Thinking of swapping to the muddy side

[beans]

As per the title really. Been road riding now for 6 years and really fancy trying a different side to motorcycling. Currently i ride an r6 but i never seem to be able to motivate myself to ride it, i get plenty of time to but just never seem to bother. When i do ride i always seem to be looking over my shoulder waiting for the blue lights and sirens, needing my license for my job this isnt ideal . Thinking of picking up a cheap 250 to take green laning just to get a feel if i like it. with a budget of 500 to 800 what sort of bike would be available? Thinking along the lines of an older xr 250? Any other ideas of bikes Just to get me into it then maybe look at selling the r6 and getting into it properly. I have emailed my local trf rep and it looks like the best lanes are around 40miles away, what is a reasonable distance most travel to get to lanes?

Many thanks
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Yamaha FS1E- Suzuki RG 125 - Honda CB-1- Ducati Monster - Kawasaki ZX6-R F1- Kawasaki ZX6-R G1- 2003 Yamaha R6

[ben_wheely]

Yea an xlr 250 is a good choice, cheap to pick up, pretty relaible.

They are not quick bikes off-road but they do plod along nicely without much trouble, they are not too heavy, and are not overpowered, great for beginners imho !!

[G]

XR is a good choice.
Also consider CRM250, KMX and the like.

[.....]

XR250 is a good little bike for greenlaning but I wouldn't like to ride one 40 miles on the road.

The XR400 is a fair bit better on the road but I think you'd struggle to find one in you price range that would be decent.

[beans]

Thanks for the advice. Im off to buy a selection of maps at the weekend, then I will start checking out these lanes as best as possible while I look for a bike. Are there any people on here that have swapped from road riding to just Trail riding? How did you find it? Still not sure if i will miss the power of a fast bike.
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Yamaha FS1E- Suzuki RG 125 - Honda CB-1- Ducati Monster - Kawasaki ZX6-R F1- Kawasaki ZX6-R G1- 2003 Yamaha R6

[G]

I got bored of the power of a fast bike quite a while before I went to trail riding. I much more enjoy the challenge of going in a straight line at a moderate speed through deep mud or whatever (or trying not to go in a straight line around a corner ).

[.....]

I went from sports bikes to off-road bikes and was the best biking decision I've made. So much more fun. Admittedly I've only been off-roading for nearly a year but find myself riding for fun much more now - I took a day off work to go out today, never did that with road riding.

Each ride is different even on the same route depending on the season and what the weather has been doing. Sliding through mud at 30 mph is much more fun than doing 150+ on the road IME.

[yen_powell]

Go on....you know you want to!!!
https://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b165/yen_powell/croppeddoodah2.jpg
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https://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b165/yen_powell/__hr_MHead---2.jpg
Where abouts in the country are you?
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Blackmail is a nasty word........but not as nasty as phlegm!
XT1200Z and a DR350 in bits

[G]

See his profile for his location ... Very East Anglia.

[yen_powell]

[beans]

That does look like great fun!

From the Norfolk/Suffolk border, which strangely with all the fields and common land has naff all lanes within 40 miles. Hmmm Decisions Decisions!!
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Yamaha FS1E- Suzuki RG 125 - Honda CB-1- Ducati Monster - Kawasaki ZX6-R F1- Kawasaki ZX6-R G1- 2003 Yamaha R6

[G]

40 miles isn't that bad, though I admit I do generally do it in the van, I've often been more than that for trail riding (did ride the KTM once and that was fine, though had quite road biased tyres on, but reckon I'd have also been fine on the CCM's more 'trail' tyres.)

[KTM Gordo]

There're quite a lot of lanes in East Anglia - including Suffolk and Norfolk.

There's also an enduro practice track just outside Swaffham if you fancy something a little more technical.
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Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine.

KTM 990 Adventure | KTM EXC 250 Racing | Land Rover Freelander SE Td4

[Nath]

[Jockey]

I went from road to trail and then on to trials, i`m now back with road bikes although i would like another Yam DT175MX, that was a really fun bike.-Jockey.
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Current bike VFR 400 R NC30, others now gone.

[supersports]

yeah the reason i'm changing to offroading is because i might get banned for 6 months soon

[jow]