Trail Bike advice please

[phil_h]

Firstly I am not an experienced offroad rider but...
I did 5 years / 250 Observed Trials in my 40's
I have done a couple of MX experience days and a couple of surrey trail riding days.
Then I retired and moved to Wales, and...
I have done a full day on a Husky fe250 here
I have done 4 sessions with ORS and now I own a gs1250rallye.
And I've got some more days and tuition booked.

SO... what I want is a lightweight 4-stroke bike for the miles of mid-wales trails.
The fe250 was very nice, but rather boringly revvy on the road, and I worry about maintenance of a full-on enduro bike.
I dont know enough about trail bikes to work out what fits the bill - when I look at tests they all seem to be rather porky compared to the Husky

I would be grateful for thoughtful advice

[Cone]

Hate to say it but it sounds like a rather boring crf250l is perfect

[Nico-D]

You're going to get loads of suggestions but I'll chip in with mine anyway, Beta 390.
Yes its relatively high maintenance ( compared to a true "trail bikes") though handbook on mine says 30 h oil change interval which is longer than many enduro bikes....but if you want light and modern.....?
It's worth pointing out that most of the higher maintenance requirements of enduro bikes are under race conditions, most of us old gits aren't pushing them very hard under trail riding conditions so things should last longer.
The 390 Beta has a relatively long stroke motor and pulls very strongly from low revs so never feels too buzzy and is a smooth motor too.

[Magnon]

I think any 250 is going to be revvy on the road. Enduro gearing is probably lower than trail. You could probably get a larger front sprocket for the Husky to improve it on the road without limiting it too much on the trails.

[qcnr]

KTM 690/ Husky 701
150 kg with 74 hp
Good offroad, works on road
10.000km service interval
Masses of parts/ bling available to turn it into the bike you want.
Expensive though.

[dibbs]

I have a Husky FE450 and I put a 14 t sprocket on the front which gives me about 55-60 mph on the road in relative comfort for about 50-60 miles and doesn't affect the off road ability. I quite like doing oil changes its only a 15 min job and I can look over the bike to check stuff as well, plus it makes me think im a top mechanic lol!!!! I now run my oil to about 25hrs as said above us old gits don't thrash these bikes and they are good for 25-30hr oil changes easily I reckon, or 800-1000 miles if you go by mileage. Although used ones are hard to find. Theres a couple of blokes on you tube riding 500 exc's around the world with amazing mileages on them so I reckon 450-500cc will be perfect, and not too boring!!!!!

[Asgard]

I have a Husky 701 and its fine on stuff like Sarn Helen but on the technical stuff its not a good choice unless your some sort of man mountain or an off-road-god.
I also have a wr250 which I consider perfect for the Welsh trails, but you have to get there first...I trailer it.

If you want to actually ride to the trails any recommend the middle route with something like a DR350 or if you want modern a CR250L, look up Minkyheads posts here.

If you intend spending time in the Brecon Beacons don't spend too much as the BBNP like calling the plod who might steal your bike if you happen to wander onto what the BBNP seem to think is their land

[daveuprite]

Firstly I am not an experienced offroad rider but...
I did 5 years / 250 Observed Trials in my 40's
I have done a couple of MX experience days and a couple of surrey trail riding days.
Then I retired and moved to Wales, and...
I have done a full day on a Husky fe250 here
I have done 4 sessions with ORS and now I own a gs1250rallye.
And I've got some more days and tuition booked.

SO... what I want is a lightweight 4-stroke bike for the miles of mid-wales trails.
The fe250 was very nice, but rather boringly revvy on the road, and I worry about maintenance of a full-on enduro bike.
I dont know enough about trail bikes to work out what fits the bill - when I look at tests they all seem to be rather porky compared to the Husky

I would be grateful for thoughtful advice

Well first, I'd say that from your description you ARE an experienced off-road rider, probably being a bit modest.

Personally I would say get the largest capacity genuine enduro-based bike that you can. That way you will keep all the true off-road ability whilst also having enough power and torque for the road work that you still want to do.

I'm talking KTM EXC500, Beta 480RR, Husqvarna 501. Possibly also Yamaha WRF450. Nick's 390 Beta is a good choice too because it's long-stroke and lugs well, so it can handle distance with the right gearing. The buzzy 250s are not nice at 70 mph.

I'm like Asgard. I van my enduro bike to the start point of a day in the dirt, so my bike doesn't have to have any road manners, but if I had to have a compromise bike I would always favour its off-road ability over the road riding. To an extent you can live with an ill-handling road bike (which anything wearing knobblies on tarmac will be anyway), but a heavy pig off-road is always going to be a horrible experience, just when you want to be having the most fun.



This video is very well worth watching for inspiration on this exact subject:

[garyboy]

some great advice here,
best I have ever read ..

I have been reading a bit lately about the more modern lightweight enduro/trail bikes
like Beta, KTM, Husky etc,
which i have not had the privilege of actually riding
thinking they are for much more talented dirt riders than me, (wot is olt and slow)

certainly the OP is far more advanced than moi , as moi has never done any training .. and it shows ..

reading the bit on the beta390rr,

to be continuede

[garyboy]

the piece on the beta390rr mentions that the engine will affect the handling characteristics of the bike.
I found this out many decades ago from riding my 250 bsa goldstar .. I had a high compression ring fitted by the previous owner, and felt like a strong steady 500 with great handling .. but when I sold it, my mate blew the engine and fitted a silly std 250 engine of some sort … I tried it ...WHAT a difference … shite !! .. handled like a 125 wooden toy go cart.

in recent times I have had a DR350 and a CRF250x and CRF250L .. not to mention TTR600 .. and in the past a DT175 and KE100 .. ( I had forgotten about them) .. o .. and crf230f .. (I will add more as the memory cell actives from semi dormant)

I liked the DR350 engine most
it pulled like a train and plugged through the thickest of mud
and even with mt21's fitted, plugged up really rocky slopes while the more modern contingent of the trail ride feel about in disarray (into streams and hedges n stuff)
I was using low revs and it just pulled

the more modern CRF250L needed to be revved, even with lower gearing mods, and was never the same uphill as the DR


what the DR lacked was a low frame (for me) and good suspension and good brakes .. in other words, everything else except the engine
the beta alp 4 should be the answer .. but apparently the suspension is not all that good?
and the alp2 will not have the pulling power.



where the alp4 and DR350 and the ttr600 are heavy, but great engines
I started to look at more lightweight modern bikes .. I mean, .. you aint GOT to use all that power and handling ability?

and am interested in what people think of these modern wonders ..
bets, .. ktm .. husky .. etc

but am coming to the point of view that engine pulling power .. torque .. is a major factor ??