Greenlaner

It's a dangerous thing to be surfing eBay just as an item is closing..... I've only gone and bought another bike! It's a Kawasaki KDX (I think) 125 - I was hoping to go exploring the extensive network of green lane around here and it should be a larf; I've never really ridden a 2-stroke before. If I don't use it I can always sell it on.

It's not in my garage yet, so anything can happen between winning an item and getting it, but fingers crossed...

Well....I fancy Green-lane ing also TBH, I've done it loads on Horses and Quads, but never on 2 wheels.......

I shall be watching with interest Paul !!!

ellie wrote:I've done it loads on Horses and Quads, but never on 2 wheels

OOhhhh Matron!

weasley wrote: I've never really ridden a 2-stroke before. .

They are great fun, if nothing else I love the smell :drunken:.

Good luck with the purchase, I've landed up getting a thing or two the same way, but usually chicken out in the dying seconds.

This is one of the eBay pics...

Looks great , I bet it sounds good too !

Ruddy hooligan! Tearing up the countryside!

Stick to the horse







Hey, just my opinion. Can't agree with all the people all the time.
Sorry to sit on your sand-castle!

I did a little bit of greenlaning - just very tame stuff - on my old VanVan, not really my cup of tea but looks like a fun bike

interesting choice!


I am sub'ed to someone on youtube who does alot of green lane riding

his videos might help you find places
https://www.youtube.com/user/onelungwarrior

I'm fully aware of people's perception of bikers tearing up the countryside. I would only ever use those routes that are open to bikes and always in a considerate manner - being a walker and horse rider myself I know how annoying bikes can become. I suspect, in reality, it will be a short-trip commute/town bike that may go offroad occasionally - there aren't that many green lanes around these parts anyway, and it's not the sort of bike that can be ridden long distances to find them (don't expect to see me on it at ToL!).

It was something of a whim to be honest - I might not use it in the end (eBay is littered with these stories) but I'll probably get most of my money back for it so no great loss.

Besides, it will at least finally mark me as a 'real' biker, having owned a 2-stroke.

weasley wrote:

Besides, it will at least finally mark me as a 'real' biker, having owned a 2-stroke.

yay ..... finally that makes me a 'real' biker too - the barnett's a 2 stroke

Well, it's here! It's a bit of an unknown at the moment, but I do now know it is a KDX 125B. I think it might be a French import from 1996. It looks like it has a non-standard rear fender and possibly front forks. The important things work (like the engine, gearbox and brakes), all the lights work but the clocks are smashed and useless (although the idiot lights work fine). I'm pleased to discover it has an oil tank and meter, so no need for pre-mixing.

All-in-all I am very pleased with it. I still need to insure and tax it so tomorrow will be mostly sitting on it on the drive and going "rinnnnng dinga dinga ding ding". A quick poke about tonight revealed a few things to do - a fork seal is weeping, a few panel fasteners are bodged up, it needs a number plate (and light) and a few niggles; mostly small things - just the fork that will fail an MoT I think.

So look out ramblers and horsists, I'll soon be tearing past in a rooster tail of mud and glory!

Joke!!

Nice one Paul.

I'm lucky cos I live on a farm and I have loads of lanes around that I can ride on with the Honda XL100. They are not normally used by bikes at all so I have them all to myself. Although my bike isn't that powerful it is still good fun. I'll be posting up more details of the bike on my other thread shortly.

I'm sure you will have fun though and it can only help improve your riding i.e. you'll be able to back the Cat into bends once you've got used to doing it offroad.

Tony

Today was the day - my maiden voyage. This week I have sorted out insurance (added it to my Thundercat policy - approx £30 extra for a year), got road tax (£15 for a year!!) and got a number plate made and fitted this morning. I then rode it to the nearest fuel station on reserve (after finally working out why it wouldn't run.... they need fuel, don't they?!).

Then off for an exploratory ride to my mates, about 8 miles away. Well...

- it's slow! But it will keep up with cars on national limit roads, so that's good enough. It gets to speed well enough but doesn't like holding a constant throttle
- the front brake is like riding into a wall...... made of cottonwool. It's a bit scary at first but you soon get used to planning ahead!
- everything seems to work, and I made it there and back no problem, including a brief foray down a "byway open to all traffic (BOAT)... aka green lane.
- the front end is very light but a bit floaty on the road

I even seem to have sorted the fork seal issue - a very thin feeler gauge run inside the seal to 'wipe' away the dirt and no more weeping. The main thing is adapting to riding a fickle, single-cylinder 2-stroke from a smooth, 4-cylinder 4-stroke with big mid-range. Since the rev counter doesn't work I don't know where I am in the range but it needs to be kept fizzing to make decent progress, which means plenty of gear changes. That's OK though because the 'box is very slick.

Bring on lighter evening!

Still no pics yet though.