Did a MORE - Motorcycle Off Road Experience yesterday

[ReadySalted]

Went to this yesterday:

https://www.rideoffroad.co.uk/

I've never ridden off road, and when tickets for this cropped up on a vouchers website I snapped one up. I think it cost a tenner or something, but for an afternoon of riding bikes I figured it was good value.

It's run co-operatively by the Motorcycle Industry Association, and the main off road bike manufacturers (KTM, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Honda, and Suzuki).
There were quite a few stands though run by people like the TRF.

I tipped up in the early afternoon, and there must have been between 40 and 50 of us there. Each of the manufacturers had big tent/ truck set ups and we were split into groups, one small group to each manufacturer. I was with Suzuki for the afternoon and their team of about 5 instructors got us kitted up with a range of decent branded gear. Most of which was brand new out of packets.
KTM seemed to have the largest presence there, after kitting up we had a quick brief by the director of KTM UK, who explained what the day was all about. In short; encouraging interest and participation in off road riding in any denomination. From buying a cheap bike and greenlaning, to getting a motocross bike and competing, or anything in between. There was no hard sell, and surprisingly their was no bias from any of the manufacturers.

The event was open to anybody with or without a license, so after our breif, our host manufacturers got us on a nursery circuit on the little 125s to make sure we could ride.
After that we spent the following 2 hours riding around a track in groups of 5 led by an instructor from in our case, Suzuki. We had a whole host of bikes to try out, and swapped amongst ourselves every few laps.

I tried a KTM 350 (EXC I think), Kawasaki KLX 450, Yamaha WR250, and the Honda CRF250.

The easiest to ride, was by far the Honda CRF. Compared with the On/Off power of the Kawasaki and the skittishness of the yam and the Ktm, the Honda was a joy to ride. It was definitely the most beginner friendly mainly because the throttle was smoothest and probably the most subdued of them all. It was also neither too big or too small, it felt well balanced and was comfortable.

I managed to drop the Kawasaki and break a clutch lever, and also dropped the Yamaha. If you 'ain't crashin', you 'ain't tryin'.

Was a great day really, with no hidden agenda. All the staff seemed to be totally honest and unbias about their competitors bikes, and the aim of the day was fun and there was zero emphasis on sales. In many respects the enjoyment of riding the bikes spoke for itself, and I fully intend in due course to get myself a cheap enduro bike for greenlaning. Would thoroughly recommend.

[thx1138]

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewforum.php?f=41


that is all

[ReadySalted]

Haha the less encouragement I get to buy an enduro bike the better.

It's all I can do to stop myself buying one!

[thx1138]

buy one, road bikes suck and are boring

[c-m]

I looked at this, but everywhere was too far away for me to bother. Shame, could have learnt some decent technique.

Sounds like it was a good day out.

I few months ago I did a few old Dakar trails around Morocco, this would have been perfect before leaving.

[Rogerborg]

Nice one, looks like an absolute blast. I'd like to give gripped + sorted offroading a quick try, but we have no green lanes up here and the "local" private land outfit is asking multiple hundred monies for a day of playing.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Fladdem]

I keep thinking about doing one of these days, I suck offroad, well no. I think I have levelled up from suck to quite bad/not very good.

Get a CRF!

You know you want to.
____________________
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.

[stinkwheel]

One thing I would very much like to do is learn not to utterly shit myself when either end of my motorcycle looses traction even a little bit.

Seems like just the ticket.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[rubyhorse2]

i wonder if these big companies actively promote the retention of green lanes.

Because when i owned an EXC a few years ago, more and more green lanes were being downgraded.

Its all well and good KTM and others saying people should ride more off road, but have you tried to find places to ride?

[Matt B]

[weasley]

[G]

[stuartt]

i'm loving my gas gas , it may only do 50ish without pushing it but its far more fun than my busa or any other bike i've had .

i've been going offroad with my textiles with waterproof & thermal linings in , not fun bloody roasting & end up soaked in sweat ..

i've finally bought enduro trousers , shirt & gloves all gas gas which are all far to bright & loud but fk it ... i'm not sure if i have to bottle to wear the gear riding down my street !

i was on a motocross track for the 1st time a few weeks ago & even did a jump although only because i didn't know there was a jump on the track & it was to late to brake so i had no choice

[daverave999]

I did this a couple of years back about three weeks after passing my test, so I'd only ridden on my lessons! It was well worthwhile in terms of learning machine control but bloody exhausting.
____________________
2007 Versys 650 2001 Yamaha XJ600S Diversion
HT: Imagine a bike......A bike designed by way of crude polls, assembled by cretins using the finest hammers that Lidl had on offer.

[Alpine45]

Is touring on an enduro bike a good idea? at least over 250, I know a touring bike is officially meant for touring but if you've seen some of the roads in eastern europe they kind of resemble a motocross track, a badly maintained one none the less

[c-m]

[G]

A competition enduro bike? Not a great idea - though with extra oil capacity some do it.

Something like the 'KTM 690 enduro', which is actually a trail bike (similar to a DRZ400, but with getting on for twice the power) makes a lot more sense - I've gone around Europe on mine, including some reasonable off-road.

If I wasn't planning for off road fun, I probably wouldn't bother however - see what people have done on R1s - around the world, the Erzberg prologue and across frozen sea in the Arctic.

[JP7]

I went on this a couple of years ago, it was fantastic fun and I really enjoyed myself. Back then it was only £15 and I must have spent a good couple of hours in the seat, which was storming good value.

I agree with what others have said, it was very helpful to learn how to react to a bike when there isn't much traction, and it's something that I've brought back to my road riding.

I'd recommend it to anyone... the MORE events are great.

[c-m]

They don't help themselves with their locations though.

Take up would be better if they were spread more evenly around the country.

Of course then you either need plenty of BOATs or some accommodating farmers.