my first bit of offroading

[colin1]

I went to the NEC today.

I had a go on a 450 yamaha dirt bike on the off road school thing in the woods.

Fortunately Ive had a go on a dominator on the road so I wasnt too daunted by the height of the bikes (I'm 5ft9).

At first rding in the mud felt tricky like riding on ball bearings, but after a lap or two, I was getting into the swing of things. I now understand why the dominator was so well balanced as you really need a well balanced bike in slippy slidy mud. I was doing better than the others who were with me on the track, which pleased me. The track was quite small, about a thid of a football field. Before going out the guy had given us some tips, like when cornering, to load the front wheel by sitting over the tank near the bars. He also said to stick your foot out on the inside of the turn. He also talked about doing clutchless gear changes. In the end I just kept it in first as it was less to think about. For that reason, the 450 was probably quite a good bike for a beginner as a 250 2t wouldnt have had the power at low revs, and a 250 2t wouldnt have had so much power so I would have had to use the gears. Its surprising how hard the bike has to work to plug through mud. I reckon a 250 2t or a 250 4t might be better for someone with more skill as they would be lighter so better at more difficult uphill courses though.

I might get a £400 dirt bike as I have seen some on ebay. The only thing is the 450 i was on was a motocross bike not an enduro so I'm not sure a road legal enduro would be quite as good.

I would also feel like a proper hooligan going through the countryside on a motorbike. I feel a bit naughty on the road with a loud can going throiugh quiet villages but thats nothing to churning up forest paths or whatever.

Ive had a look on ebay, and I reckon I rode a yzf 450 but it could have been a WR450 for all I know.
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[knockout_bar]

450 crossers aren't for the faint hearted. They have a lot more power than an enduro equivalent. I'm impressed that you managed to keep it in first . If it were me, I would've flipped it.

Enduro bikes won't have as much kick as full out crossers, but they will still shift. There are some really nice enduro's out there: XR250R, KLX250, WR250 (to name a few) but these tend to be in the 1K + band.

Is £400 your budget? If so, be prepared to shop around. But awsome deals are not unheard of (I saw a CR125 that needed a new chain for £100 once, unfortunately, I didn't have the money ). For that kind of money, I would expect something like a KMX125.

On another note, I'm starting MX in the new year, so if you do get a dirt bike, maybe you could come racing one day .
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125 trail bike, custom bars, handguards etc. - ?500.

"egg flied lice" - R6jonny (inspired by McGee)

[G]

You really don't need power or masses of low down torque.

Riding my dr600 off road I never really got out of third and don't think I was getting near the red line in second before I changed up.

On Korn's xr250 you need to change gear slightly more often, but that's a good habit to get into for when you do want to try and go properly fast.

Suspect even a mx 250 will have a decent amount of low down power. Enough to wheely at any point of the rev range in first.

I'd probably look at a few more quid as you're likely to get a bike that will need less money spent on it etc.


For off road I think your test rides will help even less - as I suspect it'll take a few days of off road riding before you can work out exactly which bits you like and don't like etc.

[colin1]

this is the kind of bike i have been looking at

DR350 £500
https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4585144114&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

XR350 £550
https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4581471314&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

I should really get a road legal enduro rather than an out and out crosser, as I would end up riding it on the roads and could get in trouble.

I doubt I will be doing racing. I think I will scout out a few places near me that Id like to take a motorbike, and do some short downhilling on the girlfriends cheap mountain bike to see if I like getting muddy.

Because in my area, there used to be mining and quarrying, there are some nice steep offroad places.

While I'm learning, it would be handy to have something with a bit of power so I dont have to change gear so much. I reckon 2t's make better offroad bikes, but as im gonna be buying an old knackered bike, I'll be buying a 4t to avoid having to pay loads getting it fixed up as I wdnt be able to do it myself. I know 2t's are easy to work on if you know what you are doing, but i dont.

I dont think there is much chance of me getting any test rides offroad on offroad bikes.
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colin1 is officially faster than god