Green laner

[greatmoorred]

I fancy some green lane adventures.
What is a good (cheap) bike ?
It doesnt have to be a big monster as im not going to siberia on it, but something 300-600cc.
Any ideas please ?
Thanks.

[element]

dr350 or xt350 can pick em up cheap these days
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04' DT125RE (run-a-bout) // 89' DT125R (rebuilt + supermoto conversion)
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[feef]

600cc for green-laning IS a monster

for most green-lane activites you'll only need between 250 and 450 cc

Can recommend the following as good road-legal, 'lane bikes.

Suzuki DR350/400
Yamaha WR250
Honda CRF250X

or their equivalent older counterparts.

For green-laning, as you're using Byways much of the time, the bike has to be fully road-legal, with MOT, tax and insurance.

can pick up a reasonable, road-legal laner for about £1000

a
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[Marathon Man]

Isn't the DR350 / DRZ400 a bit overweight and underpowered though (especially compared to an XR250 or even a KTM525)?

I'm looking at all four of the above (also for green laning as I can ride off-road from my house to the office if I so desired!) and also a tad of road commuting. Even looked at an XT600 but I think this would be a real sod to pick up out of a muddy hole!

Feedback on these would be appreciated.....

Regards

[element]

Riden a DRZ400. Didnt think it was that underpowered. Not sure about the weight of it as I didnt drop it but I didnt notice much difference between DT (obviously the DRZ is heavier but I hardly noticed).

Anyhow you wont find one of those cheap. £2k or there abouts..Same with WR's. They dont go cheap either. XT's on the other hand can be had easily for less than £1k, Plenty of road legal ones and there easy to obtain spares for. A 350/400 would be better for commuting too. Also heard of reliability problems with the XT600's and when things break it starts getting expensive.. Generally bigger cc engines cost more to repair anyway.
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04' DT125RE (run-a-bout) // 89' DT125R (rebuilt + supermoto conversion)
SPARES FOR SALE. 2RK TZR // 82 DR125 // DT125R/E .... PM ME...

[feef]

[G]

On the DR, I'd also consider a DR600. These only weigh a little more; make a bit more power though not a massive amount and a nice broad range of torque.

While it was fine for green laning, I definitely wasn't using it any where near it's capacity - would occasionaly get into the bottom of third gear; mid way through second was about the most I was using the engine.

Does mean less gear changes than the XR250 I was riding with or the CRM125 that I have now.

Personally, I'm hankering after a KTM EXC 2 stroke for green laning and more. If you can afford one, these seem, to offer an excellent compromise of useable power, weight and reliablity. Coming in at only slightly heavier than a full on mx bike, they shouldn't be too hard to get out of a ditch and are supposed to be a bit easier to ride.
Prices from a tad under £1k for an oldish one. The Gas Gas EC models are similar.

Otherwise, consider the 4stroke 250s and maybe some of the more road biased 2 stroke 250s like the KMX and CRM.

For green laning alone, the 4st 250s should be fine; however you may find yourself wanting more for other stuff.

[Hooky]

I think the best all rounder has got to be the XR400.
Vey easy to work on, engine reliable and more than enough for road and lanes.
You may find a beaten -up one for around a grand but you should find a nice 2000 model for £1500..

Dont be concerned about kick starting them, they are easy.
They really are brilliant bikes, servicing is simple and 90% diy.

Well worth the peace of mind and spending a little more to get one

[Korn]

[joe black]

don,t forget guys you can only legally ride on byways new legislation passed this year ,if you are caught riding anything else you lose your bike.

[Marathon Man]

Here's another couple for the mixing pot - KTM 525 Desert and KTM 400 EXC...

My only concern is the lack of ignition switch / key on either of them - which isn't an issue with the DRZ.

By the way, what's the ignition switch / key situation on a road legal XR400 and WR400...?

[feef]

[Simple]

Throw the KLR250 into the equation too.

Mines on ebay, not far off an mot, could be road legal for £700.. less probably, not sure how much tax is.

If I had an unlimited budget and wasn't so concerned with thieves in Coventry I'd get the honda 400.. guy who lives next to the farm seems to sell alot out of the crate from america.

