Off road bike for newbie!!

[Noel McCutcheon]

43 minutes ago, Aleksandar13 said:

Thank you, some test rides need to be organised soon. 

Once the wife is happy with the new kitchen we can press buttons easily

Buttons pressing Lol. I Agree (with gone2seed) buy something that you do not worry on crashing, dropping, and fall off, you will. I’d forget road test rides as they need done in tricky terrain. My Point would winter hack and to is improve riding skills. So getting a lesser bike over and through some trick spots is more building and rewarding and developing. Anyone can ride a dirt bike along a dual carriageway. Think of it like training with old heavy weights in muddy terrain then easier terrain or a lighter better bike or when back on the roads is easier. Buy already used and spend money on kit and mods.

[Aleksandar13]

17 minutes ago, X Plane said:

Buttons pressing Lol. I Agree buy something that you do not worry on crashing, dropping, and fall off, you will. I’d forget road test rides as they need done in tricky terrain. My Point would winter hack and to is improve riding skills. So getting a lesser bike over and through some trick spots is more building and rewarding and developing. Anyone can ride a dirt bike along a dual carriageway. Think of it like training with old heavy weights in muddy terrain then easier terrain or a lighter better bike or when back on the roads is easier. Buy already used and spend money on kit and mods.

Great advice thank you...

[Noel McCutcheon]

9 minutes ago, Aleksandar13 said:

Great advice thank you...

In 1999 (in my very late thirties) i went from learning and practice on £1300 old heavy DR350 to competing in and bronze finishing 2003 British Championship Welsh Enduro (forum pic) on YZ250 two stroke. 

 

 

Trails to races

 

 

And went on to Ride up to the Tip of Australia on holiday dirt bike adventure

[Aleksandar13]

7 minutes ago, X Plane said:

In 1999 (in my very late thirties) i went from learning and practice on £1300 old heavy DR350 to competing in and bronze finishing 2003 British Championship Welsh Enduro (forum pic) on YZ250 two stroke. 

 

 

Trails to races

 

 

And went on to Ride up to the Tip of Australia on holiday dirt bike adventure 

Great stuff man...  That picture looks great

[Aleksandar13]

@X Plane

I have edited this picture see what you think? 

 

[Noel McCutcheon]

1 hour ago, Aleksandar13 said:

@X Plane

I have edited this picture see what you think? 

 

Cool Alex’s...... Thanks! Nice edit. I’m quite Proud of that photo.

 

Brave professional Cameraman was hanging out of hedgerow, he sells you his pics after the enduro.  

 

So, to me, there were / are 3 main riding choices here:

 

1.  Slow down up the hill and ride down into the drip and up onto and over the big slab of granite,

2.  Slow down a bit and go round either side of the slab up round the hedgerow banks or

3.  Accelerate from the bottom of hill, 100% nailed, in to top gear and blip up a wheelie helped a fair bit by the back wheel rolling downing into the dip and wheelie up over the slab and welt on to the mountain top and into next forest.

 

Hmmm, 3 it was for me, lol.

 

Love that you can see stones flying out from the rear wheel and the soles of my boots.
Tough 2003 Eppynt Enduro.

 

Cheers!!

[Aleksandar13]

57 minutes ago, X Plane said:

Cool Alex’s...... Thanks! Nice edit. I’m quite Proud of that photo.

 

Brave professional Cameraman was hanging out of hedgerow, he sells you his pics after the enduro.  

 

So, to me, there were / are 3 main riding choices here:

 

1.  Slow down up the hill and ride down into the drip and up onto and over the big slab of granite,

2.  Slow down a bit and go round either side of the slab up round the hedgerow banks or

3.  Accelerate from the bottom of hill, 100% nailed, in to top gear and blip up a wheelie helped a fair bit by the back wheel rolling downing into the dip and wheelie up over the slab and welt on to the mountain top and into next forest.

