Which bike for green-lanes?

I've just up-graded today to this 2006 525 EXC, can't believe it really. 11.2hrs and 278 miles in 10 years.
 

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Just done 2 days trail riding

My DR 350 was great & never missed a beat

The KTM 's in our group though - only 1 out of 3 survived & the other 2 had mechanical breakdowns never to run again without some workshop diagnosis
 
The guy bought it new in 2006 and never rode it until 2008, Sat & Sun in Wales and never rode it since. It's a shame but it will soon look a bit rough with my crap skills but at least mechanically it should see me out.

Called in Hawes yesterday on the way home for Fish and chips and was looking out for you JB again to introduce myself but couldn't see you this time.
 
Problem with this off road lark is that the vast majority of the people who think they need a top spec fire breathing enduro for trail riding really don't.

They buy a bike capable of high speed off road when they are not ( off road novice who was recommended to buy a used xr250 as a starter bike but as a GSXR1100 owner decided that he needed a brand new Honda XR650R..... first ride crashed on a fast forest road and broke both arms ).

For trail riding most of the work is done at lower speeds off road and trying to keep up with traffic when on road .

Also if you are not an enduro rider do you really want to be faffing about on something that is high maintenance .

AS said for the vast majority of trail riders who want a bike to use maybe a couple of times a month on gentle green lanes you want something along the line of :

Honda xr250/400, crf250l, crm250
Yamaha TTR250
Suzuki DR250/350, DRZ400
Kawasaki KLR250

Plenty of other options available but do not automatically write off the older stuff as it always keeps its value
 
The guy bought it new in 2006 and never rode it until 2008, Sat & Sun in Wales and never rode it since. It's a shame but it will soon look a bit rough with my crap skills but at least mechanically it should see me out.

Called in Hawes yesterday on the way home for Fish and chips and was looking out for you JB again to introduce myself but couldn't see you this time.

Sorry, I was trail riding in Devon over the weekend :thumby:
 

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Problem with this off road lark is that the vast majority of the people who think they need a top spec fire breathing enduro for trail riding really don't.

They buy a bike capable of high speed off road when they are not ( off road novice who was recommended to buy a used xr250 as a starter bike but as a GSXR1100 owner decided that he needed a brand new Honda XR650R..... first ride crashed on a fast forest road and broke both arms ).

For trail riding most of the work is done at lower speeds off road and trying to keep up with traffic when on road .

Also if you are not an enduro rider do you really want to be faffing about on something that is high maintenance .

AS said for the vast majority of trail riders who want a bike to use maybe a couple of times a month on gentle green lanes you want something along the line of :

Honda xr250/400, crf250l, crm250
Yamaha TTR250
Suzuki DR350, DRZ400
Kawasaki KLR250

Plenty of other options available but do not automatically write off the older stuff as it always keeps its value

I couldn't agree more:augie

:thumby:
 

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Problem with this off road lark is that the vast majority of the people who think they need a top spec fire breathing enduro for trail riding really don't.

They buy a bike capable of high speed off road when they are not ( off road novice who was recommended to buy a used xr250 as a starter bike but as a GSXR1100 owner decided that he needed a brand new Honda XR650R..... first ride crashed on a fast forest road and broke both arms ).

For trail riding most of the work is done at lower speeds off road and trying to keep up with traffic when on road .

Also if you are not an enduro rider do you really want to be faffing about on something that is high maintenance .

AS said for the vast majority of trail riders who want a bike to use maybe a couple of times a month on gentle green lanes you want something along the line of :

Honda xr250/400, crf250l, crm250
Yamaha TTR250
Suzuki DR250/350, DRZ400
Kawasaki KLR250

Plenty of other options available but do not automatically write off the older stuff as it always keeps its value
So I have a pair of 2011 Husabergs - an FE390 and an FE570.

Despite appearing to be identical, they are quite different rides. The internal gearing is different so the 390 is quite buzzy but the 570 is much more of a thumper.

As my riding buddies will atest, a big donkey does not mean you have to ride quickly.
 
Problem is that too many people new to off road riding but used to fast road bikes WILL ride far too quickly for their off road abilities and either scare the shit out of themselves or do themselves an injury.

Not saying that it happens with everyone but there always seems to be a good number of very low mileage large capacity (read quick) enduro bikes up for sale because the owners 'DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO USE THEM'




So I have a pair of 2011 Husabergs - an FE390 and an FE570.

Despite appearing to be identical, they are quite different rides. The internal gearing is different so the 390 is quite buzzy but the 570 is much more of a thumper.

As my riding buddies will atest, a big donkey does not mean you have to ride quickly.
 
Problem with this off road lark is that the vast majority of the people who think they need a top spec fire breathing enduro for trail riding really don't.

They buy a bike capable of high speed off road when they are not ( off road novice who was recommended to buy a used xr250 as a starter bike but as a GSXR1100 owner decided that he needed a brand new Honda XR650R..... first ride crashed on a fast forest road and broke both arms ).

For trail riding most of the work is done at lower speeds off road and trying to keep up with traffic when on road .

Also if you are not an enduro rider do you really want to be faffing about on something that is high maintenance .

AS said for the vast majority of trail riders who want a bike to use maybe a couple of times a month on gentle green lanes you want something along the line of :

Honda xr250/400, crf250l, crm250
Yamaha TTR250
Suzuki DR250/350, DRZ400
Kawasaki KLR250

Plenty of other options available but do not automatically write off the older stuff as it always keeps its value


That's a very helpful list for me - lookong for something without race spec maintenance because I am far from a race spec rider! I presume the odd enduro for fun is manageable on one of these options?

Someone asked earlier about AJP's. Are they based on older Honda engines and are they on a par with a crf or ktm for maintenance? Also, are they any good?!
 
Just done 2 days trail riding

My DR 350 was great & never missed a beat

The KTM 's in our group though - only 1 out of 3 survived & the other 2 had mechanical breakdowns never to run again without some workshop diagnosis

I had a dr350/380 20 yrs ago, fkin thing had to be towed home twice.
 
That's a very helpful list for me - lookong for something without race spec maintenance because I am far from a race spec rider! I presume the odd enduro for fun is manageable on one of these options?

Someone asked earlier about AJP's. Are they based on older Honda engines and are they on a par with a crf or ktm for maintenance? Also, are they any good?!

whatever bike you choose, top priority is that it has has electric start, damhik!
 
I ended up with a 400 exc; perfect for what I want to do, easy to pick up, inexpensive to maintain and good fun to ride.


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Someone asked earlier about AJP's. Are they based on older Honda engines and are they on a par with a crf or ktm for maintenance? Also, are they any good?!

I've ridden a few AJP's, the 230s and the 250. The 230s are air cooled and not very spritely, but the frame is slightly smaller than a conventional enduro bike, so great for building confidence on. Also the parts are cheap.


The 250 is a nice bike for what it is, and a huge improvement on the 230. The motor is very tractable and much more "trail friendly" than say a CRF, which makes all it's power on the top end. Well worth a look,

AJP's can be bought with different specs of suspension. They aren't expensive and look like they provide plenty of bang for your buck.
 


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