Brand new rider needs help getting started in DS

Hey all, I'm just getting into motorcycles and need your advice on gear.

• I completed a basic rider training course 2 weeks ago and have my endorsement, I have also taken an intro offroad course back in October.
• I have zero access to friend's bikes, so trying stuff out is limited to dealerships.
• So far, I am looking at buying a new '12 WR250R. I test drove it for 5 miles and felt pretty good, except the friction zone on the clutch was narrow - I assume I can overcome that with practice. I know people say "buy used", but I haven't seen much used due to the season, and I'm not sure what to look for in terms of what constitutes a good buy vs. a lemon.
• I plan on riding my work commute (12 miles one way) and getting my skills up by riding some pretty tame gravel FS roads that are 20 miles from my house.

Anyway, more to my question, I'm trying to assemble a gear list. Is there any special gear considerations when you are a DS rider? I'll ask more specifically below:

1. Helmet: I wear glasses, so this gets tough with fit. I'm currently looking at the AFX FX-39 or the Kabuto Kamui. The AFX supports goggles, the Kabuto doesn't. Is this important? For pure fitment, the Kabuto feels amazing
2. Jacket: I assume that an on-road 3-season jacket is what I want, or do I need different considerations for DS? Currently looking at the Olympia Airglide 4, or if I jump on things early, a close-out for an Alpinestars Cape Town.
3. I think pants can wait, gloves are personal preference, and I can do OK with my Danner steel toe boots for the time being.

My budget is not set at the moment because I don't know what to expect. I don't need expensive, but if you have trashy uncomfortable gear, you regret it and just have to buy more - I'd rather make economical, smart choices.

thanks for the input!

 

I have the AFX 39 and the 41. They are both good helmets but I prefer the 41 more. I don't wear goggles though and just have some wide-covering sunglasses.

Your jackets choices look good. If you really get into quad and 4x4 jeep roads you might want to eventually invest in a pressure suit and neck brace but that's a ways off.

I like the Olympia Digital Protector gloves, their sizes run small so I'd order one size larger then normal for gloves.

I'd get knee pads at a minimum. You may want to investigate Kevlar riding pants if you don't want a full set of riding pants.

For dirt roads good hiking boots with ankle support are good enough, for trails or anything more I'd get a DS boot such as the SIDI GoreTex Adventure ($$$ but it's quality).

For street riding and a new rider I HIGHLY recommend an airbag jacket or airbag vest. I have an older version of this ($400) that I wear over multiple jackets. I've deployed it about 10 times over three years, mostly demonstrations for other people, some because I forgot to unhook when off-roading (I fall over a lot), and two real serious accidents. It probably saved my neck or spine from serious injury in one, and from breaking some ribs in another. Each deployment costs $20 for a new cartridge.



For a bike I'd highly consider used especially in the DS market as you will fall over on dirt and it's too expensive to replace plastics or tanks so the resale value will be less than desirable. However I do know how you feel, my first bike was brand new because of my perception of flaky motorcycles.

I wouldn't get anything with more than two cylinders, avoid European brands for your first bike, and keep it under 650cc. Husqvarna Strada or Terra are cheap, V-strom 650 is good (was my first bike), the 250 bikes are good too; not a lot of power at all though; I'd recommend the 250's if you want to do more rough 4x4/jeep roads or quad trails and less street. The 650 class bikes for more street and less dirt roads.

250cc bikes will top out around 55-60mph usually, sometimes more.

 

I'm an old dog so I don't heal up so well and tip over a lot since my legs are short and my bike is tall. So I wear armour every where for serious riding, found a used set on ebay. Helmets are about as personal as gloves. I use a street helmet with internal sun visor with my glasses which makes it easy flip back and forth when going into or out of the shady woods.

As for the WR. GOOD CHOICE. A little pricey at full retail but I like you found a two year old new one. I scored a first price quote of 1K off MSRP with no added on fees for set up or delivery. Plenty of accessories available, mods galore and reliable. I met a guy that had 54K miles on his '08. How many times did that piston make the trip!?

 

Get you a KLR the best all around bike for DS you will find and they are cheap compared to a lot of other bikes.Look at modular helmets,you can flip up the front in the woods if you get hot or just want some air.

 

Good to know. I didn't know if the ability for goggles was a must or what the purpose was. Since my initial riding is going to be small commutes and tame offroad excursions, I may opt for the Kamui.

Would you go with armored 'underwear' and something on top, or armored pants? Trying to keep my initial gear be as versatile as possible, and keep my initial set of gear still basic.

Boots are going to take some time. I have localized gigantism in my right big toe (making it a super big toe) so I would ideally wear a size 12 left foot, size 14 right foot. I compensate my Danners by wearing a 14 on both feet where the right foot has all inserts removed and the left foot has two or three. Shoe shopping always sucks.

Yeah, that and the Leatt STX Road would be desirable. I don't know that I can make that part of my initial purchase right now, but high on the list.

Not just flaky, but I also don't have a sense of what constitutes high mileage, depreciation expectations, etc. The used WRR market is nonexistent. Provided I learn what to look for, the KLR, DRZ, and V-Strom markets have options, but I need a buddy to help through it all - which I don't have

I'm going to try a KLX and DRZ this weekend, but the dealer doesn't have much time for inexperienced riders, so not sure how successful I will be.

The more I read, the more I find people praising this bike and how well-rounded it is. Even the maintenance is a dream. The one I have found is $760 under the msrp, no freight/delivery/etc.

