Wild Pine

[XRNR]

Well this is an excellent month for riding, no melting tar, no melting me in leathers, no melting me out on the trails.

I know this site is full of road riders, & I just can't seem to get dirt riders interested. Seems most of them don't use computers or don't have internet connections or don't have anything to contribute, (triki) <- correction). OR their is another site that I really should be on!

So all you road riders will not be interested in this post, tuff, I am !

Wild Pine, Well it was a great day for another event put on by Greg Powers. 2 loops, 32km & 36km. Lots of sand & woops, (as usual). But very good to give the old girl a wind out & check her mechanicals, & my unfitness for the upcoming Desert Storm. In fact a very good lead up to it.

Desert Storm - Here's an event for ALL you Nth Island riders.

Surprise surprise, I saw two guys turn up for a looksee at today's Wild Pine on road bikes. (Worth a ride up Kaipara's south head for you Nth Aucklanders some time, if you want a quiet windy road with no cops (it is sealed). Pop into shelly beach 1/2 way up for an ice-cream or coffee & watch the guys fishing from the wharf).

Saw a very tidy, beast from the past (it465) doing the ride today, & a 74 XL350 ! For once I didn't feel that I needed to be up to the neck in HP just so I could go dirt bike riding.

I was even able to keep up with a few guys today, hope to see you down at Desert Storm Glenn.

Didn't see your ugly face today CRF230 :), but I am sure you didn't miss this ride.

[Posh Tourer :P]

If I had the money and time I'd have a dirt bike and a ute and have a bash now and then..... I just have neither at the moment, being a student.....

[Triki]

whos tricky? Pleanty of dirt riders with computers, and with the net, like you said where just not interested, dont forget this forum has international forums to compete with like dirtbikeworld.net.

[White trash]

I agree. There does seem to be a lack of dirt bike riders although a lot of dual purpose riders.

Thing is, all the dirt bike riders must know at least a couple of riders with internet connections. Word of mouth is the best advertising for a site like this one.

Good to see you back, Triki. The more the merrier and everyone learns from constructive posts. :niceone:

[Angry Puppy]

Hey, XRNR. Don't be so hard on your set. DBRs are alright by us. As Posh said, for most of us its a time and money thing. A motorcross day is definitely on my list of things to do though.

Fazer Bloke.

P.S. No Internet connection? Check out a Cyber Cafe.

[merv]

Well this is an excellent month for riding, no melting tar, no melting me in leathers, no melting me out on the trails.

I know this site is full of road riders, & I just can't seem to get dirt riders interested. Seems most of them don't use computers or don't have internet connections or don't have anything to contribute, (tricky). OR their is another site that I really should be on!

Didn't you see all our stuff on the Pukemanu Adventure ride complete with photos - weren't too many road bikes on that ride.

[XRNR]

Didn't you see all our stuff on the Pukemanu Adventure ride complete with photos - weren't too many road bikes on that ride.
Problem with that is, I am just jealous. My bike is not road legal. Otherwise I would love to join one of those adventure rides. They look like lots of fun.
I guess I have to get a bit older so I can get another bike :)

[Motu]

That's the trouble these days - we need different bikes for different purposes.XLV750,XT400,TLR200,KT250 - all dirt bikes....but I need one more,a small road legal(or something to plate swap) dirt bike for trail rides like the Wild Pine - street bikes are a hell of a long way down on my list.

[jrandom]

XLV750,XT400,TLR200,KT250 - all dirt bikes...

Dirt bikes are like [insert ethnic]s - they all look the same to me.

[Motu]

Dirt bikes are like [insert ethnic]s - they all look the same to me.

Well I find that with all bikes...and cars too.Some cars don't even have the manufacturers name on them,you have to look at the rego label to find out what they are.

We used to be able to tell a bikes make model and year at a glance,I don't think anyone has the brain power to store that much information these days.

