Laning, Start bike ? Where to even begin ?

[weeksy]

Watching a re-run of the motorbike show with everyones favourite, Henry Cole.... But anyway. He's doing a bit of off-roading on it and i thought

"wonder what one costs to start on"

I don't know much/anything about what is good, bad, otherwise. I don't even know what models are out there... i know a few like a WR400/450, of course the KTM range... but what else should people look for.

Now i'm not exactly planning on going out and getting one, so don't get any ideas... but thought it may be a useful resource for some looking to go laning

I quite liked this though
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-WR250 ... 0290.m3507

[KungFooBob]

imho a 250 four banger is more than enough if you're a bit talentless (like me), you need skillz to take advantage of an Enduro spec 400/450.

Only time a bigger bike is better is on the road sections between the trails.

[Yorick]

imho a 250 four banger is more than enough if you're a bit talentless (like me), you need skillz to take advantage of an Enduro spec 400/450.

Only time a bigger bike is better is on the road sections between the trails.

450 is the minimum 4 stroke really. My pal just bought a new KTM Freeride 250 4t and instantly hates it as gutless.

250 2t is ok, but 300 is a bit more giggle

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Depends on what you want to ride, back in the mists of time I used to trail ride on a Suzuki TS50ER like this one



It had 3bhp and as you can see not much suspension travel, my point being that you don't need a lot of suspension travel or power to go trail riding, a better bike makes it easier to go faster, which results in you falling off at higher speeds.

All you need for trail riding is a bike and an OS map, you can ride on the Byways Open to All Traffic (little crosses on the map)

That WR does look like a good bike, they're very capable bikes.
I think you need to lower your buying expectations if you're going to look at trail and endure bikes, they get used in all weathers, in all conditions and show it.

Personally I think an EMTB is more use, you can legally ride them on Bridle Ways and most people aren't bothered if you ride them on footpaths.

[KungFooBob]

imho a 250 four banger is more than enough if you're a bit talentless (like me), you need skillz to take advantage of an Enduro spec 400/450.

Only time a bigger bike is better is on the road sections between the trails.

450 is the minimum 4 stroke really. My pal just bought a new KTM Freeride 250 4t and instantly hates it as gutless.

250 2t is ok, but 300 is a bit more giggle

Yes, but look at where you're riding them, then think about the muddy nadgery trails in the UK.

[weeksy]

I think you need to lower your buying expectations if you're going to look at trail and endure bikes, they get used in all weathers, in all conditions and show it.

Personally I think an EMTB is more use, you can legally ride them on Bridle Ways and most people aren't bothered if you ride them on footpaths.

I'm not buying either a trail bike or an e-mtb.... I just was idly browsing and thought we'd get more knowledge up on the forum.

[Yorick]

imho a 250 four banger is more than enough if you're a bit talentless (like me), you need skillz to take advantage of an Enduro spec 400/450.

Only time a bigger bike is better is on the road sections between the trails.

450 is the minimum 4 stroke really. My pal just bought a new KTM Freeride 250 4t and instantly hates it as gutless.

250 2t is ok, but 300 is a bit more giggle

Yes, but look at where you're riding them, then think about the muddy nadgery trails in the UK.

My pal is stuck in Scotland and that's where he has the 250.
He has the KTM 6 Days here.

He thought same as you.

[KungFooBob]

I had a JDM DR250S, it was plenty for a bit of laning. Didn't stop me trading it in for a KDX220R... which was way better than I was.

[Couchy]

Nothing wrong with a simple trail bike like a CRF250L, I say trail bike as green laning is trail riding. If someone asked for Trackday advice no one recommends a TZ250 race bike so why for trail riding they recommend enduro bikes I don’t know. In the peaks there is more tarmac work than off road and a day will cover 150-200 miles, an enduro with 80 mile tank range, hard seat, low service intervals and no heated grips isn’t ideal lol.
Saying that 4 stroke enduros are good fun and easy to ride but they can be a handful and can do more than a simple trail bike.

[Mussels]

I used to like a bit of green laning but how good they are depends where you live. When I was in Kent most legal green lanes could be driven down easily in a hatchback, any interesting ones were over used, wrecked and shut by councils.
There was one near Gravesend that looked challenging and was too narrow for 4x4s. I rocked up to it on my LC640, pictured myself dropping the heavy lump at the top of what looked like a rocky river bed and turned straight round. I'd love to do a bit of scrambling for fun with a lighter bike but the local motorcross track was not welcoming and I don't think pay & play car sites will let bikes in.
Pay and play for motorbikes would be awesome, I just can't find anywhere to ride.

[mel]

Look up enduroland they do pay and play depending where you live post COVID of course

[Mussels]

Look up enduroland they do pay and play depending where you live post COVID of course

That's sort of what I'm after and it may be enough. I'm not really looking for a track day, I guess the problem is anywhere that allows motorbikes will be treated as a race track.
Car pay and play sites I've seen are more of a general area with a few technical bits and loads of space, the bike ones all seem to be round and round a narrow circuit.
I need to buy my own woods.

