I know it's a strange time of year for a Motorcycle thread but....

I am looking at taking advantage of off season prices and pick up a used bike. It's been a number of years (okay 35) since I rode regularly. I have spent the last couple of months putting my grandfather's 1972 Harley Electraglide back on the road, but I am pretty sure I want something at least a tad more nimble and better suited to getting onto the forest service roads.

Ease of maintenance (working on the harley is simple and I like that), highway and forest service capable, aftermarket support and to a lesser degree fuel economy are the filters I used for my search.

I have what I think is a pretty good "short list" but I have never touched let alone ridden any of the bikes on the list. I am somewhat flexible but the target budget is $4k. Which brings me to the questions:
1) are any of the bikes a bad enough choice to be stricken from the list without further research?
2) does anyone have one of the bikes in question they would let me kick the tires on and possibly ride. I would gladly pay for the fuel and beers afterwards ( I took the MCSF riders course and have the endorsement on my license)

The "short list" in alphabetical order
DR650S
KLR-650
NC700X

Not sure I'd consider a 650 "nimble".

When you say highway capable, what are you looking to do? Get to the woods or drive to Denver?

Sounds like you are wanting a dualsport.

Have you considered an XT250? It will handle 70mph, is EFI (after 2012), and has outstanding MPG.

Another option would be an XT350, such as this:
https://denver.craigslist.org/mcy/d/...301522631.html

(I have no affiliation with the sale).

What's your actual goal here? Why a 650+?

XR650 or bust!

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Originally Posted by CavSct1983

Not sure I'd consider a 650 "nimble".

When you say highway capable, what are you looking to do? Get to the woods or drive to Denver?

Sounds like you are wanting a dualsport.

Have you considered an XT250? It will handle 70mph, is EFI (after 2012), and has outstanding MPG.

Another option would be an XT350, such as this:
https://denver.craigslist.org/mcy/d/...301522631.html

(I have no affiliation with the sale).

What's your actual goal here? Why a 650+?

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After a 45 year old full dress harley anything is going to feel nimble.

I live in Pueblo and a ride to Denver would not be out of the question. (in the back of my mind is Prudhoe Bay and Central America, but those trips if they happen are a ways off) Two up is also a possibility although not frequent.

Ah, ok. I can see your desire for a larger bike then.

KLR, XR650L, DR650, F650GS...pretty much all variations on the same theme. Depending on your road/trail balance, some may be better suited to your personal needs. The KLR and BMW would probably be better on the street, while the XR and DR are marginally better on the dirt.

I don't have enough experience with the NC700X to give you an informed opinion, but any of the others will satisfy the need to customize with very broad aftermarket support, and all have earned reputations for reliability.

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Originally Posted by TFOGGER

KLR, XR650L, DR650, F650GS...pretty much all variations on the same theme. Depending on your road/trail balance, some may be better suited to your personal needs. The KLR and BMW would probably be better on the street, while the XR and DR are marginally better on the dirt.

I don't have enough experience with the NC700X to give you an informed opinion, but any of the others will satisfy the need to customize with very broad aftermarket support, and all have earned reputations for reliability.

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I appreciate the feedback, I ruled the BMWs out early on just for cost and complexity of maintenance. The DR and NC700 valves can both be adjusted without needing shims so that's a plus from my perspective. I think I am to the point I need to at least sit on each of them. Unlike the majority of people, I don't really want to go check out bikes for sale until I know which one I want, but I may have too.... I just thought it might be an opportunity to meet other members and get their feedback on their bikes without them trying to sell it to me.

Although if anyone has one for sale that's cool too.

https://cosprings.craigslist.org/search/mca?query=KLR
https://cosprings.craigslist.org/search/mca?query=Xr
I'd go to a dealership and sit on what you are looking at, and then once you make up your mind go the CL route.

If you are mostly doing highway commute plus some basic but not serious off road. I'm not very qualified but I'm already eyeballing as a new rider a second bike.

Kawasaki versys 650 and even the versys300-x might be able to do highway if you don't expect to be doing 80mph.

It's going to be more tour/commute comfortable than like the klr as awesome as that is off road.

Videos from fortnine etc made me like. They are not as tall as other adventure bikes that put me off and fat cheaper.