I read an extensive review and the drawbacks are that the brakes are squishy, it feels less planted at higher speeds, and it's affectionately referred to as a 'pig' due to its weight and maneuverability.
From what I'm looking to do, a KLX250 would be more suitable for what my use is.

I think I'd want it flipped down to avoid the random tree branch. I've been whipped in the face just on a bicycle, and that's convincing enough

 

If you want to bounce bikes deals off me I'd be more than happy to help. I've owned two v-stroms 650's have several friends with KLR's and have had most friends with most DS bikes as Colorado is a very DS friendly place.

The armored underwear is nice but annoying to take on and off. I honestly don't really wear mine when going to work. For dirt I'd say it's a good idea but would say it's not high priority. I'd put the money toward the airbag vest first.

I have a Leatt neck-brace and pressure suit for when I go on the gnarly mountain trails. Not sure I'd recommend a Leatt on the street because it does restrict the ability to turn the head to check over your shoulder in traffic a bit. Also, my airbag vest has a neck cushion and while it's not rigid like a neck brace it does make a "C" ring around your helmet open at the front and cushion/restrict your neck's range of motion when the bag is deployed. The airbag vest is also less intrusive and less to carry around when off the bike since you're wearing it/ it stays with your jacket when you take it off generally.

 

Thanks, I will definitely take you up on that. It looks like the weather is going to be crummy this weekend so no chance of trying out the other bikes just yet.


If you have a chance, take a look at the Kabuto Kamui helmet and let me know your thoughts. I haven't seen any reviews on this particular product, but it highly interests me (old company to Japan, new to USA)

 

If, by DS you mean fire roads and gravel roads that's one thing, but if you are going to be doing any kind of off road trails I would put boots on the top of the list. Leather work boots wouldn't cut it in my mind. I can't count the times that bones in my ankles and feet would have been shattered were it not for motocross boots.

I'd ride butt naked with moto boots before I rode all geared up with work boots.

 

I think the wr450 would be a better option you will out grow a 250 and for a commuter bike the 450 would be better maybe a klr650 would be better for commuting you can put bags on it.

 

good to know - at this point I have plans for basic forest service roads until I can get comfortable.

 

WR450 is only dirt and I'd have to monkey with a conversion. Additionally, I read this article (results here) and I don't think the 250 is as bad as you would traditionally think.

Also, you can toss bags on anything you want, though it might slow things down

I just read some more advice from some seasoned sport bike riders and they suggest getting the cheapest nastiest dirtbike and using that for at least a year. I see a lot of merit in that idea, but the forest near my place is prime area to have my truck stolen.

 

DRZ400S. always the best first DS bike.

 

this is a good choice! i own a wr400f with a baja designs kit and love it it tops out at 85mph but is way to fast for that light of a bike on the street. my uses are mostly for off road though. my dad had a dr650 which is great for the road and a passenger but is a tank off road and is very heavy with a big piston tractoring along so when it stalls you feel it but if you are a bigger guy its a great bike. Pops currently has a KLX250s which is ok. its a little slow for me, tops out at 65. Off road its a champ handles whoops like butter and can climb hills in second gear. if i were to get a 250 i would get the CRF250L even though i am a YAMAHA guy. its a better bike out of the 3 suspension wise and its fuel injected.

for Helmets i have the fly Trekker helmet helmet that clears goggles which helps when i wear my glasses and use my contacts and goggles in the dirt. its a pretty cost effective helmet too and is comfortable. It is DOT approved but not snell nor euro approved. Jackets i wear an old bomber jacket i use for my cruiser so no real help there but i would think something that unzips for pads. Cycle gear makes an adventure jacket that looks great for the price. Pants i just have some fly MX pants and boots i own Oneill's and don't really enjoy them but they work. Next pair will be Alpinestars Tech 8s for sure.

have fun and be safe out there man!

 

Im getting back to this thread somewhat late, and I've had a lot happen since last post.

I went aheadand bought a new 2013 WR250R. it was the best option I had available both in terms of what the market was presenting and what I had been reviewing. Yes, talk about going big and flashy for a first bike - but I did OK on price given the options.

In response to the CRF, it does have a significantly lower cost, but really falls behind in power and makes big compromises with nonadjustable forks, neutered Offroad performance. Sure, I won't be accessing those Offroad features yet, but highway speed would matter. I'd be more inclined to do a klx for about same price and better prowess. WRR has the best offering of efi, speed, and Offroad setup, so if it was possible to get, it made sense.
Honda salesperson was also a giant jerk so I abandoned that route pretty early - good or bad.

For DRZ, I ran a few by some guys here and the sales were overpriced.

Jacket was a tough choice and I spent about a week and a half every day trying stuff on and researching. I ended up with the Olympia Airglide after all because it was the only one where the elbow pads felt like they were in the right place. What good is armor if it is tiny and twisted up in a bad spot?

I bought a Shoei Qwest helmet on closeout for about 40% off. Fits perfect even with my glasses. The Fly helmet mashed up my glasses frustratingly.

Probably going to choose some firstgear kathmandu pants, just need to try them on. I only have some old paintball pants for now which are at least 400D nylon.

Boots are going to suck, as I mentioned before. Apparently motorcyclists are supposed to have small feet, and my size 14 stompers aren't normal. I've been advised to try TCX.

Ha, truck mods are starting to look cheap!

 

haha, funny, although a DRZ400S was my first off-road dual sport (after a decade on sportbikes), i currently ride a WR250R (sometimes in supermoto X trim too). i went larger disp but am having more fun with the littler bike! yes, no torque but i don't get myself into as much trouble either. especially after a horribly broken leg on my Husqvarna TE310.