First Offroad Experience, Lessons? Maintenance?

[Chcknstrps]

Hey guys!

So I was pretty keen to do some offroading but the best I could do was take my diversion (on road tyres) into the mud. Obviously that didn't go very well, but I had a ton of fun fudging around trying to get it unstuck and all that.

Yesterday I borrowed a friend's DRZ 400 and it was a frikkin' blast. When I ride on the road, I feel like I need to go very quick or have very technical roads before I enjoy myself. On this bike, just the exploration of the area alone was superb. And you can always choose a more difficult line through the mud if you choose to do so! I find it quite easy to learn, as it's mostly a trust thing.. But very difficult to master.

Two questions for you guys. My friend has said that the DRZ is pretty good, maintenance wise. Barely any problems and the main expenses are Chains and sprocets. With the occasional knobbly tyre ofcourse. Anyone here keen on sharing how expensive such a hobby would realistically and practically be?

Secondly, there's quite a few offroad training days in my areas where they train you in off-road riding. They are quite costly (250-300 euros) and not neccissarily close enough for me to just pop over. Would you think it'd be worth doing such a lesson for safety? Or is it best/ most fun to just explore enduro riding on your own?

 

[jthomas]

I used to haul my dirt bike on a trailer to areas until I later got it registered and could simply ride out to trails. Much better for finding new trails that way too. I was lucky and had masses of land to learn to ride on our own property and families properties and could build tracks and jumps to learn on.

Just get a bike thats comfortable to ride. Decide on what things you intend to do and choose or setup a bike to handle it. My first bike was a Yamaha DT 175 and could outride many bigger bikes on the dirt tracks and get as much air as anyone else, just the poor suspension made her land like a brick and have bolts fly off on landing. But it was just a great bike and was super cheap to buy and get on road. I had more fun on it than the Suzuki 500 and Husaberg 750 dirts we had.

A course would be good to do if you dont have somewere you can ride to and safely learn.

 

[BbqRider]

Cost-wise it depends on what kind of bike you get. A DRZ is not a true dirtbike and will be much cheaper to maintain than a Yamaha WR450F or a KTM 350/300. It will also never be as capable and once you start to get better at it you will quickly realise why it's not a real dirtbike. While there's a lot debate over maintenance costs w.r.t. 4-stroke vs 2-stroke, it seems like modern versions of both will be equally expensive to run.

Just don't fall off your chair when you see the maintenance schedules for these bike. Air filter and chain needs to be cleaned after each ride. Oil needs to be changed every 10 hours. Oil filter every second oil change. Valves need to be checked about every 40 hours. Apart from that, you just ride it until something needs to be replaced (usually at 150 hours)

 

[Chcknstrps]

Cost-wise it depends on what kind of bike you get. A DRZ is not a true dirtbike and will be much cheaper to maintain than a Yamaha WR450F or a KTM 350/300. It will also never be as capable and once you start to get better at it you will quickly realise why it's not a real dirtbike. While there's a lot debate over maintenance costs w.r.t. 4-stroke vs 2-stroke, it seems like modern versions of both will be equally expensive to run.

Just don't fall off your chair when you see the maintenance schedules for these bike. Air filter and chain needs to be cleaned after each ride. Oil needs to be changed every 10 hours. Oil filter every second oil change. Valves need to be checked about every 40 hours. Apart from that, you just ride it until something needs to be replaced (usually at 150 hours)

Yeah, that's basically what I saw when I looked that up. It does kind of make sense though, looking back at the DRZ after the ride. I've also ridden the WR450F without any experience and found it difficult to reach the ground. It's really difficult for me to compare the two with my lack of experience.. I'm fortunate to have quite some places I can ride in my area, so I guess I'll try to get some experience on multiple bikes.

 

[Meifesto]

Just don't fall off your chair when you see the maintenance schedules for these bike. Air filter and chain needs to be cleaned after each ride. Oil needs to be changed every 10 hours. Oil filter every second oil change. Valves need to be checked about every 40 hours. Apart from that, you just ride it until something needs to be replaced (usually at 150 hours)

That often...
That means a oil change every 2 days :O

 

[Chcknstrps]

That often...
That means a oil change every 2 days :O

I suppose it also depends on use. Think road use will be less of a strain on the bike than off roading?

 

[Meifesto]

I suppose it also depends on use. Think road use will be less of a strain on the bike than off roading?

Yeah, but a full refresh after 2 days off-roading still seems like allot.

 

[BbqRider]

Well, it depends on your riding style. If you're using it as a dual-sport bike, most people go on 1500km for oil changes, which should be roughly every 20-30 hours. An oil change on these bikes takes 15 mins at the most. But that is unfortunately the price for a highly stressed high performance engine

 

[motolover]

Changing oil is no big deal. Most of these bikes hold 0,5l of oil and it can be changed in fifteen to twenty minutes. If, you are not pushing it hard, you can change every 20 hours. Riding for two hours can be a real workout and most are not capable of doing it day by day.