CRF250R or CRF450R as DS bike?

[Berty77]

what you guys on about, a WR for me pls sir!!

[Etienne2T]

what you guys on about, a WR for me pls sir!!

You should bring that WR to my track in Ladismith sometime

[Berty77]

Dammit Etiene, daaar hijack ons alweer n thread, eks nie meer in CBL nie, maar gaan Donderdag daar wees oppad Calitzdorp toe na die Thumper Bash, het jy lus vir biekie rond rits op die plaas? Sal lekr wees.

[BuRP]

The circle keeps coming back to the Suzuki DRZ 400!

Real bikes are red!

Tyger,  go have a look at the Beta 400 - or the 525, 450, 350 or whatever you fancy. The 400 is a notch milder tuned (and has steel valves) hence would fit the dual-sport bill best, but the 525 ridden accordingly could do fine also. Steel frames should be able to carry some luggage too.
ALL of these bikes come with a roadworthy kit which includes a fan even, and on purchase (registration actually) you decide if it's On- or Offroad - for life, cannot change this again, so choose wisely.
And... they come in Red too.
Your 'red is reliablest' will prove a fallacy if you take a motocrosser and hammer it down the tar, know it. Ridden sensibly anything can do this but it won't be fun, certainly not on your technical riding, but it's here where a Beta will shine.

[dirtWarp]

Bad idea.
When last did you ride one of the mentioned bikes?
Too little oil capacity.
Bad ergos for prolonged seated riding.
Too hard suspension.
Too small fuel capacity.
No electrics.

The list just goes on...

Dude have you even ridden an enduro bike for 400KM in one go??
If not, go back to your orange couch rides.
 

Everyone saying its a bad idea is talking kak!
Watch these 12 episodes of 4500KM through Baja on a 450X and see for yourself!

Absolutely awesome machines!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twwrifm-cKA&feature=BFa&list=ELBFBUKJJbV_0

[bud500]

3.5 year old thread....

[dirtWarp]

Dude have you even ridden an enduro bike for 400KM in one go??

3.5 year old thread....

I take that as a no..

[bud500]

Well actually I have and still currently own an enduro bike, just not entertaining your approach to the discussion. Anything is possible on any bike, hell Peterhansel rode a R1 in the desert...

I still maintain it is not a good idea for the reasons listed, thats my opinion and not totally uninformed at that.

[dirtWarp]

You are correct, I misread the topic title for CRF450X  

This whole rant below is related to the 450X, not the R
My bad, sorry!


My opinion is based on the following facts:
1) I've actually done 1200KM in 3 days on a 450 - and loved every second of it. On day 4 I actually still wanted more.
2) My friends in Tanzania have gone from Northern Tanzania down to Mozambique and back.. on 525's and 450's.
3) They did rides from Tanz to Kenya and back.. on 525's and 450's
4) In the link that I posted, the dudes did 4500KM in one go on 450's and loved every moment of it.

Having said all that, poor route planning can sour any ride.
Peterhansel will enjoy that R1 much more on tar, and likewise, a 450 on single track and technical 2 spoor is much nicer to ride than a XR600 for instance.

So what I'm saying is; don't discredit your enduro bike when your route planning sucks.

[bud500]