Suzuki? Vstrom kinda similar but i hadn't looked at that much.

Didn’t somebody here recently pick up a Vstrom? Depending on the level of off road prowess the OP is seeking I always thought the Vstrom would make a decent dual sport option.

I’d love to have one of the supermoto type bikes to kick around on. Something like the Suzuki DR-Z400SM or something similar. Probably not the best highway bike and doubtful two-up would be much fun.

Buell is also a good option.

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Originally Posted by SouthPaw

Buell is also a good option.

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Is Buell still in business?

I think a Suzuki V-Strom 1000 will be my next bike.

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Originally Posted by ray1970

Is Buell still in business?

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Dead as the proverbial doornail. The last Ulysses came out in 2009.

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Originally Posted by TFOGGER

Dead as the proverbial doornail. The last Ulysses came out in 2009.

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So the poor Buell owners have to get all of their powertrain parts from their local Harley dealer now?

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Originally Posted by ray1970

So the poor Buell owners have to get all of their powertrain parts from their local Harley dealer now?

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When I had my Ulysses, the HD dealer wasn't interested in selling me parts or service. But that was a crazy fun bike.

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Originally Posted by ray1970

So the poor Buell owners have to get all of their powertrain parts from their local Harley dealer now?

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Originally Posted by Fentonite

When I had my Ulysses, the HD dealer wasn't interested in selling me parts or service. But that was a crazy fun bike.

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IF you have the part number, they MIGHT be willing to order it. HD pretty much disowned Buell when it went tits up, to the point of deleting online microfiche and destroying dealer parts books. I work on a few, and it's frustrating as hell, because I have to not only diagnose the problem, I have to figure out who Buell sourced their components from so that I can attempt to come up with equivalents. Online forums are a source of information on things like fuel system and electronic components, but there is as much bad info out there as good.

This thread makes me want to look for a Honda VFR 800 again...

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Originally Posted by SouthPaw

Buell is also a good option.

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So, sounds like maybe not such a good option after the last several posts. Lol.

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Originally Posted by ray1970

So, sounds like maybe not such a good option after the last several posts. Lol.

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Most likely not... lol. I still think they are ‘good’ bikes but anything with a VTWIN in a sport bikish chassis is a blast. I still really want an 1125 of some kind.

Whatever you do, get something with electric start. Kick starting a 650 can be a drag....

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Originally Posted by Duman

Whatever you do, get something with electric start. Kick starting a 650 can be a drag....

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Why not both?

I added a kickstarter to my tw200 for peace of mind. When I had my xt350, I was running it on a dead battery for months.

For nimble, smaller is better. I use to have a nice cb400T for riding in town. Easy to work on, but going to Denver on that bike from Colorado Springs was a bit much.

Not sure if you can find a BMW K75, but that would be a nice smaller bike that could still work well. BMW and cheap don't go together; however, that bike is a bit long in the tooth and on the used market you should be able to find a sweet ride under 5k, with more than a few hitting 2-3k.

Just keep that E-glide off the forest service roads, they don't like that shit. Not real fond of any dirt or sandy roads.

Get the Honda or Kaw, those are bikes one can find parts for almost anywhere in the world. The beemer is easy to work on once you get past the german engineering intimidation factor. Sadly support in the states is few and far between, unlike other brands.

Can you post a pic of the 72, haven't seen one in a few years, especially a back to stock unit. I'm tired of looking at my friends 57 & 65 panheads.

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Originally Posted by Great-Kazoo

Get the Honda or Kaw, those are bikes one can find parts for almost anywhere in the world. The beemer is easy to work on once you get past the german engineering intimidation factor. Sadly support in the states is few and far between, unlike other brands.

Can you post a pic of the 72, haven't seen one in a few years, especially a back to stock unit. I'm tired of looking at my friends 57 & 65 panheads.

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Originally Posted by Great-Kazoo

Get the Honda or Kaw, those are bikes one can find parts for almost anywhere in the world. The beemer is easy to work on once you get past the german engineering intimidation factor. Sadly support in the states is few and far between, unlike other brands.

Can you post a pic of the 72, haven't seen one in a few years, especially a back to stock unit. I'm tired of looking at my friends 57 & 65 panheads.

