Sachs ZX enduro

[MC]

Anyone have any thoughts/opinions/ideas about these? It appears the older ones are 2-stroke, with the engine from a DT. A couple are for sale on eBay currently, one for a grand that looks pretty clean, another for £500 that's missing bits, no v5c from a guy that sells write-off's etc.

DT's are going for stupid money, are these an alright alternative?
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Yamaha MT-03 '08 (crashed)
Honda XR-125L '04

[_Iain_]

Good engine sure, but getting parts for Sachs is next to impossible.
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Please be aware that the above post may be full of complete nonsense.
Riding: '07 KTM Duke II, Baotian BT49QT-20 Driving: '88 Volvo 340

[MC]

Wemoto have the basics, pads, chains/sprockets but yeah I imagine replacing other things would be nearly impossible.

My search for a light/quick/cheap supermoto/enduro that I can reach the floor on continues
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Yamaha MT-03 '08 (crashed)
Honda XR-125L '04

[G]

Does the bike have to be 125cc?

How tall are you?

DTs really aren't that short, for the record.

[MC]

[Fladdem]

From my experience dt's have soft suspension, they aren't that tall. But if you have little legs, then it may be a struggle. I'm 6'4" with a 35" inside leg so I can't speak but my mate who's about 5'6" rides an EXC125 Six Days fine. And my other mate who's shorter than me can ride my 250 fine. I reckon you'd be able to live with it, just use your head when putting a leg down.
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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.

[P.]

[MC]

[P.]

Get a lighter bike

Or eat more pizza.

[G]

I've got a couple of inches on you but I tend to wear 30" trousers too.
Probably got a few lbs more.

You should be fine on a 'proper' enduro bike - shift yourself over a bit when you come to a stop. While the seat is high, the suspension is soft.
The bloke I got my KTM300 from was shorter than you and had a shorter shock on it - you can lower the forks a little too.

If you're not looking to use it for a road bike, I'd wait until you pass your test and get a proper enduro bike. There was a road reged KTM for under a grand I saw recently. So, so much more bike than a DT engined road bike.

[MC]

[G]

Oops, I actually meant off-road.
Do you plan to use it off road at all?

I've seen XR400s with both sets of wheels go for £1400 or so in the UK.

A good for years ago I got a DR600 supermoto for £635, got a DR600 with normal wheels for £600. Similar weight to the DRZ, a tad more power and a bit flatter delivery with a bit more low down/midrange.

Seen KLX650s up for around a grand.
KLX300 worth considering too.

[MC]

[G]

XR400 is kickstart only.
KLX was just rebadged DRZ.

If it's just for the road, then I'd stick to supermoto - they tend to be a bit lower too, thanks to smaller tyres.

This would make an interesting choice:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251425274475
It's kick start only and a competition bike. But the WR400 was known for it's reliability - steel rather than titanium valves which the later bikes had and it's not quite as light as the KTMs and Husabergs etc.

I'd stick to passing your test (even if you don't first time), but if you do decide you want a not-tall 125, I could possibly be tempted to part with my NS125 engined 50cc Supermoto - it's a chunk shorter than a 'normal' one as well as being a bit lighter. Slowly getting it MOTable as it still needs a few bits (like an air filter that actually fits.)
But a bigger engine makes more sense for most things.

[MC]

Idea behind getting a cheap dirt bike (like the Sachs) was to do a supermoto conversion, by that I mean change the tyres and... that's about it Not sure what a kick start would be like to live with, for example if you stall at the lights, not that I make a habit of it but everyone has the occasional oppsy.

What bike's your supermoto based on? I was planning to go bigger than 125, it's just a de-restricted 2-stroke could be the solution whether I pass or fail

____________________
Yamaha MT-03 '08 (crashed)
Honda XR-125L '04

[G]

Depends on the bike very much.
On the 2 strokes it's not a problem unless you're a complete wuss .
4 strokes can be more of an issue - but it's generally a question of the bike being set up properly.
I ended up selling my FE501 partly because I couldn't get it sorted to start nicely on the road legal exhaust (needed for enduros). Once spent a continual half hour failing to kick start, gave up and rode a friend's bike.

Is this going to be just for fun, an 'only' bike, used for commuting?

The bike might be a reiju? Sine similar make.

[MC]

[G]

Which CCM has a 50 mile range?

60 miles commuting cuts out a competition bike as a decent option.

I'd be thinking DRZ400 personally (incidentally, the CCM404 uses the DRZ engine, but with better spec kit.)

[MC]

Erm... pass. Think it was a CCM, some specialist supermoto thing Was just looking at the XF650, don't like the styling but it looks like a good bike. That's my choice for today, tomorrow it will no doubt be something different
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Yamaha MT-03 '08 (crashed)
Honda XR-125L '04

[G]

Most of the CCMs are mediocre at best.
I would put the XG650 firmly in the 'commutermoto' category. It's heavy and slow.
But that doesn't mean it's a bad road bike for your needs.

[MC]