Starter dual sport recommendations?

[Martin Richard]

Rats:  After 39 years of exclusively riding on the street, I've decided to start looking for a dual sport so I can ride on mild trails and dirt roads.  Any recommendations for a beginner?  Any of you planning on any trail rides that I could tag along on and maybe take a turn on a bike to see if it's something i'd like before I go out and buy one?  

About the only requirements for me are (1) has to be street legal because I don't want to have to trailer it to the trailhead, (2) Would strongly prefer an electric starter because I'm not sure my old knees can take a kick starter and (3) would like to stay under $3k used.  

I know the KLR is the "go to" for a lot of people but looking at the specs it seems like a heavy pig and I'd like to avoid a bike that's excessively heavy.  I'm also concerned that something too small (200 - 250 class) might not be enough power wise.  I'm fairly tall (6'1") so a taller bike is OK.  

I know Kawasaki has the KLR/KLX in a 400 class, Honda and Suzuki have 400 class (XR and DR) but I'm not sure what Yamaha has in that class.  

Thanks in advance and if anybody has a bike for sale or knows of one that might work for me, shoot me a message.  

Thanks! 

[Sean Donnelly]

I know a guy who recently purchased a Royal Enfield Himalayan, because he found the big ADV bikes to be heavy pigs for cruising around on the dirt trails and he is absolutely in love with it.  It is something to consider.  I can put you in touch with him if you are interested.

Otherwise for a tall bike that is great off-road and adequate on it, you can’t go wrong with a KTM 500 EXC-F.   

Or if you wan’t something that can also bit kitted as a light ADV, we *LOVE* our KTM 690 Enduro R.  That bike is just fun to ride.

Sean Donnelly

Sean...@gmail.com

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[Tk Kennedy]

Martin,

I have a Husqvarna 701 Enduro that I cannot currently ride after my rotator cuff surgery. It is very good off the road especially for light forest roads etc. and weighs about 350 lbs wet.  Let me know if you would like to try it out one day as it needs to be ridden while I am recovering.   

TK

Managing Partner of Raising Two Kids LLC

On Aug 23, 2021, at 5:50 PM, Martin Richard <martina...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Steve Smith]

My guess is that if you’re going to stay under $3k you’re looking at a well-used KLR, but you might find a DR400. I’m pretty happy with the WR250R that I have but they run significantly more than that, at least in my experience. The market for those light dual sports is pretty hot right now. Good luck hunting. 

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Steve

[Jim Baker]

Martin, I'm going through a similar process.   I think it depends on what kind of riding you want to do and how far you want to travel to make trails.  I've stepped down from an R1200GS to a BMW 800 twin, and I still think it's too heavy; I got into some trouble in Hotel Gulch last weekend, and that's a pretty tame double-track trail.  I'm now thinking I want to step down to a DR650; 360 pounds dry, the lightest ADV I am aware of that still can move its ass on a highway.

If you're sticking close to home and don't want to do multi-day trips where you need to carry gear, there are a lot of lighter, far more capable bikes that are still street-legal getting to the trail; the KTM 500 is a good mid-displacement one, and of course there are polenty of mainly-dirtbikes below that displacement as well.  

Cheers,

Jim

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[Curtis Graves]

Strongly recommend a 250. You’ll be limited to 65-75 on the road, but once you hit the trail, you’ll thank yourself. Weight—or lack thereof—is everything. Of course, Kawasaki and Honda now have 300s, but it’ll be a few years before you can get one for $3K. 

The DR-Z400 has more power, but it only has five gears, and the general consensus is that it has poor road manners. If you do go that route, look for an “E” model that someone has made street-legal. 

The KTM 500 EXC Sean mentioned is the ultimate and might be worth selling a kidney for. Substantially lighter than a Japanese 250 with ungodly power. Probably not the bike you want to start on, though. 

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[Bullet Bob]

Have had an F650GS for some years and it’s good for highway plus dirt road exploring.  Handles 75 mph decently and enough suspension travel for some moderately lumpy dirt roads such as Rollins Pass.  Too big for enjoying real dirt/single track like Rampart, so if that’s what you intend, the 250-400 class much better as you’ll be picking it up more often.  KTMs are great, but likely budget busters for a starter experience.  I’d jump on TK’s offer and do a little exploring and see what appeals.

