Anybody ridden...

[Korn]

... A DR350? I want a dirt bike, but not a two stroke. Bearing in mind I would be a complete novice would something like the DR be a good first off-road bike?

Or am I just going to break myself again?
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3516 Miles, 11 Countries

[Robby]

Poke evil bob. He had one.

2 strokes win though, and you know it. Biatch.

[Smoto Bob]

[Korn]

Cool, sounds about right then. Are there any other smallish four stroke singles worth considering?
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3516 Miles, 11 Countries

[carvell]

Yup.

The Hyosung RX125.

You know you want it!
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Yamaha TDM 850

[Sparks!]

Korn, it depends really how much you have to spend and what you want out of it.

A Suzuki DR350 is adequate for green laning and messing about on, the suspension is not up to jumps or anything, but DR's do wheelie very well I seem to remember them being in a top 10 of some magazine test for easy to wheelie bikes. They are quite tall though. Price around £1000-£2000 - electric start models is the Dr350 "E" models

A Yamaha TTR250 is an excellent trail bike, a bit better than the DR I'd say but then it's only a 250 motor! But still very good for green laning and messing. Price around £1400-£2000 - later models are electric start.

Honda XR250's I'd stay away from, they are farm bikes, good for the pottering about on but knowing what you want it for, you'd probably break it with a few rides

Yamaha WR250F is more your style but a lot more expensive, suspension is up to most of what you'd throw at it, a good fast 250cc motor and it's a yamaha of course but these are fucking expensive, later 2001 (i think) models are electric start, rest are kick. prices from £2000 if your lucky to £3500

You could get an Honda XR650 for around £2k to £2.5 and these are going to be a fair bit faster but again they're still a bit farm style bikes.

Theres a few others , older bikes like the XT but they'd be a bit slow compared to newer stuff and the suspension etc won't be all that.

You could go for a Suzuki RM250F (4 stroke model, think its an F) these are nutter bikes, same as RM 250 only 4 stroke motor but v expensive.

Theres a few KTM's if your stupidly rich like the 525 EXC (mmmm) but they sell for up to and over £5k Lots of maintenance required on most KTM's especially the faster EXC's etc.

The KTM LC4 can be picked up from £2000 for an older model and are pretty nifty. LC4's seem to have a bit of a maintenance issue, if you get one, look after it. regular oil changes etc.

Or a Husky TE410 are very good bikes that super moto very well, I hope to get one of these in a few weeks/months time. They range from about £2000 - £2500 and the E model has electric start, they are relatively reliable and good value for money.

Hope that helps else I spent ages writing crap for nowt

I guess for cheap good all rounders it's going to be down to the DR350 and the Yam TTR250, but as said by someone else, the 250 might be a bit sloww, but not much slower than the DR to be honest. The 98 + DR350E's are much better than the older ones by the way and one year done some full on enduro model, probably not ideal for what you want.

Keep checking ebay there are LOTS on there and I look at them every single day (just waiting for the perfect bike at the perfect price )

If by off-roading you mean MX tracks then your going to struggle with almost all of the above, with the exception of the Yam WR250F.

For pure off road on MX tracks something like a CRF250/450 or the RM250F but these are expensive.
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Current Toys: 06 Yamaha WR250F | Nissan 350Z GT | Tech 4 Homes

[Sparks!]

p.s the DR is quite heavy off road

Yamaha TTR much lighter.
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Current Toys: 06 Yamaha WR250F | Nissan 350Z GT | Tech 4 Homes

[Dr Nick]

CrunchBox 90 .


Quick off road , jump really well, run forever. Cheap as chips. What more could you ask.
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is that it

[Smoto Bob]

[Sparks!]

Most things over 400 are a handful off road.

Especially CCM604Dual sport's etc

Even the WR400/450/425F can be a struggle off road.

RiDE even reccomended the WR250F over the 450 as they said its far more manageable and more enjoyable.

Smaller isn't always worse but personally for a 4 stroke I'd go for at least a 400 for green laning with a bit of road use/stunting/pissing about.
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Current Toys: 06 Yamaha WR250F | Nissan 350Z GT | Tech 4 Homes

[Smoto Bob]

^^ yer what he says.

my klr600 ( 35 kg lighter than a KLR650) is still a bit on the large side but is a riot in the right hands if not a tad over welming in the wrong conditions and very hard work
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F'it DO WHAT EVER MAKES YOU HAPPY!!!!! Even if it screws over everyone else :p
Titz wrote: "..and my 3rd accident was when this police car....."

[Jon]

https://www.fastfiftys.com/

I'd go for one of these Korn, me and my mate Neil are getting some in the summer, you can take them anywhere easily and they are perfect bikes for stunting. I've got a few contacts in this 'sport' so should be getting them dirt cheap aswell....... tempted?

[kev]

I've been playing with my bosses drz400 at work and it doesn't seem that bad.
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20:02:36 Jammy-R6: any holes a goal
20:02:48 kev: even if its a hairy mans arse
20:02:56 Jammy-R6: hell yes

[G]

Do you want it just for off road playing, or on road playing/commuting etc as well?

[Korn]

You can tell I've thought this through, can't you

To be honest I just want to "have a go", i.e take in green laning, ride through a few forests, wheelie the knackers off it, etc. I wasn't thinking of doing the motocross stuff (I'd probably kill myself ) and commuting, hmm, maybe - but most likely I'll just stick to the train. So really something that will do the basics and won't cost a bomb to maintain / repair when I crash it into trees.

(without killing myself, did I mention that bit?)

As an aside, what would it take to get something like this road legal? If it can even be done
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3516 Miles, 11 Countries

[Syfoon]

[kev]

You have to get it registered on a Q plate and put a number plate and a horn on it, its that simple.
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20:02:36 Jammy-R6: any holes a goal
20:02:48 kev: even if its a hairy mans arse
20:02:56 Jammy-R6: hell yes

[kev]

Before you go out and waste all your money on a bike and gear it may be an idea to go on a green lane outing which will cost you about £200 for the weekend and that includes everything including accommodation, food, bike and all the gear.
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20:02:36 Jammy-R6: any holes a goal
20:02:48 kev: even if its a hairy mans arse
20:02:56 Jammy-R6: hell yes

[Smoto Bob]

[Keen]

[stevo as b4]

if its a small cheap 4 stroke your after then the DR350/XT350 are both about the biggest decent old thumpers that you will find for both reasonable off and on road performance. You could look at DR200's XLR200's Serrows TTR250s etc, as they would be better off road being lighter, and ok for short distance road use too. No jap 4stroke over 400cc would make a very useful dirtbike, but if you look for a KTM or Husky then they are much more serious tools. My KMX200 is nice and light, but even with lower gearing its still too peaky for slow speed offroad work, but it shifts ok!

[Smoto Bob]