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Motorcycles - Bikes and Riders

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Jnor

Peter Fenwicke (45)
Well you can put full road tyres on the the 400E (which is what I did to my 250) but they're still a 21in front and 18in rear when pretty much all road bikes are 17in front and rear.

The 400SM has those smaller wheels so you can fit a wider range of better tyres for the road (and it has better brakes) and will still do fire trails as it still has the ground clearance and suspension of a dirt bike. Being a trailie on smaller wheels it'll stand up to crashing better than a road bike too.

Some guys change their wheels over but IMO it'd be a pain to do more than a few times a year and buying another set of wheels/tyres isn't cheap either.
 

Moses

Simon Poidevin (60)
Staff member
Can you get a 21" road tyre? The SM looks pretty good, pricey though.

I'd probably look at a hybrid rear tyre then get the front one changed over by a mechanic (at the end of my street) once a year when I go trailriding...
 

Moses

Simon Poidevin (60)
Staff member
Just added "battery" to the search, heaps of results for electrics...

This Yamaha WR450F looks freaking awesome
Edit: or this one, is in Sydney.. 10,000 ks though..
Edit 2: This one looks great.. might go check it out...
 

Karl

Bill McLean (32)
I think I want the SM. That is a great looking bike - perfect for a commute and a bit of fun in the twistys on the way to a dirt track. Particularly if you aren't a hard core trailbiker.
 
S

spooony

Guest
Just added "battery" to the search, heaps of results for electrics...

This Yamaha WR450F looks freaking awesome
Edit: or this one, is in Sydney.. 10,000 ks though..
Edit 2: This one looks great.. might go check it out...
The Yammie is a good bike but you can only tell its "Real" condition by doing a inspection yourself. Those Bikes looks nicely polished for the photo shoots other thing is also check what is the price of bike parts in your country for the different manufacturers.
 

DrewB

Bob McCowan (2)
I ride a Honda Firestorm (VTR 1000). Heaps of torque, sweet v-twin note, Honda reliability. Good bike, even though its probably one of the slowest litre bikes around these days!
 

Jnor

Peter Fenwicke (45)
Can you get a 21" road tyre? The SM looks pretty good, pricey though.

I'd probably look at a hybrid rear tyre then get the front one changed over by a mechanic (at the end of my street) once a year when I go trailriding...

Those WRs look good but they're more of a serious enduro than the DRZ or XR and would probably have had a harder life, obv making generalisations. They're supposed to be a bit of a weapon.

My XT (the XT660R or SM is worth a look, btw) has a 21" roadie on the front. It's a Bridgestone Battlax and I think it's one of the only ones in that size.

You can get some good hybrid tyres (like 80/20 or 90/10 road/trail) that would be more than enough for most normal trail riding. Pirelli Scorpions are supposed to be pretty good here

Check out the advrider.com forum for temptation to spend too much money

I ride a Honda Firestorm (VTR 1000). Heaps of torque, sweet v-twin note, Honda reliability. Good bike, even though its probably one of the slowest litre bikes around these days!

I would love a Firestorm if they were naked! I'm considering getting one to upgrade from my Monster anyway tho. I've heard pretty good things about them except that they chew fuel - how do you find it? Is it a heavy bike to ride round town?
 
S

spooony

Guest
Firestorm fuel consumption a bit high for me. Also I did 300k's on one as a passenger and I lost my butt half way through the trip. But its a very resilient and very sporting bike which can really rip it and not too much emphasis on major tours with the brute V2 wise.
 

DrewB

Bob McCowan (2)
I would love a Firestorm if they were naked! I'm considering getting one to upgrade from my Monster anyway tho. I've heard pretty good things about them except that they chew fuel - how do you find it? Is it a heavy bike to ride round town?

Before I put on the Leo Vince pipes and had it dyno tuned, I was getting about 8L/100km around town. Now its up around 10L/100km. But thats in traffic, blasting off from lights, etc... not taking it easy! On the highway it would be closer to 4-5L/100km.

So, yeah, its pretty hard on fuel, especially compared to injected bikes. Or compared to a diesel WV Golf for that matter.
 

Jnor

Peter Fenwicke (45)
Before I put on the Leo Vince pipes and had it dyno tuned, I was getting about 8L/100km around town. Now its up around 10L/100km. But thats in traffic, blasting off from lights, etc... not taking it easy! On the highway it would be closer to 4-5L/100km.

So, yeah, its pretty hard on fuel, especially compared to injected bikes. Or compared to a diesel WV Golf for that matter.

Jesus that's a bit! I get about 5.5 around town on the Monster, was thinking the VTR would be maybe 7! I do almost all of my riding around town, so I might have to look elsewhere - I reckon the KTM 690 Duke would be about the perfect town bike (and awesome for the odd ride up the Old Hwy)
 

Moses

Simon Poidevin (60)
Staff member
Bought a helmet today, hoping to grab a bike on the weekend!

My cousin reckons I'll scare the shit out of myself on a wr450f, reckons they've got power to burn.

Now looking at Suzuki DZ400E's, or maybe a Yamaha 250 - what's different between the TT450R and the WR250F?
 

Jnor

Peter Fenwicke (45)
Bought a helmet today, hoping to grab a bike on the weekend!

My cousin reckons I'll scare the shit out of myself on a wr450f, reckons they've got power to burn.

Now looking at Suzuki DZ400E's, or maybe a Yamaha 250 - what's different between the TT450R and the WR250F?

Having had a Yamaha 250, I can safely say you'll get bored of the power (or lack thereof) pretty damn quick. They're a bit lighter but I'd def go the 400 if I were you. You can always take my Yammy for a spin to decide if you don't end up buying befor I get back from Japan.

PS as for the TT450 and WR250 the diff as far as I'm aware is the WR (World Rugby)'s are all higher spec (engines, chassis, brakes, suspension) enduro bikes while the TTs and XTs are much 'softer' more trail oriented bikes
 

RyanP

Bob McCowan (2)
The VTR1000F is a great bike. This is mine, I have been riding it for about 5 years now and love it. Great sound, enough power for me, rides really nice and is nice and simple to service! There is a simple beauty to a 1000cc, carburated v-twin. photo (1).JPG
 

Jnor

Peter Fenwicke (45)
Haha you don't mess around Moses. Black looks waaaay better than yellow anyway - whats the diff between the S and E anyway? Have you got gear sorted out as well - if you're going with action or bikebiz you should get them to sort you at least with a helmet to start with.

PS who'd have thought there's be two Firestorms in this little thread. I'll say there is a simple beauty to a 600cc air-cooled v-twin. You can keep your fancy radiators and coolant ;)
 

Moses

Simon Poidevin (60)
Staff member
The difference, far as I can tell, is tyres!
The E has dirt tyres, the S has hybrid tyres while the SM is much more of a road bike

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
 

Moses

Simon Poidevin (60)
Staff member
Shame I can't carry a pillion passenger on my Ls, cause this would be great fun down Driver Avenue

 
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