Trail Bike advice please

[mechanic]

Hi, I’ve only skipped through the posts, may have missed something. But, have you considered an EXC 500, there a great big pussy cat, gear-it up for the road but still have a really low tractable 1st gear. Strong engine and really reliable all round. Don’t let the 500 put you off, you can really lug it around in a high gear, no risk of flame outs. Good for parts etc.

[Flipflop]

I took up trail riding at 50, when I moved to the Peak District.
I wanted a good light trail bike that had road bike maintenance intervals. I was directed towards a WR250R as it is the lightest of the 250, long maintenance interval, trail bikes and ready for any trail out of the box.
I wasn’t disappointed and haven’t needed to change up to a more powerful bike. You might be different of course but I have let a group of KTM riders pass me and, quite simply, I would not want to ride at the speed they were.
5 years later I have moved somewhere else and am not using the WR - the great thing is I could sell it tomorrow for what I paid for it.
May I suggest you buy either a decent TTR250 or WR250R (if you can find one) and Run it for a year - if you then want enduro speeds you can trade up and not loose any money.
I’m not sure about trail riding in Wales but enduro speeds in the Peak District are not legal or appropriate - if I went onto competition enduros or motor cross obviously I would change my bike.
Good luck with your decision

[Stebbelaner]

Having owned or ridden all those 450's you're considering I'd say avoid and buy a Beta 350RR.
I'm on my second and it's plenty enough for long trail rides whilst being alot more fun and agile than the Jap 450's.Also a fair bit cheaper.

[garyboy]

I ride a bit in mid-wales. My advice is to think long and hard about tank range before you commit.

I had a KTM 350 Freeride for 6 years. Incredibly confidence inspiring (99kgs) bike which I really liked, but i couldn’t ride the routes i wanted to ride in a day due to fuel range. Had to trailer it to the campsite, ..

Now using a Husky 701. Took a ride or two to get used to the extra weight and height but once I did it is actually way better as a trail bike than i expected. .. 150 mile fuel range has opened up all sorts of happy options and it is actually a pleasure to ride between lanes too (which was not my experience of the Freeride, or the XR400 that preceded it)!

I used to love riding Mid Wales lanes.
Can you tell me why the Freeride was not pleasant to ride between lanes, and why you did not carry extra fuel in a can?
Could you also do a brief compare of the Freeride with the 701 .. chalk and cheese obviously, in size, but .. the feel of both/either ??

Thankyou.
G

ps.. views on the XR400 would be welcome too

[minkyhead]

a couple of mates have used do use the swm 300r ...2nd hand ultra low ones can be had for sub 3 grand and they are a real nice left feild choice ..the new ones have crippling depreciation but .2nd hand they are a bargain ..half the price of a austrian but just as capable ...if i had trails in me back yard id have one ..kind of a left feild bargain just doesnt suit my needs ..but a good machine

[johnnyboxer]

Having owned or ridden all those 450's you're considering I'd say avoid and buy a Beta 350RR.
I'm on my second and it's plenty enough for long trail rides whilst being alot more fun and agile than the Jap 450's.Also a fair bit cheaper.

Tell us more about the Beta 4T's

[daveuprite]

Having owned or ridden all those 450's you're considering I'd say avoid and buy a Beta 350RR.
I'm on my second and it's plenty enough for long trail rides whilst being alot more fun and agile than the Jap 450's.Also a fair bit cheaper.

Tell us more about the Beta 4T's

I posted this a few pages back:


Re. the Beta range (i.e. the current Beta range), you get the same frame/brakes/forks etc whichever of the four strokes you choose. Even the prices are almost identical. The only thing that changes is the engine, and you just choose the one that best suits your riding style.

The 350RR is the quick revvy bike.
The 390RR is a long-stroke luggy bike that does it all
The 430RR is powerful, fast and best in the hands of a really good rider
The 480RR is the big, rangy, lazier bike with heaps of torque - basically an off-road-centered dual sport

But they are all woods bikes if you want them to be, great on single track as well as wide fast stuff. All fuel injected and mapable, and all about 110kgs, with slightly lower seat height than the competition. But unlike KTM and Yamaha, Beta is a small family company which makes bikes in numbers just small enough that they slip underneath the exhaust/induction regs. Which means they run correctly from brand new and don't need mods to get them running smoothly. You should get 150kms out of a tank, but there are big tanks available off the shelf from IMS etc.

Beta used KTM exc engines until 2010/11 and then their own motors after that. They all changed from carb to fuel injection in about 2014 (actually that should read 2015/16).

There's loads on youtube about them. If anyone is considering an enduro bike (KTM, Husky or likewise) they'd be crazy not to also consider a Beta. Big following now in the U.S. too. In fact Beta usually sells out its new stock fast because it doesn't want to expand its production beyond the existing factory or fall foul of the homologation rules that larger manufacturers must adhere to. I'll probably be buying another one some time after we are allowed to ride beyond our back gardens...

[Stebbelaner]

What Daveuprite said
I've not ridden the other capacity Beta's but find my 350 a great all-rounder.You can rev it to the moon if it takes your fancy or just plod.In fact I've gone much taller on the gearing (15/49) and like the more relaxed nature.It would probably pull 90mph on the road on that gearing but I've not tried.

[phil_h]

Beta Pros/Cons 2018/2019/2020 ?
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324116058160
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274296666006
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324089974775

[Stebbelaner]

2019 @ £4695 looks best value compared to over £7k for secondhand 2020.
I paid £4500 private sale 15 months ago for a '17 model