400 exc

[joe g]

what are the service intervals like? how are the they for commuting? i'm after something fun that will do 50 miles a day but be good greenlaning too

[G]

[joe g]

not a lot! and it was only on 125's but loved it! budget is around £3000 but rather not have to spend that much. cheers

[G]

Why not consider two bikes?

You can get an excellent light weight enduro bike like a bit older EXC which won't feel like you're fighting it on green lanes and a commuter bike.

£1-1.5k or so will get you an older 300EXC, which make great green lane bikes and very light. For £2k you should be able to get a decent 4 stroke.

Leaves you plenty over to get a road-hack.

[joe g]

i'd love two bikes but only just enough room in the garage for 1. So ideally looking for something that would be good enough at both, it will be mainly commuting but to be able to do a bit of greenlaning too on weekends.

[G]

Two dirt bikes barely take more room than one bike - 'top and tail' them and the widest bit (the bars) will stick over the other.

Basically you're limited by:
Reliability
Power
Light Weight

You can have any two of those, but not 3. And the more you have of each, the more expensive it gets.

If you can handle the weight and have the cash, something like a KTM690 or FI model TE610 would be a good all-round choice.
I'm fine riding that sort of weight off road, but I've always been reasonably confident with such things.

[Fladdem]

I'm going to throw my TTR250 out there again.

It does everything, I have raced it, done enduro practise days, motocross practise days, although I don't take it round jumpy tracks, I don't like jumping, commute on it about 20 miles a day, go cruising at the weekend with mates, the other sunday I rode to cheltenham on it and did some green laning up there, I did 320 KM's that day.

It's a good bike, I wish there was a ttr400, I would buy it in a heart beat. the thing with the 250 is that there isn't enough power really on the road, but offroad it's fine, I can get myself into trouble if I want. Although like G says, I picked reliability over anything else, and it certainly isn't light, my mates XTZ660 tenere was easier to pick up than mine is.

I wish my engine was stuffed in a WR250f frame, then I would be happy forever.

That probably didn't help. There is always a DRZ?
____________________
Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

[nathan k]

+1 for a DRZ.

[joe g]

drz looks like a good choice.

but i'm seriously considering getting an xr 400.

[G]

DRZ comes in two guises - S is heavier, but with more road stuff, E is lighter, but less suited to daily use.

XR400 is even lighter than the 'E', but with a bit less power and the even less 'daily' stuff.

I suspect the big end on my DRZ engine went thanks to too much highish speed road stuff.
I wouldn't choose the bikes listed for 50 miles a day personally.

[P.addy]

For 50 miles a day I'd choose a different style of bike personally. Buy a fun off road bike and a generic beater bike.

[colin1]

[Fladdem]

The 600 catches my eye for trips like the one I did 2 weeks ago, I didn't need my 250 really, it wasn't very tight stuff, apart from one lane, I got a chance to play catch the WR450, we were similar levels of skill, I couldn't shake him but likewise he couldn't shake me, we took it in turns. But the GS1150 made it through, slower but still did it so a TTR600 would have done everything easily.
If your heart is set on an offroad styled bike, maybe something similar to the XTZ660, slightly larger, still quite good offroad, all the fairing, comfy, the lad riding the Tenere with me claimed between 250-300 miles a tank depending on his right wrist, although two bikes would probably be best.
My plan is keep the H100 powered MT50 for commuting then get a proper enduro bike, like the EXC 400, for everything else, apart from serious road miles.
____________________
Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.