Which Bike????? Please Help!!!!!

[gre99y]

Hi All
I am looking for a Trailie/Crosser that can adorn my garage beside my GSXR 1000
I have about 2k to spend on a good all rounder. It needs to get me to work (10miles round trip). A little green laning and slightly more than the odd day (twice a month) on a motocross track (winter). I also wouldn't mind getting a spare set of rims and some Avon's to supermoto it up when the mood takes me (summer)!
I have been looking at WR 450, CRF 450, DRZ 400 YZ 426 and the Gas Gas EC 300-450. Have any of you any experience on these bikes and which do you think would be best suited to what i am going to use it for. Maybe I should be looking for a smaller cc for the motocross? If anyone has any other suggestions please feel free. Dont really want anything older than a 2001 though so not really interested in retro - DT's KLX DR XL's etc. Or anything with those concertina plastic gators on the forks.
Thanks in advance for your opinion.

[silky666]

G will reply with the most knowledge and insight - seeing as he has probably owned most of the bikes you mention

However from my perspective I would say the following:

For Motocross track you will need something light - the WR and XR 400+cc bikes are too heavy.
However - if on balance you will be using it more for very small commutes and a fair bit of green laning, then the XR or WR are perfect.

WR:
The older WR's have a reputation for being pretty solid.
Lots of power - if a little aggressive.
Easy to get parts from ebay on the cheap.

£1500 will buy you a very decent 1999 to 2001 WR400 or 426.
£350 will easily buy you some nice excel/talon supermoto wheels.
£150 will buy you assorted fancy bits like new graphics etc.

So all in all you will get a good looking on and off road bike for £2000.

XR:
Same sort of money as the WR's.
Less aggressive power - but much more usable when green laning - and certainly more than I could ever use.
SOLID bikes and really easy to work on. (ask Joe).
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[MarJay]

Can I just point out that you don't want a "'Crosser". That is a competition motocross bike and will be fairly unsuitable for the road.

If you want to get to work on it, I'd suggest a four stroke trailie/enduro bike.

If you want to use it on a motocross track then I'd suggest a two stroke enduro/motocross bike.

If you want to green lane, then I'd suggest any trailie or enduro bike (because it has to be road legal!)

So, there isn't really a bike that will cover all of your needs. You'll need some sort of compromise in order to choose a bike.

Personally, if I were you... I'd buy a cheap commuter for commuting and buy a GasGas EC300 for green laning/motocross tracking. I've ridden Michael J's EC300 and its totally mental. It properly sounds like a motocross bike too. Being an enduro, it has lights and can be road registered fairly easily. Lots of them are sold road registered from the outset IIRC.

I have a GasGas Pampera which is OK for a bit of green laning and a bit of mucking about on a MX practice track, but its totally impractical for the road. It runs on pre-mix (not unlike the EC300) and has no ignition key or steering lock, so you just kick it over and it starts. This is obviously not great for commuting to work as the local scrotes will have it away sooner than you can say "Field Bike".

If you want a bike for green laning and getting to work on, then you can't really go wrong with something like an XR250. Its a trailie, but its at the more enduro end of trailies. It has an ignition lock and steering lock, so you could ride it to work and it doesn't need any special fuel (being a four stroke). It isn't as hardcore as a proper enduro, but you could ride it to work and then ride down some green lanes. You could take it to a motocross track (I think Joe on here does take his to Gingers occasionally) but I don't think it would cope with 'proper' MX jumps. (Gingers is a 'practice' track and doesn't have many hard core jumps). You can also get electric start XR's which is useful in the pouring rain when you want to get home from work.

Hopefully I've given you some food for thought, but I'm afraid (like all bikes) there isn't really an off roader that can do everything without compromising somewhere.
____________________
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Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[gre99y]

Thanks for your insight guys, (sorry I meant 'crosser' to be taken descriptively not literally)
I am really deliberating between theDRZ, WR and the CRF (i think). I realise something lighter is needed for the motorcrossing but it will be used mostly for the commute between work, home and the Drumclog motocross track also some hare and hounds up here in bonnie Scotland. Trail riding up here is 'restricted' to say the least. Like the cheap parts, 'solid' statement and the power of the WR silky666 thanks for the comment (not a great fan of the xr, a mate had one for years). Does anyone know if the DRZ, WR or the CRF is the lightest? can they all take a landing? (Had an XL600 8 feet of a table top a few years back and it didn't take it well at all)! If i think about it logically I am led to buying a 250 but I am 6'2" and the wrong side of 13 stone so ....... The larger (wider) machine more suits my stature. Vain as it is - these things matter. Don't want to look like i'm riding a minimoto all day!
So really what I need is a hummmmmm ... much deliberation ..... motocross-commuter, larger than 250, but still light, decent service intervals, that will sit on the back wheel all day on supermoto tyres during the summer ... sorry was trying for a moment of clarity but it didn't work!

