what bike? (motorbike)

shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
Van Living Forum

Help Support Van Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
S

steveh2112

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 9, 2015
Messages
259
Reaction score
0
i assume a few of you keep a motorbike strapped to the back for local trips when parked up?

what are you driving?

i want something not too big, 250 ish, comfortable for an hour or two drive into town to pick up some shopping etc. but able to handle a few boondocking type dirt roads.

i'd get something like a honda rebel 250 for the road (my friend has one and i've driven it a lot and its fine) but a bit low to the ground and weak frame for much off road work.

i'm not a huge fan of dual sport bikes because not comfortable on the road.

any ideas?

thx
 
Patrick46 said:
These Yamaha TW's are great bikes, and the perfect thing to hang off the back of a van or stuff into a cargo trailer (which is what I'm gonna do)

I just scored onna these for my wifey.
Click to expand...

yep, it does look nice. i rode a KLR650 for a long time, go anywhere but way too tall for my wife to ride. this is probably a better bet than the rebel if off roading of any type is in my future

i'd need to get some luggage racks and bags on that thing for shopping http://pjungnitsch.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/TW200-3/IMG3432/971021630_kFtN7-M.jpg
 
I road a KLR650 for years almost every day to work and on short trips. From the blazing summer down to 11.5 degrees F. Great bike, sold it to get a KLR250, still searching for one now. My only complaint over 30k mile worth of riding is the vibrations from such a big thumper(single cylinder engine). It would make my hands go numb after long rides. I tried everything to cure it, got better but never went away.
 
I have a Yamaha XT-225. It weighs 250# and gets about 74 mpg. Put it in my pickup and drove out to Silveryon, CO and rode the high passes for a week then up to Moab, UT for another week of riding in the desert. Again with about 7 guys and gals.

It's a great bike and will go anywhere. Light enough to haul on the back or front of your van. And with trials tires has enough grip for dirt/sand or the highway. It's a 2006 and I bought it off of a friend for $1300 back in 2008. I ride it around the farm and into town, 23 miles for errands. Also explore the woods around here in NW Florida. Good ground clearance, a skid plate and I can straddle flat footed. I have a 31" inseam for reference.

I also have a 2006 Suzuki 650cc V-Strom for a road bike. But rarely use it unless I go more than 50 miles. The XT -225 is my go to bike. Both bikes are dual sport but it's kind of a stretch to call the Suzuki a Dual sport. The Suzuki is top heavy, has no skid plate and has alloy wheels.

You can't go wrong with the XT.
 
i have 7 honda scooters now, 3 for me and family and 4 for rent. one of them, honda airblade, i've taken it on roads many dirt bikes would think twice about. its a shame honda doesn't import their full range of bikes to the US. and shipping it over there isn't an options since there would be no where to have it serviced and repaired.

this one is great for on and off road
http://www.aphonda.co.th/msxthailand/
 
I'm set to trade motorcycles this spring, my street-fighter Honda VTR1000 for two Yamahas -- XT600 and RD400. Already have a further trade in the works for the RD -- cash and firearm -- and will ride the XT600 as a commuter and in-town bike to save on gas. Depending on what the XT is like, it will either be the bike I take with me on the road, or it will get traded for a smaller displacement and lighter DP bike in the 200-400cc range. Hard to beat older DP bikes for lightweight, excellent mileage, dependability, repairability, etc.

Although if someone gave me a wad of cash and said I had to spend it on a new bike, finalists would be the Honda Grom, Sachs MadAss 125, or the new KTM Duke 390...
 
steveh2112 said:
xt225 look great
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/mcy/4926442972.html
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/mcy/4926698383.html

how about on the road, how is your behind after an hour or so on that?
Click to expand...

I'll admit the seat can get hard. A lot of people get an after market seat. But I'm too tight assed to spend $350 for a good seat. But on the Colorada weeklong trip we rode all day up in the mountains and I don't remember any real discomfort. But this wasn't constant asphalt riding. It was all dirt so you moved around in the saddle. I'm 69 now and this was 5 years ago and I didn't have any problems with my mid sixties butt. 

But I do ride up to about fifty miles around here on asphalt and as you approach a hour there is some discomfort. But I just stand up and shake my booty to get the kinks out. :) 

I love the bike. 
 
steveh2112 said:
i assume a few of you keep a motorbike strapped to the back for local trips when parked up?

what are you driving?

i want something not too big, 250 ish,
any ideas?

thx

I had a KLR 250 for over 10 yrs. 80% of the riding was off road and it was a lot of fun! I traded it in for a XT 250 and love it! A lot more comfortable, a little lower seat height and also a lot of fun. I'm a fan of the dual sports because of where we all camp. In the woods. Why not have a bike that you can use there and also ride into town for supplies. Trail riding is a lot of fun. You can cover a lot of ground, see a lot more, park at a trail head and hike, jump in a lake. Ads another level of enjoyment to your time in the woods.
Greg
Click to expand...
 
