- This topic has 4 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 10 months ago by Matt.
Weird question from prospective biker.
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May 6, 2008 at 5:31 am #1339akindyParticipant
Well I’m considering getting myself a bike, as I will be sharing a car with someone from now on and think the freedom would be perfect. Also I only really need to get around a lot in the summer, as I go to school in the city. I’ve been reading the sections on this site about starting up, and definitely want to get some sort of used 250cc bike (feel free to tell me your favorite) but my random question is this:
Can you ride your traditional road bike on dirt roads?
I don’t mean off-roading, but where I live in New England there are still a bunch of unpaved roads, and a quick google didn’t really find anything about this. The one I’m thinking of is well packed and even after a good rain the potholes are predictable and few.
Hope that I get to join all of you soon when I buy my first bike, until then I’ll just be jealous!May 6, 2008 at 3:14 pm #6051megaspazParticipantYou can, but you have to be more careful on unpaved/dirt roads and it’ll probably speed up the wear in your bike. Pick up a copy of David L. Hough’s Proficient Motorcycling. He talks about riding in all kinds of weather, road conditions, etc. It’s considered the benchmark in riding books.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1889540536/bookstorenow57-20
I don’t have a 250cc (riding a sv650s) and the only 250cc bikes i rode were a couple of cruisers at the MSF and a little riding a couple of friends’s ninja250s. Not much of a fan for cruiser class bikes, but the ninjas seemed to be a pretty good ride.
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If there’s anything more important than my ego
around, I want it caught and shot now…May 6, 2008 at 8:06 pm #6060SuperMotoRiderParticipantcheck out the yamaha wr250x! see if you like it.
May 7, 2008 at 4:18 am #6074akindyParticipantI was actually looking for a decent beginner’s book so that was some good advice. I did check out the wr250x and it isn’t really far enough towards a road bike for me to like it. The dirt road thing was really more of an afterthought, but my primary concern is that I’m going to be using this on roads that are usually 50 mph, and probably highways. I really really like the styling of bikes like the current Honda Nighthawk (standard I guess? I think it might remind me of the old military style bikes in movies like Indiana Jones… lol) but I have read that it’s not the best bike. Anyone know of a similar styled but better bike that I could get new for cheap or used?
May 8, 2008 at 4:24 pm #6128MattParticipantIf you like the looks of the old school bikes, look at a Royal Enfield 500 (formerly Lee Enfield)
http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/.
essentially it is a 1950’s motorcycle still in production today (some improvements). Single cylinder air cooled. Very simple to work on and repair yourself if that is your want. Handles rough terrain very well. Will do highway speeds. These bikes have ridden all over the world.
But, it does have a number of draw backs, it’ll leak a bit of oil, handling and stopping are not like a modern street bike.
If your goal is simply a bike that works, there are better choices, but these Enfields are just plain neat imo.
On the topic of better choices, look at “street fighter” ninja 250s. Basically you pull off the fairing (usually due to damage), through on a regular headlamp, signals, mirrors, and instrument cluster, and you get a little bike that looks like any naked you want (through a simple round lamp on the front and it’ll look like a nighthawk, put a double lamp from a triump triple on it and people will confuse it for a street triple. There are tons of aftermarket headlights out there.
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