Supermoto, weekend toy?

[EddyJones]

Ive always fancied a supermoto and now that ive passed my test i think i can get something semi decent.

Friend of mine has a Gas Gas 250sm 2t and id love to have a supermoto for a weekend toy, wondering if anyone could suggest a suitable bike for me. It would be:

Used weekend/dry days only. Road:99%
Very little if any off roading.
Being a weekend toy i want it to be fun/powerful. Big minger wheelies everywhere etc
Id be getting around a 2000/1 model

Could get around 1200/1300 to spend.

Would love a Gas Gas 250 SM but wanted to see any othe rpossabilities first.

Cheers, Eddy

[lilredmachine]

To get anything decent you'd be looking at more than £1200-£1300.

If you look at anything converted the wheels, tires and brakes are likely to have cost more than that alone.

Even a low level older CCM with a Rotax motor will set you back £1800+ in good nick. Only thing I've ever seen for that money was an m.o.tless scruffy CCM for £1300.

Save up a couple of grand and get yourself something decent, i was looking at a 2003 250 Gas Gas supermoto like your mates for 2k, it was mint.
____________________
Bikes: too many, too much for one man to maintain anyway.

[G]

Wouldn't really consider the bigger CCMs a 'serious' supermoto, even with rotax engines.

I was considering selling my Husaberg in need of a bit of work for that sort of money, if it only had one set of wheels, so if you don't mind putting a bit of effort in, reckon you can find something.

If you want something pretty scary, could keep an eye out for a converted 500cc mx bike. Seen them for that sort of price quite a bit.

[EddyJones]

Any pictures/info on the bike G?

What type of work would need doing?

[G]

It's a 2002 Husaberg 501E. Needs a new cam chain and a thread helicoiling at least. While in there, I'd be poking about and doing a bit of a service as well.

I'm quite liking the idea of keeping it and getting it sorted to be honest; my CCM leaves me wanting a bit more, though with the fair-bit-better specs of the 'berg I'll probably be left feeling like the bike's doing it all .

[EddyJones]

Thats never a bad thing

so what gear will it wheelie up to?

Another problem may be i live in average post code and ive had one crash at 18 so im thinking i may be fairly 'high risk'

[G]

Any bike that can wheelie will wheelie through all the gears starting from a low gear if you're good enough .

My 'berg will power wheelie in third and clutch-wheelie in fourth (just about) with Supermoto gearing on (top speed of about 110mph in sixth).

Note that bikes like these are pretty high maintenance; they are competition bikes, basically.

[EddyJones]

Could be a problem, whats genrally meant by maintence?

Im fine changing the oil every 3k or something stupid like that but not if its a full engine rebuild by the time you get th the end of your road

[G]

Oil change every 3k? .

That's not far off a commuter-bike.

Try every 3-10 hours, depending on level of use.

The 2 strokes are better for maintenance as they're relatively less tuned, some of the newer 4 strokes aren't too bad too.
Remember these are /competition/ bikes that you happen to be using on the road. You can get tamer and much heavier road bike supermotos that are more reasonable 1000-1500 mile intervals, but these tend to still be pretty expensive.

[EddyJones]

lollll

you must have to stop riding half way to well, anywhere to do a service ffs

The lad with the GG 250 says he does the oil 2-3k and pistons etc every 6 or something or other. Now that isnt bad performance wise but I thought a 4 stroke sm would be much less maintenance surely? or have they been tuned to give 2 stroke power?

i may just have to stick with the zxr400 and do a service everytime the engine blows

So G, what can u recomend that has more than a 3 minute service interval? id pref like something thats around 1k-1.5

[G]

The gas gas only uses it's oil for the gearbox, the 4 stroke oil is also used in the engine.
While the 'berg is a 501cc (similar to 300cc 2 strokes), it is in relatively higher state of tune than the 2 strokes.
Remember, the oil you're changing on the 4 stroke is getting burnt on the 2 stroke, which you'll have to pre-mix or top up.

Anyway, yes, it is a myth that 4 strokes are more reliable .
If it does go badly wrong, have worst rebuild-costs for the 4 stroke too.

Have a look at the KTM 625 and 660SMC range for a road biased bike. However you're talking something getting on for 50% more weight than the Gas Gas, though probably a bit easier to ride power-wise.

[gamerboy]

any chance of some pics of the gas gas 250 ?

[lilredmachine]

[G]

[lilredmachine]

Agreed. Though I don't believe our OP realises just how bad the maintenance and rebuilds on them are. My friend had a 510 Husky converted to SM, he changed the oil after every rideout, filter every two. It was coming up for a rebuild at around 3,000 miles, fortunately it got written off by a third party so he didn't have to pay up for the bits
____________________
Bikes: too many, too much for one man to maintain anyway.

[EddyJones]

Il admit i knew you had to service/maintain them more often than normal road going bikes but i wasnt quite expecting the service interval to be in hours

Any examples of converted mx bikes? im presuming theyre similer on the service/maintance?

[G]

[lilredmachine]

Mmmmmm... CR500 = beast. A few bits to do on that, but it'd be a nice little project bike to get going with, plus it'd be faster than pretty much anything when it was finished. So long as you could hold onto it.
____________________
Bikes: too many, too much for one man to maintain anyway.

[EddyJones]

How often would the oil/pistons etc need changing?

[lilredmachine]

[craigk47]

Hi, don't know whether your still looking for a supermoto or not but if so I'd definitely recommend a converted CRF450 after getting one myself this summer. There are loads on ebay and they don't really go for daft money. Service costs can be dear with the bike being a full on crosser but as long as your not expecting to do big miles using to commute or anything and keep on top of the oil changes i think they're well worth it. They don't weigh a thing, look great, sound great, are great to ride and you can gas up the front wheel without the clutch in 4th or 5th. The one in the picture's mine

[G]

Maybe not 'stupid' money, but the 450s would come in at a fair bit more than £1300 I'd have thought .

Personally, I prefer having six gears for the road, which I don't think the crossers tend to have.

[craigk47]

Yeah, your probably right. Think they tend to go closer to the 2 grand mark eh? Worth it for the smile factor though