Newbie requires some help

[Nottingham Forest]

Hi, I've recently sold my sportsbike and am currently looking for a bike suitable for green laining.

I've managed to boil it down to 3 bikes - a late CRF450 X, a 2002 XR250 and a 2005 300 EXC. All very different but if I'm honest I've always prefered 4 strokes to strokers but after reading a couple of threads I've become drawn to the KTM.

If you could give me some direction on my choices that would be great - pro's & cons that sought of stuff, nothing too heavy.

One thing to consider is that I don't own a van so I'd have to ride to where ever I'm going - hence the 450. Having said that I understand that for a novice like me the the biggest downside of a 450 is the weight and performance.

Thanks in advance for your help

[drzsta]

if its on green lanening your doing, XR250 is all you need - its light and versitile. HOWEVER - if your planning on doing more than the odd trail then i would propose either the CRF OR the KTM 300,
The KTM is a great bike, its got plenty of torque for a 2/s but yet is got that perfect light feeling when your in the tight woody sections that you might find your self in on enduros and h&h,

you've got to keep in mind Maintenance aswell, The CRF AND EXC are high maintenance as you would expect, the XR is a workhorse.

I would'nt worry about weight too much on the 450's my 04 wr450 is the old steel framed model, my 17 year old son can lift it from the floor.

hope this helps.
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Current Bikes - BMW S1000RR ‘17 & KTM 690 SMC-R ‘12

[Pussy Magnet]

i myself have a ktm250 great bike great speed you will have so much fun on one but they do go wrong alot.

xr250 i would suggest great bike very quick sound great and also they are quite a lite good handling bike.

[Imonster]

[Tonka]

My first off roader is a Honda XLR 200 and I can thoroughly recommend the Honda as a first bike. With the 250 you will have enough to get to and from - I only get about 55mph top speed but mine's smaller and older and let's face it speed, tarmac and knobbly tyres aren't the nicest combination!!

Off road you'll be spot on - not too much to catch you out, light bike to handle and pick up when you drop it. As for maintenance they are really straight forward to do the basics and not too pricey - parts, fuel and insurance.

Only thing I would say about a first greenlaner is it's nice to have an electric start, but it's certainly not the end of the world if you don't just a bit more tiring kick starting - you'll be stopping and starting quite a bit initially if you're anything like me!!
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'The core of a man's spirit comes from new experiences'
Suzuki SV650S (Clean); Yamaha XT250 Serow (Dirty)

[Flipsta]

If you're going for a more accelerated pump kind of green laining then the KTM is for you. In my opinion KTM's are beautiful bikes and top notch stuff. Since itl' be your first green lainer, I dont suggest you jump right to the top of the range, as if you do (god forbid) crash or ruin aspects of the bike you dont want to splash out too much on repairs/buying a new one. I suggest you look at something like a Yamaha, Honda, Suzu or Kawasaki, but if you're the type of guy that loves his toys - The KTM is for you.
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-Yamaha DT 125cc RE 2007 (right) >> Decal facelift
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[garyd]

Yeah KTM is a no no ,get a nice xr250 dont think you have to go big ,ill show you a clean rear tyre all day long on my crf230 im between Nottm and Grantham and ive sent you a pm ,ill take you out on lanes i go EVERY Sunday
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CRF230 all you need

[G]

[silky666]

WR

(someone will tell me to shutup soon )
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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.

[garyd]

G by your own views you support that a good rider doesnt need a large capacity bike .......hence crf230
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CRF230 all you need

[G]

[garyd]

As he has stated a preference for 4 bangers...... its the xr all the way ,but , maybe the xr400 for the road work will be easier with very little extra weight,
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CRF230 all you need

[G]

Depends if his preference is before or after riding a modern enduro 250/300 2 stroke.
To me the engines have more of that '4 stroke' feel than a lot of the revvy modern 4 stroke competition bikes.

Riding a RMX250 and XR250 back to back made the XR feel revvy as well as underpowered!

The main reason I'm not a fan of the competition 4 strokes (as well as the extra weight they carry) is the worries about servicing and the extra cost if something does go wrong. Otherwise, I'd always go for the lightest (and highest spec) bike that was in my price range.

[garyd]

Yeah i agree on that G the exc and similar are just asking to be worked on religiously,you want a bike for the TRAILS that you can just ride without harsh maintenance intervals,which brings us back round to the ...........................................................................crf230
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CRF230 all you need

[G]

[silky666]

[G]

The internet suggests you'd want to be doing regular oil changes at least, something people don't worry about on 2 strokes unless racing really.

[silky666]

[Pie-Roe]

It's a completly different ball game, but I chose a ktm 625 over a crf450x with sm wheels purely because of the maintenance. I've spoken to a few people, one of them being Tom Knight of TheBikeShop and he reckoned on the KTM requiring less servicing.
A guy I know who has done things to his CRF (68bhp dyno printout) reckons he changes the oil +filter every 350 miles, valves every 700.
My ktm is listed at 3000 oil + filter + valves.

I used to beleive the common thing about 2 strokes being unreliable and expensive. But now I realise that it's just that if you get a high performance 4 stroke and compare it to a 2 stroke, the 4 stroke is going to be harder work.

Pyro
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[Nottingham Forest]

Time gentlemen please!

You'll be pleased to know that I've now bought my bike! Wait for it............................ it's not a 2 stroke.............................and its not the XR250...............................in the end I went for a 2005 KTM 450 EXC.

My heart said buy the 300 EXC (as G said its quick, light and nimble) but in the end I asked myself do you want to be riding from Nottingham to the Peak District on it and the answer was no. If I had access to a van or trailer I would have probably gone for one.

By then I was hooked on the KTM's pedigree and build quality and after considering the weight difference between the 250 and the 450 I opted for the extra power of the 450. I think this bike is ideal for what I want it for. Yes I don't need the power for green laneing but it will make the journey there a whole lot easier.

Thanks agan for all your guidance fella's - I hope to see some of you when I'm out and about. I'll post some pics in the next couple of days so you can have a look at her.

[silky666]

[G]

A bit late now, but for the record the 300 quite possibly has more power than the 450 - it's made to be competition for the 530. However, the 4 strokes often do have better road manners.
Do make sure you look up the servicing requirements, especially if you're adding a load more hours of road work on to it.

It'll be interesting to hear how you get on. I've heard quite a few say the 450 is 'too much' and they've gone back to the tamer 400cc. However, exactly the same was said of my Husaberg 501 and I never had a problem.
I suspect this may be people trying to really push, where they can get nearer the limits of the tamer bikes without scaring themselves too much - while if you're pootling along a lane it's unlikely to make much difference.

[Nottingham Forest]

No, not a WR

Who was it who said "you can't please all of the people all of the time" ?

[garyd]

Well it seems like its gonna be a baptism of fire for you then Forest oh boy what a sunday i have in store for you there will be a ride report from Forest next week ,then we will see how the 450 stood up,a good choice considering the amount of road work to get to trails ,and full of trick kit to smooth out those ruts
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CRF230 all you need

[garyd]

well we went riding today ,it pissed it down from 7am-11.30am and wind was howling all day.I met with the other 2 riders at 9.30am and was soaked to me pants then hey ho,did 112 miles back for 2.30pm no -one had any offs ,it was very muddy and slippery,and no Nottingham forest didnt bring his shiny KTM 450 out ,but ,he did have the decency to phone me Sat evening .then i had a lovely bath and watched Forest get a fantastic draw against Cardiff on the box,what with the Halloween party on Sat night and pub Friday night it was a good w/end all round im riding Peterboro next Sunday so will lead round mine the w/end after
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CRF230 all you need