[MarJay]

[G]

With off road bikes there's always going to be a compromise of weight, power and reliability. You can generally have any two of those, but not all three.
When you get to talking about motocross, which is about the most 'extreme' use you can have for an off-roader, that pushes it even further.

What sort of roads will you be commuting on?

Personally I wouldn't do 50 miles a week commuting on a WR (unless it was five miles of dirt each way!) they can be fairly reliable for 4 stroke dirt bikes, or even supermotos, but generally seem to suffer a bit from daily road use.
A DRZ would be fine for road use, but terrible for motocross use. The CCM marjay mentions is better, but still weighs a lot more than a proper motocross bike.
The only bikes that would really come near are moderate capacity two strokes; Gas Gas EC 300 and KTM EXC 300. These only weigh a bit more than the 250cc motocross bikes, have nearly as good suspension and about the same power. Reliability is pretty decent.
However, I'm still not sure I'd want to be riding them daily, though some do.

So I think the best suggestion would be to look at two bikes; a light weight motocross or 2 stroke enduro bike, and a general commuter (or you could just use the GSXR ).
Personally, I wouldn't want to be commuting on knobblies; supermoto wheels would make sense, but not sure why you'd want to trust your life to Avon tyres! The Italian(and British) bikes are much better for having 'bolt in' supermoto kit, rather than having to get a load of work done to make them fit.

I don't see why you're bothered by a bike newer than 2001, unless your social circle has some stigma about owning old vehicles for the lack of status .
Obviously you may be pushed to an older bike for one of them, if you were going for two bikes.


Oh and to answer your question, a CRF is by far the lightest, followed by the WR then the rather relatively heavy DRZ. Read that again for the likely hood to blow up while commuting.

[gre99y]

Hi G
Thanks for the input.
I will be on A roads in and out of town.
The idea of the newer bike was reliability/fewer hours/miles I know there are some well maintained 80's and 90's bikes out there and equally some new bikes that are a pile of crap......but generally imho I like to think there would be more manufacturer development in a newer bike and depending on how thrashed they've been fewer mechanical problems. I know that throws the doors open for a load of semantics ...... but
What i'm thinking is go for a reliable (not serviced every 10 hours - so no bergs or husky's) supermoto that I can stick knobblies on over the winter and will be reasonably competent on a motocross track/hare & hounds - which bike that is I don't know?

Maybe they don't make that bike yet?
PS thanks for the short service info marjay!

[G]

three is always going to be a problem.
If you want to do motocross, you really need the light weight, which severely limits your options for a single bike.

When someone makes a wonder bike with all three, it will sell very, very well , until then we're constrained by the laws of physics/technology.

As you suggest, it's not quite as cut and dried as new bikes being better; as you need to give the bike a decent look-over, I'd be doing that anyway. Newer performance 4 strokes have improved a lot, but in the other cases I don't think things have got massively better with the years (lighter tuned 4 strokes and most 2 strokes.)

If you're stuck on a single bike, as I say I'd look at the 300cc 2 strokes.

[stevo as b4]

Depending on how much off roading and how severe your going to use it then id choose a more road friendly bike, if your going to commute alot, and use it as a road going supermoto.

The newer 4stroke stuff thats really light and powerful is still pricey and requires too much maintainence for loads of road use. I have ridden a WR250F and a WR450SM, and they both rock IMO!

For me if i wanted one bike for everything, and wasn't going to fly round MX tracks on it, then a KDX220SR would suit me just fine, although the tart in me would like a TM or Husky, or Gas Gas competition enduro machine!

[Hazylogic]

Not meaning to hijack, but I'm in the same position as you (I'm also in Scotland, Edinburgh to be precise!): I was thinking of getting a DRZ400SM for commuting and weekend fun; b roads, fireroads, play at the local quarry, anything that looks rideable, general hooliganism!

Let me know what you end up getting!

Rob