Harley Davidson MT350? - Horizons Unlimited

**diesel jim** · #1 22 Jul 2005

Hi guys...

I usually lurk on the 4x4 post of this great site, but i'm considering getting myself another trail bike (i used to have a KLR250, then PX'd it for a CBR600 which has since got written off) but now i fancy getting another trail bike.

Anyway, here in the UK the ex military Harley 350's are /fairly/ cheap (about £1500~£2000 UKP), so does anyone have any vies on how they perform as a general off road bike?

I plan to just use it for general green laning and pottering about?

Thanks!

Jamie

**Scoobie Doo** · #2 22 Jul 2005

Hi,

If you just want a bike for pottering and general green laning go for an XR; either 250 or 400. Bullet proof motors, easy servicing and cheap consumables.

You should get a pretty decent one for that money.

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Scoobie Doo

**RayT** · #3 10 Aug 2005

fair 'nuff , but are they any good - I mean a couple of us are planning an extended tour of north Africa ( returning from PBC06 , gambia - mali - niger - alg ) , will these lightweight beasties be up for it - I'm talking 2 bikes 1-up with an extra couple of jerries and usual bag-of-mashings ????
am i asking too much , the weight issue seems to be fairly ok as long as we keep the trimmings to a min, but are the bikes likely to expire halfway to tamanssarat..?

**Grant Johnson** · #4 10 Aug 2005

Any of the Honda XR's will do fine in Africa. For reliability they're around 99 or 100, where the Harley's would be around a 3...

Do a lot of reading here to determine what will be the best bike for your job - there's a wide range of bikes out there, and all have their strong points - and weak points.

In the end, almost anything can be ridden, pushed, pulled, dragged or loaded in a truck to get to your destination - just some are better at it than others.

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Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
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One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

**bangkok.jake** · #5 10 Aug 2005

Hi Jamie,
I like your thinking. Harley is a classical adventure touring bike, now unfortunately degraded to chrome-wagons used to pick up cofee and hot-dog at the nearest stand.

I am looking to build an off-road Harley (not Buell style) probably based on an Africa Twin frame. Just need to find the right HD engine *oops*

Get yourself a Harley 350 and have fun.
//Jake

**coxlionel** · #6 9 Sep 2005

Well just come back from a month in Iceland, having covered about 3000 miles. Most of it offroad. I was on a KTM 640 Adventure, but the wife wanted a bike with less power & a lower seat height.
After a year with a Harley MT350 I was pretty sure it would be perfect for her in Iceland.
YES IT WAS.
There was nothing the KTM could do that the MT350 didn’t manage, including Force 8 gales, river crossings, sand, stones, rocks & snow. Its not the fastest thing but it just does anything, the offroad Land Rover of the bike world.
Yes the forward panniers worked a treat. Limited to 15kg each side, I genuinely think they are better than rear ones. Its easier to foot offroad as your legs don’t get smashed against the boxes and they act as brilliant leg protectors.
The only problems I had was a lost the centre stand spring & had to put a small hole in auxiliary fuel tank I added. (Check www.tourtank.com. Great tanks & a picture of the MT350 on this site)
In all I would thoroughly recommend the MT350, just make sure you spanner them before any trip!!