Good off road bike that can carry a pillion well?
Discussion
Looking for a cheap, very capable offroader that can carry a pillion well. Any suggestions?
Really like the klr650 but not much choice available just now and stupid money for really old bikes, plus i would like just a bit more power.
Honda crf450x - would need to fabricate a reinforcement for the subframe and somewhere to mount pillion pegs, and respring and revalve the rear shock, is it worth it? Who knows. Anyone tried?
Xr600/650 where did they all go? Once upon a time there were loads for sale now 1 or 2 in the whole country.
Dr650, i had overlooked these, because they seem old fashioned for their age, but suddenly started taking an interest again. There is a reasonably priced 790cc bigbore kit available, seems perfect. Too perfect? What are the downsides I am missing? s
te 90s brakes i suppose. There must be an upgrade path for that i would imagine.
No ktms. Never again. I fking hate pushing a broken bike through mud. On too many occasions. Oil all over my new thor boots after endless expensive breakdowns i wanted to burn the fker but had to recoup some money at least.
Africa twin? Never ridden one. Are they too heavy for bing bashing?
Xtz660 tenere? The last few yamahas I had were all loads of fun at full throttle, but didnt like part throttle bimbling with my daughter on the back, not much torque and flatsports until you gun it. Are these the same or are they better mannered. Too road biased or not?
Really like the klr650 but not much choice available just now and stupid money for really old bikes, plus i would like just a bit more power.
Honda crf450x - would need to fabricate a reinforcement for the subframe and somewhere to mount pillion pegs, and respring and revalve the rear shock, is it worth it? Who knows. Anyone tried?
Xr600/650 where did they all go? Once upon a time there were loads for sale now 1 or 2 in the whole country.
Dr650, i had overlooked these, because they seem old fashioned for their age, but suddenly started taking an interest again. There is a reasonably priced 790cc bigbore kit available, seems perfect. Too perfect? What are the downsides I am missing? s
te 90s brakes i suppose. There must be an upgrade path for that i would imagine.No ktms. Never again. I f
king hate pushing a broken bike through mud. On too many occasions. Oil all over my new thor boots after endless expensive breakdowns i wanted to burn the fker but had to recoup some money at least.Africa twin? Never ridden one. Are they too heavy for bing bashing?
Xtz660 tenere? The last few yamahas I had were all loads of fun at full throttle, but didnt like part throttle bimbling with my daughter on the back, not much torque and flatsports until you gun it. Are these the same or are they better mannered. Too road biased or not?
Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Monday 23 October 22:48
Out of budget for a toy, plus I have no luck with KTMs. Both were the 2 biggest money pits I have ever owned.
I think I have decided on a CCM 644 DS
They are essentially a dr650 with a much lighter frame, wp/ohlins suspension and brembo brakes and a bigger carb for more power. Seems like exactly what I am after. I will just have to graft on a set of pillion pegs.
I think I have decided on a CCM 644 DS
They are essentially a dr650 with a much lighter frame, wp/ohlins suspension and brembo brakes and a bigger carb for more power. Seems like exactly what I am after. I will just have to graft on a set of pillion pegs.
Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Thursday 26th October 19:58
I like VFM too but when I looked around all the old stuff XR, XT, TT etc cost so much for very tired bikes that I had to raise my budget
I did buy project DR350 and TT600 but in covid the prices rose so much that I sold them, still as projects IIRC for circa £2k each as none runners !
Good luck
I did buy project DR350 and TT600 but in covid the prices rose so much that I sold them, still as projects IIRC for circa £2k each as none runners !
Good luck
OldGermanHeaps said:
Out of budget for a toy, plus I have no luck with KTMs. Both were the 2 biggest money pits I have ever owned.
I think I have decided on a CCM 644 DS
They are essentially a dr650 with a much lighter frame, wp/ohlins suspension and brembo brakes and a bigger carb for more power. Seems like exactly what I am after. I will just have to graft on a set of pillion pegs.
How do you get on with insurance for this sort of thing?I think I have decided on a CCM 644 DS
They are essentially a dr650 with a much lighter frame, wp/ohlins suspension and brembo brakes and a bigger carb for more power. Seems like exactly what I am after. I will just have to graft on a set of pillion pegs.
Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Thursday 26th October 19:58
Not sure what you mean? I haven't had a quote yet for the ccm, the f650gs is 74 quid a year fully comp with business use.
I didn't torch either of the ktms if that's what your thinking. While pushing them through mud to get back to the road I really wanted to, but I didn't.
I didn't torch either of the ktms if that's what your thinking. While pushing them through mud to get back to the road I really wanted to, but I didn't.
Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Friday 27th October 14:32
KTMsm said:
That is a good point - as they specifically ask if you're carrying a pillion on your insurance and I suspect it will flag up as a single seat bike
I don't know if it will be flagged when taking out the policy and I wouldn't want to wait until there was a accident to find out. Ahh gotcha. I will call and confirm with a human. For modifications I will word it as aftermarket screen, aftermarket e marked led headlight and aftermarket pillion pegs and see what they say to that. It shouldn't be an issue, my campervan went from 3 seats to 7 seats to 4 with zero impact on premium, they didn't even charge an admin fee, this broker has been pretty good actually, got 7 vehicles, my house and businesses with them now.
My wr250 was a single seat bike, it wasn't even road registered at first and they gave pillion cover without question.
