Official Dual Sport BS Thread

Considering it can do 80, if I need to go an the highway I will. I rarely go above 70 in the truck anyways. I can get to anywhere I need to locally without getting on the highway. To get home I only have to be on it for 60 miles. I doubt I'd take it to go home though.

I'd just rather not drive on the highway considering this is my first bike. Like to get more experience with it first.

I know I'm not going to save money. You never will by getting a second vehicle. But it's either get this and have fun with it as well as have a second vehicle orr wait 2-3 more years and hope I can get a car.

 

I agree with most of it and see where you're comming from
But you really want to buy a bike you will grow into. Smart people don't buy a motorcycle that's already at the top of their experience level.
In 6 months at most you will be comftorable and experienced enough to go highway speed. You can always ride a fast motorcycle slow, you can't ride a slow motorcycle fast. And like I said, the quickest way to ruin a bike it to be topping out the top gear, which if 80 is about max, 70ish is pretty damn close

 

+10

Most people I know max out their 250's at 65mph and that's at max throttle which is not ideal for the engine or for your hands/vibrations.

Even a DRZ 400 is a bit small for highway duty. I'd honestly look at a used BMW Dakar/BMW Sertao, Husqvarna Terra, mmmmmmmaybe even a DR650/XL650L but that's iffy. For what you want to do they'd be perfect bikes; you're not going to be doing jumps off quad trails starting out, they'd let you commute/dd very easily on them, dirt roads are easy on them, and are all low maintenance. I'd say a KLR 650 as an option if you get the big bore kit to 685cc installed too. They aren't necessarily trail bikes but they can do some trails, heck I was taking my V-Strom 650 on trails and having a blast on it even though that was not quite what it was meant for at all. I think they'd give you a MUCH better experience than a 250 ever will as a first bike.

Oh and the BMW Dakar/BMW Sertao and Husuqvarna Terra all share the same 650cc bmw engine which has moderate power (50hp) and excellent 60-70mpg fuel economy.

 

New seat for those long ride

 

Seat Concepts?

 

Well she's mine! Already dropped it once, so I got that over with...

Is a little on the tall side for me. But once I get a lowering link, drill another shock mount, raise the forks, and buy a lower seat I should be a good 3" lower.

The main thing I was having trouble with was figuring out what side to lean on when stopped. Left side works best for me.

My only main problem now is not stalling it coming from a stop sign. Did it twice in a row with two cars behind me, very embarrassing haha just takes learning how to feather the clutch.

 

Practice starting from stop in a parking lot

 

Yup, did that a few times as well as leaning how to turn at slow speeds and such.

Buddy of mine that's been riding for a while has been teaching me all day today. Once I learn the clutch and gears I should be good.

 

Yea it's just safer in a parking lot than on the road.

Don't wanna get messed up before you can really begin to enjoying riding

 

Exactly. It was scary going through my first intersection! But luckily I didn't stall and just cruised on through haha

 

Yes, I haven't had it on the road yet but just sitting on it soooo much more comfy. Ill let you know how it goes after the ride today.

 

Nice!

Did you buy it already put together or did you do it yourself?

 

You can buy it as a complete seat for 159+ 95 for seat pan and install. I did it my self, not the prettiest job but I just got back from a 50 mile ride and wow what a difference. I got the regular foam, but I highly recommend getting one

 

Yeah, I'll probably be getting the complete seat.

Good to hear that it's comfortable!

 

im expecting wheelies soon


you should have seen brady when I taught him how to ride on my dirt bike

 

Haha you expect too much out of me!

 

i do that to everyone lol

to be fair, brady's 3rd lap down my street he did pull the front up a bit. not sure if it was an accident or not though

 

I've yanked on the throttle a few times sitting straight up. Probably just because it's my first bike but it'll pull me back pretty easily haha

 

Not sure if Honda does this (or if you have all the paperwork), but my Yamaha came with a book on some practice drills that you can do in a parking lot (it's the same stuff you do in a basic rider course). It describes how far to set cones apart, how fast to try the drill, etc., etc.

Also, you might want to just get used to the bike being tall. My instructor for my basic offroad course couldn't have been more than 5'5" and he jumps up on a 250KLX. Some advice I've seen from around the 'net suggests that trimming a seat is fine, but don't limit the front/rear. Unless you are REALLY at a height difference, getting used to the bike height supposedly comes fast and is better in the long run.

 

Yea, all dual sports are going to be tall. As long as you can get that one foot down at a light, you're good. You even have e-start, so you don't even have to worry about kicking if you dump it off-road.
How tall are you? Will a shaved seat and some rear spring adjustment, you'll be fine.
I had a XR650R, and that thing was tall. I could just barely tippy toe both sides at once. At lights, I slid my butt towards a side, and put one foot down.

As far as learning. Go take an MSF course. I think it's required for military guys anyway to ride on base. At least for me it was. Those courses are designed to teach you how to ride a bike. They go over situations that your buddy, who's been riding for years, won't remember to tell you about. Also it's better to learn from a professional teacher.

I took an MSF course having never thrown a leg over a bike, next day bought the bike I wanted, and rode it 60 miles without issue. I encountered everything on that trip too, so those course are legit. The course is only two days, and really well put together.