trail bikes

[dwreefs]

I was just looking at the thread with all the 70s trail bikes .

If a guy was looking for a used trail bike for some exploring out in the prairie what size would you get. No crazy hill climbing just on trails and probably street legal

[Scott in Ok]

KLR650.  Readily available for very reasonable prices.  Reliable and can do it all.

-Scott

[fordmano]

Where your located probably a WR450F or if I could swing the extra cash pobably one of the KTM 525-530 models and just have either of them plated.  Probably a LOT easier there than here in KALIFORNISTAN..

The KLR woud do better on the street or fire roads kinda heavy for most people for any woods riding and also just big for it, another option in the KLR class might be the XR/XL 650 Hondas.

[dwreefs]

that yamaha wr450 looks pretty nice. Probably more power than I would ever need , but I thought that when I got the Valk. now it is just right

I would think all brands would be pretty reliable if looked after, are there any that seem too break down more than others or are outright lemons

[fordmano]

I bought a 2009 WR450F after watching a forum owner turn 11,000 miles on his 2005 and 95% of that was on a moto-cross track. No street riding we can't plate the WR's out here in Califonia very easily at all.

I was planning on getting a WR250F but figrued wth my 6'1" at 265+ and my slow nature since I had no dirt skills I would NEVER wear out the bigger motor, it woudl also be able to pull me out of ANYTHING I could or would get myself into. I bought brand new so the difference in cost was only around $700

So far everyong that has ridden my WR absolutely loves it, but again I am not ridding on the street at all or I would have looked at the DRZ400 or save a few dollars and look for an older DRZ350, then maybe look at the XR/XL650's and the KLR after that but thats my own opinion and mostly since I am more fond of the XR/XL and DRZ looks than the KLR.

[The Anvil]

Well this is a tough one because depending on the state you're in you may or may not be able to plate just about anything. It also depends on what you mean by "trail" riding. For me that means some pretty nasty mud, rocks, sand, pretty much any condition you can find in the Northeast. But for others it means groomed fire roads and old railroad beds. If you were in NH and considering doing any kind of aggressive riding then I'd suggest a Honda XR250/400 or something similar. Those are both manageable bikes for trail riding and the engines are cursed near indestructible. My fat ass once spent the better part of a couple summers beating the crap out of my nephew's XR100 (when I wasn't trail riding on my RM250, a bike ill-suited for the task) and never managing to break the thing. DR-Z's are forgiving also and can be had pretty cheap. The KLR650 is a terrific bike but it's road-biased and heavy so it's more of a groomed trail kind of bike.

With all due respect, you really do not want a competition based bike like a WR450 or 520E-XC. For one thing, they're TALL and unwieldy on anything but groomed trails and though they have transmissions more suited for trails than MX bikes they're really NOT trails machines. That class is competition ready enduro/CC and that means performance. But it also means the brutal maintenance schedule, low oil capacity and fragile valvetrains that come standard in the class. Yes you can press them into service in that role (like I did with my RM) but you had better be a very skilled, fit rider or you will just end up tired, frustrated, beat up and possibly quite hurt.

OTOH the WR450 makes a BRILLIANT Supermoto. In an hour minutes you can go from dirtbike to street shredder. So I guess there's an argument for the WR. 

[fordmano]

Sorry, ANVIL gotta disagree with one statement. "you really do not want a competition based bike like a WR450"

These are NOT competition bikes,,, the YZ450F is the competition model. The WR has electric start and a kickstand not to mention a much smoother and peaceful power band,,, the WR is a TRAIL bike not an MX bike.
As far as heigth,,, well they make lowering links for most ANY dirtbike if your really wanting it lowered.

I call my WR my "OLD FAT LAZY WHITEMAN " dirtbike.
A WR450 is more like a luxury yacht of the dirt world.

[junior]

get a rokon they are 2 wheel drive,float,and can drive straight up a tree

http://www.rokonworld.com/

these were once made right here in the state of New Hampshire Keene and Jaffery

[hubcapsc]

There's a nice looking one on eBay right now...



I bet that would be an awesome bike, I wonder how heavy it is? I rode my
240lb CR500 on plentiful single-track that used to be as easy to find in the
mountains around here as the roads we ride our Valkyries on... I rode one of the
early 4-stroke Yamaha motocross bikes back in the 90s once, they had a reputation
of being impossible to start unless you knew the complicated ritual. Its 4-stroke
power band was just weird to me, and I stalled t in a curve on "the other side"
of the track, and the owner had to hike out there and start it for me... I'm
sure they're much more friendly now... South Carolina won't let you get a tag
for a pure dirt bike, and the street-legal versions of dirt bikes always seem overweight
and watered-down...

-Mike

[The Anvil]

Sorry, ANVIL gotta disagree with one statement. "you really do not want a competition based bike like a WR450"

These are NOT competition bikes,,, the YZ450F is the competition model. The WR has electric start and a kickstand not to mention a much smoother and peaceful power band,,, the WR is a TRAIL bike not an MX bike.
As far as heigth,,, well they make lowering links for most ANY dirtbike if your really wanting it lowered.

I call my WR my "OLD FAT LAZY WHITEMAN " dirtbike.
A WR450 is more like a luxury yacht of the dirt world.

I never said the WR is an MX bike. It's an Enduro/CC. I've raced hare scrambles and enduros against WR's, sometimes on my own WR. Yamaha calls it a "trail" bike to appeal to a broader audience but it's really not.

As far as lowering goes, that's the wrong approach entirely. Just get a physically smaller bike to begin with, that way you don't adversely affect the handling.

[98valk]

my preference a Susuki DR200se.  3.4 gal tank for long range, epa city rated 105 mpg. I avg 70 mpg mix road riding. 278lbs wet. motorcycle consumer news has a great review.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229927

[The Anvil]

my preference a Susuki DR200se.  3.4 gal tank for long range, epa city rated 105 mpg. I avg 70 mpg mix road riding. 278lbs wet. motorcycle consumer news has a great review.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229927

Excellent suggestion. Physically easy to manage and street legal.

[Mr.BubblesVRCCDS0008]

I had a yamaha 86 XT350 years ago and after a spocket change it was a very good endro bike. Geared for the off road but plenty of power and rpm to travel the highway to and from the woods. Later I bought a 95 XT 600 basicly the same bike but electric start and little heavier but still a great endro. I'm about 6'3" and 265lb so a little 250 or 300 might have been a little small for me.
    I never liked 2 strokes too much so I stayed with the thumper style bikes.