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Auteur Topic: Where to ride in holland  (gelezen 25291 keer)

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Where to ride in holland
« Gepost op: 10-12-2010, 09:12 »
hi all!

I was given the link to this forum on on advrider as I moved to the Netherlands and I am looking for advices. First of all, hello everyone!

I am now trying to find the most suitable bike for me which is extremely difficult. I'm planning to do mostly weekend rides, maybe once a week ride to my work via highway. In addition to that, I plan to do longer trips like 1 or 2 weeks long once or twice a year. (for instance 2011 I'm planning trip to Norway).
Having said that, I think suitable bike for me is kind of F800GS or KTM 690 enduro, etc. I know these are totally different bikes with pros and cons but what do you think about it regarding my needs? I've also never ridden this kind of bikes. In the past, I rode sport bike.

My other concern is if there are any nice places to ride offroad in the Netherlands? Where do you use your bikes? Is it mostly on the cross tracks or you know some really good places to enjoy riding and improve skills? Or maybe it's mostly that you pack your bike on the car's trailer, drive hundreds kms before you can reach anything nice?

Thanks in advance for any reply. 

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Re: Where to ride in holland
« Reactie #1 Gepost op: 10-12-2010, 09:20 »
Hi and welcome of course

not sure about what bike you should choose. For my long (offroad) travels and rides I ride an Africa Twin.

And for areas you can ride offroad in the Netherlands you will have to be very carefull... Lot of roads are closed these days and in some areas they are not keen on the offroaders..... Howerver there are still possibilities to ride in several places. But depending on where you live, it could be a long ride to get there.

I often go to Brabant/Limburg (Area around and between Weert - Eindhoven - Tilburg )
But there are also possibilities in Drente (Area east of Meppel)

And for starters..., just check out the "All/Off-road ritten en evenementen"  section.
There is a ride planned early februari in a more central area. Just join them (if you have a bike by then) and get to know some people. Before you know it, you are riding more offroad trails than this stupid highway :)

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Re: Where to ride in holland
« Reactie #2 Gepost op: 10-12-2010, 09:23 »
In the south and east there are many dirt tracks and a few single tracks in the forests.

On other parts of the forum you'll find an occasional 'invite' for a roadbook trip or gps trip. Next to this, 'ad ketelaars' has a few roadbooks that can be 'hired' so you can do a trip by yourself.

690 is more offroad focused then a 800s I would say. 800s should be fine on most dutch tracks which tend to be sandy and straight, for single tracks even a 690 might be a bit on the bigger side.

On Januari the 22nd we have a 'bike comparison' day in 'de kuil' in Ijmuiden where we will be testing the current breed of 450's. Stick around for the report!
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Re: Where to ride in holland
« Reactie #3 Gepost op: 10-12-2010, 09:25 »
Hi,

I live in Zwolle so it's quite close to Meppel.

I'll check out the calendar.

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Re: Where to ride in holland
« Reactie #4 Gepost op: 10-12-2010, 10:10 »
Hi,

I live in Zwolle so it's quite close to Meppel.

I'll check out the calendar.
Zwolle is not a bad starting point. Drenthe, Salland/Twente, Veluwe and even de Achterhoek and de NoordOostPolder are within an hours ride. Don't expect hills, deserts, rocks or lots of single tracks though.

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Re: Where to ride in holland
« Reactie #5 Gepost op: 10-12-2010, 20:48 »
hi,

thanks for all the tips and links you gave me. Looks like for a start is not that bad as I thought.

Anyway, looks like f800gs is not a bad choice for a bike for me as firstly i want to do some easy trails and maybe within time I will buy more offroad capable bike. What do you think?

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Re: Where to ride in holland
« Reactie #6 Gepost op: 11-12-2010, 08:42 »
Welcome!

That you will regret your choice later. The weight of the 800 is too much and that the Touratech company eventually will rip your wallet ;D

Allthough the slogan on the 690 is 'Ready to race', it is a bike which is not only way lighter when you need to pick it up from the ground plus with the 690 you have much less risk of braking / destroying parts of your bike. You don't need to race it to have big fun and you can still drive it on the highway.

Furthermore you can drive the 690 like a dirtbike which you can forget with the 800. Your skills development will be way slower with the 800. Unless you have ever motocrossed...


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Re: Where to ride in holland
« Reactie #7 Gepost op: 11-12-2010, 10:09 »
A gs800 is a road bike you can use in the dirt.
A 690 is a dirtbike you can use on the road.

The more skilled you are, this difference gets smaller.  So determine where your biggest interest or challenge must be and you can choose. If possible spend at least one hr on both bikes, usually you know whats good for you. For me personally the 690 is best of both worlds, becouse its so good in the dirt for a bike you can use on t he road. Also considder an extra set of wheels, so that you have street tires onroad an good dirt tyres offroad. Maybe just as important as the type of bike you are sitting on.
offroadmotorloos. even.

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Re: Where to ride in holland
« Reactie #8 Gepost op: 13-12-2010, 09:46 »
Hi,

I was thinking about it whole weekend and thanks to your opinion and other resources I found on the web, I'm leaning forward ktm 690 enduro a bit. I'd like to concentrate mainly on offroad (avoiding civilization as much as possible :P ) so ktm looks much better for me. However, road capabilities are also quite important, as sometimes I'd like to go for a weekend trip (for instances to Belgium) or once a year for a long trip. I found out that there are parts to improve road experience for 690 like windshield or better seat. So it all looks promising. I hope 2 weeks ride in Norway will be doable for KTM in terms of comfort.

I will definitely check out both bikes before buying. When there is no problem to hire f800gs I couldn't find any place where I'd be able to rent 690. Anyone knows the place? 


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Re: Where to ride in holland
« Reactie #9 Gepost op: 13-12-2010, 10:02 »
You could try Verpalen: www.verpalen.nl

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Re: Where to ride in holland
« Reactie #10 Gepost op: 13-12-2010, 10:05 »
You could try Verpalen: www.verpalen.nl

I already visited their site but unfortunately they don't have 690 enduro in rent offer

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Re: Where to ride in holland
« Reactie #11 Gepost op: 13-12-2010, 15:27 »
avoiding civilization as much as possible :P
living in Zwolle is a good start  :D

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Re: Where to ride in holland
« Reactie #12 Gepost op: 13-12-2010, 16:28 »
You can schedule a demo ride via the general KTM website, they will contact a local dealer on your behalf.

Any BMW dealer will have ample stock of F800's...no?
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Re: Where to ride in holland
« Reactie #13 Gepost op: 16-12-2010, 16:01 »
You can schedule a demo ride via the general KTM website, they will contact a local dealer on your behalf.

Any BMW dealer will have ample stock of F800's...no?

Just contacted KTM dealer in Zwolle and they expect to have 2011 KTM 690 Enduro R in Feb/March. Unfortunately they won't have any demo model and they said that probably it will be very hard/impossible to have a demo in Holland. ;/ The closest is Germany.


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Re: Where to ride in holland
« Reactie #14 Gepost op: 16-12-2010, 16:12 »
There are a lot of 690 owners here on this forum..

Maybe one of them would also like to try a F800..
You rent a F800 and you go riding together and switch bikes a couple of times?

Just a thought...
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