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The german engineering doesn't intimidate me as much as the cost of parts and difficulty of maintenance. Both the honda and klr are water cooled. I have never had or even been around a water cooled bike. It seems like that might just be another level of complexity. I am hoping to go sit on a few examples this weekend and hopefully narrow the search some more.

I like this guys reviews. Great production, seems reasonable neutral vs being a sales pitch.


Has versys review iirc i encourage you check out. Heres the vstrom 1000

https://youtu.be/M8r9d8ZAh8I

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Originally Posted by .40isthenew.45

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Nice! Love them Shovels!

I'll throw in my 2 cents here because I haven't seen anyone talk about the NC700.

I bought my new 2014 NC700 in 2015. Straight outta the box, it needed at least a new seat and a windshield. Since then, I've also added bags and handlebar risers. The NC is my 13th motorcycle and I believe it's a lucky 13. It's kinda like the Honda Accord of motorcycles. A Swiss Army knife. A Black Lab dog. None of these is the "best" at anything, but they do everything well.

This being said, I wouldn't pick an NC for a steady diet of off-pavement riding. Don't get me wrong, people do it, but it sure seems like they're trying to force a square peg into a round hole. My preference for an off-pavement bike would be something like Honda's XR series. I'd be looking for one that provides just enough power to haul my weight and keep it as light as possible.

I've tried out bikes in the 250cc range and they feel a bit underpowered. I've owned a KLR650 and felt like it was too tall for me to be comfortable off road. As others have said, the KLR is a darned good bike and popular for many reasons.

More than anything, I think you need to be brutally honest with yourself when defining your mission. For me, I like to go on paved rides through the mountains. I like the scenery, so I'm not looking to have my head down blasting through canyons sportbike style. I did a bunch of trail riding as a kid, but I've come to terms with my mortality and my waning ability to recover quickly from scuffing my body up and have decided that I'm no longer willing to flail around on trails.

Sorry for the rambling thoughts... the TL/DR version: Define your mission and then buy appropriately.

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Originally Posted by foxtrot

Good post. All the 650+ dual sports frankly suck off road.... when comparing to a dirt bike. So if you are looking at a interstate qualified DS because you don't want to load/offload to ride offroad, it is a very bad fit. Not suggesting that is the mission, but a mistake many DS riders make when selecting their bikes.

Mine right now.. with everything I have done, weighs close to 550 lbs. Compared to dirt bikes under 200 - you have shit capability off road. Plenty of power, but it's hard to keep upright when doing overly technical desents/ascents with that much weight to sling around.

While most of my miles are street/interstate, I've done a tremendous amount off road in mine (Keeping D606 rear, TKC80 front) including technical hill climbs, rock descents, etc. Yeah... have dropped it more than a few times and had some close calls. The challenge in some ways is satisfying for me (keeping up with people and their fun toys) but on the other hand it REALLY wears on both you and the bike. Anymore I am down to only trail riding and I hate riding with ATV's. F'ers I know always going up into pure rock washes and stuff. Yeah, true rock crawling isn't in the DS capabilities. They also like to full-brake stop suddenly in gravel roads [facepalm].

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This pretty much sums up my experience. I Picked up a 2012 KLR 650 a couple years ago, but sold it after a season of riding. I think it's fair to say I bought it thinking it was something that it wasn't, as in, when I hit the trails with the KLR, it didn't hold a candle to the bikes I grew up with (no shit Sherlock). Looking back, I wish I would have kept it, as I rode it much more on road than I did off, and except for a couple times, the trails I took the bike on it did fine. I do want to take a few rides to the west coast eventually, so I'm looking real close at the V-Strom, a cruiser has also crossed my mind, but the few times I want to look at the fall colors or similar trips, I'll wish I had a DS.

Hey guys, great info thanks. I realize that about the extent of my "off road" is really going to be forest service road and maybe the occasional jeep trail with 75-80% of the miles I will put on it being paved.

