Right, bored with trackdays, me and a couple of mates have decided to get rid of the trackbikes and go off-roading instead.
Have ridden off-road years back and not in UK. Novice at the green-laning and ‘hare & hounds’ malarky (don’t even really know what Hare & hounds is, apart from a publication for the horsey set!!)
Looking to spend around £1500-£2000 on a good bit of road legal enduro machinery. My questions pertain to the bikes I am following to buy right now and also any general advice on this type of biking.
What do you guys think about these bikes - pros/cons?
DRZ400 Suzuki - Old stager but possibly too heavy for serious off road stuff?
Honda XR400R - See above?
KTM250EXC- Lighter, more chuckable but underpowered for road use for a 6’4" 12 and half stone bloke?
Gas GasEC300 - Two stroke option, lighter still, crazy powerband but hard to ride off road due to small powerband needing lots of clutch action to get the best?
Any others I should consider???
Oh and if anyone would like to swap a good bike for a GSXR600K2 trackbike done out in RedBull racing colours (Has V5 originally a 52 plate), please give me a nod
A 4 banger KTM 250 EXC will be hard to find for that money I reckon. Correct me if you’ve found one but they weren’t cheap when I last looked a few weeks ago.
2 Stroke 250 EXC or 300EXC would be excellent, as would the Gasser 300. Bigger two strokes are HUGELY torquey and lightweight and, if you want to use the powerband to its full, mentally fast at the top end as well. They have a VERY wide powerband so don’t worry about 80s style knife thin power. Downside? Fuel consumption and carrying oil around for fillups.
All proper off roaders are pretty pants on the road if you have proper off-road tyres on (road legal michelin enduro tyres or the like).
Thanks for the heads up guys. Spoke to someone else who does enduro offline today and they only had good things to say about the Gasser. Also confirmed what you said about the power band not being hard to find. They were fairly dismissive of the others although they did say more choice and less cost with a Zook.
Looks like it may be the Gasser. And I only thought they did trials bike for Dougie Lampkin types up until a few days ago. Just shows that you’re always learning with bikes no matter how many years!!
Sorry Adz…just read my post back it it didn’t seem to be acknowledging your help too. I’d love a KTM (seeing as my road bike is the SuperDuke, keep it in the family and all that) may have to look at the option you gave me.
