Trail bike, Enduro or something else?
Discussion
I want (read as NEED) a bike for around £2500 that can do the odd short stint on road, be capable off road and ideally won't need an expensive rebuild ever 24hrs.
I know this question has been asked many times before but more often than not there is a lean towards the OP eventually taking part in enduro days.I have no intention of ever doing that. The situation is that i've bought my son a crosser for riding around the local fields and trails and I want to get involved.
His bike lives at the farm and as I don't have a van I want something I can ride down there (about 10 miles dual cabbage way) meet him and go for a blast a few times a week. I had a shot of a crf250l thinking it would be ideal but even with my lame attempts at small jumps the thing was bottoming out with my 13st sat on it. My boy seems to be progressing pretty quickly and I know i'll get carried away and end up taking him to tracks so don't want something I can use when that happens.
As a thought, there's a local WR250F for sale. I'm capable on the spanners and not afraid of a bit of maintenance bit want something reliable that doesn't need an expensive rebuild every 6 months.
I know this question has been asked many times before but more often than not there is a lean towards the OP eventually taking part in enduro days.I have no intention of ever doing that. The situation is that i've bought my son a crosser for riding around the local fields and trails and I want to get involved.
His bike lives at the farm and as I don't have a van I want something I can ride down there (about 10 miles dual cabbage way) meet him and go for a blast a few times a week. I had a shot of a crf250l thinking it would be ideal but even with my lame attempts at small jumps the thing was bottoming out with my 13st sat on it. My boy seems to be progressing pretty quickly and I know i'll get carried away and end up taking him to tracks so don't want something I can use when that happens.
As a thought, there's a local WR250F for sale. I'm capable on the spanners and not afraid of a bit of maintenance bit want something reliable that doesn't need an expensive rebuild every 6 months.
Interesting. The Kawasaki isn't one that comes up very often. How does the letter designation work with those as they are the only ones I don't really understand (ie yamaha r for road f for enduro Honda is L for road X for enduro etc).
They seem to be a bit cheaper than all the others.
They seem to be a bit cheaper than all the others.
WR is a great bike but earlier 400s were kick start only and earned a bad reputation for difficult hot starting.
I would go for a more off road biased bike.
Ie Yamaha TT or WR over an XT . Or Honda XR over the XL.
They are lighter and a bit more resistant to the odd drop.
I started out green lane riding on an XT and was so hopeless, I nearly gave up. Spend more time paddling or under the bike than on it.
I bought an old TT350 and it was like my skills had instantly improved..
I would go for a more off road biased bike.
Ie Yamaha TT or WR over an XT . Or Honda XR over the XL.
They are lighter and a bit more resistant to the odd drop.
I started out green lane riding on an XT and was so hopeless, I nearly gave up. Spend more time paddling or under the bike than on it.
I bought an old TT350 and it was like my skills had instantly improved..
nunpuncher said:
Deal done. I now have a 2006 WR250F sat in my garage. Recent tyres, chain, sprocket, discs, pads and swing arm bearings. Previous owner was an electrician so he's also fitted a key ignition, digital dash and some nice wee progressive indicators.
PICTURES, MAN! PICTURES!!
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/fANsdfxp.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/Y7wTapPQ" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/Y7wTapPQ.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/3UHm6GHL" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/3UHm6GHL.jpg)
I had one like that up until recently, but it was an unreliable bucket of s
te like all yamahas so I was glad I could palm it off to some unsuspecting mug 
nah just kidding the thing never put a foot wrong, glad you are enjoying it, hope it behaves well for you. Its very capable off road, I was never stuck on it.
te like all yamahas so I was glad I could palm it off to some unsuspecting mug nah just kidding the thing never put a foot wrong, glad you are enjoying it, hope it behaves well for you. Its very capable off road, I was never stuck on it.
Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Monday 12th July 00:13
hman said:
Just remember that your lad is not legal on green lanes - you have to be fully road legal in every way on anything other than private land with a locked gate on it.
We're up in Scotland so slightly different rules. My wife keeps her horses on a farm near the house and we have the permission of the farmer to use the bikes in certain areas. Basically any field that doesn't have his cows or sheep in and not around his house. We're pretty lucky as I'm not sure of the actual acreage but the farm is about double the size of the nearest village.Edited by nunpuncher on Monday 12th July 11:17
OldGermanHeaps said:
I had one like that up until recently, but it was an unreliable bucket of ste like all yamahas so I was glad I could palm it off to some unsuspecting mug
nah just kidding the thing never put a foot wrong, glad you are enjoying it, hope it behaves well for you. Its very capable off road, I was never stuck on it.
Haha, figured you might be on here.te like all yamahas so I was glad I could palm it off to some unsuspecting mug nah just kidding the thing never put a foot wrong, glad you are enjoying it, hope it behaves well for you. Its very capable off road, I was never stuck on it.
Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Monday 12th July 00:13
Only had 2 outings so far but all good. Doubt I'll ever be in a situation where the bike is less capable than me.
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