david a hall
Registered user
Steady on!!! A man has feelings you know!!! You know what its like, bit of comfort eating a few extra beers and the next thing you know you are hugely fat.Time you got rid of some of that lard!
Enduro
- Thread starter cherokee
- Start date
Sound advice
You need a bit of skill and lots of luck, to save a 690e or XChallenge
Just to be clear...
It is easier on a smaller bike... but I learnt to ride offroad on a F650 Dakar, and then went to an HP2. I don't think I got on to a 450 until 3/4 years of riding offroad.
My point is - it's all a bit too easy to get hung up on which bike you're riding. A good chunk of learning to ride offroad is about time in the saddle, riding with those more experienced than yourself, and pushing yourself to learn.
My green laning is mostly pure pleasure - a laugh with a few mates. Occasionally I go out for a serious tear up on my own, but most of it - it's a day out with the blokes. And of those I go out with, there is a complete mix from a 690R to a T reg two stroke 250. And the reality is that although there's a wide range of bikes and also a wide mix in our abilities, we still start and finish together, stop for a fag break together and by and large travel as a group. The quick guys might feck off ahead of the slower guys from time to time, but it doesn't detract from a good day out by any means. So yes - you can have fun on anything.
What you wont have fun on though, is something that's beyond your skill level. And as some of the other guys have mentioned, weight is a real big factor here. You wait until it's summer and the ruts are baked hard, maybe you're in Wales and that Byway has some gnarly rocks and boulders in it that keep grabbing your eyes, scaffold boards built into the slope to step the lane to stop erosion.
A heavy bike for a first bike will most definitely impede on your fun factor, and you won't learn as much on it either. Seen the BM promo videos on the LC GS1200 section ? The guys wheelying and jumping the 1200's are all ex pro / semi pro riders and they have the skill to move a heavy bike about. But they learned how to do it (probably as kids!) on something small and light. (This is why Trials riding is such a good way to start).
So I've gotta say that I disagree with the comments on 690's, 630's, X-challenges for you.
You say 'I've been riding heavy bikes for 32 years..', well I'm not far behind you - and it's me day job too!! But after five years of off roading it's only now that I feel sort of able and ready to take a 690 down a green lane with any real sense of skill and ability.
Start small, work up. You will learn more, and I promise you, it'll be more fun.
Don't go bigger than a 400 (and that's plenty). Off road is a completely different ball game to road riding, and time in the saddle on a road bike counts for very little!
My tuppence...
The XChallenge is a good bike, and along with the 690 make great green laners for experienced riders that are looking for a challenge other than outright speed, and doing the same lanes as smaller bikes and only using half the fuel as the orange bikes
.
The WR450 is an awesome bike, but to much power can be your enemy when starting out, and the WR used to be (and possibly still is) the most powerful 450 in its class.
If you have never ridden off road before, it can be quite a mental obstacle to get your wrist to open the throttle when you have both wheels going sideways, and no apparent control over the bike. To much power just puts another variable into the equation, and will tire you out much quicker.
Also i find the orange bikes can be very flighty on the front end, and this in itself isn't very confidence inspiring.
I'd say look for a used DRZ (£1500 should get something reasonable), or a gas gas ec250 if you fancy a stroker...
Nathan
The XChallenge is a good bike, and along with the 690 make great green laners for experienced riders that are looking for a challenge other than outright speed, and doing the same lanes as smaller bikes and only using half the fuel as the orange bikes
.The WR450 is an awesome bike, but to much power can be your enemy when starting out, and the WR used to be (and possibly still is) the most powerful 450 in its class.
If you have never ridden off road before, it can be quite a mental obstacle to get your wrist to open the throttle when you have both wheels going sideways, and no apparent control over the bike. To much power just puts another variable into the equation, and will tire you out much quicker.
Also i find the orange bikes can be very flighty on the front end, and this in itself isn't very confidence inspiring.
I'd say look for a used DRZ (£1500 should get something reasonable), or a gas gas ec250 if you fancy a stroker...
Nathan
Nobody mentioning the twofiddy WR. 
All the plush ride and reliability of its big bro but much less likely to see you come unstuck as an offload novice, yet more than capable once your capabilities grow.
All the plush ride and reliability of its big bro but much less likely to see you come unstuck as an offload novice, yet more than capable once your capabilities grow.
cherokee
Registered user
Bow to your wisdom guys,so il look for something i can handle 250 or 400ish,im defo not a riding God,My road ridings pretty good,done lots of track days and did one day Trials riding with a guy from the TRF many moons ago,gotta say that was an education,was amazed what you could do with a bike after a day in the woods,but reading what you guys are telling me,i need to choose carefully if i want my arms and legs to stay in perfect working order...
IJGser
Registered user
Sound advice
You need a bit of skill and lots of luck, to save a 690e or XChallenge
I never realised how lucky I am! It is tricky to get the balance right smaller machines may well be easy off road but when he wants to hit the back roads they become frustrating.
