Suspension: enduro vs supermoto

[BrokenBiker]

Looking at buying another xr650 withinnthe next 2-3 months to be used as a short distance commuter (30 miles a week) and then mostly plodding around the farm where a quad is too wide.

A guy in work has got just the bike, a 2004 xr650l thats only done 3k miles on the road, not been off road either.

He planned on converting it to a supermoto but never got round to it so at the moment its completely original...

He says included in the price will be the set of wheels and road tyres he bought for the conversion and the wherls have brakes fitted too so they will just bolt on...

My concern is the suspension being the original designed for off road use would be too soft for supermoto use?

Im not planning on using the road wheel straight away but it would be nice to have the option but if its going to involve swapping forks about then i wont bother.

Any ideas on whether it is just a case of swapping wheels?

 

[lazybones51]

When i've had trail/supermoto bikes I only ever swapped the wheels and fitted a different front calliper bracket, never touched the suspension.

Yes compared to a normal road bike the frontend will "dive" under heavy braking, but it's part of the character.

 

[Lambchop]

You did well to find a 650l in the UK! Not that common. I've got a 650r, a set of super motos and a set of knobblies. Not sure about the suspension on the L but on mine you can adjust it sufficiently when you change the wheels. ..

 

[Wallace]

I had a Yamaha TT600R Belgarda and fitted Supermoto wheels, didn't alter the suspension. Speed bumps ceased to exist when I had that bike.

 

[Lambchop]

I tho

I had a Yamaha TT600R Belgarda and fitted Supermoto wheels, didn't alter the suspension. Speed bumps ceased to exist when I had that bike.

I thought they were called speed jumps :-)

 

[BrokenBiker]

You did well to find a 650l in the UK! Not that common. I've got a 650r, a set of super motos and a set of knobblies. Not sure about the suspension on the L but on mine you can adjust it sufficiently when you change the wheels. ..

3 on ebay ay mo...2 enduro and a supermoto.

Im not fussed on it having to be a 650 but needs to be torquey and happy to sit in 2nd all day at low revs plodding up hills

 

[Lambchop]

Cool, I've thought about selling my r and getting an l in the past but never been able to find any.. must've been bad timing!

 

[lazybones51]

3 on ebay ay mo...2 enduro and a supermoto.

Im not fussed on it having to be a 650 but needs to be torquey and happy to sit in 2nd all day at low revs plodding up hills

If that's the case then have a look at the CCM 604 or 644 bikes, either a Dual Sport, Supermoto or R30. The 604 is a Rotax engine, the 644 is a Suzuki engine from the Suzuki Freewind, it's an upgraded Suzuki DR650 engine.

 

[pedrobedro]

Put some thicker oil in the forks and a couple of clicks on the rear. If you're using it on a farm I'd just put some road legal knobblies on it. You won't need to mess about getting the caliper to line up with the disc on the road wheels then.

 

[BrokenBiker]

If that's the case then have a look at the CCM 604 or 644 bikes, either a Dual Sport, Supermoto or R30. The 604 is a Rotax engine, the 644 is a Suzuki engine from the Suzuki Freewind, it's an upgraded Suzuki DR650 engine.

Ive looked at the ccm 604 but can only fi d good ones with road wheels and i really do want a bike for the farm but has to be road legal as there is about 3 miles between the easiest entrances of the farm by road and i would have to ride there from the house.

Anything 600cc+ will do the job but im keen to avoid the big orange

 

[lazybones51]

Ive looked at the ccm 604 but can only fi d good ones with road wheels and i really do want a bike for the farm but has to be road legal as there is about 3 miles between the easiest entrances of the farm by road and i would have to ride there from the house.

