The biggest thing I learnt is that bikes are far more stable than we think and sometimes fighting movement is more likely to make you crash. The bike moving around on road doesn't phase me quite as much as it used to now.

... if it can take a bashing off-road as it might be my only bike then. exactly along the same lines as I was thinking. I have looked occasionally and bikes do quite often come up with the two sets of wheels setup but of varying brands.

Change of plan, we're not going away now. So out for a ride in the morning then some little jobs to do on both bikes

The big Jap companies seem to have good rep for these type of bikes. I'm sure you'll be fine with a big brand name.

You don't want them too light. We were told the light bikes squirm around too much.

Those 250s were spot on, in my very limited experience.

Weight is the key with off road bikes, the lighter the better. No point in buying a bike that is great at getting to green lanes and then too unwieldy when you get there. I want to try one of the off road days in Wales in October/November ...

It was a lot of fun. It's made me reevaluate what bikes I want and whether to buy a new one or a couple of off-roaders

I need to understand offroad bikes more first. They take one hell of a pounding!

... have to do a full review when I've got time, This is the house they use for B&B, off road and road tours. http://i.imgur.com/J1jOP8L.jpg The bikes - Yam 250s. I managed to break mine. http://i.imgur.com/OtWaGSLh.jpg We got our guide into the Tankslap ethos http://i.imgur.com/MsmA6bHh.jpg ...

Absolutely! I did trail riding (as we call it here) solidly for about 6 yrs, had 4 different different bikes over that time. I'd love to have another one.

But if I had to choose between off-road and track days, I'd pick track days.

Do you get many road bikes Frankie. I spotted a couple in the last photo. You do get road bikes, probably not as many as track bikes, that last pic cold have been when we there was quiet a few guys from tvam & rapid training guys, ...

Do you get many road bikes Frankie.

I spotted a couple in the last photo.

... lorry is likely to be full to the rafters for this trip, so packing Into to smaller bags makes it easier to get on each crate, which will have two bikes plus the kit you ship with it. Example http://www.bbseurotracks.co.uk/gallery/galleries/04-Cartagena%202014/Cartagena2014_0005.jpg http://www.bbseurotracks.co.uk/gallery/galleries/04-Cartagena%202014/Cartagena2014_0008.jpg ...

... but as unsprung mass it's similar to loosing 2.5 kg of the spring mass of the bike. I know it sounds of little benefit but I have reduced the bikes weight by 20 kg and a lot of that was from numerous small savings as after a few big weight savings you have to start looking for the little losses.

... but as unsprung mass it's similar to loosing 2.5 kg of the sprung mass of the bike. I know it sounds of little benefit but I have reduced the bikes weight by 20 kg and a lot of that was from numerous small savings as after a few big weight savings you have to start looking for the little losses.

working on the bikes.

How much?

I paid £280 for the SX to have the same service. From what I've seen both bikes get the same treatment at that stage.

finally got one of the zxr400 race bikes running, but runs only on full choke and cuts out when given any throttle, think there may be an air leak somewhere!

... on ebay, so I need a nice polite (and cajoling) message prior to bidding!! That's all wasted if I miss out! You often find expensive things (like bikes) will be listed with a reserve several times without selling. Then they list them without the reserve but pull them early if they're not happy ...

... I say that as a biker. I avoid it, even though it's not that far from me, as the last time I rode it I had FIVE near-misses with morons on bikes going far too fast, underestimating the severity of the bends, and running wide. It's not nice when suddenly you see a bike coming hurtling towards ...

... link, the title picture is from his tour of the States when he bought the Multi I hired and a Monster for his wife. Not a bad business plan. Buy bikes aboard, do a fantastic tour, then ship them back and hire them out to pay for the next trip! Xen is originally from the UK and was an RAF Aircraft ...