Well...i had my first off road day on 2 wheels at the weekend........and i loved it! Offthekerbtrailriding.co.uk down near Boxhill in Dorking.
Ive never done off road before but really enjoyed it. Now, i have a few questions......especially after reading Dom1's Taffy Drwg post....
1) where can a road legal off road bike be used? Any links to a datatbase?
2) What is a cheap but reliable bike to get
3) Apart from the bike and riding kit, is there anything else i would need?
Every county keeps its own definitive map. Some are available online it just takes a bit of research.
Best bet is to join the TRF then bob along on their rides in your area. You can build up your own knowledge from there.
Personally I enjoy the route planning and navigation cos I don't get out as much as I would like so I want to make the most of it when I do.
Bike - As with all things you can spend what you want. I started cheap and cheerful and I am yet to find a reason to change.
KTMs and other enduro bikes are lighter and more powerful and I have seen full BMW Gs Adventures do stuff you would not believe they could with the right pilots.
DRZ, XR, XT are all a good shout if you want something a bit less highly strung. My DR is starting to get a bit long in the tooth to find secondhand parts easily.
Trail bikes need a valid MOT, tax and insurance as the trails are just a road without tarmac.
My full setup including bike clothing and camping kit was less than £2k.
Cheers for the reply mate.
Is an electric start a thing that is needed or is it a luxury? Also, i presume a bigger engine isn't always the best way as they will be heavier? What size engine would you suggest as a decent learning platform?
Anything with around 25bhp is plenty of power, don't be fooled into thinking you need a balls out 100kg/40bhp enduro beast.
I'd say electric start is bit more than a "nice to have". I wouldn't buy a kick start only these days, but that's just me personally.
Get something you're comfortable dropping (and then dropping some more). Because you will.
A lot.
Get something that weighs as low as possible. Makes handling it off road much easier and that enhances enjoyment. There's nothing worse than struggling with a heavy bike.
Only thing I'd add to the good stuff posted is buy the best boots you can afford. They take a lot of hammer and it's not a time to think you can get away with a pair of DM's or road bike boots.
They take a lot of hammer as bikes riding trails. Oil changes are the tip of the iceberg. All the bearing, particularly swingarm, shock linkage are often little needle roller things that fill up with shit very quickly if your in muddy rivers and puddles. Suspension needs much more frequent servicing. Be prepared to do much more frequent spannering if you want to keep it working well.
If you go enduro, a 250 is more than enough to start. Electric start is a godsend when you've just got stuck and stalled it, then dropped it and heaved it back up on its wheels and are blowing out your arse on a slippery hill.
My first trail bike was a wr250, turned out the engine was fucked and I had to change pretty much every bearing outside of the engine... plus a few inside. But they are largely regarded to be a great bike. I liked mine... while it was running
Groupon are offering cheap intro days to electric dirt bikes.
Half day is £89.
https://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/e-nduro?p=21&nlp=&CID=UK&uu=eee35def-1200-4f5a-8092-24f0ecf1628c&tx=0&utm_source=channel_occasions_im&utm_medium=email&sid=35a1e73e-2549-4d2f-b5c3-cd881e04db93_0_20190529&t_division=bournemouth&date=20192905&sender=rm&s=body&c=image&d=deal-page
Not used it myself but might interest some of you.
Personally I recommend excess energy for a day out on proper bikes but that is more like £180.
Thanks for the Groupon link! Just bought one
In this sector. What seems like a cheap bike to buy originally. Soon turns out to be an expensive bike.