 

Hmmm, 3 it was for me, lol.

 

Love that you can see stones flying out from the rear wheel and the soles of my boots.
Tough 2003 Eppynt Enduro.

 

Cheers!!

Nice, sounds like it is fund but scary as well

Are you still riding off road? 

[Noel McCutcheon]

3 hours ago, Aleksandar13 said:

Nice, sounds like it is fund but scary as well

Are you still riding off road? 

Yep, mega, true.

Yeah, occasional blasts on 2009 Kawasaki KLX 450R.

 

[Aleksandar13]

2 minutes ago, X Plane said:

Yep, mega, true.
Yeah, occasional short blasts, with a brilliant 2008 Kawasaki KLX 450R.

 

Nice collection of bikes you got got there...

[Aleksandar13]

Same or a bit less money than the crf250l. 

I think that these have the same engine as Ajp, Gas Gas.. Anyone tried one... Seems to be very light 104kg.. 

This being 40kg lighter on paper than the crf250l it does make it interesting to say the least..

Opinions? 

Aleks 

[Adrenolin]

On 5/3/2020 at 3:43 AM, Aleksandar13 said:

Hello chaps, 

 

I know this thread might open up a can of worms but why not...

 

Some of you are aware that my T700 is an SM bike and road only and I would never consider taking the bike off road.. This is my choice and it might be in others peoples views the wrong one but I am happy with the decision and would never change it back to stock. 

 

That being said I am thinking about buying a second bike, I have never adventured off road and this would be my first time... I am planning on going off road before I commit to buying a bike but I would like to discuss what people think about some trail bikes for beginners. 

I usually buy new or slightly used and I would prefer to keep it this way but let's see where the discussion ends. 

I have couple of bikes in mind and they are all 250cc, I am told would be enough for a beginner but not lack fun and must be tall enough for 6.4 and a bit on the heavier side 104kg.

450cc would be nice but I might get myself killed

My list :

AJP PR5 250...seems to be a Portuguese brand with decent quality and good value for money less than 5k in UK. 

Suzuki rmz 250 : good deals to be had around 5k no idea of how good bad it is. 

Yamaha wr250 must be my favourite but it is higher in the range of 6to 7k price wise. 

Crf250 good value but soma say it is heavy.? 

Husqvarna and Ktm are in the background due to reliability concerns but if you have recommendations please let me know. 

 

Main concern with all the above is the maintenance and reliability. 

Ajp has a street engine and needs oil change every 1800 miles. 

I know most manuals on the off road bikes are probably saying 4h oil changes but is this really the case..? 

What bike would you recommend for green lanes and off road use considering maintenance , reliability cost and fun factor. 

I am no racer just want to be able to try off road and lanes and enjoy the nature and the lanes. Mileage per year should be between 3k and 4k a year if this becomes a routine of mine as it is with the T700 SM. 

Look forward to your answers.

Regards, 

Aleks 

 

If (low) maintenance and reliability is the goal you can't beat the WRR/X. Don't even look at the CRFL.. overweight and way under-powered next to the WRR. The WRR will do pretty much anything you want it to do from tearing it up off-road to endless wheelies down the streets to cruising the interstates all day long at 75mph GPS. It'll pass at 85 and do low 90s.. though really.. just don't. If needed the bike can be dropped 1" for free with the OEM drop and takes 30 minutes to do so. Add a low seat like the Seat Concepts for another 1" drop and loads more comfort. There are lowering links also but I'd skip them. Find a suspension specialist, have it upgraded and internally lowered if you need more. Valve inspections every 26,400 miles and oil ever 3000, clean the air filter occasionally depending on your riding and its a ride, beat on and park bike.. literally.

