Had a go at motocross

Soldato
Joined
13 Nov 2003
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5,671
Location
Harrogate
My son has wanted to get into biking for ages (I've taken him on mine to Europe and the TT so biking is well and truly in his blood - his mum is so pleased lol)

Anyway, I bought him an enduro bike for his birthday, a TM125 2T. Unfortunately there aren't that many places you can learn to ride around here, so we ended up going to a motocross track called Uncle Eddies near Doncaster.

They were really good and let him go on the kids track to get the hang of the clutch and gears (he's had about an hour on a 4T 125 before so not a total beginner) and then let him go out with the small wheeled bike sessions on the adult track for his first day. He did really well as he built his confidence throughout the day - there are some seriously fast kids there though!

Obviously I had to have a go, and it turned out to be possibly the most fun I've had on 2 wheels! The TM is surprisingly pokey for a 125 (about 30hp when new) and in all honesty it was faster than I was. Pretty wierd losing traction all the time coming from a road bike and track day background, but the feeling of the jumps was amazing!

So now I'm looking for a another bike for me....just need to get that past the mrs after buying this one! Still, all the other expenses have been sorted - its the trailer and tow hook and electrics that cost as much as the first bike!

Cant decide whether to go for an enduro or all out mx bike - I like the idea of a road legal KTM 200 EXC as I don't think I'll actually race.

If you've never tried it give it a go - it's a lot of fun! Knackerign though, especially in jeans and a textile jacket! A few pics

image by sagalout, on Flickr

image by sagalout, on Flickr

image by sagalout, on Flickr

image by sagalout, on Flickr

image by sagalout, on Flickr
 
Some of the most fun I've had on a bike has been offroad. Used to ride around in fields, beaches and fireroads before I could get a licence. The last bike I road offroad was an old CR500, those things where crazy with about 70bhp stock, way too much for me to properly handle but that was half the fun.

I'd imagine you'd want a 250+ 2t or 350+ 4t or you'll get bored with the power pretty fast. 125 is great for you're son though, bike looks really ace.
 
Yeah, the KTM200 is supposed to be a a huge amount of 2T fun - 125 chassis and almost the same power as the 250, but very peaky, which I like!
 
I rode an ex-works BSA C15 scrambler a good few decades ago, much fun. I was also once volunteered as a passenger on an outfit ridden by Bob Golbourne in the sixties, once, never again.
 
Go all out MX.

Your going to bash that bike around a lot and you do not want to replacing lights etc every 5 minutes to keep it road legal.

I used to ride a bit, I still have my old RM 125 "92" in the shed which i bought when i was 16, even made my own track. I have not ridden for 3 years now but I just cant bring myself to sell her!

I think the biggest problem people have is finding areas to ride legally.
 
I think the biggest problem people have is finding areas to ride legally.

Yeah, thats what I've found! There are 3 tracks within about an hours drive, but motocross is definitely easier to find than enduro. Cheap compared to a track day too!
 
Used to blat around the fields around my parents house on a C70.
Was enormous fun till I snapped it in half jumping off a home made ramp.
 
i would still be riding motocross if i had a easy way on transport and more tracks near by, just sold a KX250F about the same power as a 125 2t but with much more low end grunt! could make my own ruts :D

the other thing that is annoying in the amount of money you have to pay to keep the MX bikes running sweet.

obviously a 2t is a doddle but if you go 4t then you have valves cams etc just gets expensive very quickly
 
Yeah I'm sticking to 2T - love the sound and it's a nostalgia trip!

Transport is what put me off in the past, but stumped up for a motolug foldable trailer as space was the issue. Amazing bit of engineering!
 
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