dual sport

It really comes down to personal preferance. I'm 5'8, and I wanted a DRZ for the longest time until I sat on one at a bike show. My feet can barely touch the ground, and it seems a tad heavy for off road. If you're taller and heavier it might be just right. I've always ridden vintage enduro's, which usually have nice low ride heights ( I guess no one was jumping 20 foot table tops back then). My old Yamaha DT400 probably weighed about what a DRZ weighs, but I could get my feet flatfooted no problem so it was never really an issue. For stricly off road my favorite is my 75 DT125, super light weight and a nice 2 stroke powerband. But it's top speed is like 60 so it's not very useful on the road. Keeping an old bike like that usuable is a project in and of itself though. For me, a modern liquid cooled 250 like the KLX or WR seems about right for on/off road.

 

I've heard good things about the DRZs

I had an XR650R that was plated. Did good on the road and in open off road, but not well in tight stuff because it was so heavy. I miss that bike. Power for days.

 

I sat on one a while back and those things are huge! I'm 5'9" and could never ride that thing, way too tall for us short guys

 

You short guys are doing it wrong. You don't need to be able to touch the ground to ride, just to stop. You only do that at a traffic light or the end of a trail. Any other time where you feel like you need to plant your feet, just give it more gas.

Also, for those needed stops mentioned above, you have to master the one cheek shuffle. Coming to a stop, slide your right cheek to left side and plant the left leg. Time to go, lift and go.

I'm 5'8 and have used that on all bike, b/c I can't flat foot shit. Worked like a charm, even on my XR650R.

 

^^^ This

I'm only 5'10 with stubby legs. I couldn't back into a parking spot and stay on the bike.


I didn't ride my XR off road all that much, didn't have time which is why I sold it, but I loved that bike. I highly recommend the XRs. I put a ton of miles on it, mostly on road, and had almost no issues with it.

 

Ride in traffic with a bike that's too tall and see if you still have that opinion. Yes, I can ride an XR650R at my height but constantly having to do that 'one cheek shuffle' as you mentioned at frequent stops gets really, really old in a hurry. I would prefer something lower to the ground that I can at least touch the ground with my toes on both sides (I couldn't do that on the XR).

 

Just gotta work on your balance....like a trials guy!

 

I wish I had that kind of balance, the good trials guys are impressive to watch!

 

I did. My 650R was tagged, and I'd ride around town all the time. Did a trip through South Florida and down to the Keys on it. Almost all road riding, and if you've ever been to the Keys, you'd know it is stop and go traffic. Managed just fine. At 5'8 with stubby legs I can tip toe both sides, and easily slide and get one foot planted just fine. Not sure what the problem is. Only time height became an issue on the pig is when I'd strategically park the bike on its side off road, and had to kick the bike over.

 

Interesting... I wonder if the one I sat on had the rear spring cranked up. I'm 5'9", shorter legs and I couldn't even tip toe on both sides. Tip toed on one side, I could only get to the peg on the other side. It didn't squat at all when I sat on it either (I weighed 160 at the time). It was the only one I'd ever sat on and that just put a really bad taste in my mouth. I didn't make it out of the showroom for a test ride even.

I had an older XT350 which I really liked size-wise. It was decent for technical trails but didn't have the balls for on road riding. It topped out too quickly, needed another 20 MPH.

 

I believe stock they were sprung for a 160-170ish pound rider. Lots of people change the rear spring for one to their size. So there is a good chance that if it was used, someone tossed in a better spring.

Yea, riding the road with the lower cc's can get old fast. My XR250R is great for a lot of stuff, but once you start getting away from town on the road, it sucks.

 

Yeah that's why I chose the XR650L, myself. It has the power to run with traffic at highway speeds even doubled up, and still enough ground clearance to offroad. I'm 6'3", 245 and have no trouble flat footing on both sides of the bike unlike those shorter riders. I needed something suited to haul my weight around. I plan on uncorking it in May sometime, after the warranty expires. Then I'll probably go through tires more frequently.