Silly question but what's your inside leg measurement? Can be a big issue and can rule our the likes of the Xchall I'm not particularly tall (5'10") but god gave me a 32" inside leg so can ride anything Having said that I can only just get both feet down!
Sent from my iPhone whilst driving and even with autocorrect I can't spell!
cherokee
Registered user
Nobody mentioning the twofiddy WR.
All the plush ride and reliability of its big bro but much less likely to see you come unstuck as an offload novice, yet more than capable once your capabilities grow.
Yes been looking at them,but wondered if physically that bike is gonna get my lardy thirteen and a half stone along the road to where i need to be,all the lanes are a roadtrip away from where i live,not lucky like some of you guys having it on the doorstep.
bodge it
Registered user
What you really need is a 250 four stroke with electric start and a 450 sticker on the side.
Start small and work up, the lighter it is the easier it is to pick up, drag out of muddy holes and bushes.
Start small and work up, the lighter it is the easier it is to pick up, drag out of muddy holes and bushes.
cherokee
Registered user
im a 32 like you, 5'11,iv had 1200 and 1150 adv and 990ktms so height has thus far not given me a problem,but you highlight my main concern,its great having a really lightweight bike for the trails,but if as i do have to do some long roadmiles to get there hows it going to cope with the tarmac.
IJGser
Registered user
Indeed I think people are focusing on the off road credentials ignoring your op. I learned to 'off road' on a GS and I'm only 11 stone. Dont underestimate your own learning ability, there is a broad church of natural ability how hard did you find learning to ride a road bike? Duel sport bikes are a trade off in some folks mind but for me, a now part time biker its a all in one tool that takes me anywhere on a small budget.
Sent from my iPhone whilst driving and even with autocorrect I can't spell!
Sent from my iPhone whilst driving and even with autocorrect I can't spell!
It'll still get you there, it's just a bit buzzy and slow! You can always buy something for a year and then flog it and move up to something bigger. Think RGV250! What a laugh they are. A 250 dirt bike will get a bit boring after a while, but to start with you'll think it's plenty, and as you begin to get bored thats when you really start to learn. You'll be drifting the back end out, jumping, learning to lift the front over obstacles on the trail, locking up the rear and squaring off yer corners ... you'll be having fun and learning.
Then you take all that knowledge and feel under yer feet onto something bigger ...
You will get a million different opinions and the problem is none of them are wrong.
FWIW, I wouldn't get the 450 experience as it is too powerful if you are just starting out and it will intimidate you, I would also leave the 250 enduro bikes alone as they are just too highly strung (read unreliable when compared to the bigger versions), forget a 2 stroke as they are horrible to ride on the road as they don't like a steady throttle.
I have had (in the past) a crf450, exc300, DR350 and at the moment I ride a Honda dominator, yes it is heavy and slow but it was cheap, it is bullet proof and comfortable to ride to the lanes.
You can see from the above that I have steadily gone for less power over time, what you don't know is that I am not inexperienced off road (raced a CR500 at expert level) but just do it for fun now cos I am too fat
What I would like is something comfortable (try riding 10 miles road on a KTM), powerful enough to cruise at 60mph that doesn't need servicing every other time you ride it-sounds like a DRZ to me.
Your close enough to the plain, it's a good area to cut your off road teeth as there is plenty for all abilities.
FWIW, I wouldn't get the 450 experience as it is too powerful if you are just starting out and it will intimidate you, I would also leave the 250 enduro bikes alone as they are just too highly strung (read unreliable when compared to the bigger versions), forget a 2 stroke as they are horrible to ride on the road as they don't like a steady throttle.
I have had (in the past) a crf450, exc300, DR350 and at the moment I ride a Honda dominator, yes it is heavy and slow but it was cheap, it is bullet proof and comfortable to ride to the lanes.
You can see from the above that I have steadily gone for less power over time, what you don't know is that I am not inexperienced off road (raced a CR500 at expert level) but just do it for fun now cos I am too fat
What I would like is something comfortable (try riding 10 miles road on a KTM), powerful enough to cruise at 60mph that doesn't need servicing every other time you ride it-sounds like a DRZ to me.
Your close enough to the plain, it's a good area to cut your off road teeth as there is plenty for all abilities.
Go to Geraint Jones Yamaha school to try out a 450 or 250, or Patsy Quick's Desert Rose school to try all the KTM's from 250 to 690
david a hall
Registered user
The new wr250 yam is a lot quicker than you think. They all have probs and all have bonuses. If its dry an R1 will do if its wet an old dr350 would be great. You can mess with sprockets to make them more road freindly, I run road gearing on mine but have to ride it off the clutch sometimes, but the road is easier. A heavy bike will make it less fun in the wet and a very powerful one will see you collide with the scenery. Just buy a bike that you dont mind dropping then leave it in the garage for 2 years then sell it again.
It will be fine unless you try and make progress onthe road lie you can. On a road bike. Why would you want to tho? I was about 15 stone when I had mine. It replaced a KTM450 EXC and even after that I didn't find it at all boring. I'm obviously not as experienced as the demigods that find 250s boring tho.
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