Motorcycle Advice

Finally at a place in life where a cycle is an option. Settled on a dual sport in the 400-750cc class. Some smaller stuff is interesting but I need a bike that will easily pull Boulder Canyon (5000ft-8500ft).

Not interested in crotch rockets, cruisers or dirt bikes.

Been stalking CL but not finding quite what I want.

Not a DS but the Triumph Bonneville totally does it for me. I have always had a soft spot for old English bikes. Sadly, it's not in my current budget.

I have about $3,000 to spend. Lots of Asian (Japan, China) options. Adventure bike keeps popping up.

I posted about Urels a while back. Looks fun but not what I need right now.

What are some options? Looking for a running/reliable bikes. Projects I have. Something fun I need.

Ideas?

In your price range, I'd say an 08+ KLR 650 would be a good option.

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First, I hope you find something you'll love riding.

Second, when you do, be safe and have fun.

Now, you say you want a dual sport but under the stuff you don't want you list dirt bikes. In my mind a dual sport isn't much more than a street legal dirt bike. The KLR650 and the XL600/650 are excellent dual sport bikes. KTM makes some nice dual sports as well. If you think a dual sport is what you're after you might look into some of the supermoto style bikes as well. The DRZ400SM has always intrigued me.

Personally, I've always had dedicated street bikes and dedicated off road bikes. I've never believed in the whole "best of both worlds" philosophy or whatever. I've always felt the dual sports were too much of a street bike to really be good off-road and too much of a dirt bike to be very good on the street. Too much compromise both ways for me.

Anyhow, if I was in the market for an on-road/off-road type of bike I would probably look at the BMW. The GS800 is a smaller bike that might appeal to you. I think they make a 650 as well. Of course you probably won't find one in the price range you mentioned.

http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/us/en/...html&notrack=1

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Originally Posted by ray1970

First, I hope you find something you'll love riding.

Second, when you do, be safe and have fun.

Now, you say you want a dual sport but under the stuff you don't want you list dirt bikes. In my mind a dual sport isn't much more than a street legal dirt bike. The KLR650 and the XL600/650 are excellent dual sport bikes. KTM makes some nice dual sports as well. If you think a dual sport is what you're after you might look into some of the supermoto style bikes as well. The DRZ400SM has always intrigued me.

Personally, I've always had dedicated street bikes and dedicated off road bikes. I've never believed in the whole "best of both worlds" philosophy or whatever. I've always felt the dual sports were too much of a street bike to really be good off-road and too much of a dirt bike to be very good on the street. Too much compromise both ways for me.

Anyhow, if I was in the market for an on-road/off-road type of bike I would probably look at the BMW. The GS800 is a smaller bike that might appeal to you. I think they make a 650 as well. Of course you probably won't find one in the price range you mentioned.

http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/us/en/...html&notrack=1

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sage advice, except for the BMW. While an outstanding bike, IMO the BMW lacks one major item. That's dealer and aftermarket support. In a major metro area there's bmw dealers and a smattering of aftermarket shops that work on them. However, on the road bmw support is few & far between. I can be in any state or country and still have Honda & Kaw repair spots. Try that with BMW. The up side is they're a fairly hearty mc for on/off road usage.

I can understand Rays sentiments on dual sport bikes. Shortly after picking up my KLR, I got it off pavement, reverted back to my motocross days, and quickly realized it's shortcomings. I don't have anything in the way of street bikes to compare the KLR to, as it's my first street legal bike.

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The Suzuki drz400 is a bullet proof bike. I've read stories of 50-60k miles on them. I know my z400 (ATV, same motor) wouldn't quit, and I beat it pretty hard.

It it may not be the fastest rig on the planet, but I've heard they are a ton of fun, and gobs of aftermarket and factory support.

if you want to dedicate more street style on one, I know there are quite a few different supermoto options for them as well.

I will ill warn you though, a "dirt" bike on the street makes you want to do stupid stuff, like jump curbs, and try to get air over raised crosswalks.

I've been riding for many years, mostly dual sport and sport bikes, currently have a 2004 Honda 599 and a 2015 Yamaha FZ-09 but I can honestly say I've probably had more fun on a KLR-650 than just about any other bike out there. The KLR is probably the very staple of the poor mans do-it-all machine. It is not at the top of the list on any performance list, but it's a great machine, and I wish I still had one.

