Advice on Supermoto's please
 

I'm possibly looking at getting something along the lines of an enduro/supermoto for over the winter months but I have a limited budget of £2k. I have seen I can get something like a suzuki drz400 for that.

What I need to know is are these sutible for comuting about 100+ miles a day. The reason I want this style of bike is that I want to have some fun as well otherwise I would buy a bindit.

Cheers

Dave

DRZ is a good bet Dave - ive ridden them on and off road. A bit heavy but bullet proof motor and cheap to run...spares in plentiful supply..

Expensive bit will be getting the wheels !

Nat

Cheers for that Nat.

The most important thing would be getting the bike, then I would look at wheels, what suspension mods would need to be done for swapping from on road to off road?

Dave I had a CCM644 DS last year, Twas the one with the suzuki Motor in it, They can be had for your budget, they do take a fair bit of living with, I loved it for a month then I grew to Hate it, It was great to do a 50 mile blast on a sunday around the back roads, But anything more was hard work.
In essence I would have one for playing on but a 100 mile comute I would look elswhere. Probably not what you want to hear, Buy with you heart not your head and you will be happy.

Cheers Scooter, I was wondering about the comute as it would be M40 to London then in and around the big smoke. I would be looking for something that was easy to work on. The down side is that the Duke would have to go (for now anyway, the wife promised I could have another later on)

Just noticed your location I used to live there too. HMM carterton , The spitfire pub still there.
Glyn

Is that the one on the corner next to the Co op? If so it's now called the Aviator...

Yea thats the one, Many a drunken night in carterton.
Glyn

In which case I'm sure you know the Bee Dive very well then ;)

Hi Dave...hows it going...

I have a DR350 enduro bike that I have cutomised to take motard wheels as well. 15 minutes means I can change from a full on dirt bike to a menacing motard!

For scratching about town etc its the business...so much so that in the new year I will be looking to 'upgrade' to a full on KTM dedicated SM. For smiles per mile, they just can't be beat!

Having said that...I wouldn't want to hoon down the M40 on one! No fairing/protection at all means that any speeds above 50mph and you really start to feel it. Just not that good for miles of straight road stuff.

Its not the mileage thats the problem, just the fact that they should live on twisty A and B roads...not motorways. You'd be fed up with it within a week.

Yea forgot about that one, Remember it for the Kebab van that parked outside...............
Oh them were the days

Hello mate, things aren't too bad. By the sounds of it I'll have to give it a go, you know try before you buy. The thing is I don't want to go down the bandit style bike.

Yeah...hear what you saying.

Pop over to Premier bikes in Didcot...a KTM dealer that will let you test ride most of the bikes they have (they even had a DR there from memory) ..admittedly they are a bit more pricey than what you are looking for, but they will give you a good idea of what I mean if you just take one down the A34 for a few miles!

Good thinking batman, could even pop into Trevor Goodall's as well, since he is a Suzuki dealer. Cheers Harv.

Have you still got your SP?

I've just bought an Africa Twin for exactly that commute (M40, A40, West end). I knew it'd be a bit wide before I bought it, but I want to do some long-distance touring next year and it'll be up to the job. Having done the run a few times now I'd say go with the thinnest bike you can that's still a laugh/comfortable if you want to get there quickly. There's so much traffic that proper hooning only occurs about 20% of the journey. :( But it's still a million times better than taking the f'ing tube :D :D

I know it's outside your budget but bear with me. Get a test ride on the KTM950 SM. This is the only SM I would recommend for the distance you are intending. They are a fantastic bike witha great engine. I have noticed second hand ones going for considerably less that new (but still out of the budget you describe).


As for takinga crosser or enduro bike and converting. Great for a 25 mile commute max but it will soon become less fun on a day to day basis. I used to use my Husky 410 to communte the 35 miles into Manchester. It was a hoot and the passing traffic on the motorway at 80plus on a crosser (longer gearing obviously) is a laugh - plus the popping wheelies everywhere. But after a while it just becomes a pain (age, I know).

I now keep my enduro bikes for the dirt. Seriously, try the 950 even if you don't intend to buy.

ps I don't get commission from KTM and I can spell better when I put mind to it - but it's late...............

I have my KTM stolen last week......I hate commuting now. I never noticed the journey on the SM....too busy grinning.....I did have a spell of comuting 100 miles a day on it for a couple of months and that was no fun at all and really takes it out of the engine....

Yes...but for how long??? ;-)

KTM 950SM's are the future! :D :D :D

You know it might be heresy, but if I was commuting I wouldn't buy a bike.

I would go for a twist and go superscoot. Something that will cruise at 70, slide through traffic, have loads of cubby holes for your sarnies/lid/laptop/whatever, will have reasonable weather protection, no brainer transmission, big old plush seat, low maintenance and the ability to ride it everyday without ever cleaning it. Just get home and sling it in the shed.

To me a commuter 'bike' is just a tool, you don't have to love it, it just has to do the job.

If you want something to love..."Ducati for the weekend sir?"

Spot on
we have a Gilera nexus on demo at the moment and its a proper hoot, Off the line its as quick as most bikes and you can scare a all but the most dedicated of the R1 brigade on it,
I even considered taking it to day 2 of the dsc track attack this year.
Glyn

another vote for the 950sm

can't say i would want to commute on a normal sm unless it was al through town.

I officially commmuted on a bike for the first time today. Yes I have ridden my bike to work on the odd day in the past, but that was about fun etc, this was on purpose and I have topbox!!

The 950 is stonking good fun and great through the traffic (although slightly wider than a 998 with no mirrors :8 ) and then it goes that step further to be a touring biek if you want it a track bike if you are desperate or just a toy for the odd day out!!

Can't believe I haven't done it sooner :D

I am insanely jealous!

Another totally irrelevant vote for 950 KTM's here as well, however back to the question, for your budget avoid anything european, its gotta be a DRZ400 or a Yam WR400/426/450, though you'll be at the real bottom end of the market with £2k budget, or a Honda XR 400/600/650 but they're all kick start only. You'll pick a late 90's XR400/600 for the budget. They're bullet proof as long as oil has been changed, air filter kept clean and valves done.

Import XR's came with full road kit whereas UK bikes didn't.

A lot of converted dirt bikes aren't really fully road legal.

I don't think you'd lose a bundle of money on some of the stuff outlined above after a years use.

Yea we all know:lol:

for any distance on mway don't buy a supermoto, i had a KTM Duke last year, great for scratching and short jorneys but the vibration and wind blast soon irritate on longer journey's or motorways. the bigger SM950 is better with its v twin engine.

I know it's not a SM but I've got a BMW F650GS as my winter hack. I use it in summer too if I need to carry a bit more than my laptop. Its got expanding panniers, top box, and tank bag too so can carry loads of stuff. It does 70+MPG with 200 mile plus tank range. And its got ABS and heated grips. The downside, its never going to set your world on fire with only 50BHP but it will cruise at 90MPH on the motorway fully loaded with reasonable wind protection (I've got the Dakar screen fitted). Mine doesn't go off road but would handle trails if you wanted to. It's also quite low so if like me you are a bit lacking in the leg department it's a good buy. You should just about be able to get an early one for about 2 grand. Mines a 2000 bike and I paid £2700 from a dealer.

Thanks for all the advise guys and gals, time to go away and have a gooood think now.
cheers
dave