See you!
Choosing the best enduro motorbike can be tough.
Do you aim for the best performance?
The most reliability?
Your favourite colour?
The brand that seems to win the most championships?
The best dealer support?
Or parts availability?
Everyone will have different criteria.
Personally, I have very little interest in performance.
For most of us, the motorbikes are far better than our riding ability will ever be.
Especially me!
It is always amusing to hear average riders like myself
obsessing over the latest microscopic changes to engines or suspension.
It's the same with winning championships.
Professional riders choose the brand who pays them the most and provides the best support.
But manufacturers know that many riders are gullible,
and will think the winning brand will improve their riding dramatically.
I think it's important to think outside the box and consider all your alternatives.
I like having good ground clearance,
so this hard enduro prototype from Harley Davidson is interesting.
When Honda says they will crush the competition, they mean this literally.
But I can't fit this motorbike on my trailer.
Husqvarna's short wheelbase model is very useful on tough hill climbs.
You can just put it in your backpack and walk up those tough climbs.
But it is unstable at high speed.
And finally the triumph of style over substance...
the latest Austrian prototype for the king of bling.
Enough silliness.
On a more serious note, there are so many factors involved when choosing the best enduro motorbike.
The more important ones are price, parts availability, warranty, dealer support, national
distributor support, performance, reliability, and the range of aftermarket parts available.
And that is only the first batch of questions.
The next step is looking at which precise model of enduro motorbike would suit them best.
It involves a lot of questions.
Some examples...
What is their height?
Their weight?
Level of riding ability?
What sort of terrain do they ride in?
Do they ride fast, or slow in technical terrain?
I might eventually do a video which provides a general guide
on how to choose the best enduro motorbike for each individual rider.
We do have a Youtube playlist which hopefully has some useful information already.
What about me?
I must admit we have become a bit disillusioned with Beta.
Thankfully neither of our motorbikes had the dreaded main bearing failure.
But we really didn't like how Beta responded so slowly to the problem,
and only after some pressure was applied.
And new problems with the electrical systems have been emerging since then.
One of our riders experienced this and had his entire wiring harness replaced.
So it won't be Beta next time.
In a recent video, I discussed how we are trying to decide between TM and Sherco.
We have ridden both brands now.
It's a tough choice.
TM is still a boutique brand.
There is that 'wow' factor with those beautifully crafted hand-made Italian motorbikes.
But the flip side is a big price tag, and potentially poor parts availability and support.
So we are leaning heavily toward the Sherco now.
We have had quite a few rides on a Sherco 300SER and there are a few key features we like.
Like all brands, Sherco has had various known issues over the years.
The difference?
The factory slowly but surely fixes them.
And doesn't introduce new problems.
What else?
The power delivery is exceptional.
The owner of this Sherco 300SER says it is his 'turbo tractor'.
We agree.
It is very similar to the Beta two stroke engine so we are glad we aren't taking a backwards step.