Simple
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[element]

[Simple]

[joe black]

it is now a criminal offence to ride offroad other than byways if plod decides to take your bike first time he can , we had a meeting with chief constable local to our club if officer decides to take bike he can, you pay fine when you get bike back , also three strikes you,re out may crush next time . so far minimtos just being crushed who,s going to be first dirtbike YOU.

[Ste]

If plod decides to take your bike away?

For that to happen you'd need to stop, quite what are they going to do if you didn't stop; read your numberplate that's covered in mud and so unreadable or are they going to give chase cross country in their patrol car?

Can't say I've got into any police chases but I don't really see the difference in an offroad situation between a pissed off local and a pissed off cop as neither can actually do anything.

[joe black]

sorry about 3 posts don,t know what happened

plod has offroad units in our area so they can follow/chase also if you are riding in national parks air support will be used

it sounds as if you are the type who doesnt care where you ride as long yuo,re havingfun and be damned the rest of us who still want to ride legal trails

[element]

its not that I dont care I just chose to be sensible about it. Like riding early morn on a week day when no one is about and the places I ride are such that the chances of bumping into anyone are next to zero. And even if I did Id get off my bike and push it past them after giving a smile and a hello so at least im not giving the legal riders a bad name. If anyone questions me about it then I know nothing. The laws surrounding off road is so fucked up only the well informed have a clue what the hell is going on. Its like speeding. Its illegal but if your doing 80 in a 70 you'll get a slap wrist. Do 60 in a 30 and they will have your ass. So if your blitzing it around on footpaths you deserve what you get. The places I ride, people dont even know about. They are not even marked on maps. Also my bike is so quiet you wouldnt even hear me.

Ive heard of some counties having DRz's to catch offenders aswell..

If there was a legal trail near me I would ride it but the ramblers want it all for themselves and they have so far done a pretty damn good job.
____________________
04' DT125RE (run-a-bout) // 89' DT125R (rebuilt + supermoto conversion)
SPARES FOR SALE. 2RK TZR // 82 DR125 // DT125R/E .... PM ME...

[Ste]

[joe black]

glad to here you are both riding as legal as possible ,unforunately you and i are being penalised for what other riders are doing .

in my area out of 100miles of lanes we know have less than 20mls as only boats/ucr,s are left , simply put as we stand you can only ride boats/ucr,s or any lane claimed before cutoff date . tro,s will be used to close the rest ,national parks are already putting things in motion . as i understand it they are restricted to certain no of tro,s , then they either re-open or re-classify you know yourself what they,ll do .

local lads had bikes taken on weekend ,stopped on road reason plod used construction/use, illegal tyres ,loud pipes ,small plates
i will let you know what happens as same club as myself

[Ste]

[element]

[joe black]

All RUPP's are reclassified as bridleways now right? which we all know has been illegal to ride on for years. Unless you can prove the RUPP has been used by vehicles in the last 5 years.

that is right isnt it?[/quote]

yes thats right unfortunatly cut off dates been and gone unless claims were made before date, we may yet get some lanes back , BUT will councils around country process claims ????

[KTM Gordo]

RUPPs are now officially "Restricted Byways", meaning that they can be used by horse-drawn vehicles, but not motorised vehicles. Bridleways are for "solo" horses, cyclists and walkers only. Footpaths are for walkers only.

But anyway, back to the original question. What Feef said about the DR350S is pretty much spot on. They're a road 'bike with some off road capability, heavy enough to be stable and powerful enough to get you where you want to be.

My KTM replaced a DR350S (yes, I'm the friend alluded to in Feef's original post), and is the 250 because there's a limit to the amount of power you can get from the tyre on to the ground. On solid ground, yes the 400s will be quicker in a straight line, but when the going gets slippery, the 400s are too powerful and can't get decent traction, whereas the 250 will find grip almost anywhere.

If you're just starting out then go for something that'll do a bit of everything until you know if you just want to ride the lanes, or do rallies, long distance trials, enduros etc., then you can buy a more suitable 'bike.

A road legal 'bike, with current tax, MoT and in a reasonable condition will set you back about £1000.

There are a lot of grey import trailies from Japan, and the Yamaha 225 Serow is a popular 'bike for the first-timer, as is the Kawasaki Sherpa.

HTH
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