I've been thinking lately that owning a bike is a good idea even though I have never even ridden a motorbike before. The bikes I'm currently interested in are of the dualsport variety. Bikes like the KLR250, TW200, and the DR250. I like the idea of a street legal bike that can take me exploring off pavement too. The problem is, I know little to nothing about them.
I had a dr 650 great little bike, fun for riding off road seem like a good combo of off road abilty and on road capabilty. If you are going to do much off roading get some more off road bias tires though
I haven't ridden dual sports but www.advrider.com is a great site for info on anything motorcycle related. It's my one stop shop for motorcycle and gear reviews.
Speaking of gear...get good stuff. Go to www.newenough.com and buy a
helmet
jacket
gloves
at the very least. Buy the best stuff you can afford as it's all cheaper than skin grafts.
For guys with the KLR-650s... how are they on pavement at speed? I love the idea of all-terrain street bikes but my commute is 80mph highway and I really don't want to have to wait for my hands to stop shaking so I can type once I arrive at work.
My previous bikes have been all sport... FZRs and CBRs, with the latest being the most awesome bike of all time (Honda VFR-750) so I'm trying to gauge how much street ability I trade away for a little boogie in the dirt.
I have a friend with a new KLR650 and he does ride it on the interstate sometimes.
I went for a backroads ride with him this past saturday and he'd leave me in the dust (quite literally) which is to be expected seeing as I've got a 35 year old 200cc scrambler.
He's very happy with his KLR650. I'd opt for something a little smaller if it were me, but I've never been interested in largebore bikes, and it would seem that the smaller bikes would be a bit more trail capable. Of course, it depends on your realistic intended usage of the bike...
Clem
walterj wrote: For guys with the KLR-650s... how are they on pavement at speed?
My limited thumper experience says that 90 mph is about the top end of those. They're also much more vibey than multi-cylinder bikes at those speeds. Torquey but they run out of breath after 80 or so.
...the most awesome bike of all time (Honda VFR-750)...
I'm fighting the urge to get one of those pretty bad. What year was yours? The one I'm looking at is a 91. Single side swing-arm = teh sex.
I had a 95 I bought new right out of the crate from Japan. It was flawless for 30k miles except for its strange ability to chew front tires. I rode it for many a 600mi weekend without a backache. Brilliant bike.
If you don't want to give up highway speed and still want a little offroad ability then maybe wee-Strom is the answer.
Bikes like the KLR250, TW200, and the DR250. I like the idea of a street legal bike that can take me exploring off pavement too. The problem is, I know little to nothing about them.
The TW is small, and well suited to smaller people. It has the wide wheels, so its stable, and very much beginner friendly. It will do highways speeds, but it will be at its limit. I spent a week exploring Aruba on one last year, and really liked it. They are tame, and pretty much bulletproof.
The KLR is a little bigger, and more modern, with a liquid cooled 4V motor. It makes quite a bit more power than the TW, but is still beginner friendly, and reliable. It was the predecessor to the KLX250s.
The DR250 has an air cooled 4V motor, and (I think) is a little more powerful than the KLR, and more capable offroad. It was never sold in North America as a street legal bike.
It really depends on what you want to do. Neither will be great on the highway, but for short freeway stretches, secondary roads, city, and trail duty, they will all be fine.
I have a KLX250s, and put 1000 km on it last week, including some freeway. A bigger bike would be nice on the highway, but the added weight would kill me on the trails.
I traded back and forth from my dr 650 to a klr on and offroad and the klr was better on road and the dr better off road
Another thing, don't buy gear you haven't tried on, and take the MSF course of course. An ill fitting helmet is a big problem. Same goes for jackets and boots, you get uncomfortable, then you start getting distracted by the discomfort then you fall down and go BOOM.
My MSF class bike was a TW200. Not the most powerful thing in the world, but so stable it almost seemed like you'd have to do something intentional to drop it. I'm 6', and it was a tad cramped, but not as bad as I thought it would be for such a small bike. Probably wouldn't be very fun at highway speeds, though.
I would definitely be doing the MSF course before buying a bike both to make sure I actually like riding and for the skills it teaches. I wish bikes had names like cars do, instead of the alphabet soup you see. That would make my life a whole lot easier.
My dad rides a TW200 and it will do 65, but that is pushing it. Off road, it is a point and shoot bike that is stable in the deepest sand to the hardest trail. If you want more speed, I would look at one of the others. Another option for street legal is the Honda CRF230L. I have a Honda XR400R that I converted, but that is no longer possible on the newer bikes.
In my rather biased opinion the best true 50/50 dual sport on the market is the WR250R. It will cruise 70mph all day long loaded up with luggage, though I much prefer taking back routes with it to stop from getting bored, and will crawl around though the mud and sand like a good dirt bike should, just a bit heavier to handle. Other bikes that come close to a 50/50 machine would be Honda's Big Red Pig (XR650L) (more of a handful off-road, but more road speed) and the DRZ400S (less road speed, better off-road).
Everything else is either biased more towards the dirt (KTM's, Husky's, and other plated/converted dirt bikes), pavement (KLR650, DR650, BMW F650, Vee and Wee stroms, etc), or are just old designs that still sell well enough to not get updated (TW200, CRF230L, DR250, etc) but can't really keep up on the highway and and while still very very competent off-road with stone axe reliability and simplicity.
Choosing a dual sport is as simple as choosing where and how you think you'd be riding. Most of your time spent on the road, and your ideal day of dirt being groomed and maintain forest and gravel roads? Get a road biased dual sport. Most of the time spent on single or no track in the woods, and just needs to be road legal enough to connect trails? Get a plated dirt bike (and be ready to maintain it). If you plan on doing some semi-serious trail work and want to still be able to ride to the trails for a few hours, get one of the 50/50 bikes.
But most of all, remember that these bikes are FUN! Lots o' ground clearance, zippy up to freeway speeds, and very responsive handling helps getting around in the urban sprawl as much as it does on the trail. Crappy, real world pavement is handled much better on a DS too. You'll find yourself looking for trails, dirt roads, and riding areas everywhere you go.
Good bike, but probably at least double his price range.
Used WR250R's have been selling for under $4000, but the BRP and the DRZ both can be had for a lot less used. I bought my DRZ for $2100 for example. Didn't see that he had posted a price range, just bikes he was looking at.
My bad. I was confusing this post with the guy looking at the CRF230. The WR is a nice bike, but very expensive. I paid less than that for my KLX new last year.
suprf1y wrote: Good bike, but probably at least double his price range.
Hey, what're you trying to say here?
(you're correct, btw)
If and when Yamaha makes a modern WR450R with the same new-fangled equipment that the 250 has got....that'll be a rad ride.
How big are you, and how mechanically inclined?
CRF450R converted to road would be pretty bad ass, though I don't know what those are going for these days.
suprf1y wrote: How big are you, and how mechanically inclined?
6'1" 180ish and decently so.
What are the two sports, exactly? I always wondered.
Sport one - Pavement
Sport two - not pavement
Both pictures blatently stolen from this ride report over on ADVRider: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=477238
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