Green Laning on two wheels.

[BUSHWHACKER]

Maico! there's a blast from the past. They used to make a single cylinder 1000cc dirt bike! Mental

[codlord]

I used to have a 99 Yamaha WR400 - a great bike for playing, laning or even a bit of road use. Recently sold it and got a 2003 KTM 450 EXC with electric start. Absolutely brilliant. I would deffo go for a 4-stroke. Leccy start is a nice-to-have (especially when playing when you often stall or have to start in odd places or crazy slopes etc, if you are just laning then it's a luxury really), but most road-legal 4-strokes will come with leccy start nowadays (as well as a kick starter).

Before I could recommend something I would have to ask:
a) What sort of money are you thinking of spending?
b) how tall are you and how much do you weigh?

Capacity is getting bigger all the time with the introduction of new competition specs so from 400, then 426 and currently 450, although each generation seems to shave a tad more weight off too. I was going to go for a smaller 4-stroke like a 250 or 350 but they are not much lighter than the 400's/450's so thought I may as well go for the 450 (as you have the power but don't have to use it).

Yamaha's and KTM's seem to be the king when it comes to 4 strokes - both very well respected for build quality etc. www.thumpertalk.com is a great forum for info in 4 strokes - mostly US people there but still lots and lots of experiences/info/advice etc.

A lot of my mates have 2 strokes - light and lots of fun but seemingly a lot more hassle to get/keep running right and not really much good for laning or road use.

I have done a bit of green laning in wales and also go to Toms Farm regularly (4x4 and motorbikes) - see my site for details. Feel free to ask any more info, i'm no expert but know a bit...

[codlord]

Dont whatever you do buy a big 4 stroke with kick start only-apart from the bikes being possessed by Satan and existing only to shatter your shin bones,When the going gets tough and you are up to your earlobes in mud, trying to swing a big 4 stroke into life is a bit like trying to nail a cloud to a plank and unless you are supremely fit or have thighs like carol vorderman,near impossible.dont do it to yourself, go for the leccy foot option every time

Gotta disagree with you there - it is true some big 4 strokes can be hard to kick but with a decompression lever (and even more modern bikes having auto-decompression) it is reasonably easy without being super-tough. But there is a knack to it - you don't just kick it like its a 2-stroke.

The only problem I have found is that if you drop it the carb can get flooded and it can be hard to start for a while (and therefore you get knackered trying) and if you are in an awkward spot it can be difficult to actually kick it.

[Medieval Dave]

Before I could recommend something I would have to ask:
a) What sort of money are you thinking of spending?
b) how tall are you and how much do you weigh?

...

a) probably whatever I can get for an RS250 plus a bit. Say 2k for the sake of arguments.

b)Five feet six, and not much of that is leg, and about 12stone ish. Used to be able to ride a bike were I was a fair way of getting a foot down on the road at least though.

[codlord]

I am only really familiar with yammy and KTM range but for 2k you are going to be looking at something like a 1999-2002 WR400/WR426 or similar. I just sold my 99 WR400 for £1500 (had a few things needing doing so a bit less than I could have got had it been all sweet).

Smaller capacity 4 strokes (250/350) only seemed to come along in the last few years so you are unlikely to find any under 2K - also not going to be many electric start models in your price range. Height may be a problem as these bikes do seem to be very tall - you may need to adjust the suspension a bit, but you will just have to sit on a few and see how you get on. As I said before there is a knack to kick starting a 4-stroke but anyone who is going to sell you one should be able to talk you through it.

If you are going for the road-legal version of dirt bikes then there is not much to look out for apart from the usual stuff, they won't have been raced, only playing/green laning or at most recreational enduro - anyone serious won't have bought a road-going model.

Some things I check for when looking at dirt-bikes: Check oil is in good nick (i.e. regularly replaced), fork seals are not blown, no water in oil or oil in water, chain tension and sprocket/chain condition and air filter condition can tell you a bit about how it was looked after (or not). Check its all straight, i.e. handlebars are aligned and when you look down it from front and rear from a few feet that wheels/chain/sprockets/forks are aligned as they should be. In my experience these 4-stroke engines do actually sound quite rattley as the norm so not really easy to tell if there are any engine issues from listening to them.

This is a great site for comparing bike specs/types and seeing what you get for different year models etc - they have quite comprehensive buyers guides and reviews for most makes going back to 2001 (scroll to bottom of page):
http://www.off-road.com/dirtbike/

[Medieval Dave]

I am only really familiar with yammy and KTM range but for 2k you are going to be looking at something like a 1999-2002 WR400/WR426 or similar. I just sold my 99 WR400 for £1500 (had a few things needing doing so a bit less than I could have got had it been all sweet).

Smaller capacity 4 strokes (250/350) only seemed to come along in the last few years so you are unlikely to find any under 2K - also not going to be many electric start models in your price range. Height may be a problem as these bikes do seem to be very tall - you may need to adjust the suspension a bit, but you will just have to sit on a few and see how you get on. As I said before there is a knack to kick starting a 4-stroke but anyone who is going to sell you one should be able to talk you through it.

