Winter hack 125-250cc what?

[ThEGr33k]

I quite like the idea of a little trailie (spelt right?) style thing and ill put some semi noblies on for bad weather days. I think when the weather is nasty through winter a 1000cc's is a bit much...

Prefer the price to be low, lower than £1000 thats for sure as its just a winter hack.

Cheers.

[Specialone]

Kwak klx 250, seem good value, seen a good one recently on ebay go for £790.

[toxic]

XS250, mate just got one as a hack for £300.

[ThEGr33k]

Kwak klx 250, seem good value, seen a good one recently on ebay go for £790.


Damn, on auto trader they start out at £2500!!! :confused: That wouldnt be far off of being bang on the money though but unless I can find one for considerably less its a no go... (My Falco only cost £2800!)




I just noticed a DR350, £1090 and looks in decent nick... Not sure if economy is the best though.

[ThEGr33k]

Honda City Fly? Man too many options...

[beabert]

Th honda clr cityfly is very under powdered 55mph tops. I had one, was slow but very reliable!

[yorkie_chris]

I just noticed a DR350, £1090 and looks in decent nick... Not sure if economy is the best though.

Singles in pretty low state of tune are generally very good.

Problem is with these bikes for winter commuting is they have 1970s quality electrics which are absolutely sh*te and they tend to shake themselves to bits quite regularly.

Carnivore on here runs a yam SRX600 which would be IMO spot on except for the lack of electrical power. Forget about heating grips, jackets etc. Suppose it depends how far you need to ride.

[Paul the 6th]

dr350?

http://robrobinette.com/images/DR350SM_with_Pirellis3Small.jpg

[hindle8907]

get a curvy :) that what iv done. 900 quid.

[STRAMASHER]

Honda CRM250 stroker gets my vote.

Don't know if the "newer" ones have a leccy boot? Most of the ones I have seen are kicker.

Grey import only unfortunately.

But it will go like feck, sound anti-social as feck and you'll stink of Eau d'Comp Deux.

Here a expensive posh one....

http://www.uzushio-racing.com/usedcar/used/base_crm250motard.jpg

[ThEGr33k]

Stokers are kinda a 2nd option tbh, I do want reliability and economy and generally 2 strokes lose out to 4 strokers in those two categories :(

What you say about an older SV makes sense I guess hindle, at least as far as price goes, but its still not a bike I want to be messing with, I just want something that will start and run every time, and if it really comes to it will kick up or bump start with no effort...

[speedplay]

Stokers are kinda a 2nd option tbh, I do want reliability and economy and generally 2 strokes lose out to 4 strokers in those two categories :(



2 stroke trailes are a blast!

still miss my KTM 200 :(

[yorkie_chris]

But crap commuting bikes

[Sosha]

But crap commuting bikes


Rats - DT125, KMX200, KDX etc spot on for winter.

[yorkie_chris]

Like I say, depends on the commute and whether traffic is involved and how much of it. If it's going to be on windswept dual carriageways with the chance of flowing traffic, no chance! Headlights for decorative purposes only along with self-destructive electrics, not ideal.
For that sort of use you're better off with a proper road bike.

Though that sort of thing is brilliant if you're going on little lanes and through town.

[ThEGr33k]

I spend a mile on 60 roads another 2 on a 50 and the rest is 30-40 in sheffield... A YBR125 sounds ok I guess. Good MPG and all that jazz. No kick start though (from what I can tell) which is something id like, I know 125's probably start dead easy but id still rather have a kick start as well.

Hmph.

[yorkie_chris]

YBR has kick start but it's crap.
TBH they are that easy to bump start you could probably do it uphill.

I'd look for bigger than 125s as the learner market means they hold a premium price


What about a sc**ter? I #ahem# know someone who will be selling a gilera runner 125 shortly, will be very cheap...

[barwel1992]

gilera runner 125 shortly

good bike, fast when tuned a bit as well, but as soon as you do that they are not that great on fuel or reliability

[Haluk]

I know YBR Custom has kick-start but you won't get one for under £1k, as they are relatively new. Otherwise a Honda CG125? Can't argue with 100mpg!

[toxic]

I would say a DR 200 Djebel, good headlight and the ADV rider crowd really rate them.

[-Ralph-]

Why so small? My XT600 only puts out 43bhp and it does 50mpg.

[ThEGr33k]

I'd rather have smaller cc for price, easy maintenance, cheap insurance and easy starting when when winter roles in batteries can struggle.

[-Ralph-]

I'd rather have smaller cc for price, easy maintenance, cheap insurance and easy starting when when winter roles in batteries can struggle.

Well not many bigger bikes have kick starters unless they are older, but they do tend to have bigger batteries to cope with harder starting.

Maintenance don't worry about cc if you are buying a single cylinder trailie. The biggest complication on almost any single is whether or not it's liquid cooled! :lol: Some newer and bigger bikes will be fuel injected, but I don't think that's the kind of price range you are looking at. My XT600 is not much more complicated than a lawnmower.

Insurance will be cheaper on a smaller cc if you are taking out a separate policy, but not by much. I was quoted 78 quid last year fully comp on my SV. A 125 would probably be 40 quid. Unfortunately that company didn't do multi-bike policies, so I went with a more expensive multi-bike insurer because one policy on the SV with no claims, and a separate policy for the XT without no claims, added up to the same amount. . If you are adding it as a second bike onto a Falco 1000 policy, I don't think you'll see any difference whether you have a 250 or a 600. When I added my XT600 to my SV650 policy, all I paid was an admin fee. The guy on the phone explained that it was a less powerful bike than the SV, and I can only ride one at a time.

