Shortlist of Trail/Enduro bikes........

[J Hop]

I want to buy one,

Must have a kickstart
Must be 250 - 400 cc
Be Oil or Air cooled
cost no more than £1300 ish
be ultra reliable and low maintainance
be light enough for occasional proper off road riding (enduro)
must be road legal and capable of daily riding.

My shortlist so far in no particular order is

honda XR250/400
suzuki DR350
yamaha TTR250
kawasaki KLX300 (I know it breaks the 3rd criteria)
I am too big for a Serow

Have I missed any out ? Any thoughts if you have owned any of these bikes please.

[GB500nz]

The Kawasaki Sherpa is a brilliant wee bike but it's got a leccy leg. That's essential in the rough stuff, but maybe not so useful for commuting or showing off.

[J Hop]

Hmmmmmm, I think the TTR might be electric start only, so I might have to rethink the must have kickstart point as I really like the look of them.

 What I really want is a nice XT500 but they are alot of money, and I would only ruin it riding daily, leaving outside in the weather all winter and falling off alot with poor off-road skills.

Might have to add DRZ400 to the list as they seem to have the greatest choice on Ebay.

[Bruce]

Have you considered an Armstrong MT500 a good alrounder in my opinion altghough the only off road work I do is the odd grass verge or a camping field.

[002]

XR250/400 and the KLX300 being pukka Enduro bikes would be a pain and wouldnt like daily commuting.

Also you would have difficulty keeping them to yourself !
An ordinary Trail bike is bad enough but one of those babies you would have all the Scumbags after it.

DR350 and DRZ400 both very good machines.
Another to think about would be a late KLR250.Light and pretty pokey too.

Jethro