[Dave@ERT]

I think the above posts prove that it really is horses for courses. I ride mainly in Shropshire and mid Wales and we’ve got loads of lanes, some rutted, some rocky and some fairly technical, so what you really want is something light and manageable, but with a decent tank range...and easily ‘fixable’ if it goes wrong !! I still tend to favour simple air cooled four strokes, like my old TTR, but as a modern alternative the CRF’s and KLX’s are pretty popular. As said previously, full on enduros with high seat height, limited tank range and competition service intervals make little sense. Power really isn’t very important on the trails anyway. It’s rare you can really use it...and you’re only going to piss folk off, and add weight to those trying to get lanes shut down, if you start riding everywhere at full bore !? Austin Vince once came up with a great answer when asked what was the perfect sized bike for long distance off road trips...’the smallest, lightest bike that your ego will allow you to buy’ !!

[IanB]

Nothing wrong with a simple trail bike like a CRF250L, I say trail bike as green laning is trail riding. If someone asked for Trackday advice no one recommends a TZ250 race bike so why for trail riding they recommend enduro bikes I don’t know.

Well put! I'm just dipping my toe in the off road world & I think it's easy to buy a completely inappropriate bike if you're not careful. My neighbours WR 250 Yamaha is road legal & looks like a decent beginners bike so I nearly bought one until he told me it needs an oil change after every 6 hours of riding. I reckon my 40 year old 2 stroke DT175MX uses less of the liquid gold than that!

Talking of simple trial bikes a chap in the Wiltshire TRF chugs around very happily on this old Triumph, I like his style

[img]]

[Dodgy69]

If I'd never got the crf 250, I'd have a Himalayan.

[Dave@ERT]

Incidentally, a friend of mine that’s done LOTS of trail riding (and trials riding) has a shortlist called the three 100’s for his perfect green laning bike. It must be capable of 100kph for the road sections, able to cover 100 miles on a tank and weigh a maximum of 100 kg. There’s bikes out there that fit the criteria but, once you throw in servicing intervals, reliability, seat height etc....the list get smaller !?

[mel]

Look up enduroland they do pay and play depending where you live post COVID of course

That's sort of what I'm after and it may be enough. I'm not really looking for a track day, I guess the problem is anywhere that allows motorbikes will be treated as a race track.
Car pay and play sites I've seen are more of a general area with a few technical bits and loads of space, the bike ones all seem to be round and round a narrow circuit.
I need to buy my own woods.

Go on the kids and Nan ( nervous and novice) day as long as you don’t ride like a prick you can have a great bimble round and yes you will get blitz by some 8 year old on a p 50
They have easy and harder route sections which will give you the choice of how technical you want to get
To be fair the normal Sunday practice sessions were always fine and I was pathetically rubbish but no one ever bothered me they all seemed to get passed easy and safe enough

[rem1858]

[img]]

I like his style too! Probably not the best beginners off-road steed though in all fairness

It's got to be a 2-stroke bike of some description for me, nothing beats that smell. I had a DT125 when I was a teenager and had a blast on and off road with it. Seemed plenty powerful for me at the time.

I think if its just laning youre doing you want something a bit softer edged than a fully fledged motocross bike like these: https://www.theoffroaders.co.uk/dirt-bikes-for-adults/, too stiff for laning.

[GuzziPaul]

I dragged my DT175MX from the back of the garage last week which the intention of getting it back on the road and green lanes. It has a top speed of 60mph ish and depending on tyres good enough for playing on the green lanes of Essex, which surprisingly there are a few. Its not got the power to lift the front wheel to power through a stream but it will slog up a hill and get me in muddy places my other bikes won't. Its also light enough to pick up and drag out of the bogs if I need to.
Although sitting on it last week i did have trouble getting my leg over (dodgy hip). Orderd a helicoil kit (M8 x1.25) so I can fit the rear foot pegs for it's MOT and some new EBC brakes shoes for the front from Yambits.
The battery is on my Optimate trying to recover it as its not be used for a few years. I converted the electrics from 6v to 12v about 10 years ago. Got to try and find the full size number plate as I have a small plastic one that won't pass an MOT.

[Hairybiker84]

My brief dabble in laning started on a KTM EXC400, definitely not impressed, lacked bottom end grunt, poor fuelling and unimpressive suspension. Fettled the carb and re-sprung it but couldn't be doing with the frequent oil changes and failures.
Bought a Beta X-Trainer 300 - in my opinion the perfect bike for green-laning, just a shame that even with the after market bigger fuel tank it lacked range. Sold now but if I were to start up again I'd find another and improvise something to hold some extra fuel.