[merv]

I've always made sure my dirt bikes are road legal. I last competed in enduros back in the 80's retiring in 85 and back then our bikes had to have WOFs and working equipment or you lost points. The rules are different these days. Now I just do the adventure rides and trail rides but still like the idea of a bike I can fire up in my garage and go for a ride on it even if its just over Paekak hill after I've cleaned it. I don't want to trailer it every where but I do some of the time when I feel like it. I don't have unlimited garage space so restrict myself to 2 bikes now - one road and one trail so the trail bike has to be a good all-rounder.

That's where Honda lost my custom in dirt bikes they have far too many off-road only models and when I wanted electric start they didn't have a decent all-round model to buy. I would have been happy to buy an XR250L like they sell in Aussie, but Clive Cooper-Smith seems to be from a different era (though he doesn't look that young) and seems to have no concept of the generation of bikers like me that grasped the first big trail bike revolution over 30 years ago when we rode our trail bikes everywhere.

Yamaha Australia now send the road legal WRs here so that's what I ended up buying as I was never happy with the DR250R I bought 5 years ago. The WR is not as nice on the highway as the XR Hondas were, but in the dirt it is nice and light (about the weight of an XR200) and I really enjoyed the Pukemanu on it.

The CRF250X is due but its not road legal and I am sure many shops will adapt it but that adds to the cost and there should be suitable version in the first place.

KTM make nice looking road legal bikes and I was tempted but gave up when I found out they have ridiculously tall gear ratios. Probably suits fast enduros, MX, SX and Motarding but for a general trail joe like me no go. I looked hard at the KTM450EXCR but found on stock gearing its overall first gear ratio is 16:1 compared to the WR at around 30:1. No amount of sprockets could fix that for me and I'm not going to be riding at the pace of Stefan Merriman to mean the gearing would be OK. KTMs are running a 2.3:1 primary ratio in the motor compared to around 3 - 3.5:1 for a typical Jap dirt bike. The KTMs are geared more like my VFR750 and that is ridiculous for general trail riding though it might be OK for Stephen Briggs on the streets of Wanganui. The KTM250EXCR runs the same primary ratio as the 450 but then has a closer ratio gearbox which to me was even less suitable for trail riding because if you ever managed to gear it down enough in first (and I don't reckon you could) the other gears would be so close and cruising on the highaway would be restricted.

I can't see this new generation of high performance trail engines lasting like the old XRs used to, but maybe at my age that isn't a worry any more and I should just trade them more often.

Jrandom what do you mean they all look the same? Do you mean dirty?

To us pundits its easy - Honda = red, Yamaha = blue, Suzuki = yellow, Kawasaki = green, KTM = orange. Those that buy other colours of those models are bucking the system.

[XRNR]

I've always made sure my dirt bikes are road legal....

I can't see this new generation of high performance trail engines lasting like the old XRs used to, but maybe at my age that isn't a worry any more and I should just trade them more often...

>>I've always made sure my dirt bikes are road legal....<< I used to have that philosophy, but with less & less places to ride a trail bike off the road (round Auckland), except organised events. Having the burden of useless lights n indicators, a big flapping number holder, silly people measuring the thickness of your disk brakes, a stupid mirror you can't use & will be guaranteed to brake when ever you drop your bike. Tyres that are crap on the tar & in the real dirt, (quite good for gravel roads thou). & worst of all, ANOTHER HHUUGGEE ACC levy to put on a vehicle that that I can only drive when I am not driving my other ACC levied vehicles or trailers. I decided stuff it !!
I will take all the crap off my bike & keep my ACC levy & to hell with WOF's. If I get hurt dirt riding they can use the levy that I paid driving my car to the dirty place.

>> I can't see this new generation of high performance trail engines lasting like the old XRs used to...<< Oh, I can tell your age ! I have the same feeling. I got shown the piston out of an CRF450 (Honda 4stroke 450, sorry if I am wrong, shows my lack of magazine following) anyways, it was not what I call a piston, it was a pot lid !

>> but maybe at my age that isn't a worry any more and I should just trade them more often... << Either there is a lot more money around than people would have you believe, or there are a lot of people living on HP.

