jonpaul1st wrote:
Don't buy into the myth that modern European enduro bikes aren't trail bikes. EU enduro bikes have to have all the road niceties that qualify them as trailbikes that can be ridden on the road straight out of the box. You don't get that with the Japanese competition machines, many of which cannot even be used as enduro bikes out of the box.
In practical terms the EU enduro bikes make fantastic trail bikes - light, reliable, robust, low maintenance, low depreciation, simple and easy to work on, cheap spares and, most importantly, low impact on the green roads.
Don't rule out a 2 stroke, especially one of the later six speed KTM/Husky/Berg 250/300's.
A rule of thumb is to avoid anything with a cable clutch - a sure sign that the manufacturer is stuck in the 1990's or has otherwise cut corners to build a bike down to a price, which means that either or both reliability and riding experience will be significantly compromised (unless of course you want to experience old skool lack of refinement and reliability).
Interesting...in 40 years of motorcycling I've had ONE clutch cable fail, which was replaced in 10 mins with the spare clutch cable I had routed alongside it in preparation for a ride to Morocco. In contrast, EVERY bike I've owned with a hydraulic clutch has given trouble, ranging from the seals on the slave cylinder failing (KTM) to the fluid boiling (Gas Gas). Hydraulic clutch is an answer to a question that nobody asked, IMO.