Ride Expeditions Rides – the bikes for Dirt bike tours
DIRT BIKE TOURS
This blog is all about Ride Expeditions’ Rides – the bikes for dirt bike tours.
OK – you’ve spent years of riding the trails and tracks in your home country with your mates, but after reading yet another incredible story about an dirt bike adventure in your favourite magazine, not to mention watching countless video on similar trip on You Tube, you’ve finally decided to take the plunge and book up your own epic motorcycle adventure.
But what bike are you going to ride, and where are you going to ride it?
We’ve got an amazing range of locations from Cambodia to Columbia and there’s an equally wide range of bikes that we use. From the fantastic reliability and flexibility of Honda’s CRF300L to the rip-snorting joy of the Yamaha WR250F, the off-road brilliance of the KTM EXC350F and EXC250F to the simple fun of our Kawasaki KLX250s.
Which tour and indeed which bike you choose is up to you. All riders on our dirt bike tours will need to be regular and experienced off-road riders, and our choice of bikes in the different locations reflects what’s most appropriate for both the route we’ll be following and the terrain we’ll encounter. We don’t ride GSAs in the jungles of Cambodia, just as we don’t use WRs on the Garden Route in South Africa!
Oh and just to be clear you can only ride the capacity of bike on our tours that you are legally allowed to ride at home – so if you’ve only got an A2 or equivalent licence, you may not be able to legally ride the more powerful dirt bikes, or indeed get appropriate insurance. Check before you book!
So, let’s have a quick look at the options for dirt bike tours. If you are looking for adventure bike and roasd bike tours, there’s a separate blog on thes2.
LAOS AND VIETNAM
With mile after mile of wonderful dirt roads, jungle tracks and hillside trails, not to mention some glorious tarmac sweeping through the incredible landscapes, Laos and Vietnam are both perfect for a trail riding adventure. That’s why we’ve lined up two of the most perfect trail bikes for these fantastic tours.
Kawasaki KLX 250
If you are looking for a solid gold trail bike, you need look no further than Kawasaki’s lovable KLX 250. First launched back in 2006, the KLX comes from a long line of trail, enduro and motocross bikes that dates back to the 1970s, the bright green machines taking championships and delivering dirty fun in equal measure to professionals and amateur riders all over the world for decades.
The initial KLX got an upgrade three years later, remaining largely unchanged until Kawasaki gave it another refresh in 2016. Since then little has changed on the reliable little KLX but don’t think that’s a bad thing – the KLX is one of the few trailbikes left and it does everything you want in a very appealing way.
The single cylinder DOHC four valve four stroke motor puts a modest but usable 22 bhp and a simple change of exhaust gives the bike a nice boost if you want a tad more, and there is a fairly simple upgrade kit to take the bike up to 300cc. That said, this is not a bike that you want to be bouncing off the limiter every three minutes – the KLX makes much of its power in the mid to low range so short shifting to taller gears may be the order of the day if you want to crack on a bit.
The suspension is on the soft side as you might expect on a trail bike, but it soaks up the worst of the bumps well and it’s only if you really raise the pace that you’ll find the limits of the forks and shock. Upping the preload is pretty much essential if you are not the weight of a pro cyclist, and with both compression and rebound damping adjustable on the rear shock, it’s worth a bit of tinkering to get the best out of the springy bits.
But once on the trails of Laos, the KLX comes into its own. The gentle but insistent power allows you to flow through the dirt on the pegs with the minimum of input and fuss without any possibility of whisky throttling into the vegetation. On the road the Kawasaki will ride from Vientiane to Vietnam without breaking sweat and with a positively abstemious appetite for the unleaded, you won’t be looking for fuel stations too often. Euro regulations mean that the KLX is no longer imported into the UK, but if it were, it might well be giving the Honda CRF300L a run for its money.
Seat height on the Kawi is a fairly tall 890mm, but with soft suspension the height soon comes down if the preload isn’t wound up too much. If you need even less height, the linkage suspension offers plenty more options to lower the KLX a fair bit more.