[SNOman]

whos tricky? Pleanty of dirt riders with computers, and with the net, like you said where just not interested, dont forget this forum has international forums to compete with like dirtbikeworld.net.

and also http://www.dirtridersinternational.com/

[pete376403]

. KTMs are running a 2.3:1 primary ratio in the motor compared to around 3 - 3.5:1 for a typical Jap dirt bike. .
There's method in the madness - the faster the gearbox spins internally, the less torque loading, so smaller, lighter parts. Maico used to do this years ago, even the 501 was based on the 125, with a correspondingly tiny gearbox. To compensate, the rear wheel sprocket was enormous.

[pete376403]

I'd dearly love to have my IT400 road legal again (it was when first registered, I still have the original number plate), but getting it to modern standards woudl cost a fortune - indicators, battery , charging system, cutting the noise, road legal tires. Easier just to buy a new bike but the financial controller takes a dim view of that.

[merv]

There's method in the madness - the faster the gearbox spins internally, the less torque loading, so smaller, lighter parts. Maico used to do this years ago, even the 501 was based on the 125, with a correspondingly tiny gearbox. To compensate, the rear wheel sprocket was enormous.

Yep agreed, but problem for me though was the gearing still wouldn't be reasonable with a 52 on the rear and the KTM forums said don't go below a 13 or 14 on the front else you were going to carve through the chain slipper and start eating aluminium swingarm. At best I could have got it to about a 20:1 overall first gear without ridiculous sprockets (let alone the cost of them) and to me a trail bike aint decent if you can't get it close to 30:1. XR Hondas were closer to 35:1 and would climb mountains.

As I said though depends on what you are doing with it, streets of Wanganui would be fine or riding at the speed Stefan Merriman would through a forest compared to me.

[Wellyman]

I was there it was a hard ride for me!

I fell of 3 times!!! :angry2:

But I had to go because I won the bike there last year

[Firefight]

I was there it was a hard ride for me!

I fell of 3 times!!! :angry2:

But I had to go because I won the bike there last year

You trying for 2 in a row Dan ?

F/F

[Oscar]

KTM make nice looking road legal bikes and I was tempted but gave up when I found out they have ridiculously tall gear ratios. Probably suits fast enduros, MX, SX and Motarding but for a general trail joe like me no go. I looked hard at the KTM450EXCR but found on stock gearing its overall first gear ratio is 16:1 compared to the WR at around 30:1. No amount of sprockets could fix that for me and I'm not going to be riding at the pace of Stefan Merriman to mean the gearing would be OK. KTMs are running a 2.3:1 primary ratio in the motor compared to around 3 - 3.5:1 for a typical Jap dirt bike. The KTMs are geared more like my VFR750 and that is ridiculous for general trail riding though it might be OK for Stephen Briggs on the streets of Wanganui. The KTM250EXCR runs the same primary ratio as the 450 but then has a closer ratio gearbox which to me was even less suitable for trail riding because if you ever managed to gear it down enough in first (and I don't reckon you could) the other gears would be so close and cruising on the highaway would be restricted.



I hear ya, man - I had the same first impression with KTM's - particularly as the test ride was on the road.
I think the adjustment that old coozers like us have to make is that the new wave of four strokes are much more power and torque than the old XR's and you need to adjust your riding style accordingly. They will actually pull those high gears if you give 'em a chance.

[Motu]

That's what blew me away with your ''old'' DRZ400 - the fact that it could pull like a trials bike,an older XR would of stalled that slow in second gear,then the power came on without wheel spin or lofting the front.In trials you try and run as tall a gear as you can for the conditions,but trail riders tend to rev the shit out of their bikes - I would like to try a modern bike with tall gearing...but a tall bike?....ah,no.

[Oscar]

That's what blew me away with your ''old'' DRZ400 - the fact that it could pull like a trials bike,an older XR would of stalled that slow in second gear,then the power came on without wheel spin or lofting the front.In trials you try and run as tall a gear as you can for the conditions,but trail riders tend to rev the shit out of their bikes - I would like to try a modern bike with tall gearing...but a tall bike?....ah,no.

I understand that DZL has now shortened my old DRZ - shaved foam off the seat, changed a suspension link.


Mind you, I never thought it was that tall anyways...