Swapping a VFR for a supermoto

Off-topic
#1

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about selling my VFR800 and getting a motocross/ supermoto style bike, and thought I’d ask the opinions of the most knowledgeable bunch of people I know :smiley:

Most of my riding is in central London, the daily commute and nipping about at the weekend. I occasionally do longer (motorway) journeys in the summer but they aren’t essential. I was also thinking it might be fun to get into some light green-laning come summer.

My budget would be whatever I can sell the VFR for, so I’m guessing around £2000-2500 for the new bike. I realise I will lose some of the speed and acceleration of my V4 Viffer, but I’m hoping not to lose too much.

Can you guys give any recommendations of bikes to try out, and more importantly and upsides and downsides of the change that I might not have considered? At the moment I think I’m blinded by looking at potential new bikes so I almost certainly don’t have a level head on, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad decision…

So what do you guys think?

#2

speak to Sneaky. He might have you a mint non-rusty young model :P;)

#3

for 2 - 2.5k id say ktm 625 or even the ktm 640 (not as pokey)

good points are serious low down grunt,very good turn angle,light weight,supreme cornering ect,ect,ect

bad point are strong vibrations that will blur your vision the first couple of times you ride it,not very comfy and doesnt want to go much over 70 mph

my two pence and not the opinion of all :slight_smile:

#4

Thanks Martin.

The whole 70mph thing is my biggest concern. That’s really not very fast (ignore this Officer), but more important is how quickly it can get there right…?

#5

Only get it if ur gonna learn to stoppie on it :smiley:

#6

You can teach me…

#7

Super moto’s are a hoot and I regret loosing mine.

Except for the bigger ones, they’re not too great for distance work but brilliant in town and suburbia.

Problem is, not sure what you’ll get for £2.5K. Because they are fashionable prices are holding up really well.

#8

they may only do sub 100mph but it will be the most fun you have had at the speed…

but id say its best to have two bikes :slight_smile:

#9

What Adz said!:cool: Plus they’re the nads around town, the only issues in town are the the handle bars are at the wrong height. If you not careful you catch the top of car mirrors and the bottom of the mirrors on vans!:hehe: The second is the Headlights are generally ordinary at best. You want big lights around town. B-Road scratching they’re prolly untouchable. £4£ you cant buy more fun on a bike. Plus when you bin it, and you will cause you’ll think that your invincible, they hardly ever break so you can ride it home…just put any bits that have broken off you in your rucksack and make for home/A&E!:smiley:

Hey, my mint non-rusty young model is not for sale!:angry:

:smiley:

#10

I was really expecting more negatives! I guess it must be a good idea!

Okay, so moving on then, what should I look at bike-wise? I like some of the KTMs, but also want something that looks more motocross and less enduro…

EDIT: I should have said more motocross/enduro and less like a R1200GS…

#11

DRZ400?

With little maintenance required they are very cheap to run and top-out at 95mph. They have 37hp so not as much poke as the KTM but it will still 0-60 in 4 secs so what more do you really need?
Also remember 400cc means just £33 tax for the year.Two flavours
DRZ400S (21 front tyre)
DRZ400SM (17 road tyres)

I also own a Yamaha FZ6 but my DRZ400sm is tonnes more fun around town.

#12

get a 'berg :smiley:

A proper alternative to class A drugs. As a form of daily transport, no.

Whatever, not orange. Please!

#13

Where do these DRZ’s make there grunt (2,000 or 10,000rpm)? The thing I like about the 600cc plus motors is that from the stop they have grunt.

#14

A KTM is not a Honda. If you’re not planning on spannering it yourself, double/triple your servicing budget.

#15

I believe 7,500rpm is where it peaks. The power band leading up to that is very linear and predictable as with most single cylinders.@Clancey
I will also advise you to take heed in what KTMmartin has said.

#16

If you’re looking to do some greenlaning, a DRZ may not be a bad compromise. I suspect they’ll be a fair bit lighter than the 600 street focussed KTMs (or, my favourite street tard, the Yamaha XT660X), but still easier to live with day-to-day than the KTM EXC type of bikes.
You should be able to get a DRZ in your price range, probably not with both sets of wheels though.

But like Adz said, you really need 2 bikes :smiley:

#17

Endorse what Driesie says.

Don’t forget the often overlooked MZ Baghira, Same motor as the Yamaha XT660 but with better quality chassis components. O.k. MZ have ceased production but all the bits bar bodywork are still available.

Still have doubts you’ll find one of either worth having for £2.5K.

Do seriously look at the DRZ 400. It’s a great bike and you won’t notice the missing cubes that often.

#18

or you also have the ccm range with rotax engines but the build quality isnt the best

#19

This subject comes up often and there is always some pretty strong opinions on it…

First off personaly from the riding you say you do i wouldnt get a supermoto at all.

If you do decide you want one i would go for something like the KTM LC4 or the XT660. Not true motards and certainly dont have the grin factor a pure bred moto has but still has the basic characteristics such as ride position and ofcourse if you want to do a little green laning you can on these.

I wouldnt go for the DRZ (and yes i have rode one). Going from the VFR to a DRZ you will quickly get bored of the lack in power and speed. Yes they aint bad bikes but at best i would say they are a good first motard if you haven’t rode a big bike before. You can spend more money on vamping them up abit but not with your budget.

Now if you realy want the true motard grin factor get a pure bred moto. There are plenty of different KTM motards but the most popular seem to be the 450/525 EXC, there is also the Honda CRF450, Yammy WR450 and many more MX/enduro conversions. If its out and out torque, flickability and complete lunacy you want these are the toys to look for. They are great on the tarmac and in the dirt, just check out pics and vids from swaffham or any supermoto clips on youtube.

As for maintenance…

Your road ready supermotos… LC4, XT660, SMC 690 and so on do have longer service intervals. And im pretty sure you could service them easily enough yourself with a manual but ofcourse with a bike like this its good to have the service book stamped up which if you do the service yourself you aint gona get.

Pure bred motards such as the KTM 525EXC are peice of piss for anyone to service. Yeah they require more regular oil and filter changes (dont need to change the filters everytime you do the oil) but you aint gona be paying for the man hours to have the job done, unless ofcourse you realy want a service book stamped up for it but im yet to ever see an enduro/mx/supermoto with a service history. They arent as expensive to run as people seem to think.

Pure bred motards are easier to work on, less damage when dropped. Second hand spares are normaly pretty easy to get hold of meaning less cost in repairs.

Road ready motards are abit harder to work on, can do more damage when dropped (depending what one you get) and you could find it costing more to replace broken parts.

At the end of the day it all depends what you want out of the bike but from the little you have said i would say stick with the VFR or get an LC4

#20

LOL :smiley: