Trailey for short ass!

[Rob]

So I want to get myself a winter ride that I won't get upset if it gets scratched etc etc..

Can anyone recommend a trail/style bike that has a low seat height... being vertically challenged, trail bikes are usually a bit too high for on-road use for me.. I wanna get both feet flat on the floor when riding through snow!!

I was thinking about a CCM R35 with a lowered seat... any comments?

Thanks,

Rob
____________________
Love is 1050cc

[doggone]

Transalps are pretty good that way - I have shortish legs but felt comfortable on one I tried.
In practice it's less of a problem than you imagine anyway if you can get one foot down.

[G]

Do you want to ride trails on it?

The CCMs trail/supermoto bikes are generally quite high to start with.

[yen_powell]

Yamaha Serow XT225. Bullet proof, low seat height, excellent on and off road, lots and lots imported here from Japan (never an official import though). Available with disc/drum brakes, disc/disc brakes, electric start, kick start, electric AND kick start. Lots of grab handles for pulling it out of ditches from any angle.
____________________
Blackmail is a nasty word........but not as nasty as phlegm!
XT1200Z and a DR350 in bits

[T0MMY]

[MarJay]

[Rob]

Thanks for the replies! Still trying to find an ideal solution!!

Basically it will never be used for green laning... or I very much doubt it anyway... it's purely a bike for the days you look out the window in the morning and say "bugger, there's an inch of snow and I shouldn't really be riding a bike today" but hate public transport so much that you take the risk anyway!

So far I've been lucky but would feel happier in snow if I could get both feet flat on the ground rather than tip toes as when you start to slide thats it!!..... Also something with very little torque.. you only need to look at the throttle on the Triple in snow and the rear wheel spins out!!

I mentioned a CCM purely because they do a seat lowering option so thought I may find one with that already on?

I could go for something like a CG125 but I do want to keep some respect

So.. on with my search!
____________________
Love is 1050cc

[Bendy]

The dirtbike show's on in a couple of weeks, perfect for wandering round all day seeing what you can reach the deck on and what you can't (esp. if you're gonna buy new). There was some yamaha wr250 thing I quite liked. Are you thinking knobblies or supermoto type action? The different sized wheels makes a hell of a difference to height.

https://www.dirtbikeshow.co.uk/

[G]

Short legs and a tall bike in snow probably aren't that great a combination. While trail bikes can ride great in mushy stuff off road, when you've got solid concrete not too far underneath the mush, it's not so good.

I'd be looking at a lighter bikes that are a bit lower. If you've got the money, the CCM cafe-racer style bikes as well as the Flat-tracker style ones might be worth a look. If you can find one, the Highland flat-tracker could also be interesting; 950cc lowly-tuned twin and a 129kg claimed weight!

Looking into second hand, there's plenty of options for small capacity light bikes. Things like the Suzuki Goose and VTR250 are pretty light and offer a reasonable amount of power.
Even something like an SV650 can make a decent winter bike, if you don't care about it being a pile of corrosion by the end of the winter anyway .

[MarJay]

You don't want a Trailie Rob... you want an MZ.
<edit> https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=140277415269 </edit>
____________________
British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[colin1]

ive got a ttr250 which has a lowering link in the rear suspension, im 5ft7 and the guy i bought it off was shorter than me

yamaha did the ttr250 after the serow, and i got it off ebay for £500

the one thing to watch though is offroad front tyres can be pretty dangerous on wet roads

id recommend replacing the front tyre of whatever you buy with something that is more road biased

although the tyre i had on the front of mine was legal, it was very easy to lose the front end in the wet

although dirt bikes look tall, they sit down quite a bit when you sit on them, and the saddles are quite narrow, it is handy having a low one if you take it offroad though

i also got a set of supermoto wheels with front brake for it that someone had had made up for their bike, not got round to trying them out though.
____________________
colin1 is officially faster than god

[T0MMY]

If you want something for commuting in snow I'd be looking at a cheap old gs500, cb500, gpz500 or whatever with crash bars all round (including the handlebar ones the schools use). You can bin it as much as you like then
____________________
ZX6R + CBR600RR

[MarJay]

I still think an MZ.

Why? Well, they are light, reliable, about as simple as a motorcycle can get in terms of technical complexity, they crash well, they aren't soughtafter and won't get nicked by chavs (well, is much less likely to get nicked by chavs) and you can pick one up for less than £300 with MOT.

I've just purchased an MZ ETZ 301 Saxon 'Fun' for the princely sum of £270 with MOT.

I think thats a bargain for a winter hack to be honest. Plus the skinny tyres are less likely to aquaplane and will cut through snow better than a supermoto. No water cooling, so no coolant to worry about, the only consumables are brake pads and tyres. Chains are fully enclosed and last for ages.

Basically, if it falls over you pick it up, kick it back into shape, kick the engine over and ride on.
____________________
British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Rob]

[Rob]

[Bendy]

That would, I imagine, be the logic of a supermoto-d offroader of some sort - nice and light to pick up. Still with road tyres cos 99% of the time they're gonna be far more suitable than knobblies.

Porno answer is one of those CCM cafe racer jobs cos they're filth.

Are you looking at new or cheap n cheerful?

[Rob]

Sort of cheap and cheerful... but you know me

Certainly not new but maybe 1-2 years old... you know the sort of thing, still shiny but not wallet busting!

I'm still leaning towards the R35... problem is finding one! LOL
____________________
Love is 1050cc

[G]

Remember tall also makes a bike harder to pick up, to some degree.
I can remember riding a bandit 1200 after my KLR650 and thinking it felt like a 125!

[Bendy]

[Knacker]

Sorry for hi-jacking the thread but im in a similar situation i just want an old hack for the winter and id like a trailie type thing but can only think of 2, Like the honda 650 dominator and Kwack KLE500 can anyone thing of any more also i want a dirt cheap 1 lol so preferably under £500
____________________
Current: Gsxr 600 Srad - GS125 - DT125
Previous: K1 GSXR 1000

[Bendy]

'An old XR250' is the usual answer, plenty around that are cheap and cheerful and seemingly quite hard to kill.

Kinda depends on where you'll be hacking about, if I was spending much time in NSLs I'd want a bit more poke but for bumming round town it'd be spot on.

[G]

[MarJay]

[Bendy]

Rob isn't a pikey. He's a man of wealth and taste.

[Rob]