maintenance. Teach yourself about suspension and geometry setup, don’t do anything else, other than the right weight springs, until you’ve got the standard stuff as good as you can get it. Maintenance. Nothing you can put on the bike will make you faster than a new set of tyres. Maintenance.

Agreed but air filters every ride. Costs virtually nothing and is cheap insurance 

Stock suspension is fine for the average rider. It's crazy to me that new riders will spend $1000 on a revalve and they can't even jump the 60 foot tabletop. 

Adjust your chain tension, clean your air filter, and change your oil frequently and the bike will last for hundreds of hours with a new rider. 

I agree that stockers are usually fine for new riders.  The point I meant to make but did not do it clearly is If you are doing upgrade stuff to your bike then suspension work is money better spent than a new, blingy pipe, graphics, etc because it can actually improve your riding skills and comfort.  Correct springs for weight and skill are important so do those, revalves can come later after riders have more understanding of what their clickers do, how the bike responds and what they are looking to improve on the bike.  

I totally agree with basic maintenance and spend your money on track fees.  New riders generally won't ride engines hard enough that they need a ton of internal work like valves, rings, pistons and cranks.