Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Hi guys,

Just wanting to get a bit of insight into dirt riding. What is the difference between an enduro bike vs a motocross? How much can one expect to spend on gear? Maintenance? How often do these bikes need service and what sort of day to day maintenance is required by the owner?

I am trying to ascertain whether this hobby is worth exploring and whether I can afford it or not

I do not have riding mates yet but the idea of dirt riding sounds exciting (a conversation I had with Jonno and Marty comes to mind ) Other than that, I will make dirt riding friends when I buy one

Thanks!

TBH the lines between enduro and MX bikes these days are beoming blurred. What is considered as good enudro bikes can certainly make there way around a MX track at a pretty fast pace.

The old concept of the 2 were
ENdURO = usually big bore 4 strokes with the motor being designed to be more durable with less service intervals, however the down fall of durable is less power
MX = bikes can be either 2 strokes or 4 strokes designed for outright power with very minimal bike weight. Being more resposive and power engines means that your service requirements increase significantly. The bikes age are usually measured in hours not KLM's.

Dirt bike gear is significantly cheaper

gear is on average I reakon about half the cost of Road gear I reakon

Good on you for wanting to have a go

Just to add to Blurrs comment, enduro bikes are usually registerable bikes with lights etc because a lot of the riding can be in crown land and on gazetted public roads.
MX has all this stripped off for weight saving and isnt needed for short circuit tracks/jumps/ stadiums where enduro can be a few hundred kms through varying terrain and a lot more challenging in that respect, the next level and is closely related to enduro is trail riding using the same bikes which is pretty much what I do as I am not interested in racing at 180kmph down a dirt track with 200 others and my heart rate over 200bpm at my age
However it is easy enough to learn (hard to master) and as the name suggests is about endurance and enjoying the ride.

Then there is adventure trail riding, these bikes are usually huge heavily built bikes like anything over 600 to 1200cc and can carry everything to survive a full on desert crossing to a week or 3 travelling dirt back roads, however they are not enduro/mx bikes and limited to reasonably easy tracks in comparison to a dirtbike.

I have joined a dirtbike club that isnt a race club, its social riding and camping although a few do race and generally are very easy to get along with as people go, they have all ages from kids to 70 year olds riding at all levels of skill.

I dont know of any places/parks that offer hire of a trailbike near Melbourne so you can experience it for yourself but I would recommend trying that first.
Although there was one out the back of Berwick years ago? Labertouche I think, I am sure there is many more than that if you look around, ask a few bike shops.

I think that there are a few bike shops that will hire out dirt bikes...
Ts a lot of fun and you can learn a lot about control etc...and as long as you have all the gear (which varies in price depending on quality) and a good group to go with usually trouble free!!

So then it sounds like an entry level enduro bike is the thing for me... What are some good ones? Including non-kwakas ?

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Onya Russ

Yes KTM "kato" are a very popular bike.

They are all pretty good for entry level learning, maybe a 250cc 4 stroke or even an older DRZ/KLX400 (diff' badge/color, same bike.)

Basic gear, helmet, goggles, boots and gloves are a must. Cheap stuff maybe $500 all up, but you get what you pay for.

You would be frightened at what I paid for my gear.

i got my dirt gear pack for 500 bux... helmet, goggles, gloves, boots, jersey and pants...

my advice if you wanna go really basic is drz/klx400 as johnno said, but i have always loved ktms and they have a good reputation as a brand

ha, KTM as a good brand ya gotta be kidding, almost as bad as the yamaha starting issues, seen many kato's fall apart on trails lately just as most bikes do when they are put through some hard shite, they are popular that's all, nothing special. The DRZ has proven to tractor on no matter what and I am not a Suzuki fan at all.

In my world the drz is a sensible option within my peers and I dont joke when I say I haven't seen a kwaka amongst any ride group I have been on here and that begs the question why not.

Anyway it will serve him well until he grows up like you all should and get a Husqvarna

Why are we all getting sewing machines??

Just jidding about KTM, when the majority of bikes on a ride by far are KTM we like to stir them up

Wattie wrote:Why are we all getting sewing machines??

They are Husqbeemers now, no longer related to sewing machines.
Something different thats why.


BTW if I didnt see the TE511 first I would have a Kato

vivek67 wrote:
Just wanting to get a bit of insight into dirt riding.....I am trying to ascertain whether this hobby is worth exploring and whether I can afford it or not .... I will make dirt riding friends when I buy one

Thanks!

Yes defintely worth it , hard work compared to road riding imo. Get yourself a cheap two stroke 125cc i.e rm125, cr125,kx125 ect they are lots of fun, light in weight and absolutely hammer in the bush, get yourself a old cr500 if you intend to go ape shit

I recently sold my rmx250 due to the green slip price increase , but now looking at getting a drz400 as its the same price to rego as a 250cc in NSW , mainly to follow the kids around with.

I am a member of dirtbikeworld.net forums , they have plenty of good info regarding dirt bikes , rides ect Dirt bike riding gear is rediculouly cheap , seems to go out of fashion quickly and shops discount the shit out of it to move it along !! plenty of bargains out there.