My black '15 WRR has been Adventurized.. big heavy, more upgrades then the new bike cost or close to it. The blue '08 is pretty much stock aside from gearing and suspension. While they both have full GoRace suspensions the '08 also has an internal 2" drop and is a hoot to blast around on. The '08 WRX is fun but to be honest, I'm not a sumo guy and will likely sell it later this year. I have a 2nd 18/21 wheelset with Pirelli MT90 street touring tires I use for lots of street use instead and its a 5 minute swap.

If you want more powa.. go that AJP! What a fantastic bike but.. its entirely different from the WRR.

[boboneleg]

I'll throw this into the mix, CRF250 Rally.  I've owned trail bikes for over 40 years and nowadays I don't feel the need to be blasting everywhere so a couple of years ago I bought a brand new Rally.  Yes it's underpowered and a little heavy but you don't notice the weight once you're riding it.

 

You do need to replace the shock as the o/e unit is crap and I fitted an ECU from a jap spec CBR250R which gives it a bit more bottom end but apart from that put a decent set of tyres on and away you go.  The bike loves to be revved, it's no good to trying to ride if 'off the bottom' like I used to ride my Suzuki DR350's.

 

I've been to France twice already on mine and done some of the TET.  Maintenance is hardly anything up to my KTM EXC , it's a Honda after all .  There are loads of nearly new bargains out there with really low mileage.

 

 

 

 

[Mr.motarded]

On 5/3/2020 at 12:43 AM, Aleksandar13 said:

Hello chaps, 

 

I know this thread might open up a can of worms but why not...

 

Some of you are aware that my T700 is an SM bike and road only and I would never consider taking the bike off road.. This is my choice and it might be in others peoples views the wrong one but I am happy with the decision and would never change it back to stock. 

 

That being said I am thinking about buying a second bike, I have never adventured off road and this would be my first time... I am planning on going off road before I commit to buying a bike but I would like to discuss what people think about some trail bikes for beginners. 

I usually buy new or slightly used and I would prefer to keep it this way but let's see where the discussion ends. 

I have couple of bikes in mind and they are all 250cc, I am told would be enough for a beginner but not lack fun and must be tall enough for 6.4 and a bit on the heavier side 104kg.

450cc would be nice but I might get myself killed

My list :

AJP PR5 250...seems to be a Portuguese brand with decent quality and good value for money less than 5k in UK. 

Suzuki rmz 250 : good deals to be had around 5k no idea of how good bad it is. 

Yamaha wr250 must be my favourite but it is higher in the range of 6to 7k price wise. 

Crf250 good value but soma say it is heavy.? 

Husqvarna and Ktm are in the background due to reliability concerns but if you have recommendations please let me know. 

 

Main concern with all the above is the maintenance and reliability. 

Ajp has a street engine and needs oil change every 1800 miles. 

I know most manuals on the off road bikes are probably saying 4h oil changes but is this really the case..? 

What bike would you recommend for green lanes and off road use considering maintenance , reliability cost and fun factor. 

I am no racer just want to be able to try off road and lanes and enjoy the nature and the lanes. Mileage per year should be between 3k and 4k a year if this becomes a routine of mine as it is with the T700 SM. 

Look forward to your answers.

Regards, 

Aleks 

 

Wr250r, great off road dual sport very reliable and great on road. Also makes a killer supermoto.  Ive had 4 have 1 sitting next to my T7 right now but in supermoto fourm. If you want just off road. Ktm200xcw best trail bike ive owned.  Also the ktm350exc is great off road and its plated but not as reliable as the wr250r. The wr250r is my all time favorite bike and ive had over 40 motorcycles its just a really fun bike. Had over 36,000 miles on my first one, sitting at 15,000 miles on my current one. And oil changes at normal intervals not like most dual sports that need them ever 600 miles. 

[Mr.motarded]

The first pic of one of my wr250s the one with dirt tires i paid 1800$ for it then put a grand into it making it like new. Ended up selling it for 4500$

Ive never had any mechanical problems with any of them my ktm 350exe left me on the highway when the stator exploded.  My 500exe had some issues to. 

