Best/Good Commuter/Trails/Occasional Enduro Bike

[twotakt]

Hello all,

I know it's a big ask with no perfect solution as at the end of it as I'll have to compromise something somewhere. But basically I'm looking for a bike that I can commute on (only short distances) whilst being able to go greenlaning on and occassionally enter enduro's/trials events on. But I must stress that I'm not looking to be competitive, just want to have fun and help to fit.

I'd prefer a 2t due to them being lighter, easier to maintain and produce more power per CC.

Budget is ~£1200.

So, I was thinking of something along the lines of:

KDX220/200/250
CRM125/250 (not AR)
DT200WR
DT125R
KMX125
DT175
DT125LC
KTM300EXC (one of the older ones with kickstart)

What would you reccommend and why? Any other suggestions?

At the moment I'm leaning towards a CRM250 or DT125R.

Thanks again,
Jack
____________________
R.I.P. Tareree Shiimi, 1985-2008

[ben_wheely]

Does it have to be 2t ?

I would say a wr 250 - fun, fast, light, its off road biased so great on green lanes and im sure they would be ideal in enduros, and they are road legal, almost rev as high a 2t too ! Bit of maintainence required though.
____________________
Rides: '05 Yammy WR290-F

[twotakt]

It doesn't have to be a 2t no, but most of the 4t's that I like exceed my budget constraints.

i.e. ktm525, DRZ400E

From what I've seen the 4t's in my budget would be old and incredibly heavy (or light and slow) and probably just as quick as one of the 2t's I want. For example:

KLR250
DR350
DR650
XT600
XL125/250
XR200

So for the money I've got I may as well buy myself an 2t which will almost as quick as most of the options I've got and generally alot lighter.

Also the 2t's that I want are ~125-250cc and thus tend to be cheaper to insure and are older so would be cheaper to insure than a 250cc+ newer 4t. So I'm getting a similar amount of power (to an extent) for less insurance cost.

Also if something goes wrong in a 4t then it's a lot of £ to fix whereas a 2t is pennies by comparison. I can rebuild 2t's motor's pretty proficiently now whereas not much experience with 4t's.

I can get 2t oil for trade price as well, so only have to pay £6 a litre on TTS or the lower grade oils are only ~£2-3 a litre.

If my budget strecthed closer to £2000+ then I might consider a 4t but this isn't an option for me at the moment. Also I'm not that bothered either as my riding ability doesn't warrant me requiring a newer and arguably better machine.

Don't know much about wr250's, but what's the point of me having one as it'll cost more to maintain and is likely to have similar power to a crm250 anyway?

Thanks,
Jack
____________________
R.I.P. Tareree Shiimi, 1985-2008

[Sparks!]

You won't get a decent WR250 for that money anyways.

I'd reccomend a CRM250. 1) It's a Honda 2) It's good for trail riding and could even be slightly competitive if ever needed... it's a capable bike, but also good for pottering around trails on.

Maybe look at a TTR250 as well... 4 stroke though but very good trail bikes.
____________________
Current Toys: 06 Yamaha WR250F | Nissan 350Z GT | Tech 4 Homes

[G]

The WR250F is a (slighty soft) full-on enduro bike and I personally wouldn't want to use one for commuting. The WR250R is a nice do-it-all trail bike, but is new so still expensive.

The CRM 125 isn't amazing off-road, as it's got a NSR engine which is quite revvy, go for the 250.
The KMX and DT are better, but not as good as the 200cc + ones.

If you can live with a competition enduro bike such as the KTM 300EXC, it's by far going to be your best bang per buck.

DR650 is really starting to pile on the pounds, but the DR600 is a fair bit lighter and still quite flexible. Have seen a few DR400s going for that sort of price. XT600 is also a little lardy, but the KLR600 isn't too bad (KLR650 is).
Also keep an eye out for the Husky TE410 and TE610 (there are trail bikes not enduro bikes) which often come up quite cheaply.

If you're lucky, might be able to find an XR400 for your money, definitely an XR250. KLR250 and might even be able to find a KLX300 in that price range, though they're quite rare.

I'd just look for the best deal on any of the above (and quite a few more). Would stay away from the 125s as they tend to be overpriced and over-abused.

Seen some CRM250s going for very reasonable prices these days, so definitely keep an eye out for them. If your going to do a reasonable amount of 70-80mph road stuff, I'd be looking at the 600cc (not 650) bikes, otherwise any of the rest should be fine.

[twotakt]

I think the lack of go from most road legal 125 2t's or 250 4t's is likely to do my head in tbh. Although the bike will only be used on B roads mainly and perhaps 2.5miles every other week on the motorway (still got a TDR250 or the Car for slightly longer trips).

An early 1990s KTM300EXC would be nice and I don't mind Premixing or higher service intervals as I'm comfortable on working on 2t's and the return it'd give me would be worth the work involved. But I think I'd prefer something in a slightly lower state of tune such as a crm250 or ?xr400? (don't know much about these).

For the moment I'm keeping my options open and I'll get anything around a 250 2t - 500 4t which comes at a good price and condition. But tbh I think I'll end up going for a 2t as I've got a strange obsession with them and I know any work that a 2t may required I can pretty much do myself (except replating cylinders and rebuilding cranks of course etc). So with that in mind, the CRM250 or the KTM300 are still topping the list for me at the moment. However, I am by no means ruling out a 4t.

OFFTOPIC (sorry): My friend actually got a fully road legal 1989 cr250 with all the lights etc but it's Q plated. Not saying that I'd want it for a road bike as its so fckin loud and always wants to be on its back wheel. But is there any way he can take it off a Q plate? I think he wants to compete in Enduros on it.