Pros of a KLR: Can cruise highway speeds all day and relatively comfortably. (When I lived in Vegas I would cruse mine to L.A. / Malibu, if it can handle pulling those hills in 110 degrees at interstate speed it will handle just about anything), so they are more than capable interstate/travel machines. I had one as my only means of transportation for a year (until it was stolen) in Las Vegas, so urban city transportation is not a problem. To be honest, its very at home in traffic, you sit high enough to see around most cars, and it has plenty of power and is very nimble considering its weight. I'm not a big guy (6' 130lbs) so don't let the curb weight intimidate you. I've crossed large sections (like 90 miles) of desert on one, and with the large fuel tank (and aftermarket available IMS 7 gallon tank ) it has a very good range. I've even had one up Tincup pass here in Colorado and its a pretty capable off road machine. I wouldn't try and go all motocross and jump one, but it can handle some pretty rough terrain. That machine has remained relatively unchanged for decades so parts are available out the wazoo.

Cons of a KLR: Its ugly.


I'm gonna disagree with Ray on this one, dual sports are awesome. I've never been a rich guy, so having a truck and trailer to transport a dirt bike somewhere to ride just doesn't jive with me. Yes, a dirt bike is far more capable in the dirt, and a CBR1000RR will smoke one on the asphalt, but you can't ride either of those from Pueblo to Moab while hitting dirt trails on the way. On both of my sport bikes now I constantly find myself riding along the highway and sighting some dirt road going who knows where, wishing I could go find out.

Another bonus to something like the KLR. You can ride up/down steps on one, over curbs, though ditches, etc. I've been stuck on interstates in traffic and literally gone cross county to get to my destination. In Vegas it wasn't uncommon to hop up a curb and ride though some landscaping to get into the college or wherever parking lot. Alot of sport bikes will high center on the exhaust or the body work when riding up or down a curb or steps, ask me how I know. I'm not condoning that behavior, as I was a dumbass in my younger years, but if your looking for a SHTF machine, its a pretty good option too. You can strap luggage to a KLR, and ride until your hearts content.

Don't get me wrong, I love sport bikes, but realistically they can seldom be used to their full potential on the street.

Don't let them talk you out of a dual sport if that's what you want.

On that note, if the KLR doesn't do it for you, suzuiki makes some good bikes, not sure if Honda still makes the XR650L or not. A friend of mine had one and he liked it, my only beef with it was that it was air cooled. I try to stick to liquid cooled bikes, but then again, my background is Las Vegas and air cooled doesn't work out too well in a Las Vegas summer traffic jam.

Some photos from a trip I took on my last KLR. Photo #2 is a zoom in of Photo #3 showing where we parked at the trail's end. All of the riding that day was 2 up.

Attachment 59116 Attachment 59117 Attachment 59118

Can't remember who, but some other forum member has that KLR now.

I had a KLR a few years ago and ended up selling it after only a few weeks. I felt like it was too tall for me. I'm 5'10" with average upper to lower body proportions. I also felt like I was flogging the bejesus out of the bike at 70mph. As I think Ray said, I didn't think much of the bike as either an off road or an an road bike. It did a little of both, but did neither very well--IMHO.

After I sold the KLR, I ended up buying a Suzuki VStrom. It's supposedly a dual-sport, too, but I'd say it leans heavily towards on-road. There's no way I'd do much more than a forest service road with it. I describe it as a sport bike without all the fiberglass fairings and with an upright (versus crouched) seating position. Mine is the 1000cc version, but Suzuki makes a 750cc that many people refer to as the WeeStrom. Based on the 1000cc version's ability to rocket my fat ass to jail time speeds, I would think the 750cc version would be more than adequate!

For me, my biggest challenge in buying a motorcycle was coming to grips with how and when I'd REALLY ride it. For the longest time I had grand dreams of touring the country. I kept buying monstrous 700+ pound full-dress monsters and then ended up riding them within a 75 mile radius and cussing the size when most of my trips were to the local Sub shop. The VStrom ended up being a really good solution.

My top picks:

KLR 650: The claw hammer of motorcycles. Reliable and durable. Not necessary the best tool for any job, but an adequate tool for many jobs. Huge aftermarket support for mods. Heavy. 87-07 no significant changes. 08-current got better fork and brakes.

DRZ400: More dirtworthy than most other options, at the expense fo highway comfort and extreme long range riding. Lighter than a KLR. Vastly better suspension.

DR650S: Air cooled Suzuki version of the KLR, with somewhat better dirt capability. Once again, huge aftermarket support.

XR650L: Honda's answer to the KLR. Lighter, slightly better suspension and brakes. It's an air cooled XR, so it's as reliable as an anvil. Worldwide, it probably has the best support network of any brand or model.

You should be able to find any of these in your price range if you look around. PM me if you have any specific questions about a given bike. [Beer]