Find a nice used wr250r they can be had for pretty good deals. 

 

Before and after pics of my 1800$ wr250r. 

[Mr.motarded]

On 6/2/2020 at 9:39 PM, Adrenolin said:

If (low) maintenance and reliability is the goal you can't beat the WRR/X. Don't even look at the CRFL.. overweight and way under-powered next to the WRR. The WRR will do pretty much anything you want it to do from tearing it up off-road to endless wheelies down the streets to cruising the interstates all day long at 75mph GPS. It'll pass at 85 and do low 90s.. though really.. just don't. If needed the bike can be dropped 1" for free with the OEM drop and takes 30 minutes to do so. Add a low seat like the Seat Concepts for another 1" drop and loads more comfort. There are lowering links also but I'd skip them. Find a suspension specialist, have it upgraded and internally lowered if you need more. Valve inspections every 26,400 miles and oil ever 3000, clean the air filter occasionally depending on your riding and its a ride, beat on and park bike.. literally.

My black '15 WRR has been Adventurized.. big heavy, more upgrades then the new bike cost or close to it. The blue '08 is pretty much stock aside from gearing and suspension. While they both have full GoRace suspensions the '08 also has an internal 2" drop and is a hoot to blast around on. The '08 WRX is fun but to be honest, I'm not a sumo guy and will likely sell it later this year. I have a 2nd 18/21 wheelset with Pirelli MT90 street touring tires I use for lots of street use instead and its a 5 minute swap.

If you want more powa.. go that AJP! What a fantastic bike but.. its entirely different from the WRR.

Great to see im not the only one that loves the wr250r/x so much to own multiple of them. Ive had 4 from supermoto dual spot to adventure set up on all of mine. I have a X sitting next to my T7 right now. Such a great bike. Valve checks at 26,000 miles and even then they are in spec. Got a couple of friends to get them too. My boss is sitting at over 45,000 miles on his and it rips like new. We've done 500 mile days on them with long spurts of wide open throttle and the 250 doesn't care honestly im not sure if those motors can even break. We ride them so hard and never a single issue. 

[Adrenolin]

2 hours ago, Mr.motarded said:

Great to see im not the only one that loves the wr250r/x so much to own multiple of them. Ive had 4 from supermoto dual spot to adventure set up on all of mine. I have a X sitting next to my T7 right now. Such a great bike. Valve checks at 26,000 miles and even then they are in spec. Got a couple of friends to get them too. My boss is sitting at over 45,000 miles on his and it rips like new. We've done 500 mile days on them with long spurts of wide open throttle and the 250 doesn't care honestly im not sure if those motors can even break. We ride them so hard and never a single issue. 

Nice!  I went kinda overboard with them as I started buying them to sell and part out as well. Had 5 running WRR/Xs here at one point. Bought one early last year and sold it in the way home to a guy at the gas station. My best score was a completely dead ‘08 WRR the guy said ran in the ad and email. Went and met the guy and the bike was completely stone dead for him up in his pickup bed as I remained in the ground. $900 cash I gave him for it and the title... got home and changed the blown 30amp fuse.  

 

Still have the above 3 bikes that are 100%, parts bike and a couple boxes left over parts from 4 others. 

[Aleksandar13]

3 hours ago, Mr.motarded said:

Wr250r, great off road dual sport very reliable and great on road. Also makes a killer supermoto.  Ive had 4 have 1 sitting next to my T7 right now but in supermoto fourm. If you want just off road. Ktm200xcw best trail bike ive owned.  Also the ktm350exc is great off road and its plated but not as reliable as the wr250r. The wr250r is my all time favorite bike and ive had over 40 motorcycles its just a really fun bike. Had over 36,000 miles on my first one, sitting at 15,000 miles on my current one. And oil changes at normal intervals not like most dual sports that need them ever 600 miles. 

Looking very good.. Problem is finding one in the UK... They are very very rare here... But I will have a look