Ta again for your time and advice,
Jack
____________________
R.I.P. Tareree Shiimi, 1985-2008

[garyd]

The perfect bike is Honda CRF230 all you will need,75mph on road,competes regularly in hare/hounds etc and ask Gordo or any others that have riden with me if its a capable trail bike £1200-1500 wil get a good 2004/6 ,no maintenance, just change oil,clean air filter,very reliable,leccy start, big bang for ya bucks
____________________
CRF230 all you need

[twotakt]

A nice unbiased review there

But all in seriousness, thanks. It's definately another option for me to consider; but 230 is a bit of a weird sized motor though eh?
____________________
R.I.P. Tareree Shiimi, 1985-2008

[silky666]

[G]

For offroading, a XR250 is easily fine. A DT125 is too really... I could 'keep up' fine on the CRM, but it was a hell of a lot more work as you had to keep it in the powerband all the time and really had to keep the speed up through mud, as trying to get going from stopped didn't work so well (DT etc are fine for this). However, basically advising against them because you can get a bigger bike for the same price.

For £1200 you could get a late 90s or early 00s bike. There's a 2000 model Gas Gas 300 EC with 9 months Tax and Test on Visordown for £1k, but will take offers.

If it was me, I'd personally look at keeping the TDR for most commuting, then get something like the Gas Gas for 'fun' riding; you could even get some supermoto wheels for really silly fun!

The XR400 is a 4 stroke, but a bit lighter than the DRZ with a bit less power and a simpler engine.

Don't dismiss the 600s... the DR600 weighs about the same as a DRZ400 with about the same peak power, but more midrange and a lot less money. Ideal commuter bike if you're not going on fast roads, I reckon.

A while ago I got a KTM350 Enduro (87 model, pre-powervalve) for £350, that would have maybe needed about £150 - £200 of work to make it road legal. Could get that and a DR600 (mine cost me £600) for your budget!

[G]

[twotakt]

[G]

If you can get one for not much money and don't mind it being slow on the road, then it should be a fine choice , as I say just avoid the CRM125 (unless you want to buy mine ).
Incidentally the CRM125 is probably better on the road than the others, but doesn't make up for it if you want to take it off road.

[twotakt]

I've ridden NSR125's before and that motor in a trailie would just be horrid really lol.

I really really want a larger CC bike tbh, but whatever comes at decent price I'll take.

Ta again,
Jack
____________________
R.I.P. Tareree Shiimi, 1985-2008

[silky666]

pre 2001 WR400 - thats what you need.

Solid , Reliable , fine for commuting short distances (30 mile round trip or so)
Look good , Cheap for parts, simple to work on ish.
Good for green laning , Great for enduro.
OK ish for mx track (a little too heavy - but you will get used to it)

and CHEAP.

1999 one in good condition = £1300 max .. amaybe £1100 if you look about.
____________________
There's nothing that shouts "Poor Workmanship" more than wrinkles in the Gaffa tape.

Gaffa tape is like "the force" - it has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

[twotakt]

[silky666]

[twotakt]

That's one nice looking bike, it looks a bit look the dt125re (or rather the dt125re looks like it) and the relatively low service intervals are an added bonus. Also relatively cheap and widely available parts is just what I'm after.

It's definately looking like a more and more of a viable option for me tbh, now to get some insurance quotes and see what they sound like on youtube . Tax is £33 per year for one of these right?

Ta,
Jack
____________________
R.I.P. Tareree Shiimi, 1985-2008

[silky666]

[twotakt]

First quote for TPFT for me is £270 which isn't bad considering the quotes I've had on other bikes. I should be able to get it cheaper than that with some on the phone haggling as well.

Ta,
Jack

EDIT: Quote from the same place for a 1994 CRM250 was £325 TPFT and £315 Fully Comp.
____________________
R.I.P. Tareree Shiimi, 1985-2008

[G]

The official service intervals on the WR are quite harsh, however a quick google, while it doesn't say what they are, does suggest that these are more durable than the later models because it uses steel rather than titanium for some of the valve train, so despite being designed to be a fairly serious enduro (not quite up to KTM/Hussy etc levels) you can push the official intervals a bit.
Interesting, might have to consider one in the future, though still not sure I'd be using it for commuting.

[silky666]

[twotakt]

My commutes are:

8 miles round trip to Uni (3/5 times a week depending)
12 miles round trip to Gym (3 times a week)
20 miles round trip to girlfriends (once a week max as she's normally up my house).

All of which are on twisty B roads, I can go on the motorway to the Mrs' but it's only a 2.5mile stretch anyway. The rides to the lanes aint that far either really and I'd be stopping 1/2 way at my mates house to go and get him. But an uncomfortable seat doesn't bother me at all really; it's more overheating if stuck behind a slow car or sat in traffic?

Sounds like the wr4 is perfect for me really so far, I'll have to have a look at the service manual though so if I do get one I can check whether its had what its needed.

Not a primary concern at all, but out of interest....what's fuel economy like?

Ta,
Jack
____________________
R.I.P. Tareree Shiimi, 1985-2008

[G]

For the comfort, I got a £10.99 sheepskin seatpad for my KTM (which has a harder seat than the CCM's seat from a motocross bike!)
Made doing 5 hours solid on the bike bearable (did start to get a bit sore after 3-4, but so did doing similar in a decently specced Volvo with fully adjustable electric seats ).

Can't find the details now, but will dig out link if anyone's interested.

[twotakt]

Seen this and fallen in love; it's a Mk1 Crm250 with various other bike parts added i.e. kdx220, cr500/125 etc:

https://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x212/knackeredmk1/AlmostFinishedRHS.jpg

Ta,
Jack
____________________
R.I.P. Tareree Shiimi, 1985-2008