Wanna A recommendation from the pros (you guys)
Defil
you know something to use to go explore, but as well, to use on the
roads to get back and forth from college and to go further away from
home to explore new trails. Furthermore, it will be my only source of
transportation. Today I went to the dealer to have a look around and
to my disapointment, not a whole lot of bikes that appealed to the
bike I was dreaming about. I was really, really interested in a Honda
XR 300 - 400 bike. I love honda, good motor, good company. But Honda
doesn't make XR road legal bikes. (bummer) I could get an
aftermarket road conversion kit, and legalize it. But before I do
anything I want your guys opinion. Good, bad, I don't care, anything
is helpful.
I was thinking about buying a second hand 98-99 XR, and then tune it
up the way I'd like. Like this I can save on taxes and have money to
buy parts that I want. Besides I like the XR 99 model's color. Or
should I go with something else? Is a radiator necessary? I will be
stuck in traffic alot, even thou I'd be really tempted to fly over the
sidewalk with my bike!
I'm about 5' 10", 185lbs. I will be doing a lot of driving ( I love
driving) in the city, highway and trails. Do you think the XR would
be fit for that and what size should I be looking at. I don't want a
bike that can't handle the road speeds, but I don't want a pig either.
What about Kawasaki, Yamaha and Suzuki? I know I'm asking a lot for a
bike. But street trail and your opinions is what I want.
dirt dejavu
than off, the Yamaha XT350 does well. Production
has stopped but some of the dealers still have some.
the 2000 model year is the last. Very reliable and comfy
suspention. It is no motocrosser but does very well on
most trails. Torque is amazingly flat from idle to redline,
so it has grunt, it is quiet, street legal, very reliable, and
easy to start once to get used to the 4 stroke starting ritual.
Some are available on the used market, but once purchased
few people tend to sell them for various reasons.
DD XT350
dirt dejavu
http://home.flash.net/~rchvid7/DDXT350.jpg
Scott Aldrich
Defil <Mc...@hotmail.com> wrote:
: I'm about 5' 10", 185lbs. I will be doing a lot of driving ( I love
: driving) in the city, highway and trails. Do you think the XR would
: be fit for that and what size should I be looking at.
I'm about the same size and I ride a '98 Suzuki DR350SE. The mid
size bikes have enough power for the trails and can still be ridden on
the highway. I did a 600 mile dual sport trip just last fall and had
a blast. Your top speed is not much higher than highway speeds, but
I've never found that to be a problem. I'm not much of a speeder when
it comes to street riding. I've done rides with guys on all kinds of
bikes from old vintage iron to Harley's and Goldwings. Sure, they can
leave me in the dust while on the highway, but when we hit the
twisities I'm normally the one pulling away. On the trails I wish I
had a bit more horsepower, but that's only to make up for my lousy
riding abilities.
: be fit for that and what size should I be looking at. I don't want a
: bike that can't handle the road speeds, but I don't want a pig either.
: What about Kawasaki, Yamaha and Suzuki? I know I'm asking a lot for a
: bike. But street trail and your opinions is what I want.
If you're serious about using the bike on road as a commuter, then
I'd recommend staying with the manufacture made street/dirt (dual
sport) bikes. They are much more street freindly than a converted
bike and you'll be much happier in that aspect in the long run.
Things like a helmet lock, steering lock, tach, counter balancer,
quite exhaust seem like small things but they're really nice when you
go to the store, work, etc. Plus the dual sports get great mileage
mostly because they're set up pretty lean stock. I've gone up two
sizes on the main jet and I'm still getting over 65 miles per gallon.
Good luck with your decision!
--
TrlRdr AMA / D36 Enduro -- CC
STEVEN A SCOLES
"Scott Aldrich" <trl...@netzero.net> wrote in message
news:97699348...@cswreg.cos.agilent.com...
Scott Aldrich
: How about the new DRZ400S?
I've never ridden one but they look like a great bike. I like the
air cooled motor of the DR350 and the comfortable seat, but the
suspension and chassis mods on the DRZ plus the added 50cc's would
lead me to believe that it would be a better dirt mount.
I forgot to add a link to a review on the '98/'99 DR350SE:
http://www.motorsports-network.com/SUZUKI/dr350/dr350.htm
They hit the nail pretty much on the head with their review. I've
ridden the DR in the trails in Northern California, the deserts in
Nevada and the street roads in between.
One mod that I found critical is to add a "T" to the stock carb vent
line. Without it the motor would hesitate whenever I went through
whoops or tried to jump it. I haven't had any trouble since I've
modified the vent line.
francisco
One thing I found was that most dirt bikes do not have any decent lights.
Which means that if you ride at night you have to go very slow or take the
risk of hitting something you can not see.
The dual sport bikes like KLX (which are road legal in Australia), KLR, TTR
have good electrics. My last road going bike was a KLR250 and I managed to
get 360 watts of electric power (when idling the engine would slow down when
I turned the 150w spot light and 100w hi-beam on. It was really good for
riding at night. They are also very economic (33km/lt) and comfortable on
the road.
As for the trails a KLR or TTR would not be very good because they are heavy
and the suspension is too soft (also not a lot of power) but they can still
get along.
Francisco