Things are going to change in my garage!

[tris]

1) My stepson has started trail riding (green lanes here) and desperately wants me to join him
2) Due to my lack of leg length the Big Breva has always been a handful (legful?) for me

SO - the cunning plan is

a) Get a small road legal 125 trail bike to play on the un-surfaced roads. Older Honda, Yam or maybe Chinese that I'll be able to throw on its side with monotonous, but hopefully damage free, regularity

b) Down size from the Big Breva to a Little Breva. Should do all I need it to do all be it without the imperious overtakes 

Any thoughts on which 125, availability of spares would be appreciated PLUS what to watch out buying a used Lil Breva - does it have an equivalent to the "sacred screw" issue on the Big Breva

Come one Come all and let me have your thoughts

Cheers

Tris

[Kev m]

Because it's my nature, I'll be contrarian.

1. Have you considered a 250? I really like the XT250 for low maintenance and toughness.

2. The baby B is really nothing like the big B, are you married to the name or style? There are some really advantages to the 1tb V7 from maintenance to the larger metal fuel tank.

Just some thoughts. Enjoy the search!!!

[smallblockofcheese]

I would recommend a kawasaki super sherpa (kl250g). I have a 30” inseam and found this to be quite low in comparison to the klr250 that i also had at the time. The super sherpa has electric start and is air cooled vs kick only and water cooling of the klr.

 My wife is shorter than i am and was also quite confident on the sherpa. She was quite displeased when i sold the sherpa even though i replaced it with a V65 SP for her!

Theyre both very capable on gravel and i even ran the klr on some nasty single track which i think the sherpa would have handled as well. Like most small displacement tiddlers, either one can be found for under 1500$ typically with very few miles but the sherpa is a bit less common.

*My apologies i just realized that you’re in the uk. Obviously model availability and pricing will be different!

[acogoff]

    I would check out the R. E. Himalayan.

[s1120]

There have been so many good on/off road 250 bikes made the last... well forever really...  that I would look there first.. If your going to see any road use at all...  and your bigger then the normal 10 year old boy, its just the right fit..  250 4 stroke, mild off road..  its a nice mix.

[LowRyter]

If I were doing it, I would look for a used Japanese "Enduro" style bike 250-600cc.  Ride it to where you want to ride it.

[Lannis]

An older 175cc trailie along the lines of a Yamaha CT3 would do what you want and not be tall and intimidating in the rough stuff.   I had one for years and it would do anything on the road or trail I wanted it to do.

Lannis

[cliffrod]

If you go chinese (not my recommendation...) you should plan for the machine to be 100% disposable  and for it to instantly transition from viable to disposable at any given time. 

Over the years, we've sold & helped sell several batches of brand new 49cc liquorcycle scooters and a few larger bikes at the shop.  Parts availability simply isn't part of the china business model.  You can buy multiple "identical" machines, exact same model new in the crate from the same container & there's no consistency in parts interchange.  Out of 6-10 machines, the same part may change 3-4 times and not interchange/fit/function at all.  Running changes during model runs as part batches are exhausted is SOP.  An honest importer or wholesaler will confirm this matter. They cannot even scavenge parts consistently from one bike to fix another one, so all sales are final.  The same thing makes internet sourcing usable parts difficult if not impossible.  That's why we stopped selling & helping sell such things.

In response to the blatant copying of bikes & engines like the Honda Rebel & its bulletproof 250 engine, the local Honda dealer will no longer sell oem Honda parts that may fix a dead china bike without an appropriate Honda VIN.   We don't know if it's a corporate policy, but it shut down lots of repairs around here.

Buy a real brand.  Skip the china junk.

[tris]

Re the trail bike
1) Capacity isn't of great concern provided I can get on the thing. I equated higher capacity with greater height. My Stepsons KTM 350 EXEC (IIRC) stands waist high on me!

2) I don't have a burning desire to go Chinese but spares availability is important. Do the older Japanese bikes still have good cover or are there some to avoid?

Re the Big Breva replacement
To be honest I prefer the look of the Baby Breva to the V7 - but maybe that's a compromise I'll have to make

[smallblockofcheese]

I searched quickly on eBay-UK. Doesn't appear the klr/sherpas are as popular in the UK. What about a Yamaha serow? Seem to be several of those about. Looks like electric start. Yamaha parts tend to be cheaper than kawi.

Quality is always a mixed bag. Ive heard the best thing to do with Chinese (Lifan 200cc) bikes is to completely disassemble and reassemble them as a lot gets overlooked during production. The sherpa I had needed a fuel tap (actually replaced with a Yamaha non-vacuum type). The KLR, on the other hand, munched a crank main bearing @ about 15K miles. Wasn't hard or expensive to replace even with my basic tool collection. Gasket/seal kit and new bearings. Probably my fault for trying to set the sprockets up for land speed records (interstate commuting) and repeatedly riding through the Western North Carolina mountains 

Find some bikes for sale locally and go sit on it and see how it feels... you'll know pretty quick. If you don't mind kickstarting, I would say find a unit single BSA or Bultaco.

[BrotherJim]

It doesn't seem like you're worried about keeping up with your stepson on his KTM, so I'll tell you I'm a huge fan of my '89 Yamaha TW200, a fat tire trail bike/dual sport.  If you are new to the dirt, it is very approachable.  In the UK, a 125cc model was available in '99-'04.  It's a bunch of fun, but if things get hairy, the street-like suspension can leave you knackered.  Seat height - 31.1"/790mm, Curb weight - 278lb/126kg
 

 

[tris]

It doesn't seem like you're worried about keeping up with your stepson on his KTM......

Put it this way Jim
A36 year old 6' 9" man in his prime versus a 58 year old 5' 9" man with short legs 

There are better battles to fight 

Still I like the look of the TW200 I shall investigate further

[JJ]

2019 Suzuki Van-Van - 200cc!!

[Muzz]

I'm 5' 7" and the baby Breva  fits me like a glove.

I have never needed to touch the injectors but I think it does have a sacred screw.  Three years ago Pete roper put his majic machine on it , gave it a wee tweak in one area and everything else was spot on. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

The earlier ones had a pre-selector fault that caused the forks to jam inside the housing; quietly fixed by Guzzi who told no one about it. My 2003 one had the later pattern, 2004 ones in the States had the earlier one. The one you are looking at will be fine.

Mine had  a lemon gearbox but research says I was just unlucky and it is not a built in flaw.

The motor has never missed a beat and I just love it.  It can piddle around town at 2000rpm no sweat (don't try to accelerate though ), tours well and has a happy spot at 5000rpm which equates to 80mph.

The most comfortable bike I have ever ridden.  I have fitted a sheepskin on the seat and that made all the difference.  Before I tore one hammy clean off I have done a 650km trip without even needing to stand on the pegs.  These days I have the other side half torn off and very slowly repairing itself so I need to stand every 100 or so kms.

"Guzzimodo" is truly the Colossus of Roads.

[tris]

Thanks Muzz - I'd read your gearbox woes and wondered if there was an underlying issue with the Baby Breva. Glad to hear yours was rogue

Perazzimx -  Law here says green lanes are public highways so yes the dirt bike has to be fully road legal

Generally to everyone.
This thread has been enlightening and I've got some good ideas (TW200 - who saw that coming )

In addition its helped focus on the Big Breva

Fundamentally for me its the weight and the height

Hauling its bulk around when you can barely touch the ground makes things tricky. It tends to make me think twice about just jumping on it and going for a ride

That being said, once rolling its a joy to ride and its has taken me 4 years to work out what was niggling me so I have no regrets

Thanks again

Tris