I really like my KLR650, and have done some multistate road trips along with trail riding on it. It has the widest, softest and most comfy seat of any small to midsize DP bike. But many of us do add padding beneath the vinyl (easy to do, it just staples to the seat pan) or use an additional seat cover. Nowadays I trailer the bike. It's really too heavy for a hitch-haul style carrier. If I go on the road for an indefinite time/full time, I'd trade or sell it for a smaller DP bike. But with my size and weight, that gets tricky.
 
KLR650s are extremely popular with riders on this forum, probably because it's simple, cheap and works which goes with the mindset on CRVL. comfy all day on the highway, if you are skilled it is adequate on most trails. At 400lbs It's too heavy for me to feel safe loading and unloading on a hitch hauler or rail trailer by myself.
Mine is lowered 1" and feels about 3" too low, I use the stock seat, a tall windshield and a hacked up fairing to change the angle of the windshield. She's a beater, set me back $1200 or 1300 and all I've had to do is a couple oil changes, repair a roadside flat and grease some bearings. It does need a new rear tire right now and I should change alll the fluids before my ride to the Oregon coast in 5 months.


200-250cc dualsports normally max out around 65-70mph so are only good for short sprints on the highway. They still tip the scales around the 275-300lb mark too, I have a decent amount of seat time logged on the TW200 and honda 230 and I wouldn't dare take either on the interstates in the front range. The 250-500cc street bikes, are generally around 350-400lbs and don't strain as much on the highway. the Rebel and Vstar 250 are great choices being only 320-330lbs wet.
 
I have a Shadow and a Rebel. I love the Shadow. It is so much more comfortable than the Rebel for spending any amount of time on. It is heavier than the Rebel by a long ways and that concerns me some as the weight was the reason I got rid of my Sportster. Now. you had better have a strong back if you want to take a Shadow trail riding. I don't even like dirt roads where there's any loose dirt or gravel. The Rebel was/is a very good bike. It's light weight enough for me, with a bad back and hips to not worry about. I can jerk that thing around almost as easy as I can my bicycle. Not really but it is pretty easy to handle. I don't believe I'll ever be too far of the roads so I'm inclined to keep the Shadow but if your contemplating getting a Rebel and putting some DP tires on it, I'd bet you could be pretty happy with it, as long as you got a tough butt for long rides.
 
I bought a couple of 125cc clones of the Honda Mini-trail 70 for my DW and I. They were cheap $1,100 each shipped to my door, brand new and they only cost me $99/yr to insure both of them.

I replaced the carbs and air cleaners and added a 2 tooth bigger front sprocket. They will now break 60MPH and get around 100 MPG. Plus they only weigh around 150lbs each and the handlebars fold down if needed for compact storage.

Here's a link to a thread I started about them on another forum: http://www.rvnetwork.com/index.php?showtopic=106151 and another one here: http://www.popupportal.com/index.php?topic=66040.msg575178#msg575178

Chip
 
sushidog said:
I bought a couple of 125cc clones of the Honda Mini-trail 70 for my DW and I. They were cheap $1,100 each shipped to my door, brand new and they only cost me $99/yr to insure both of them.

I replaced the carbs and air cleaners and added a 2 tooth bigger front sprocket. They will now break 60MPH and get around 100 MPG. Plus they only weigh around 150lbs each and the handlebars fold down if needed for compact storage.

Here's a link to a thread I started about them on another forum: http://www.rvnetwork.com/index.php?showtopic=106151 and another one here: http://www.popupportal.com/index.php?topic=66040.msg575178#msg575178

Chip
Click to expand...

interesting, did you get them on aliexpress? what is the exact name of the bike? do you have a link to where you bought them?
 
Forest Service Roads, Castle Crags, CA

IMAG0152.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

GoingMobile
Motorcycle to use as a "toad" with van
5 6 7
Replies
136
Views
14K
LauraNSasha
L
Shasza
Netherlander Nomad!
Replies
8
Views
1K
user 22017
U
C
What to do?
Replies
14
Views
2K
LoupGarou
L
C
Hello from SE Arizona
Replies
13
Views
3K
wb8vyn
wb8vyn
J
The perfect vehicle doesn't cost much
Replies
4
Views
2K
Debrajoy54
D

Latest posts

Top