Choice of supermoto / Enduro

[bhinso]

Hi All,
Finally biting the bullet and getting an Enduro/SM. Just after some advice.

My last bike was a Suzuki DRZ400 with Yoshimura exhaust, and I like to move upwards with bikes, so I'd like something with at least as much poke as that. (Full unrestricted licence).

I'm really keen on the old trailie conventional looks. My first bike was a Kawasaki KMX125, and I'd like something that reminds me of that.

So I thought KLR650? Just doesn't seem to have much BHP though, also heavy?
Honda CRF? Love the look but 250cc's nowhere near enough. Probably not much quicker than the old KMX.
Yamaha wr450f? Again, love the looks but i'm told they eat parts, and I'm not very mechanically minded.
husqvarna 701? sweet looks but see above

Any others please suggest. Looking to spend in the region of 3-4k so doesn't have to be that new.

[Kentol750]

Husky 701 is great. Ran mine for 1500 miles with no issues, sold it coz I didn't go off road enough. Depends on your budget, klr few and far between now (especially good ones). There's not much better than a drz when you add in servicing schedules. Ktm 690 enduro r is 701 in orange. Had a klx 450 and that was fine, no ignition key as standard though. If I was getting another I would pass up a look at a ccm gp450, but, the 701 is more than capable of being an everyday bike or a play thing. Bmw 450 also out there, but rare.
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Some bikes.

[G]

The 701 (and 690 enduro, as mentioned the same bike basically) are the only real 'progression' on from the DR - they weigh similar (if you had an S or SM), but with a good lot more power.

If you were going a good bit older, could also look to the TE610 (ideally the fuel injected one with the drive on the correct side) and maybe the original BMW G650 (which is pretty rare).

[Kentol750]

The only other bike I'd be looking at (and am) is the new 700 tenere.. .. could be a real contender. Otherwise look for a ccm 644 in good order.
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Some bikes.

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[Kentol750]

If the tenere (and I'm not doubting your figures) comes in at that, I'll keep my tiger 800xcx. Shame. 644 engine is freewind but pushing 60bhp with a good exhaust. Parts easy to get. Oh, and 790 duke is 3.5k cheaper and probably could green lane well in dry with right tyre!
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Some bikes.

[stevo as b4]

Which is that your after though a ready made SM or an enduro bike? You can't have both that work very well in the same machine. All this bollocks about swapping wheels doesn't make a very good diy supermoto IMO.

The DRZ was a good bike in its time, but as G said KTM have moved big factory SM bikes on alot in terms of cc, power and keeping them light.

If you were considering a KLR650, then there's lots of bikes like that out there that are good road cruisers and can handle a gravel track badly too.

Oh and you definitely won't get a bike thats 600cc and looks like a KMX, and makes a good enduro or supermoto bike either.

I like the look of 80's trail bikes especially the small light ones, but none of them are going to make great supermoto bikes and if you throw most of the original parts away to try and make them reasonable SM or enduro bikes, well they'll no longer look anything like as good as they did.

[G]

Swapping wheels on enduro bikes has always given me a perfectly usable supermoto for road use. Now, I'm sure racing on a SM track it'd be shown to be lacking - but for road fun I've been fine doing green laning/enduro one day, then sticking the road wheels on and having some fun on back roads the next day.

[Fizzer Thou]

[bhinso]

Went along to a midlands motorbikers meet yesterday (and hung around looking out of place cos didn't have no bike innit).

But had a good chat with a guy who had a husky 701 SM.

Pros:
Sounds like the ultimate SM. 85bph, huge step up from my DRZ. Not as bad on service as I thought, 6,000 miles between services. Good for distance, looks amazing. Light, quick and awesome acceleration.

Cons:
Very expensive. £8,500 new, and might be difficult to find a second hand one cheap as they've not been around enough.
Eats back tyres for breakfast.
Sounds like you need a lot of experience. Wheelies very easily in every gear (many would put this in pro lol). 80+mph corners if you slide up and down the seat.
Maybe as a (relative) noob i should consider the little bro FS 450.

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[Kentol750]

G is right. A 95 klx/klr/whatever may be lighter and cost a lot too! The xr650.??.?ax8?. Fucker .. find a good one. Them things also need an ignition. I've been down your road.. there is no happy medium yet. Don't believe the mt09 bullshit either, it's not.
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Some bikes.

[bhinso]

I'm all over the place now

After G's comments I looked at some nice KTM690's on e-bay last night.

What about the wr450?

[G]

What about the WR400?

No electric boot, but I think it had steel rather than titanium valves, which meant it didn't need as regular servicing.

Along those lines, some people in the US run KTMs with an external oil cooler to act as a reservoir for extra capacity and push the service intervals for more 'dual sport' usage.

In the end; weight, power, reliability - pick one or two. Something like the KTM690 is about as near a holy-trinity as you'll get.

They're pretty rare now and not as reliable as the 690 most likely - but a KTM 660 Factory is an interesting option - not too far off the weight of a competition bike (EXC model etc), but with the LC4 engine, which is supposedly the more 'reliable' one.

[bhinso]

Thanks a lot G. I have to say reliability has to come first as I'm not very practical with fixing bikes.
After that power, then weight (at least a heavier bike is more stable against wind blast).

[stevo as b4]

We're all different!
For me a dedicated road going or competition bike with lights firstly needs to be light IMO. I love bikes that are around 90-120kg and Im not bothered about high speed stability or plantedness at high speeds.

Power not so important to me as weight. The less it weighs the less power it needs, as I don't want top speed or to fight the battle against air resistance at 80,90,100mph+. 20-50bhp is right for what I want, and 60bhp+ would be less fun and less useful or not very utilised. Reliability is what it is, but personally having a newish bike with spot on reliable electrics and wiring is all I'd crave in a fantasy ideal. Engine wise short service intervals don't bother me, as long as it's likely more than not to achieve the book expected figures and stay in one piece with to the letter maintenance.

In fact a competition engine like that WR450 or whatever isn't likely to be such an issue on the road. It won't suck in loads of orange dust or rocks, and as long as your not doing top speed runs all the time, you can't really put as much load or stress on a competition engine in busy traffic etc, as you could getting a holeshot at a race event or getting it covered in dirt and water all the time.

[Sister Sledge]

What he says ^^

Mine doesn't have mega power (would love a little more) but what it does have is barely any weight (128 kg) and a few trick bits. With grippy tyres and great brakes it makes for fun without speed everywhere.
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CCM 404 DS

[G]