Anything 600cc+ will do the job but im keen to avoid the big orange

There are a couple off 644s on eBay at the moment with off road wheels. You should be fine on the farm with supermoto wheels, we used to do regular trail riding days where some of us were on road tyres. Although I bit off more than I could chew trying to get through this flooded section in Wales

 

[Rannsachair]

I could not be bothered swapping wheels frequently, I ran a KTM adventure for a few years and really liked the handling with the long travel suspension, even with standard tyres it was ok for light off road use.

 

[dobbslc]

I think Avon do road legal super moto tyres, they look like race wets so best of both worlds and no swapping wheels round.

 

[MrFluffy]

I must be odd, I'd have the knobblies and ride it appropriately on the road unless I was going to dedicate it to tarmac use. Theyre not that bad, they just feel unnerving at first when they walk away a bit on corners on the road and if you ride it really hard, you can tear off individual blocks with spirited riding. But then hammering the likes of a cr500 on tarmac on motocross tyres on the road mid summer being a hoon isnt conducive to a long and uneventful life anyway.
My xl600 has road tyres on it, I went offroad on it once and they were terrible (well, the entire bike is terrible offroad truth be told, its a dakar/desert bike not a offroader). I have a sp370 that has full on knobblies full time and I much prefer that and when the xl needs new boots it'll be getting the same. In fact I was persuaded to fit a intermediate rear with a knobbly front by a shop, and it was the worst mistake I ever made as when it got offroad I often lost the back end and it was useless in the snow but chi was restored next tyre change.
I'm not a sucker for offroad tyres altogether, my xt500 has road front with a cut slick on the rear. But that will never see dirt.

 

[Tinbasherdan]

supermoto suspension off road is about as much use as mammaries on a bull, youll be off it everytime you meet a slightly square edged bump, and if you were that fussed about being a hooligan round the lanes youdve bought something a bit more highly strung so stick with the standard suspension and have some fun

 

[BrokenBiker]

There are a couple off 644s on eBay at the moment with off road wheels. You should be fine on the farm with supermoto wheels, we used to do regular trail riding days where some of us were on road tyres. Although I bit off more than I could chew trying to get through this flooded section in Wales

View attachment 106899

Road tyres wont cope on the farm...need something that will bit in as the majority of the fields are waterlogged tgrough the winter and half a foot deep in mud during the summer...my mate has a 700cc quad and on thebold road tyres it was like a cow on ice...put some mud tyres on and it will blast through like its on thebroad...but its too wide for some of the gaps

 

[BrokenBiker]

There's no way I'd ride knobbly tyres on the road, and putting them onto something not originally intended for them and going through mud and rivers would be sheer lunacy...

Pardon? I think we have crossed wires...

Im looking at buying a bike with road legal enduro tyres on it as it is an untouched enduro bike from the factroy, amdnit comes with a set of supermoto wheels...

The bike is designed to habe the knobblies on it

 

[Tinbasherdan]

I wouldn't class the xr650 as an enduro, it's more a big traily/rally bike

 

[rcx132]

A factory Supermoto has stiffer suspension compared to the same bike sold for off road use. I have a KTM625SMC, it is a factory supermoto and has much stiffer suspension than the KTM625SXC which is the same bike but sold in off road guise.

I think off road suspension is OK on road but using road suspension off road would be more of a problem.

 

[Nomad]

I had a Yamaha TT600R Belgarda and fitted Supermoto wheels, didn't alter the suspension. Speed bumps ceased to exist when I had that bike.

I've got an earlier TT600 in long-term storage while I work out what to do with it, I'm well over 6ft tall and it's one of the very few bikes I've had that's almost too high for me.
No idea what you'd have to ride over to feel the bump. kerbs and speedhumps don't even register

The previous owner imported it from Belguim, he wrote to Yamaha UK for a dating letter - they confirmed "Yep - it's a 1982 competition bike not suitable for the road"
He sent the letter to DVLA and they sent back a new registration document for his 1982 bike
It's a road-legal monster

Suspension is soft and extra long, fitting sticky tyres with no other changes would ride like a rocking horse Expect the same on your bike.