IMHO I'd widen your cc range and give yourself a better choice of bikes. Small trail bikes are in demand with learners, 33bhp license holders, and those who want something lightweight for off road use, so they hold their value. You'd get something newer and lower mileage for the same price if you looked at bigger bikes. My XT was £1500 quid on a 2002, with 8300 miles. And lets face it, if maintenance and insurance make no odds, what would you rather be riding around on? I bike that can beat the traffic, or a bike that struggles to keep up with it?

[speedplay]

My 520 was £30 to add to my daytona policy...

[ThEGr33k]

Whats the seat hight on these bigger bikes? I may have forgotten to mention my leg issues, im on 5'6" tall... :(

Will have a look at these bigger ones then and see what I can see :)

[Specialone]

My poxy insurance company wouldnt let me add my drz to my sv, i took out a TPFT, 0 NCB, for £120.
I am gonna combine the two next year though.
Im hoping my sprint will be cheaper, cost me an extra £220 on top of my sv policy, i found cheaper, but it was £80 to end the existing so wouldnt have worked out much cheaper.
Ill have 2 years NCB next renewal so that should help.

[yorkie_chris]

I'd rather have smaller cc for price, easy maintenance, cheap insurance and easy starting when when winter roles in batteries can struggle.

If the battery is healthy it will be fine

[-Ralph-]

Whats the seat hight on these bigger bikes? I may have forgotten to mention my leg issues, im on 5'6" tall... :(

Will have a look at these bigger ones then and see what I can see :)

You'll probably find them a bit tall, but no more so than a 6 footer would find a KTM 990 tall. You just have to slide your ar$e off the seat a bit when you stop. After the first day of two you'd be fine with it. There's plenty of lady owners of XT600's on Horizons Unlimited forum.

[BBadger]

Couldnt fault a dr350 tbh....wonder why:rolleyes:

[ThEGr33k]

Couldnt fault a dr350 tbh....wonder why:rolleyes:


My dad has mentioned these, and looking at them they look fab, bang on for the job tbh :)

[MattCollins]

What Ralph said.

If there is any motorway involved you'd be much happier with the bigger bike. The XT will handle 80mph all day and has a respectable bit of go. Go for the smaller bike if you are happy tooling along at 50-60-ish and don't mind being blown away by Korean hatchbacks. Somehow I doubt slow is your thing and with a bit of performance you will be much happier and more likely to ride the thing.
Out of the bigger Japanese rocks the (96-04) XT600 is still IMO the pick of the bunch.

Bikes like the DRZ400 are worthy contenders... maybe a little tall for a short rider, but they can be lowered a long way.

Smaller... The DR200 is a ripper of a bike that are so cheap that they are affordable new. Yamaha and Honda make similar bikes.

125s are toys.

FWIW.

[-Ralph-]

if you are happy tooling along at 50-60-ish and don't mind being blown away by Korean hatchbacks.

And being blown over by trucks. They are all restricted to, and hence all travel at 56mph. If you bike is struggling to pull 55mph, which a 125 traillie would be, you'll be getting overtaken by trucks all the time, which is not fun on a small bike, when they are taking 60 seconds to get past you.

[ThEGr33k]

Seen a DR350, should be enough for my trip to work. It is primarily going to be a commuter bike with any distance work being done on the Aprilia which will happily do silly enough speeds. There is only about 3 miles over 40mph on my commute so 350cc's should be enough, also I seen one for sale localish so might have to see about goin and having a look. Just hope it isnt toooo tall!

[-Ralph-]

The mondo enduro guys went round the world on DR350's then chose to use them again for Terra Circa. You wont go wrong with a DR350, another lawnmower engine on two wheels, you are still talking top comfortable cruising speed on 65 mph, but thats quick enough to keep yourself ahead of the lorries.

[ThEGr33k]

Dont worry about the lorries, it probably wont see much motorway, certainly not more than one or 2 junctions if I really have to use them.

[BBadger]

Woo another dr350 to the fold!
They are quiet tall though, i could just get both feet down and im 6ft...but sm wheels have lowered it enough.
Very easy to lower or so ive heard and read.
if your looking at one id get over to "maxisumsuzuk (http://www.maximum-suzuki.com/forums/index.php)i" very good site with lots of tips and general maintenance or little bits on how to boots power here and there.

Also if speed is a worry sprokets are cheap as chips to go up a few teeth and dont wear that quickly as your looking around 30bhp ish.

[ThEGr33k]

Im not certain yet... Have to find a good un really... well good ish anyway.

How bad was yours? I had a quick look at your thread but didnt see much on how it was when you first got it? Ridable?

[BBadger]

It was abit of a dud tbh but that was my fault for ebay without seeing it.
Sub frame right at the back had a crack but spanner man sorted that for me.
Otherwise just little things like abit gunged up from trail use and fork seals are on their way out and front break had eaten the seals aswell.
Just hadnet been look after that well but you can see its coming along nicely.

Even in its state when i got it it rode well apart from being abit rough due to fuelling and spongy breaks.

Everything else ive done is just preference as i plan to keep this bike indefinitely, and most of the parts i got dead cheap.