BB

[DAN PILCHER]

Well, Martin, I still have my 2009 KLR, which is the year after the big 2008 model upgrade, and I think of it as the Swiss Army knife of motorcycles.  I don't think of it as a "heavy pig" at all.

Some years ago, one of the motorcycle magazines did a comparison of the KLR and similar dual sports, and the writers picked the KLR for that very reason.  It doesn't do anything particularly well, like some of the other bikes, but it does everything reasonably well, which none of the other bikes did.  And it has a six-gallon tank, runs on regular, gets 60 mpg and there's a huge aftermarket supply of items to outfit the bike for adventure riding.

I am 6-2 tall and weigh 195 pounds and it suits me just fine.  I bought it for riding the county dirt/gravel roads and the National Forest roads, not for single-track, dirt-bike trails.  It's also relatively easy for me to pick up, having dropped it once.

I rode it several years ago to Taos for the Triumphs in Taos Rally, and it did just fine off-pavement as well as on I-25, zipping along at 75-80 mph.  It's certainly not a rocket-ship in terms of acceleration like KTMs, BMW, etc., but I don't need that from the KLR.

It's actually my favorite bike for urban riding because I'm sitting up high with great visibility and the long-travel suspension soaks up the bumps and potholes, plus it's agile at getting through traffic.

Given that Kawasaki has introduced a new, fuel-injected, updated version, there should be plenty of used and well-outfitted KLRs on the market.  Here's today's listing from Craig's List.

https://denver.craigslist.org/search/mcy?bundleDuplicates=1&hasPic=1&nearbyArea=210&nearbyArea=287&nearbyArea=288&nearbyArea=315&nearbyArea=319&nearbyArea=713&query=kawasaki%20KLR%20650&searchNearby=2&srchType=T

My suggestion is to rent the bikes that interest you and take them for a spin up in the mountains and along the Front Range.  I think Mr. Graves actually rented a KLR one time to try out . .  

Cheers,

Dan

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[WAYNE EVERMAN]

Martin; A DRZ400SM w/motard tires! (kind of hard to find a cheap one, though)  EWB

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[Steve Smith]

Dan makes some good points in favor of the KLR, to which I would add that the majority of owners tend to be more mature riders. The upshot is that they knew that they were not getting a hot rod when they bought them and so didn’t ride the bejezuz out of them. The majority of the ones I’ve seen for sale have been both well maintained and accessorized with useful travel gadgetry. A well used KLR isn’t necessarily a beater. 

The problem with used dirt bikes is that a lot of them have been rode hard and put away wet, as they say. Just a cursory examination of YouTube videos will verify that. Some people just don’t give a rats ass about their dirt bikes.  Not always of course, but much more often than you would hope. Besides, the “heavy pigs” never seem to break. Just my opinions, for what they are worth. Not much I’m afraid.

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Steve

[Anthony Sean Donnelly]

The 500 EXC does have a map switch, at least the older ones did.  The one I owned was pretty tame in the “Soft” mode.

 

But even an older one may be beyond the stated budged.

 

Sent from Mail for Windows

[David]

Martin, my turn now. I’ve been thru the gamut of average dual sport bikes. In order: Honda XL250, XL600 & XR650L, Suzuki DRZ400E & DR650SE. All are “affordable” models. Although I think you’ll be hard pressed to find a satisfactory example at the $3k price point, here and now. Maybe in an older sub 400 cc bike. 

My current all-around favorite is my DR650. Not too big, best power from the Jap 650 single models, easy to handle on and off pavement, good aftermarket support too. I like it WAY better than my previous Honda 650. 

For your size and ability, a real good choice for a first dual sport might be the Suzuki DRZ400. Rideable and good manners in lots of conditions, relatively on the smaller side, you can go most anywhere but long distance highway, and not get yourself in trouble. Plus, you could try and explore some light single track or narrow & rocky roads. (But not the SM model that Wayne mentioned. That’s a street motard thing.)

I have a mild disagreement on the KLR idea. It is an overweight tractor-bike. And with the model that Mr Pilcher has, there’s a fairing waiting to get busted up. The latest fuel injected KLR is not making many friends, gained more weight if I recall, and no more power. Beyond your price range as well.  That my 2 cents. There’s more where that came from if you’re interested in listening. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 24, 2021, at 6:18 PM, Steve Smith <shmi...@gmail.com> wrote:



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