Hi all just after some advise of what bike to get new to the off road(road riding/racing all my life getting to old ) I have a KTM 690 endure r at the moment as I have been doing some commuting but I have been bitten by the bug of the green lanes. Went out with Wheely before xmas and quickly noticed the 690 to heavy for me on the lanes so out for advise before I buy I would like to stick to KTM as I have had several road bikes and really like the make any comments will help. Not on the bike at the moment due to hand injury not bike related so want to buy one so I can get straight back on the lanes many thanks.
We do not ride offroad. All of the green lanes which we use are recorded by the County Council as public roads, albeit without tarmac. Semantics I know but best to be clear. We ride off tarmac.
Unless you are very heavily built and quite tall you will be better off with a small light bike to start with. Wheely loves his 200, and 250cc at most should suffice untill you master it and then you may hanker for more, once you have the experience to use it. Many people make the mistake of thinking that because they have been riding a 1,000cc road bike they will find 400cc easy to handle. Better to trade up as your experience grows.
Most folk are happy to swap bikes for a few lanes or laps at an event so you should be able to try before you buy.
thanks Pete I was looking down the 200/250 route good weight and the bike still good enough on the road from lane to lane and if I want to travel to any local events.
like you I am new to green lanes but have had a lot of experience on Tarmac . I just went out and bought a bike (exc-f 450) I find it good to ride weighs 105kg so not massively heavy but I am a big guy. I have been out on a few rides since I bought the bike and feel my confidence an skill level building quite quickly on the bike don't get me wrong I have done a bit of rolling round in the mud but not to much ! i know a lot of guys like the 250's and 300's though and if your likely to be picking it up quite a bit to begin with the lighter the better! Like Pete says you can always trade up as your confidence grows. I picked my bike up for £2900 with 3200 mls it is a great bike for the money and had top end rebuild 25hrs ago with a dealer! I wouldn't go out and spend massive money on a bike what ever you decide on there are decent well looked after bikes out there that do the job just great for not a lot of money.
but like I say I am just a youngling like yourself and these are just my findings. There are a lot of very knowledgeable blokes on Here and they know a lot more about it than I do . I think it's all about having fun and enjoying yourself no point getting a bike that scares the s@£t out of you every time you get on it your never going to progress your skills when your fighting to tame a beast.
yes your right I think I will look for a good condition 200/250 nice weight and help me get more confidence a lot of expert guys on here still swear by the 200 thanks for your comments
Liking the look of that, could be real fun. In my humble opinion I would say its better to start with something manageable like a 200/250 and then as your confidence/abilities improve look at something more powerful or stay with the same bike, as probably most of us never get near the full potential of our bikes. I recently went from a 250exc-f to 300exc but made sure i tried out a few bikes on the way and found out for example the 500exc is less aggressive than the 450exc in the way it delivered its power, this was newish models I tried and a 2014 300xc was just mental , where as the 300exc I have now, after reining it in a bit feels not so daunting , but still may prove to much for me long term. Personally I think probably the best balanced bike out there at the moment is the 350exc and would be my bike of choice if going back to a 4t , I dont think this would tire you out as much over a long day as a 450/500 would. Just my opinion from the last couple of weeks :)
Thanks guys for your comments I would love to stick with the 690 but I'm just to small for it on the lanes as wheely found out when I went out with him although I did have the wrong tyre on the front and kept washing out on me for the road Im fine but just to heavy in the hard stuff perhaps I will put the new boots on the front and have another go before I sell it
I only ask because i have an xc 200 that i have recently acquired.
It is a bike that has been built from two brand new 2012 ktm's, a150 xc frame, closed cartridge forks, pro link rear shock, with an exc 200 engine, cdi unit, 6 speed gear box, wiring loom, lights.
The bike has a rekluse exp 2.0 and a cluch overide and a rekluse left hand rear brake witch all makes the bike an absolute dodle to ride over just about anthing you are brave enough to point it at.
as wheely says the 200 can be fiesty but mine has a map switch fitted witch makes it a bit of a pussy cat and gives it much better road manners.
If you want a modern, light weight, quick, nimble, bike then this is surely it!
only thinking of selling due to non bike related injury and having read your thread i thought i would drop you a line.