Honda CRF300L
Without any doubt, nobody can have predicted the global success of the Honda CRF250L and its successor, the 300L. At a time where just about every manufacturer was either making full on enduro machines or rushing for the emerging and lucrative adventure bike market, Honda’s decision to put out what was pretty much an old-school trail bike seemed curious to say the least. Yet ten years or so later the now 300 cc trailie is one of the most popular and enjoyable bikes you can choose – no wonder Ride Expeditions like the little Honda so much.
Originally using a detuned version of the CBR250R engine for the 250L, at the heart of the CRF300L is a water-cooled 286cc DOHC 4 valve motor, which puts out around 27bhp and around 26nm of torque. It doesn’t sound much, but the power is quite so buttery smooth and usable it’s as perfect for blatting along the trails in Vietnam as it is for carving your way through the bends on those gorgeous mountain roads.
The gearbox is cleverly adjusted on the 300L for just this combination, the first five gears shortened for the dirt and the sixth gear effectively a ‘highway only’ tall gear. Suspension wise, as stock the Honda has some of the softest suspension we’ve pretty much ever encountered, so certainly the rear preload needs a bit of a stiffen up as there’s not much more you can adjust. On the trails this makes for a very plush ride, but if you start to turn the wick up too much you’ll maybe not enjoy the experience as much. But like the Kawasaki KLX 250, this is not the bike for flat out enduro shenanigans, it’s a trail bike and needs to be ridden as such. With so much achingly beautiful scenery to take in, rushing through the landscape like you are trying to win the Dakar is just silly – chill out and enjoy the ride.
Seat height on the 300L is 885mm so it’s a bit of a stretch to swing your leg over if you’re short of leg, but that suspension will sink down a good amount straight away. With Honda’s usual Prolink suspension at the rear, further height reductions can be made with longer linkage dogbones, but these of course will change the linkage’s progression rate and hence the performance of the rear shock.
CAMBODIA
For the sheer variety of the riding, you simply cannot beat dirt biking in Cambodia. From flat tracking along endless dirt roads to thrashing the dense jungle of the Smugglers Trail, weaving through tight single track to climbing up challenging rock climbs in the achingly beautiful Kirirom National Park, this is dirt biking Nirvana. If you don’t love dirt biking in Cambodia, then maybe you should try stamp collecting instead …
LOOKING FOR A DIRTY ADVENTURE?
Yamaha WR250F
With some of the best dirt riding on the planet all over Cambodia, we had to pick one of the best dirt bikes to fully enjoy it. And you can’t go far wrong with the sublime Yamaha WR250F. First bought out in 2001, the little WR soon became a firm favourite out on the trails and indeed the enduro circuits the sporty performance coming from the many components that the bikes shared with the brand’s motocross bikes. With only subtle changes for the first six or so years, the 250F got upgraded from the original steel frame to an aluminium one in 2007 and remained remaining unchanged until when into the next decade.
But it was the changes to the bike in 2014 / 15 that really took the WR to the next level. Again, using all the technology and championship winning technology from Yamaha’s motocross machines, the all new WR250F was a hit from the moment it hit the showrooms. Some ten years later, the bike continues to be one of the best enduro bikes you can buy – no wonder it’s a firm favourite in the Ride Expeditions fleet.
Central to the WR’s success and popularity is the punchy water-cooled four valve DOHC motor. While Yamaha are always a tad reticent to publish performance data on their off road bikes, dyno tests on the WR see it pushing out around 37 bhp with a healthy 24nm of torque from the reverse slanted engine. Combined with the superb aluminium beam frame and the truly exceptional Kayaba forks and the linkage operated KYB shock at the back, the WR can take on everything from gentle trail riding to full on racing without missing a beat.
And for our dirt bike adventures, that exactly what we want. All the poise and ability to pick your way through a tight and slippery jungle track and then all the power and suspension to take on fast and furious dirt tracks. From hanging out the rear end on the corners to blasting up seemingly impossible climbs, the WR will do the lot.
With a wet weight of just 115kg, the Yam is super light too, but with a seat height of 955mm, this is not a bike that favours smaller riders. Yes, you can lower it a bit with different linkages, but doing so does little for the beautifully set up suspension.
COLOMBIA
With it’s lush and verdant landscape, incredible trails and warm vibrant culture, Colombia is a hidden gem and one our most favourite places to ride. From the colourful haciendas and quaint little towns up into the rolling hill country with it’s enormous vistas and deep forested valleys, riding in this beautiful South American country is a joy we just love to share with our customers.
