the 'What Offroader should MarJay get?' Thread...

[MarJay]

Hi guys,

I really really hate the 'what bike should I get?' threads, and I hope that this isn't really your usual 'what bike?' thread.

Basically, I want to get an off roader for some mild green laning, but mainly for commuting the 4 miles to work and back in the snarl up that is central Reading.

My requirements are quite strict due to my own physical limitations and a couple of other less important reasons.

It must not be too tall. I know I can barely ride an XR250, and if I slacken off the preload somewhat I should be able to ride it easily. Anything taller than that, and I've got no hope. Bikez.com lists the XR250 seat height as 33ins iirc.

It mustn't be a 250 2t... I can't afford the petrol and it will be probably too much for me to handle off road. Similarly anything bigger than a 250 4t would probably not be an ideal commuter, or be too tall. So that limits me to a 250 4t or 125 2t.

it must be easy to kick start: I had difficulty kicking the XR, (read "didn't actually manage to kick start..." this may have been a height thing though) and need to use the bike to get to work, so I can't spend half a day swinging my leg at it. I would consider an electric start, but obviously it isn't ideal off road unless it has a kicker too.

Must be road legal for obvious reasons

Doesn't have to have amazing off road performance, but must be light enough for me to easily pick up off of the floor. This probably means no electric start because electric start bikes tend to be heavier.

My budget is £800. I might stretch to a grand for the right bike.

So I had settled on a few options:

Honda CRM125.
Upsides: Is kick start. Will be easy to kick being a 125 2t. G has one, that I might persuade him to part with! will be OK off road. Light.

Downsides: Rare. Not always cheap. possibly too tall (will find out this evening!)

Yamaha XT225 Serow
Upsides: Low seat height, electric start

Downsides: Rare, ridiculously expensive for what they are, heavier than other bikes of similar power

Kawasaki KE 100
Upsides: Small, light, easy to kick, good on fuel, very cheap to buy, simple to maintain.

Downsides: Not that great off road, slow.

Honda XR 250
Upsides: light, good off road, OK to commute on

downsides: Have difficulty kicking, quite tall, Cannot find road legal one for less than £1200


To be honest I had nearly settled on the Kawasaki because it would be easy to ride and slow me down in the 30 and 40 limits of my commute, however Korn and Ste put me off a bit. It doesn't have much suspension travel and has drum brakes front and rear which don't do well when submersed in an off road puddle. Ultimately it isn't an off-roader.

I realise they may be slightly biassed (being XR250 owners) but I can see their logic. The main thing that attracts me to the Kawasaki at the moment is the price. I reckon I can get one for less than £500.

Another route I explored was chinese 200cc off roaders, but of course these are a false economy as I suspected.

And Yet another route I explored was a Yamaha DT125, but these are all been chavved and are actually shockingly expensive for what they are. Similarly with the 2t Kawasaki offering. They are also very very tall.

I assume the Suzuki 2t is called the Suzuki RMX125, and will also be too tall.

So, now I'm in a quandary and am unsure what to do.

Opinions?
____________________
British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[G]

[garth]

Old Suzuki SP370's are low.

Or an old Ts250.
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You ain't a has been if you never was

[stinkwheel]

DR350? Seat height is 35" but I believe it is adjustable.

Electric start.

[mchaggis]

KM125:

https://www002.upp.so-net.ne.jp/Topcon/Kawasaki/KMX125.jpg

They're nippy buggers too apparently (if you get an early model), and you should be able to get a decent one for a fair amount less than a grand. The only trouble is their nickability.
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I must not be a troll...
Mmmm, Guinness
Discovering the delights of Hammerite and a 3/4" brush.

[cagiva gezzer]

As soon as i read the "low seat" i thought of the serow, but they are rather costly for what they are.
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"because one stroke isnt enough and four strokes waste two"

[Korn]

To be fair the XR has a very light kickstart; with the auto-decomp adjusted correctly I can start it using just my hand. If you had trouble it's likely to be a case of needing some practice at getting the technique right, rather than lacking in height or brute force.
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3516 Miles, 11 Countries

[Ste]

A mountain bike.

A couple of weeks of commuting on one should mean kick starting an XR or picking up a dropped one isn't a problem anymore. Sorry if you were wanting helpful answers.

I would still be saying an XR. Drop it offroad and the bike never makes it as far as being horizontal so picking up should be possible. I picked up mine for £900 which was in very tidy condition, should be able to get a tidy one for £800-1000. Leccy start is alright offroad unless you manage to drown the bike, to avoid that you just have to make sure you're not the first to try and ride through stupidly big puddles made by tanks.

[stevo as b4]

I think if you can find a nice, non abused KMX125 Kawasaki, that it would be really suited to all your needs. They are a nippy bike indeed! Staying with 2t 125's, (and if you like G's CRM), there are a few other options. The KDX125 Kawasaki is very rare, but really is closer to being road legal full enduro bike, with better and longer travel suspension for off road use. It's not quite as fast or comfy as the KMX however. The Suzuki TSR125 is good too, as it has decent suspension and is strong, but it's possibly one of the tallest 125cc trail bikes, and very hard to find. The older TS125X is ok, but nearly all of them will be wreaked by now.

How about the KLR250, XT250/350, and Suzuki DR200? These bikes are all quite light, and the KLR250 is a very good road biased bike, the DR200 being a good compromise, and the XT350 is a bit heavier, but it really goes well on the road 95mph!

The problem more than anything is finding a clean, tidy machine that has not been wreaked by chavs, or seriously abused by enthusiastic off roaders, or worse learners trying to do stunts etc! The other thing is making sure your buy a machine with history and one that has not been stolen or has not matching engine frame No's, or any signs of anything dodgy going on like that.

I paid £600 2years ago for a 1988 KMX200. The bike was very tired and needed a fair bit of work, but i still think it was worth what i paid, as it had nearly every old MOT, and only 2owners form new, along with lots of history and invoices.

[MarJay]

The CRM Is definately too tall.

That pretty much rules out any 2t 125 trailie/enduro.

Bugger.

I think I would have to play with the suspension and get the seat cut down for me to be able to ride it. Particularly day to day. I can *just* touch the floor with my left toe if I hang off of it, but swapping legs is impossible which means no kicking up the sidestand or changing gear.


____________________
British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[MarJay]

[MarJay]

oops!

https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160048071359&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=006

Never mind, I got it for a very small amount of money, and if it isn't any good off road then I can get it MOT'd and taxed and sell it for a fair bit more than what I paid.

And either way it will be OK for commuting!!
____________________
British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[stevo as b4]

That is a very clean and late model year KE100, from the pics. It does't sound like much will need doing to it either, and a simple air cooled, twin shock bike like that would be very easy to work on anyway! Id say that looks like a good £300 to me.

It should be fine and quite comfy for the commuting side of things, and about 60-55mph and 55-60mpg should be acheiveable from it. The motor is the same unit as the KH100, which was an RXS100 rival, and quite a good one too. Apparently early models had a bigger carb and different disc valve, and made about 14bhp.

The only real problem with this bike will be the limited off road ability, it will certainely be light enough, but as well as limited ground clearance, i doubt that the suspension has the travel, and is robust enough for anything more than gentle green laning. It also kind of looks too nice, to do alot of off roading on too, if that's a problem?

It's probably still a much better/sensible buy than the £450 CCM/Can-am 500 enduro bike, i brought on ebay this summer.