I do have a couple of follow up questions.
1) Part of my goals was to minimize maintenance or at least keep it simple enough I could do it myself. Some of the chain wear comments and tire longevity have me wondering. Are those extreme examples and if not, are they at least somewhat dependent on riding style?
2) On the NC700x everything I read raves about the gas mileage and yet you didn't mention it. Do you keep track of yours? I know the difference between 50 mpg and 70 mpg is going to take a while to pay back but I tend to hold on to things for a while if i like them (did i mention the 45 year old harley that started life as my grandfathers?) Does the honda exhibit some of the same, what I would call, rapid wear as the others?

I did sit on a few bikes yesterday. I'm not sure it helped although I did it pretty quickly. There is a wide range of "amenities" as you move more toward the road focused bikes. I even sat on the 650 BMW and was a bit surprised at how nice it felt while still at least appearing to be on the more capable off-road side. I'm just concerned about service and complexity....

I feel like you guys have made me smarter, but the list hasn't really gotten shorter.

In the end, only you can decide. My + may be your - and vice versa. I'll never own a KLR or similar. I have no interest in the interstate. I have no desire to try to manipulate a heavy beast off road in a weird situation -- primarily because I'm short. I don't want to deal with anything but air cooling. I like KISS as much as possible. Complex systems result in complex failures. That's why I ride a TW200 and am looking at an XT250 for more of a commuter bike once I have enough available funds to buy outright. If I could mod the XT250 to have a kick starter too, it would be a no brainer. Or a TW350 (damn you Yamaha for not making it!). I'd rather be less comfortable on road than be screwed off road. But you sound the opposite.

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Originally Posted by .40isthenew.45

Hey guys, great info thanks. I realize that about the extent of my "off road" is really going to be forest service road and maybe the occasional jeep trail with 75-80% of the miles I will put on it being paved.

I do have a couple of follow up questions.
1) Part of my goals was to minimize maintenance or at least keep it simple enough I could do it myself. Some of the chain wear comments and tire longevity have me wondering. Are those extreme examples and if not, are they at least somewhat dependent on riding style?
2) On the NC700x everything I read raves about the gas mileage and yet you didn't mention it. Do you keep track of yours? I know the difference between 50 mpg and 70 mpg is going to take a while to pay back but I tend to hold on to things for a while if i like them (did i mention the 45 year old harley that started life as my grandfathers?) Does the honda exhibit some of the same, what I would call, rapid wear as the others?

I did sit on a few bikes yesterday. I'm not sure it helped although I did it pretty quickly. There is a wide range of "amenities" as you move more toward the road focused bikes. I even sat on the 650 BMW and was a bit surprised at how nice it felt while still at least appearing to be on the more capable off-road side. I'm just concerned about service and complexity....

I feel like you guys have made me smarter, but the list hasn't really gotten shorter.

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My BMW 650 came from the shop there on North Nevada, and usually will get the maint done there. You can always get the GS-911 tool and do all the maintenance yourself. I have a copy of the BMW shop manual on DVD if you're so inclined even. Because it is a nice ride, and I'm now spoiled by the power windscreen, heated seat and grips, etc.

Everything will need maintenance and repairs. Doesn’t matter if it’s a motorcycle, a car or truck, a boat, a house, or whatever. While some things are easier or cost a little less for upkeep I generally wouldn’t factor that into my decision too much.

Oh, and just to muddy the waters and perhaps ruffle a few feathers, the reason I have never owned a dual sport is simple. It’s too much of a road bike to really be good off road and it’s too much of a dirt bike to be really good on the road.

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Originally Posted by NFATrustGuy

I'll throw in my 2 cents here because I haven't seen anyone talk about the NC700.
SNIP
Sorry for the rambling thoughts... the TL/DR version: Define your mission and then buy appropriately.

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Okay, 7 months later I reached peace with myself and bought a NC700x DCT. I hope to do a lot of forrest service roads etc, but reality says it will spend more time on pavement. I don't heal as quickly as I used to, so the DCT "should" remove temptation and keep me from trying to take on more than I or the bike can handle.
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Originally Posted by .40isthenew.45

Okay, 7 months later I reached peace with myself and bought a NC700x DCT. I hope to do a lot of forrest service roads etc, but reality says it will spend more time on pavement. I don't heal as quickly as I used to, so the DCT "should" remove temptation and keep me from trying to take on more than I or the bike can handle.
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Congrats, looks like a lot of fun!