KTM EXC250F
There was only one bike that we ever wanted to ride in Colombia, and that’s the exquisite KTM EXC250. This consummate enduro machine makes the ideal travel companion for our Colombian Trailblazer tour, an eleven-day romp through this wonderful country. If you have any doubt as to how good this bike is it’s perhaps worth bearing in mind that the motocross version of the 250F has won the MX2 World Motocross Championship for 14 of the past 16 years, an unprecedented run of success for any manufacturer.
Central to the success of the EXC250F is the unfeasibly compact water-cooled, fuel injected DOHC motor. Weighing in at a staggering 27.9 kilos, the 250F lump is the most powerful in the sector yet combines an incredible flexibility to take on the slow and technical going just as comfortably. From blasting along gravel tracks and forestry roads to trickling up rocky climbs on the pegs, the EXC will make you a better rider without even trying.
As with the entire enduro and motocross range, the little KTM has a lightweight race derived chromoly frame which when combined with the WP XPLOR USD forks and single XPLOR PDS rear shock delivers precise and agile handling whatever the speed. But while the KTM makes a great trail bike it’s a world away from the soft armchair comfort of trail bikes back in the day. With a narrow and firm seat, slimline bodywork and a minimal cockpit, this bike is all killer and no filler – this bike doesn’t have a single gram of unnecessary flab and to get the best of it, then you’ll need to spend a good proportion of the day on the pegs as you carve through the Colombian landscape.If you have not ridden a KTM EXC250 before, we can guarantee you’ll be impressed and end up with a massive grin on your face all day long – this is one peachy ride!
Like the Yamaha WR250F that we use in Cambodia, the EXC is a tall bike from the off with a seat height of 960mm. And with the linkless PDS shock at the back, lowering options without changing the springs and severely altering the handling are confined to lower seats, backing off the preload and dropping the forks through the yokes.
MONGOLIA
Of all the tours that Ride Expeditions run, the epic Warriors Trail in Mongolia is by far the most remote and amazing in the calendar. This vast country has a population of just three million people, with almost half of them in the capital of Ulaanbaatar. Outside that there is just thousands of square miles or open and wonderful space to ride and enjoy riding from sunrise to sunset. There are no borders, no fences and no end to the joy of riding in this fantastic country.
Point the bike where you want to go and just drop that clutch …
KTM350F
While many adventurers might choose to explore Mongolia on big adventure bikes, that’s not how we roll in this riding paradise. With all the luggage anf fuel in the support truck, we don’t need to worry about panniers and top boxes and tank range – we just want to ride across and enjoy those massive landscapes!
And to do that you can’t go wrong with the awesome KTM EXC350F, for some the best enduro bike you can buy. Released back in 2012, the 350F like it’s smaller 250F sibling is derived from the motocross version of the bike. Developed during the tenure of 10 time world Champion Stefan Everts with KTM, the 350 F was designed to have the agility of a 250 with the power of a 450 – for many the perfect combination. In the hands of Tony Cairoli, the 350F won the world championship in every year he competed on it against a grid of 450s – do you need any more convincing?
Sharing many components with the 250F engine, the larger EXC350 puts out over 50 bhp from the high revving yet immensely flexible motor – it’s as home on the tight and tricky climbs through the pine forests of Mongolia as it it flat out on the gravel trails. There’s a massive range of riding in this enormous country and we’ve yet to find anywhere that the KTM EXC350F doesn’t excel.
Again, like its little brother, the 350F has a lightweight chromoly frame backed up with XPLOR USD forks, WXPLOR rear PDS shock, super slim bodywork and a narrow and firm seat. This combines beautifully to provide one of the most agile, stable and enjoyable enduro trail bikes you will ever have ridden. If you don’t like the EXC350F you should seek medical help!
OK so we’re guessing you’ve now realised that a) we love the KTM EXC350 b) it’s like the 250F only better and c) this is serious but very rideable off-road bike. But like the 250, making the 350F suitable for shorter riders is not that easy – standard seat height is 963mm – pretty standard for an enduro bike and the PDS shock doesn’t allow much height reduction without spring changes to this and to the forks. Enduro bikes are tall!
