Dual Sports

J.A.B · Jan 3, 2011

A friend of mine has been trying for several years now to talk me into buying a dual sport bike and going on some of these 2 and 3 day trips with him. Appears he may have finally succeeded.

Looking for some advice on which bike - I have narrowed it to DRZ 400 or 650 or KLR650. I like the weight of the DRZ 400 I just don't know if I will be happy with the power.

Suggestions from the dual sport crowd??

Bones · Jan 3, 2011

KLR's are pigs, but they work like a pack mule, plain and simple. I put nearly 20K miles on mine. Super cheap to find used well set up.

I like 650's if you plan to ride it from A to B and not trailer it. Honda XR650L (or an R if you can plate one) are great as well.

DR's are nice, but seem piggish like the KLR to me personally. Fine bikes though.

I have owned the KLR650 (05) and a couple 02?? KTM 640s's and now a n 08 Husky 610 which is prolly one of the best used bikes on the market when it comes to dual sports and has a 6th gear

. I've really liked them all and zero real complaints other than the KTM was a vibby mf'er!! I miss the KLR sometimes for it's comfort and non hooligan ways.

wontwork · Jan 3, 2011

I say go Honda 650. The L is more friendly on long rides, but lacks when you hit hard trails. if your a good rider you can make up for it though.
The R is setup more like a dirtbike and has kickstart only. It loves it in the woods. I have the R and just leave used car dealer tag on it and rock out. So far so good on that. Bought the dual sport kit from Baja Design with blinkers, headlight and tail/break light.

DavidsCJ7 · Jan 3, 2011

I have a DRZ 400 and absolutely love it for close trips without much highway or hauling it to an area I want to explore. Its very inexpensive to purchase and maintain. It weighs in at just over 300# wet. I think it handles single and two track very well, all things considered. Its not comfortable enough for me to get on and pound the highway to Arkansas or Colorado. For those trips I throw it in the back of the truck. I ride with several guys that ride KLR 650's. They are much more comfortable on the highway but lack in ability when it comes to the rough stuff. Thats not saying they cant do it because I see them do the tough stuff all the time. It just takes a little more effort and time.

On the other side of the coin I have a BMW 1200 GS Adventure. I ride it when I want to run asphalt and gravel roads. It's way to heavy for me to do much off roading with but its great for the mild stuff.

Bones · Jan 3, 2011

You have a GS now too? Dark side ADV rider :****: :flipoff1:

J.A.B · Jan 3, 2011

Thanks for the replies - the more I research this the more I find out there. I am starting to get confused at this point.......

cushmaneaglerider · Jan 3, 2011

I have a xr650l with extras brad 662 255 9821

DavidsCJ7 · Jan 3, 2011

Bones said:
You have a GS now too? Dark side ADV rider :****:

Heck yeah! I'm a fo realz poser now!

Bones · Jan 3, 2011

[Borat voice] veddy veddy niiiiice

wontwork · Jan 3, 2011

Some places that may help you decide are

http://www.advrider.com/forums/

http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/

DavidsCJ7 · Jan 3, 2011

J.A.B said:
Thanks for the replies - the more I research this the more I find out there. I am starting to get confused at this point.......

Don't get overwhelmed by your options. I did the same thing when I was looking for the first time. Find something you think you will like and watch the for sale forums on sites like ADVRider. Find a good used bike that has the aftermarket parts you want on it. Buy it and give it a try. If you don't like it, you can sell it and get your money back or make a profit in some cases. Don't get caught up in what I or anyone else says about a particular bike. All of the bikes mentioned here are great bikes. They all have positives and negatives. It boils down to the type of riding you want to do, your skill level, and what you are comfortable on.

BlackYJ · Jan 4, 2011

get another crawler

CheapJ7 · Jan 4, 2011

What exactly are you wanting to do with it.. I mean Exactly....

The 650R and the husky 610 are fine machines in the woods, almost as good as a real deal dirtbike...
The KLR's are street pounders and Although Ive never ridden one, they look like pigs in the woods...
BMW's are pricey and HEAVY! great for long road sections and mild fire roads gravel...

Now on to what I have alot of experience with...
My XR650L does great for everything i've thrown at it.

I've ridden it 350 miles of interstate in one day. 85mph. Held up fine. Little butt rash...
Silly fast on the gravel roads with the knobbies on it.
smoothest power band out of all the bikes, can ride wheelies Forever on it...
Hit multiple motocross tracks with it and jumped it 60+ feet.
climbed some nasty hills and and shot some very steep banks with it.

Only Negative I have found is it is a little heavy and the Front forks SUCK...
You have to land jumps old school style touching down rear tire first and steep steep rocky downhills get alittle sketchy with the front end diving. These are both managable with some getting used to...

P · Jan 4, 2011

I wish Honda would do a tagged 450f or something lighter than a L or R even. Just about all the others have but they won't jumped on board ! :wtflol:

CheapJ7 · Jan 4, 2011

P said:
I wish Honda would do a tagged 450f or something lighter than a L or R even. Just about all the others have but they won't jumped on board !

Anything lighter than an L absolutely sucks on the highway, and I've never ridden many places that I needed a Tagged dirtbike...
But it would be cool... KTM is the route to go for a street legal straight up Offroad bike...

wontwork · Jan 5, 2011

CheapJ7 said:
Anything lighter than an L absolutely sucks on the highway, and I've never ridden many places that I needed a Tagged dirtbike...
But it would be cool... KTM is the route to go for a street legal straight up Offroad bike...

I originally wanted a KTM, but got a great deal on the XR.

May go KTM one day esp since Birmingham just got a dealer now.

Bones · Jan 5, 2011

Husky sells a ton of tagged dirty bikes. I almost bought a 250 leftover last winter before the new model came in. Even at half price it was still $4.5-5K

J.A.B · Jan 6, 2011

BlackYJ said:
get another crawler

I got way to many iron is the fire these days to dedicate that kind of money and time toward a crawler. I do miss it already however.

J.A.B · Jan 6, 2011

Thanks for all the help - I think I have decided on drz400. I have found an black 09 that is old stock. Im gonna try this - it does sound like fund and is fairly cheap fun at that.