If you are going for the road-legal version of dirt bikes then there is not much to look out for apart from the usual stuff, they won't have been raced, only playing/green laning or at most recreational enduro - anyone serious won't have bought a road-going model.

Some things I check for when looking at dirt-bikes: Check oil is in good nick (i.e. regularly replaced), fork seals are not blown, no water in oil or oil in water, chain tension and sprocket/chain condition and air filter condition can tell you a bit about how it was looked after (or not). Check its all straight, i.e. handlebars are aligned and when you look down it from front and rear from a few feet that wheels/chain/sprockets/forks are aligned as they should be. In my experience these 4-stroke engines do actually sound quite rattley as the norm so not really easy to tell if there are any engine issues from listening to them.

This is a great site for comparing bike specs/types and seeing what you get for different year models etc - they have quite comprehensive buyers guides and reviews for most makes going back to 2001 (scroll to bottom of page):
http://www.off-road.com/dirtbike/

Hey, Cheers for that, just the job.

BTW, has your web site gone down?

[codlord]

No prob.

BTW, has your web site gone down?

Yeah kind-of, basically I host my websites on my companies servers and our broadband connection courtesy of BT is the worlds most unreliable, so things are temporarily down while the techs at BT alledgedly do something to try and fix it (or like the last few times just shrug their shoulders and say "well its working now so it must be alright").

[wibblywobbly]

TRF is the way to go

I used to be a member of the TRF, and have to say that the years that I spent with the Bristol Branch were the fittest years of my life. Jeez, riding off road is a nightmare to start off with, but after a while you learn to let the bike take the strain and stop fighting it.

Without a doubt I would say go for the lightest bike you can find. After you have picked it up for the thirtieth time since lunch you will be glad you did. Heaving a heavy bike glued into a bog while wearing all the clobber is a very exhusting experience.

I had an XL185, TS250, MTX200 and an IT175. The Yam was a pukka enduro bike and with proper knobblies on it was a dream compared to the others.

It teaches you loads about riding on road too, you gain a massive amount of understanding and learn not to panic when it all goes pear shaped.

Have fun

Rob G

[usafric]

I have a DRZ 400, and its a great bike. Only problem is it's a very tall bike. I am 5'10 and can just about touch the ground. As for power its got all I need, I just returned from the Breckon Beacons, WOW, what a trip. See pics: http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/900885

[Medieval Dave]

I have a DRZ 400, and its a great bike. Only problem is it's a very tall bike. I am 5'10 and can just about touch the ground. As for power its got all I need, I just returned from the Breckon Beacons, WOW, what a trip. See pics: http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/900885

This is what I'm talking about - that's what I fancy getting into, those are great pics. Everyone has been really helpfull here - keep it coming. How do you find routes like that? through a club or a guide or a book or what?

Also I am working on the assumption that I need a road legal bike becuase some trails will cross real roads or will actualy be unsurfaced 'proper roads'. in lot of pictures I see of people apparently on long distance trail rides I don't see a number plate, although the bikes look like they could be road legal. People take their plates off when offroad, or am I on the wrong tack?

[codlord]

You could try this farm/off road centre in Wales I went to recently, see my brief report here:
http://www.yotasurf-online.co.uk/pub...ad.php?t=16410
guided riding usually available and you can often tag along with other groups too.

Yes you really need a fully road legal bike for riding on green lanes etc - as well as the fact that you will have to do some road riding anyway. Anyone who has no number plate or whatever is taking a bit of a risk if they do ever get stopped by the plod. They are either totall road-illegal or they are road legal but have chosen to remove the plate so no busy-body types can easily report/identify them.

Not sure on the status of green laning now, does anyone know for sure if that new law banning all motor vehicles from nearly all routes in UK has gone through yet? There was a post about it here a while back:
http://www.yotasurf-online.co.uk/pub...=17576&page=1&

[Medieval Dave]

If anyone else is interested in trying off-roading on two wheels but doesn't know where to start, then try this link - load of good stuff

http://website.lineone.net/~dualsport.uk/newriders.htm

[Medieval Dave]

Ah-ha

Well, I just bought an old Suzuki DR350 on Ebay, seems nice and tidy, and a motorcycle carrier for the back of the surf.

Next thing is to book myself on a guided green lane day (£60 the day).

I wonder how fit I am these days? Wish me luck!

[BUSHWHACKER]

The legs are the first to suffer, followed by your arms then your lower back....................

[Medieval Dave]

The legs are the first to suffer, followed by your arms then your lower back....................

Well, We'll find out now won't we. I have just realised that it is pretty much exactly half my lifetime since I last rode off road (on purpose).

But I just bought a DR350 and a motorbike carrier for the surf. Once I have a go at getting used to it on the road, and obtain a spare back wheel with a nobbly on, we'll find out if I still bounce.

Dave