First post on the forum and in this subforum in 2014! I'm a new rider. Taking my M2 next month and buying a bike promptly after that. Looking at the XT225 right now - matches my budget nicely. My real question is: Where do I ride near Guelph? I'm not keen on taking it on high traffic roads since I am a beginner. Would be great to meet up with people in the area and take some trails or country roads outside the city. I'm planning to get a trailer or motorcycle rack in the future, but will probably rely on just darting around for this summer.
Lots of good little back roads and road allowances North and east of Guelph. Keep an eye out for the spring Mohawk-Creemore rides. The ODSC Bethany ride is scheduled for late April as well.
welcome to the forum, ya i hit a ton of dirt rds in your area, some good riding if you're into the scenery. shoot me a pm anytime you want. i live in georgetown and do most of my riding in that direction
Lots of places to DS from in your area. not sure you need to trailer anywhere. Shoot me a message when you get your bike and you can tag along for a ride . Check out some of the ride reports most of them leaving from the Guelph / Cambridge area. viewtopic.php?f=12&t=20510 Video of riding in Ontario, Most rides leaving from your area. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_NmEO5L ... uiZ5Xfg-bw Randy
Hey thanks for the encouragement. As soon as I get a bike I'll be sure to let you guys know so I can tag along. Until then, I'm on the hunt for a bike. I'll post a longer thread elsewhere in the forum, but does anyone have any suggestions for pricing on a used XT225? I haven't been able to sit on one yet, but it seems appropriate for my height and weight (5'8", 180lb). I'm thinking around $1800 for a 2005 model in good condition.
I won't comment on the value of an XT225, but I have been looking around for a cottage bike all winter and in my opinion, a lot of people are very unrealistic about what a used bike is worth. Just got finished looking on Kijiji - $5000.00 for a 2008 KTM 150!? I can get a brand new non-current for $6100. My advice is to decide what you think you should pay (your guestimate seems like a fair price) and if something comes up make a polite cash offer. They might not take it, but after dealing with a bunch of kids offering to trade their Nintendo's they might call you back later. If I recall, there are usually quite a few XT's for sale once the weather warms up, so you should be in a good position to make a deal.
You make a good point about the weather - but I'm antsy to get out on my street and just ride a bit to be familiar with the controls and weight of the bike. I'm having a similar problem with pricing. That is, dealers asking for $3200 for a used 2005 XT225 or Kijiji posts asking $5000 for a 2013 CRF250L. It's obvious to me (and likely others) that these are way overvalued by folks hoping to cash in on the apparent bull market in the spring for bikes. My biggest concern is buying private sale due to my inexperience in detecting a problem and having no recourse, hence my initial direction towards a dealer so I at least of a pot to !@#$ in if something bad is detected by you nice people with whom I intend to ride I am standing alone here as I have no friends who ride so am being cautious. Kind of hard to find a bike expert who would accompany me for a private sale to inspect the machine. Until then, I continue my search at a dealer I suppose.
The price of the new Honda and the warranty that goes with it is a good deal. They should sell a ton of those bikes. Randy
Feel free to PM me if you want someone local to look at bikes with you - I am in Guelph....been riding over 35 years so can possibly offer some helpful hints. Also, one of my close friends is an instructor with the Conestoga school if you are interested in talking to him. @Randy: sadly sold my 1978 TY175 a couple of years back....went to a good home though. Had it from new!
Well I settled on an XT250 and have been loving the last couple of months riding around the area. ADMIN EDIT: This topic has been split and moved to Casual Rides viewtopic.php?f=2&t=21536 Please do NOT use this section for organizing rides.