Between specifying the bike has pegs fitted and telling them I will be carrying a pillion I would be confident I would be covered.
My wr250 was a single seat bike, it wasn't even road registered at first and they gave pillion cover without question.
Between specifying the bike has pegs fitted and telling them I will be carrying a pillion I would be confident I would be covered.
Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Friday 27th October 18:25
OldGermanHeaps said:
Interesting. Didn't see any on the ones available on ebay just now but fantastic if they do.
Mine had them on as you can see
If I remember rightly I took them off and sold them after I wrote it off and they made loads of money so they're obviously in high demand.
Regarding the insurance , on a crf 450 x adding custom fabricated aluminium pillion pegs and a custom aluminium top box mount subframe and allowing pillions added 21 quid onto the premium.
The crf is an animal, absolute hooligan machine offroad, and not terrible on the road either, biggest problem is keeping the front wheel in the ground. It weighs nothing, i can lift the bike off the deck onto a paddock stand comfortably with 1 hand.
The crf is an animal, absolute hooligan machine offroad, and not terrible on the road either, biggest problem is keeping the front wheel in the ground. It weighs nothing, i can lift the bike off the deck onto a paddock stand comfortably with 1 hand.
KTM 950/990 Adventure.
All those bikes above are in reality far too small for a pillion. The big KTM will do everything an enduro will do (on decent tyres) on the UK's legal lanes bar the deepest of ditches and the biggest rock steps, is basically a submarine in river crossings, is properly comfortable for a pillion, has addictive power and IS reliable if you actually undertake a normal level of maintenance.... On the two I have owned, I have successfully competed in long distance trials, raced in a rally event at sweet lamb, green laned accross the uk, toured and lapped a damp nurburgring in roughly 9 mins (BTG) on my 3rd ever lap....
The above said, if you are a short arse then look elsewhere!
All those bikes above are in reality far too small for a pillion. The big KTM will do everything an enduro will do (on decent tyres) on the UK's legal lanes bar the deepest of ditches and the biggest rock steps, is basically a submarine in river crossings, is properly comfortable for a pillion, has addictive power and IS reliable if you actually undertake a normal level of maintenance.... On the two I have owned, I have successfully competed in long distance trials, raced in a rally event at sweet lamb, green laned accross the uk, toured and lapped a damp nurburgring in roughly 9 mins (BTG) on my 3rd ever lap....
The above said, if you are a short arse then look elsewhere!
Way out of budget and a bit heavy for bing bashing the bings round here are a bit more hardcore than legal green lanes. I only need to ride on the road 8 minutes to be here https://youtu.be/8SyQ96y2NGM?si=RKSUF2hi_yuIjaT6
Some of the easier trails that the gs really struggled on https://youtu.be/Rqb8LA-NfTo?si=LmWSQlJSpnQYfEuZ
CRF450 takes my pillion no problem , can go anywhere and i can lift it off the ground with 1 hand.
Both my ktms were properly maintained, anything they needed they got. spent thousands in parts.
Maybe they are better now but my ones from the 90s were grenades, and i had them in the early 00s so they werent old.
Some of the easier trails that the gs really struggled on https://youtu.be/Rqb8LA-NfTo?si=LmWSQlJSpnQYfEuZ
CRF450 takes my pillion no problem , can go anywhere and i can lift it off the ground with 1 hand.
Both my ktms were properly maintained, anything they needed they got. spent thousands in parts.
Maybe they are better now but my ones from the 90s were grenades, and i had them in the early 00s so they werent old.
Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Monday 20th November 11:28
I expect to do a top end rebuild at some point. Looking forward to it, there is an inexpensive big bore kit available.
I realise you love ktms, but they didnt get their reputation by accident or misunderstanding they really did pump a lot of finicky, fragile and unpredictable ticking timebombs into the market, and their dealers were no help warranty wise and gouged like fk on parts. Why would you go back and spend money with a company that abuses customers like that?
I am pretty sure a honda will be a reliable, well engineered product, every one I have had before has been.
I realise you love ktms, but they didnt get their reputation by accident or misunderstanding they really did pump a lot of finicky, fragile and unpredictable ticking timebombs into the market, and their dealers were no help warranty wise and gouged like f
k on parts. Why would you go back and spend money with a company that abuses customers like that?I am pretty sure a honda will be a reliable, well engineered product, every one I have had before has been.
OldGermanHeaps said:
I expect to do a top end rebuild at some point. Looking forward to it, there is an inexpensive big bore kit available.
I realise you love ktms, but they didnt get their reputation by accident or misunderstanding they really did pump a lot of finicky, fragile and unpredictable ticking timebombs into the market, and their dealers were no help warranty wise and gouged like fk on parts. Why would you go back and spend money with a company that abuses customers like that?
I am pretty sure a honda will be a reliable, well engineered product, every one I have had before has been.
Because they make the best bikes for me and most of the other manufacturers aren't any betterI realise you love ktms, but they didnt get their reputation by accident or misunderstanding they really did pump a lot of finicky, fragile and unpredictable ticking timebombs into the market, and their dealers were no help warranty wise and gouged like f
k on parts. Why would you go back and spend money with a company that abuses customers like that?I am pretty sure a honda will be a reliable, well engineered product, every one I have had before has been.
It's a race bike - It simply wasn't designed to do the road miles. I admit I own a 450 KTM and use it for green laning but I know it won't be as reliable as a 690
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