I'm not going to be able to test ride one since the nearest dealer is about 2 hours away so I figured I'd pose the question. I'm a 49 year old novice dirt rider and I'm looking for a bike that I can run through trails, jumps and on some short distance shots (30 - 40miles) on roads. I'm 5'8" and about 175 lbs. I currently have three other bikes.
1) 2009 DRZ400S- Great on the road and open trails. Sucks in the tight technical stuff because I can't reach the ground and it’s too heavy for me to hold up once it starts to go past the tipping point. I've ridden the bike hard and even jumped some with it, love the power and how it soaks up the landings on single jumps but I can't handle the weight.
2) 2003 CRF230F Plated- Great little bike off road. I love this bike off road it’s been uncorked and has an FMF pipe for pure enjoyment. The only issue is that it’s a bit underpowered and it’s a buzz bomb on the road at speeds over 55MPH.
3) 2009 Yamaha FZ1 - Not a dirt bike but a MAJOR adrenaline rush to ride this rocket.
My questions are:
1) Will I find the TE310 to be too buzzy on the interstate at 55-60 for no more than about 30-40 minutes at a time? BTW seat hardness doesn’t seem to bother me for some reason on any bike.
2) Can I expect to get at least 10,000 miles (not constantly running WOT) before a top end rebuild?
3) Is the weight of the TE 310(250 or so wet) going to make a big difference for my height (5'8"), given that the seat height is about the same as my tuned DRZ400, when it tips in the slow stuff as I attempt to plant my toes on the ground for support?
My goal is to find one plated bike that will do most of what the DRZ400S and the CRF230F will do. Although I definitely don't plan to run the TE310 up to 90 mph like I have the DRZ400S, I do want it to be interstate capable to get me to some riding locations that are about 40 miles away without killing the bike.
DRZ400S is bullet proof, I've put 5K miles on it just this year and no issues. Valves clearance is still like new.
4) How much less durable is the TE310? I don't want a bike that will leave me stranded on some fire road in the middle of nowhere.
The Plated CRF250 is also a bullet proof go anywhere goat with plenty of low end torque, it never stalls and I can flip it in trails like a BMX bike. I hardly ever dump this bike even on very difficult terrain. I even ran it on an MX track pretty hard although I was easily passed by the 125 2t and the 250 Mxers. But I did bottom out the suspension on some of the jumps and the table tops.
5) The weight of the 230 is equal to the TE310 but being that it's lower, will the 310 feel heavier and be harder to maneuver in tight trails? Is the suspension capable of handing doubles with someone my weight without bottoming out?
Any advice is appreciated. I've pretty much committed to selling the DRZ, I don't like dumping my bikes. I'm hanging on to the 230 until I decide on this.
1) 2009 DRZ400S- Great on the road and open trails. Sucks in the tight technical stuff because I can't reach the ground and it’s too heavy for me to hold up once it starts to go past the tipping point. I've ridden the bike hard and even jumped some with it, love the power and how it soaks up the landings on single jumps but I can't handle the weight.
2) 2003 CRF230F Plated- Great little bike off road. I love this bike off road it’s been uncorked and has an FMF pipe for pure enjoyment. The only issue is that it’s a bit underpowered and it’s a buzz bomb on the road at speeds over 55MPH.
3) 2009 Yamaha FZ1 - Not a dirt bike but a MAJOR adrenaline rush to ride this rocket.
My questions are:
1) Will I find the TE310 to be too buzzy on the interstate at 55-60 for no more than about 30-40 minutes at a time? BTW seat hardness doesn’t seem to bother me for some reason on any bike.
2) Can I expect to get at least 10,000 miles (not constantly running WOT) before a top end rebuild?
3) Is the weight of the TE 310(250 or so wet) going to make a big difference for my height (5'8"), given that the seat height is about the same as my tuned DRZ400, when it tips in the slow stuff as I attempt to plant my toes on the ground for support?
My goal is to find one plated bike that will do most of what the DRZ400S and the CRF230F will do. Although I definitely don't plan to run the TE310 up to 90 mph like I have the DRZ400S, I do want it to be interstate capable to get me to some riding locations that are about 40 miles away without killing the bike.
DRZ400S is bullet proof, I've put 5K miles on it just this year and no issues. Valves clearance is still like new.
4) How much less durable is the TE310? I don't want a bike that will leave me stranded on some fire road in the middle of nowhere.
The Plated CRF250 is also a bullet proof go anywhere goat with plenty of low end torque, it never stalls and I can flip it in trails like a BMX bike. I hardly ever dump this bike even on very difficult terrain. I even ran it on an MX track pretty hard although I was easily passed by the 125 2t and the 250 Mxers. But I did bottom out the suspension on some of the jumps and the table tops.
5) The weight of the 230 is equal to the TE310 but being that it's lower, will the 310 feel heavier and be harder to maneuver in tight trails? Is the suspension capable of handing doubles with someone my weight without bottoming out?
Any advice is appreciated. I've pretty much committed to selling the DRZ, I don't like dumping my bikes. I'm hanging on to the 230 until I decide on this.
especially in the Alligator enduro on a 610. Again it tells us how much a riders ability & conditioning plays the part. It doesnt really matter "how old" or "what class", congradulations. 
That's why I went from a 520 to a 250. Now I'm still worn out but not throwing up