rusty-94
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hedgehugger
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Sako
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Teflon-Mike
tl;dr
Joined: 01 Jun 2010
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 Posted: 10:20 - 01 May 2012  Post subject: |
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First Up "Dirt Bike Would Be Ideal"
Do you have any 'Dirt-Bike' experience? Dirt or road?
Duelies, are far from 'ideal', they are compromise machines, off-road ability compromised for road performance / equipment, on-road ability compromised for off-road style and performance. Hence they are NEVER 'ideal' they are a compromise machine. But they can be good fun, and if I could only have 33bhp, probably best use I could find for it!
BUT: top of the list and topical since its seven days since my DT were TWOCked.... they are VERY 'Nickable'.
'Cheap' off-roader? Great idea, but check insurance quotes, becouse they do get a loading for 'knobly' tyres and high level mudguards!
Next, think hard about security...
Once past THAT..... here in the UK, we may ride a motorcycle on 'Green-Lanes'. 'Unsurfaced' Public Rights of way with Vehicular Rights. These are public roads, and Road Traffic Act apples just like it does on tar-top.... and there ENT many of them. Used to be that less than 5% of British roads network was unsurfaced, & since 2003 NERF act, we have lost about half of them. There are regions where there are more than others, but for the most part, there aren't many, and of those that there are, an awful lot are no more challenging than a farm driveway, or any longer, and in some districts, to 'Discourage' recreational vehicle use, and assist the leisure walkers, they have laid down tons of road stone, so they are often have less bumps then the street I live in! Wonderful pass-time is you aproach it with the right attitude and aren't looking for Moto-Cross 'kicks', but an awful lot of teh challenge is in researching Legally rideable routes, than actually orienteering to find the little fuggers on the ground!
You CANNOT just head off down any old dirt-track you see, or tear off accross waste-ground.
So other than legal green-lanes, other 'off-road' oportunities are few, unless you have your own private estate; and limited pretty much to Pay & Play / Practice Days at quarries or MX Tracks, or organised competition; Trials, Enduro, or actual Moto-Cross.
Duelie Road bikes probably wont 'cut-it' in organised trials or MX, but depending you could do 'OK' in Enduro on a Duelie, or survive using an Enduro bike on-road.
So, before going MUCH further down this avenue..... if you got a Dirt-Bike, would you REALLY get to use its off-road capability much, if at all?
On Road, knobly tyres limit tarmac grip; long travel suspension, is soft and squidgy, making the bike less than 'composed' and far from 'precice' in cornering, while high centre of gravity can make it all a bit of a liability... and then you have the practicalities of pillion accomodation, and tank range and all that sort of stuff you have to live with every day.
If you aren't going to get much use from the off-road capability, is it worth it?
I came up from School-boy trials, and liked the 'idea', but the reality proved less exiting. I kept my trials bike for the dirt, and got a road bike for the road. DT was my first forrey back into duelies for over twenty years!
Budget gives you quite a lot of choice for 250's, though be careful, many two-stroke dirt bikes, epecially competition derived ones are likely to be over 33bhp power limit; and come with questionalble reliability issues.
For a road bike? There is not much choice.
Honda CB Two-Fifty, or 'Nighthawk'; teh slightly curiousely styled 233cc twin-shock comuter with 19bhp. Useful little thing if a bit uninspiring and frequently victim of 'Cheap-Bike' maintenence... ie they dont get any!
Suzuki GN250; sort of semi-cruiser, commuter, with 250cc overhead cam single that can be a bit fragile. Again suffers low rent maintenence.
Kawasaki ZZR250, I dont know too much about. But is supposed to be pretty robust; but again, in that budget commuter sector where maintenence seems to be optional, with complex engine at risk of neglect, behind fancy plastic.
We then get to a lot of oddities; like the Kawasaki 250 eliminator, which is something of a liability; curiouse cruiser styling, and ZZR motor.
Its NOT a wonderful place to go looking for a 'Decent' bike, and far too often, bikes make so little power over what a learner-legal can deliver, as not to deliver the real 'I have a BIG bike' feeling.
On 33bhp licence, the more common way to go, is to restrict a bigger bike down to 33bhp. Restricting bikes with four cylinders is a bit of a waste and I dont think they tend to work too well, but a twin? Something like a Suzuki GS500, or a Kawasaki ER5? Pretty good way to go.
They tend to be fairly cheap, a lot more common, and much more of a known quantity, so you stand more chance of getting a better bike for your money, AND being able to live with it easily enough.
Frequently not THAT exhorbitant to ensure either. GS500, is probably cheaper to insure for me than my DT was..... GS is one group higher but that means little.... it doesn't have knobly tyres and doesn't live in Learner-Land, or plastic-fantacy world, so doesn't tend to get the 'loadings' dirt or sports-bikes do.
Just some food for thought for you.
But, for something a bit more 'fun', If I were 19 again and on 33bhp restrict, I think I would be looking for a KTM... a haynes manual, some spanners, LOTS of locks, a TRF membership, and a higher end GPS with orienteering functions, to go find legal green-lanes....
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?' |
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