New to trail riding
 

Hi everyone,
So, Id been riding road bikes most of my adult life I've and taken a few European trips but I haven't had a bike since 2016.
I recently decided to get back into biking and travelling but this time I want to ride across to France and do some off road/Trails for a few days.
Problem is Ive never ridden off road!
So.........in your opinion what is a good bike to learn to ride trails on?
Also, im only 5 foot 3 so seat height is an issue!
I want to keep the cost of the bike down to under £3,000 if possible so I dont worry too much about dropping it on the trails etc
Thanks in advance for any advice i receive, it will be greatly appreciated.

Hi and welcome to the forum,
I would suggest something like a Yamaha XT225 Serow which funnily enough I sat on one for the first time yesterday, they have a fairly low seat height but I am sure that can be lowered further with a shorter shock or a lowering kit.
£3,000 or less should get you a pretty good one and they are tried and tested including on cross continental trips, look out for the electric start rather than kick start models.

It kinda depends what proportion of on/off road riding you plan to do and how quick you want to travel TBH. For example, you can go around the world and tackle any unpaved road on an XT250 (low seat for a dual sport), however it won't be happening very quickly ;)

Another vote for the Serow here!
The fuel injected xt250 is a lovely bike and plenty fast enough if you're packing light. Unfortunately they command a bit more money than they should in the UK at the moment.
The earlier 225cc model is the next best thing. Tricky bit is finding a good one that the owner is not asking too much for. (What has happened to the UK trail bike market???)
As Turbo says, you won't be winning the drag race off the lights, but they will both do 60mph on the flat, and there's nothing else as nimble in the low seat trailie bracket. Suzuki Van Van or Yamaha TW are fun alternatives but mostly 125s in the UK.

Honda crf230 painfully slow, Kawasaki Supersherpa rare as hen's teeth.

Thanks for the welcome and the replies everyone, I've had a quick look at some XT225 and XT250'S on eBay and they look like they might just fit the bill.
I plan on buying something cheap and spending the summer learning to ride the trails here in the West Country (UK), then maybe buy something with a few more horsepower and head over to France and spend a week exploring the countryside over there.
Has anyone got any other trail bike recommendations apart from the Serrow? I'm just curious as to what else is out there..
Thanks again to all that have replied so far, its much appreciated!

Most trail bikes are quite tall the Serow being one of the few shorter ones, also look for the Suzuki DR200/200 Djebel which is very similar in size, once you get up to the 250s they tend to be bigger.

Remember. You can lower almost any bike. So don't get too Pidgeon-holed into buying one which is low from the factory.

The Serrow is a good bike. However, as an offroad bike it is very basic. The suspension is very poor.

It will be adequate for easy trails but you will soon find it's limitations if the trail becomes challenging.

The DRZ400 is still an excellent bike. You can get a nice on for under £3000 and it comes with proper off-road suspension from the factory (Cartridge forks, 12" Showa rear shock with compression and rebound damping etc. It's also super easy to lower. It's a popular bike with shorter riders for that reason.

A CRF250L is also an easy bike to lower but it also suffers from poor stock suspension.


May I offer some advice. If you've never ridden off-road, get some training. It's worth far more than any modification you can do to your bike. The confidence and knowledge what to do in tricky situations is invaluable.

Join TRF Devon, they will be able to advise on bike and trails. Leg measurement isn't the big deal that some think, you'll be standing on the pegs much of the time you're riding, and as long as you're reasonably confident it's not a big problem to single-foot it. Most trail bikes have fairly high seat heights because it comes with long travel suspension and good ground clearance. But the CRF230F and Serow (XT225) are both "shorter" bikes that you may find more comfortable at first.

I'd also strongly advise taking an off-road class! It will make a HUGE boost in confidence, fun and safety off-road. Road skills don't translate to off-road, it's a whole different game.

I've just sent off a couple of emails enquiring more info from a local well known off road training centre, the ball is rolling.
Thanks for the advice :)

I agree with the above replies. Take some training before leaving then decide on a bike to buy. You'll never learn on a new bike that's laden with luggage.
If you've been riding on the road for a few years you'll possess lots of skills and should adapt to off-road easily.

