Most of the older kickstart bikes are fine once you've got the knack of starting them but trying to balance on a tall bike to kick it over is a total bastard when you've got deep ruts on either side. If I'm on a down hill slope of any kind I always bump start the bike rather than kick it because it's so much easier. So if we've got that many of us with off road bikes shouldn't we be trying to find somewhere roughly central where we can have a day out and get some miles in on them? I live in Bedfordshire so we've got bugger all worth doing near me but I've got a 2 bike trailer and can give anyone else reasonably local a lift if something can be sorted. I've also got access to the trailwise system so can check out what's open if we need to do some searching.
trailwise is sooooooooooooooooo out of date, you are better off looking on the local councils "definative map"
Not all councils have a copy of their definitive map online do they? For my local routes I phone the council and give them the number of the lane I want to ride on but if you're trying to arrange somewhere to ride that isn't local the easiest way is to use Trailwise to get details then either phone or email the local council to ask them.
not sure on that but all the ones i use down south do, west berks, wiltshire, oxfordshire, reading, wokingham, hampshire...
I live in a rubbish area when it comes to getting access with North Beds, Central Beds and Northants all being appointment only and Cambs having an online map. It's a right bastard because before all the changes came into effect you could ride miles across the three counties but now it's just a disjointed mess.
There are shed loads of Green Lanes around our way - but we are lucky, we don't have to deal with the idiots that make up the Peak District Park Authority. Best thing for a beginner is probably something light and around 200-250cc. The Yamaha XT225 Serow is a cracking little bike and a great place to start laning. If you are serious about getting out on a few lanes make sure that they are legal - top tip, contact your local TRF group; they will know where all the good, legal, local lanes are and will be and may well offer to take you out on one of their group rides. Welcome to the TRF
yep, we are very lucky devon/cornwall , agree with JR join TRF , you can attend 2 rideouts as a taster before you join, then when you are a member you can gain access to the TRF data base of map overlays and mark them out or load them onto a sat nav, kev
Suzuki drz 400 s, had one for several years, did loads of green laning including strada florida on it, comfy reliable bit heavy but great fun
an XR 400 , DRZ 400 or Husky te 610 !all very capable and fun to ride! the XR is light and bare bones enduro, the DRZ a more refined and much more 'modern japanese' type of bike, the Husky a rip snorting animal that is the best combination of them all, with ooodles of power too! (pics in order of mention) check out www.adventuretrailrider.com or www.adventurebikerider.com
Winter is just about on us so decided to have a go at green laning. In the end settled on a Yam WR 250F, off e-bay; its 2005 but in decent nick and came with a set of super-moto wheels.
Amazed me what a flying machine this is on the dirt, had a great time and now totally hooked. Made a little vid of my first go at trail riding, fast forward to 9 mins if you want to see why a 660 Tenere is not the best green lane bike in the mud.
Maybe he would have had more control of the bike if he had his feet on the pegs instead of dangling about - don't think you can really blame the Tenere for that one !
I love the whole off roading stuff. Had many 2 strokes over the years, YZ250, RM250 even a cagiva. I have not owned an off road bike for around 12 years now as my 2 bikes and my friends other 4 were all stolen one night from what we though was a very secure stable with umpteen locks and chains. Its a subject I am torn on, I would love to have one again but you end up simply being the enemy of everyone you meet even on legitimate routes. I do quite a lot of hill walking and must say, i am no longer comfortable with the erosion, noise etc from the off road bikes. I was on the pennine way a few months ago around saddleworth only to see idiots using it as a motorcross track. If i knew of an area around saddleworth where it was legitimate and did not disturb anyone I would have one again in a heartbeat. Sadly, I honestly think those days are over.
To defend green-laners (both two and four wheeled) far more damage is done to tracks and trails by agricultural vehicles than is ever done by recreational users - and, of course, these big heavy vehicles are not subject to the same restrictions and bans imposed by local councils. I also find that horses tend to cut up soft ground just as much as bikes do and there never seem to be any moves to restrict their access to the countryside. Bikes and 4x4's are an easy target for tree-huggers and NIMBY's alike and councils like to be seen to be doing something, anything, as long as it appeases potential voters (although strangely somehow they never seem to recognise that motorcyclists also vote). Of course groups of idiots on enduro bikes using the countryside as their own personal race track does not do our cause any favours... But that sort of rider probably doesn't care anyway.
One of our members here uses his GSXR.......Barron Von Grumble Baron von Nightmare - GSXR Off Roading... - YouTube
totally agree, tractors and horses do a lot of damage, ride my local lanes regularly and see this, an endure bike with a trail tyres on and not motocross tyres is pretty trail friendly , have been reading a report on horse shoes and how they erode tracks and green lanes
On a closely related subject... I just signed the petition "Peak District National Park Authority: We call on the Peak District National Park Authority to stop imposing Traffic Regulation Orders on our Green Lanes" on Change.org. It's important. Will you sign it too? Here's the link: http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitio...pt&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition Thanks!
