thinking of becoming a one car family with a motor bike for me to get around on.
what sort of bike would suit use for getting up into Arthurs Pass etc from ChCh but still able to then get up the Poulter River say?
cheers

What he said

4 stroke, 6 speed, to negotiate the knarly riverbeds,low seat height, so your feet can reach the ground, large rear carrier for carry your meat out.

I've been down this road a few times. Most trail bikes are too high geared to plod up knarly riverbeds and steep country and too high off the ground if you need to put your foot out in a hurry to stop falling off.

I road registerable dedicated farm bike is your best option.

I currently use a Kawasaki Stockman but its not road registerable. Previous bikes have been DR650 (too heavy) CT125, XL 185, XR200, XL250R.

Of those I would rate both the XR200 and XL250R the best, good speed on the road and geared just right for the hill.

Unfortunately with the popularity of Quads  the range of suitable two wheelers now available that are suitable is limited.

It really depends how much you want to spend, how far you're travelling and how much off road experience you've got. The DRz-400 would be a good option. They're strong and reliable, and are very comfortable to ride. KTM make nice dual purpose bikes, as do BMW. Price of maintenance is a bit higher than a drz though. An older XR400 would be another option to look at. Better than a DRz.

JoshC wrote on Jan 23^rd, 2013 at 9:21am:


Disagree..DRZ to high off the ground unless you've got long legs, no load carrying capacity...basically a dirt bike.
KTM...plenty of high end grunt and high maintenance??
BMW...seriously?? a bit on the heavy and cumberson side I would have thought.
XR400..yep! 

JoshC wrote on Jan 23^rd, 2013 at 9:21am:


My bloke had an XR400 that he used for trail riding. I could only touch the ground with one toe when sitting on it as it is pretty high, unless you are a big bloke heavy enough to weigh it down. It is a fairly heavy bike as well but it does have heaps of grunt.

I'm interested in knowing why all the Jap dedicated farm bikes are only 200cc. 

I have an older Yamaha AG 200 and I love the low seat, front & back carriers, foot and hand guards,  but even up only  moderate gravel tracks/slopes I have to chop back to 2nd.  A real farmer would also have a dog on the back and 20 kilos of fencing gear up front  

I would have thought a 400cc in this frame would be ideal so you could plod round in 3rd all day?

Interesting points, never even thought a motorbikes fuel use could be an issue on a farm plus overheating etc.