I am on the lookout for a dirtbike, does not have to be brand new, a nice second hand one would be fine, in the 250 to 400cc range.
Have tried a few of the new big bike shops, but they seem to only carry the sports bikes etc, not what i am after.
Anyone got any suggestions for this?
Good question Traveller. Yes, I haven’t seen any bigger trail bikes around. Pity because there are some nice 250 trailies made by Honda and Yamaha. Perhaps your best bet would be to look at the Hartford 200;
hartford.com.tw/hartford_cht … ooters.htm
also see here;
[forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.ph … 965#165965](Motorcycle touring
My mechanic has been talking about another new trail bike available now. I’ll ask him for details.
I never rode a Yamaha DT but they looked fun. I saw one in nice condition the other day but there can’t be many like that around now.
Used to own both a BMW R1150GS and a F650GS Dakar back in UK, the R1150Gs was crap off road, too damn heavy, but was an awesome road bike, the F650 actually made a half decent off road bike, but both are way to expensive here to buy, never mind the crippling annual fees etc.
If the Yamaha DT 250 or DT 400 were available here at a sensible price then that would be good, even better the Honda XR400 i think it is, Honda are still a much better built bike.
Just keep looking. I sometimes see some trail bikes outside the stores, KLX/CRM/RMX250s, DT/WR200s are pretty common. If you look hard enough you might come up with an XT350 or something of that vintage. There are also a ton of guys playing with 125 and 250cc MX racers if you don’t need lights or plates. You can import one yourself if you can deal with the paperwork, though it’ll probably have to be a four-stroke and cannot IIRC be over 4 years old.
After my 750 was stolen I built a dirt bike out of an old YZ chassis and an RZX motor.
My local Kymco shop on Bei-I Rd. just before the Bitan Bridge has a 250 dirt bike in the back showroom. Honda, can’t remember the exact model, but it’s pretty darned nice.
Sandman, care to impart any more details of this shop, dont know the Bitan area at all, so if possible, full address or a telephone number.
I’ll try to remember to pop in tomorrow a.m. and grab a business card off them. I’ll also make a note of the exact model of the bike I saw.
Sandman, cheers in advance then, a true scot and gentleman to boot. :bravo: :bravo:
I have one of those Hartford 150’s for up here in Alishan. It’s load with horsepower ( not ) 12 thereabouts. But it will get around quite well as long as your not trying to be a speed demon. It’s got disc brakes front and rear and handles as well as an off roadie should.
It’s rated for 150Kg of passenger weight.
The older 250’s and 600’s you cant get licenced here so you would be busted and your bike probably confiscated.
Your better of with something that can be registered.
[quote]The older 250’s and 600’s you cant get licenced here so you would be busted and your bike probably confiscated.
[/quote]
I really hope you didn’t buy the Hartford only because you thought you couldn’t get anything bigger! The laws changed last year and you can buy any size of bike you want, fully registered and legal (albeit killingly expensive for the documentation).
I myself am toying with the idea of a nice shiny new Triumph Bonneville. Ahhh! Pipedreams!
BTW Traveller, sorry I didn’t get the info for you – the shop was closed this morning. I’ll try to post the info on Monday.
Traveller: the shop near me is called Haveall in English. The address is Bei-shing Rd. Sec. 1 #169. It’s about 500 yards further out of town than the Hsintien City Hall MRT stop on the same side of the street.
You can call 0926-840-989 and ask for Alan. Nice bloke, knows his stuff, speaks fairly good English.
The dirt bike I saw there is a Honda XR250 and they’re asking NT$290,000.
Sandman, thanks for that, will be giving him a call, though the price seems very high even allowing for the import duties etc.
'Aint that the truth! Especially when you consider that they have a CBR900 for NT$450,000.
All import 250s seem to be around that price. The cheapest is the Honda VTR (a road bike) at 230,000, but that’s still a lot of money.
Seems that there are some high tariffs or duties on anything imported which is why the bigger bikes are comparatively cheaper – proportionally more of your money’s going towards the bike and less on tax etc.
I really hope you didn’t buy the Hartford only because you thought you couldn’t get anything bigger! The laws changed last year and you can buy any size of bike you want, fully registered and legal (albeit killingly expensive for the documentation).
I know about the law changes but no large legally imported off road bikes were included on the list of approved bikes. I really wanted a Yamaha 600 but it’s not an approved import. You bring you bonny up here and you wont get far where I live.
Especially now that the typhoon has trashed all the roads, bridges, and river crossings.
The ones I know about and have examined here include a big BMW Paris-Dakkar-type thing and the Triumph Tiger, both legally imported and both big. There are others, too, but I can’t remember what.
Anyway, from what I’ve seen on the news these last few days, an ATV’s about the only thing that’ll get you far up in the mountains right now.
Sandman - the Bonnie’s over half a million NT !
What you want is an Africa Twin. No. What I want is an Africa Twin.
[quote]Sandman - the Bonnie’s over half a million NT !
[/quote] 
I know, I know. Fucking criminal, isn’t it. Tell you what – why don’t you buy the Africa Twin and give it to me on extended loan. I’ll be sure and tell you how it rides.
[quote=“sandman”][quote]Sandman - the Bonnie’s over half a million NT !
[/quote]
I know, I know. Fucking criminal, isn’t it. Tell you what – why don’t you buy the Africa Twin and give it to me on extended loan. I’ll be sure and tell you how it rides.[/quote]
Shall I really ruin your day and tell you how much an Africa Twin in good nick costs in the UK ?
[quote=“hexuan”]
Shall I really ruin your day and tell you how much an Africa Twin in good nick costs in the UK ?[/quote]
Shall I ruin yours and remind you how few sunny days there are for riding? 