Ditching the sportbike
Discussion
I need some opinions I'm trying to decide whether or not to sell my 06 cbr 600 and buy a enduro type bike something along the lines of a wr450 or xr650 I don't have much experience with this sort of bike but I like the simplicity of them and the fact they are very crash resistant. I live in North Yorkshire so there's loads of areas where I could use them in there natural habitat and it would be used for a 5 day a week commute of about 3 miles each way and some weekend blasts probably up to dalby forest or somewhere of the ilk. Has anyone made the switch before and did you regret it/prefer it answers on a postcard please.
I'm toying with getting a crosser for winter.
I'm looking at it like I do cycling. On road on a push rod is great on fantastic roads even more so in nice weather. Mountain biking is a right laugh no matter wat the weather. Falling off is just part of the fun especially if you have a group of you doing it.
Personally If I had to choose I'd go sports bike but that's personal preference.
I'm looking at it like I do cycling. On road on a push rod is great on fantastic roads even more so in nice weather. Mountain biking is a right laugh no matter wat the weather. Falling off is just part of the fun especially if you have a group of you doing it.
Personally If I had to choose I'd go sports bike but that's personal preference.
Having had both, I don't think that ditching the sportsbike for something like a WR450 is really a valid comparison, by which I mean, they're not just different styles of bike, but utterly different tools altogether. Bit like comparing a pogo stick to a unicycle; you could use either to get down the street but they're not very similar!
The WR will be horrible to ride for any distance on the road (although most people could manage 3 miles!) but up it to 10 miles and you'll soon start to wish you had a trailer. OTOH, it will be glorious out and about in the Dales if that's where you plan to greenlane it.
Ditching the sportsbike for a different type of roadbike (tourer, naked, classic, etc) is another story altogether, we'll wait til you ask that question before replying!
The WR will be horrible to ride for any distance on the road (although most people could manage 3 miles!) but up it to 10 miles and you'll soon start to wish you had a trailer. OTOH, it will be glorious out and about in the Dales if that's where you plan to greenlane it.
Ditching the sportsbike for a different type of roadbike (tourer, naked, classic, etc) is another story altogether, we'll wait til you ask that question before replying!
The only real reason to ditch the sport bike for me was because I wanted to push my bike and myself. Which if honest is only possible at the track. Less dangerous in the correct environment.
I bought a supermoto which if I am honest is a great bit of kit but flawed when it comes to travelling any distance.
If you are hitting trails it makes absolute sense.
I am thinking of fitting hybrid tyres to my SM to try some light lanes.
I bought a supermoto which if I am honest is a great bit of kit but flawed when it comes to travelling any distance.
If you are hitting trails it makes absolute sense.
I am thinking of fitting hybrid tyres to my SM to try some light lanes.
Cheers for the replies it would just be for commuting/greelaning and I might take it to a few off road pay and play type spots. Ive had a naked which I liked and I have little interest in classics or tourers, I do love my sportsbike but I just can't ride it how it wants to be risen on the ride without the fear of getting my license taken off me or having a nasty accident, I don't have the finances for repeated trackdays atm as I'm saving up for a wedding so I thought an enduro would be the perfect budget fun solution. I'm just worried I may be looking at it with rose tinted glasses. I suppose the worst case scenario is I bought one and didn't like it and sold it back on so not much to lose really, I've thought about supermoto but it seems to have all the drawbacks of a sportbike and enduro with little of the benefits.
fixitfelix said:
Cheers for the replies it would just be for commuting/greelaning and I might take it to a few off road pay and play type spots. Ive had a naked which I liked and I have little interest in classics or tourers, I do love my sportsbike but I just can't ride it how it wants to be risen on the ride without the fear of getting my license taken off me or having a nasty accident, I don't have the finances for repeated trackdays atm as I'm saving up for a wedding so I thought an enduro would be the perfect budget fun solution. I'm just worried I may be looking at it with rose tinted glasses. I suppose the worst case scenario is I bought one and didn't like it and sold it back on so not much to lose really, I've thought about supermoto but it seems to have all the drawbacks of a sportbike and enduro with little of the benefits.
The most fun bike I have ever ridden has been an XR400 with supermoto wheels on it. Do not think for a second it'll help you keep your licence as wheelies, stoppies and skids become the norm (at least for a child like me) and riding it like you stole it is much more accesible and fun. They are NOT an issue to ride for a distance if you don't have a vagina full of sand, doing 20-50 miles is more than ok although I draw the line at a 100+ mile trip on a 2 stroke enduro, or at least I will after last time...
Anyway bite the bullet and do it, it'll be fun and swapping wheels is easy and they're relatively depreciation proof unless you bin it.
Well I guess that settles it any suggestions on which street friendly enduro/motards to go for I know the wr450 seems like a strong contender the xr650 is good but maybe a little pricey for what you get the Ktm eds seem nice but I've heard they are maintenance heavy and overheat easily but have a massive aftermarket available which is nice I don't mind doing oil changes monthly and valve clearances once every 3 or 4 months but much more than that may become tedious Ktm 640 lc4 is another option but I think they're supposedly fairly overweight compared to the competition anyone know a bike that's a good compromise?
Remember if you look at the more enduro/competition based bikes (ktm exc, crf's etc) they need serviced every 7.5 to 10 hours. I've been riding road bikes for years and decided to get a crf450 last year for some off road fun. So far i've cracked ribs and broken both wrists. It's great fun!!
Johnny.
Johnny.
fixitfelix said:
Wanted something with a little more power preferably.
If you have never ridden off road, you will wish you had some thing light and not too powerful. If you are only using it for a 3 mile commute on the road a 125 would be adequate, not that I'm saying that's what you should get, but there is a reason you don't see many people using 650's and a like for trail riding. My car would be adequate if I was just trying to get from a to b I want to have some fun along the way and I dont think stepping from a 125 from a 600 would light my fire, I can't imagine any offroading I do would be too technical mostly fireroads and Greenlanes, one of the things that's attracts me is the ability to throw it around and have some fun it would be nice to be able to pull wheelies without doing near triple digit speeds by the time I'm coming back down.
As above more power/weight isn't useful really.
I used the XR400 recently at an enduro and it was bloody hard work and showed it's bulk including when picking it up. Just for road use the XR will still pull to an indicated 92 flat on the tank so it certainly isn't slow (enough to lose your licence)
Also the XR still manages to comfortably lift the front over crests as speed and clutch up in 2nd/3rd without complaining too much.
Sure more power can be fun but I completely agree you won't want or need it once on anything gravelly/muddy.
I used the XR400 recently at an enduro and it was bloody hard work and showed it's bulk including when picking it up. Just for road use the XR will still pull to an indicated 92 flat on the tank so it certainly isn't slow (enough to lose your licence)
Also the XR still manages to comfortably lift the front over crests as speed and clutch up in 2nd/3rd without complaining too much.
Sure more power can be fun but I completely agree you won't want or need it once on anything gravelly/muddy.
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