 

My brother deployed a few months ago and I "stole" his BMW F650GS. It's a little small for me, 6'2", but his has the low profile seat, etc. Haven't gotten it off road yet, but I know he did, alot, and absolutely loved it. I have been looking into a few different bikes before I started riding this, now I am sold. Must sell a kidney and part of my liver (I am only killing it off anyways) to afford a 1200GS (maybe an 800GS first).

Great bike and a lot of fun to ride.

 

I ride a 1986 XL250R with RFVC. I have DOT Dirts on it 17 rear 21 front. If you want a 250 make sure it was a 6 speed not a 5 or you'll be buzzing on the freeway. I've had mine lugging 6th at 70 perfectly fine. 4500 miles on my 86'
Old pic with the street OEM Kenda tires, the cowl has been painted white instead of the blue

 

There's a nice ride report on ADV where a guy rode all around the states for a few months. The 650L isn't a bad bike if your intentions are for road and dirt road stuff. Any tight, sloppy stuff and you'll be wishing for lighter. Plus I don't believe their frames can take too much abuse. My buddy had a 650L and I took it for a spin. Nice bike, loved the e-start, but night and day compared to the 650R. He loved it though. He was also a bigger guy and the high seat and weight didn't bother him too much.

 

I do a fair amount of road riding and gravel roads, but do hit the pipelines and power line right of ways too. Most of the trails in this area I have found are ATV trails, so not real tight like. The main thing is having to pick my way around the really sloppy muddy spots as the Heidenau Scout rear doesn't like to hook up real good in that stuff, not like a full on knobby. But it's holding up pretty good for the other riding I do. The frame should hold up good as it was originally designed for BAJA racing, so it should be able to take a fair amount of abuse. Honda won a lot of those races the first few years after this bike came out. I'm not trying to ride Motocross style with it anyways, so I don't think it will be a problem. If I experience any frame cracking or the like, I have 2 welding machines(and the other toys to go with them) and know how to use them to make it right again, and add reinforcing if needed. I even built my own rear rack to haul stuff, better and WAY cheaper than the store bought kinds. I also changed to a Fisher seat, much better than the stock one. I can stand to stay on this one for more than an hour at a time. I added a Clarke 4.7 in place of the stock tank as it was good for only maybe 100 miles if I got into reserve. With this seat I can stay on it for the 200+ mile range the bigger tank gives me.

 

^ Well said!

Decide what kind of driving your going to do most of, then pick your bike!

I'm in the process of converting a DRZ400e into a street legal bike, should have it registered and ready to go in April! ADVrider and thumpertalk are your best friends!!

Couple things that turned me onto the DRZ's.
Price: They can be found cheap!
Reliability: Proven reliable, google it.
Aftermarket Parts: Its there, its everywhere!
Information: Everything you've thought about doing to this bike, its probably already been done! Search for it and you'll see!
Perfect size: Not too small, not too big.
The Masses: A lot of people ride DRZ's so if you happen to break a part or something on the trail, you may get lucky and have a DRZer pass by and have what you need..

One downside which has been stated is the weight. its not horrible but once you get on the tight single tracks its very noticeable. There a numerous ways to reduce the weight on this bike, see above in "Information." lighter battery, suspension, and rims can shave almost 50lbs off, which doesn;t sound like much but you'll feel the difference!

 

You're confusing the XR650L for the XR650R. Big difference. Honda never took the 650L to Tecate. They took the XR650R, and now they're taking CRFs. The 650R is a beast of a bike. Able to take in some nasty tight stuff b/c of its weight, but still able to go 90+ on sand. There are many differences between the 650R and the 650L, including the frame. Only one that the 650L betters on is the e-start.

All this Baja talk, I think I'm going to watch Dust to Glory tonight.

 

That's the first I've heard of a DRZ not being street legal from the factory. Out of curiosity, what year is it?

Yea, the DRZ is like the swiss army knife of dual sports. Can do everything. Very reliable. I've read countless ride reports from DRZ owners. I was thinking about getting one, but I think my next move might be a FE570 or a KTM525.