So I've just spent a great day riding a CRF300L at an off road riding school and I've learned so much. I think its probably one of the best days I've ever had on a bike!
The CRF300L was such a nice bike to ride, very smooth power delivery and quite torquey for 300cc but a bit beyond my budget at the moment.
Thanks to all for the advice I've received so far:thumbup1:

The 250L isn't that much slower. And they change hands for much less.


Buying a cheap bike can be a false economy. Cheap bikes are only cheap for a reason. By the time you put it right it could cost more than just buying the right bike in the first place.

Any old (or cheap) bike needs to be purchased with extreme caution or mechanical knowledge.

Good luck :thumbup1:

Yamahas and Hondas rival eachother in reliability. Yamaha is number two in terms if wirld wide sales/dealers, with Honda as number one. Yamahas have generally been one notch more performance oriented vs road/cruisin/comfort for Hondas. They have generally also offered one notch more power per cc - or so is my impression.

A WR250R might be a good option (not to be confused with the allmost identical wr250f which is the racing cersion and not road legal. They are a bit pricey for their age as the okd ones sre still in high demand. But, since you can find okder ones, you can get a decent specimen at half the cost of the Honda. That bike will take you anywhere.

They often know vevs hard life. Get ine with a working iriginal tachometer (so you inow the mileage), snd get one with kess than 25.000 kns on the clock - that should give you tons if fun fir nany years.

so your only a shorty ! ........ The xt225 ( s erro) is a great bike but it is awful on the road !due to its lack of power . How much do you weigh ?/
If you are average weight ( 70 - 8- kilo ) i would a Honda crf 250l would be a great start for you, k ,,,,,,,:scooter:
This advice comes after 30 years trail riding oh join TRF

I chose to go with the yamaha tw200. Like PO I'm a small person at 1,68, around 50kg. Lowest seat height and weights only 260 lbs after taking off rear foot pegs and swap the battery for a lithuim battery.

My TW goes up to 115 quickly, then slowly to 120k/h on the speedo. Someone heavier like 75 kg, top speed 105 to 110 k/h.

One has to rejet, and drop five teeth on the rear sproket from 50 to 45, this lowers the RPM around 800 rpm at 100k/h.

It doesn't break down and it's very easy to work on.

The only problem with the TW is the rear tire choices, here in Europe you can't easily get away with mounting ATV tires.

It's a pity there aren't more decent quality small bike choices, here the Rieju Tangos & MRTs are a really good choice but they don't have a big support network outside of Spain.

Top speed only matters when you are trying to get somewhere in a hurry. I remember crossing Spain, over 1000km from Santander to Algeciras, keeping the speed to 100 kph so my knobblies would be intact for Morocco. It probably only took two hours longer than travelling at the legal limit.

250cc is a lovely size of motorbike but it took a hit all those years ago when the learner limit was lowered to 125cc. I have a neighbour who uses a 125cc on the trails in Spain but he says it is positively dangerous on steep hill trails as it can't produce the power needed.

Yes .. 250 cc is the sweet spot for an off road bike . and around 25 hp :scooter:

Depends on the definition of steep, I've taken a Tango (with a whopping 9hp) up some stuff that people on Enduro bikes struggle with because they're just spinning their tires on the loose rocks ... you can't get up a step more than 12" or so though, because it doesn't have enough power to lift the front wheel at short notice

A lot of power is only useful offroad if you know how to use it. It can quickly get you into trouble.

Having more power certainly helps when you're in tricky stuff and you can't find the right gear etc. The abilty to keep chugging and keeping momentum on a rough trail is important.

If you're spinning your wheels then you need to learn to slip your clutch. It's the first rule of trail riding after not falling off. So okay, it's the second :) It's not an easy skill to learn. I struggle with it.

Steep hills !! Power. Yes please. You don't want to run out of ooomph half way up a steep climb. You can't easily change down a gear as you will loose momentum. Then over you go.