enduro

[schwahead]

Hey folks, new to the fourm and I have done some searchin around but wondering if some kind people can help me out here. Ok here it goes

I will be riding from ohio down into mexico and then into central america. I am on no deadline. I want to get an enduro bike because I know the roads are going to be from once I get outta the U.S. but, I am unsure what size of enduro to get. Im leaning towards honda for the availability of parts outta the us. I also want an older bike early 80's or 70's. From what I have researched the only 4 strokes are 250's and up correct?? I want a 4 stroke since im going to be going a long way. I am around 6 foot 150 pounds. If somebody could make some suggestions for me thatd be excellent.

Does anybody have any experience going distances with these things?

 

[rmc_olderthandirt]

Wow, I would not start out on such an adventure without the bike being in absolutely top notch condition.

While it would be possible to take a vintage bike and completely rebuild it I suspect that you would be money ahead to get a newer bike. As for parts availability, especially outside the USA, I would certainly not go on a '70s vintage bike!

There are lots of smaller fourstroke bikes available, such as a Yamaha TTR-230 or TTR-125. You wouldn't want them, however. Many states have a lower limit on the engine size to be legal on the freeway and the bottom line is that you will want to be able to keep up with traffic and anything smaller than a 250 just won't.

You really don't need an off road bike as much as a bike that can handle some rough roads. A good dual sport bike would be what you want.

You should also consider that high octane gas can be hard to come by in Mexico so I would buy a bike that has a lower compression engine, 9.5 to 1 instead of the higher performance 11:1 that the competition bikes would have. If you are going a long way you will also want good street tires, not dirt tires. A big gas tank will come in handy.

I think that you want to go big, like a 650 or at least a 525. A bike that doesn't recommend changing the piston every 45 hours of use. An engine that allows you to ride at 50% throttle all day long so that you aren't pushing it too hard.

Unless you plan on flying home you need something that is very dependable and can survive for 10,000 miles. This is not a dirt bike......

Rod

 

[schwahead]

thanks

Thanks for the reply to my post,
The bike I was looking at buying for the trip is a honda xl 350 enduro, do you think it would be too long for the bike? I had planned to put street tires on it until reaching mexico and purchasing dirt tires for the rest of the ride.

 

[schwahead]

I think anything around the 600 range is just going to be too much bike for me.... I will check out the drz400

 

[rmc_olderthandirt]

I had planned to put street tires on it until reaching mexico and purchasing dirt tires for the rest of the ride.

I am wondering if you have a misconception regarding the state of the art in Mexico.

I suspect that if you really wanted to you could find a route through Mexico that was primarily dirt roads. That would be an interesting challenge.

If your intention is to just get through Mexico then you can do that and stay on paved roads. Some of the roads can get pretty rough and they are not big on marking and warning you of hazards but you wouldn't need or want dirt tires to safely navigate their highways.

I wouldn't worry about the bike being "too big". I would worry about the bike being reliable. Buying a 30 year old bike just doesn't make sense for something like this. If you are planning on this being a round trip then you are talking about 4000 miles or more.

Rod