Dual sport / Adventure riders UNITE

Hey, anyone out there ride the best bikes in the world the way those bikes were meant to be ridden?

KLR XR DR drZ F650 F800 R100GS GSPD 1150 GSA 1200 GS GSA 990 adventure lc4
hell tt200s xt225 crf230...

Whatever.

I currently ride a klr650. Work horse. Not glamorous but proven adequate.
That middle ground. Cheap enough to drop down a gravel hill, comfortable enough to ride cross country.

Thinking seriously of upgrading or down grading though. Wr250 looks like a LOT of fun, and currently I don't go more than 20 miles in a day. Never more than 100 (circle island).

Also thinking f800 or super tenere.

Currently rarely going off road. Almost no where to go out here. I'm also not one to go off road just to have to wash my bike later. Though I do hit up some trails to practice my basic riding skills.

What you got going on?

 

Those are the kind of bikes that I like, I used to own a DRZ400S and loved it, always wanted the KTM 990 Adventure but the only KTM Dealer that has one is 130 miles away and he wants $12K for it, no local BMW Dealers around, so I am stuck with only Japanese bikes.
I have a friend that owns a Kawasaki KLR650 and he has a serious oil burning problem since it was new, using 1 Qt every 500 miles, dealer says thats normal and Kawasaki rejected any warranty repair for that condition, other than that its a nice bike with better then expected acceleration and top speed.
There is a lot of off road riding in my area and the dual sport bikes are very popular, there are a group of guys that own the Yamaha TW200 that are almost like a cult. I use my ATV for off road fun.
The smaller dual sport bikes were very popular back in 2008 when gas prices hit $4 a gal, and I see the same thing happening again this year, one big advantage is the dual sport bikes have heavy duty suspension that can handle the bad roads in our area and make an excellent back and fort to work commuter bike.
But in my area most people live on low income and are stuck buying the lower priced Japanese Bikes.

 

There were a few klrs in 2008 that burned up oil BAD and yea, for the most part, kawasaki said "acceptable limits". I didn't research the 2008 klr before I bought one, I had a 2004 and figured it's about the same. But, they moved engine production to vietnam... and that caused problems initially. I don't have one of the oil burners, lucked out. I'm probably well overdue for an oil change and I'm still "overfilled" since last change.

The KLR and wr xr dr drz are all great. Vstrom will do for longer touring on less improved roads.
I find it hard to justify Bmw's lofty pricetag even less so KTM, I've owned a few bimmers, Not THAT impressed. Think my yamahas were the best bikes ever. Kawasaki not so great, but a lot of bang for the buck and suzuki, I've never owned one for long enough to really build an opinion. When I was shopping them I felt the hand controls felt cheap. Like if you were to release the starter too quickly (snap it back) it would just shoot off.
But the DRZ, maybe getting a bit old, but still pretty awesome.
Want to leave carburetion in the past. Sick of it. Fuel injection all the way. One of the reasons I'm thinking of a new bike. Currently having carb probs (I think) on the klr. Had a hard time starting the other day... then it died twice on me on the way home from work. Low on gas with a clogged res spigot? Limped it to costco on half choke, filled it up, no problems getting home.

For reference I've owned the following dual sports. 2 klrs... Bmw r100gs pd bmw f650 (arguably dual sport), crf230 (wifes but I love it) bmw r80gs and a homemade scrambler mad out of a nighthawk with scrambler tires, worked pretty well. In between I've had some touring and sport tourers, even a couple cruisers and a sport bike.

I try to ride anyone's that will let me swap. "hey want to trade" type scenarios while riding with friends.

Do yourself a favor and spend 1200 bucks on a used klr or super sherpa and go nuts for a summer. It's worth it.

 

Damn man... you're making me miss my dual sport. I had to trade it in for a road bike because I needed a comfortable highway machine. I had an XT350 and it was great. Small enough to throw around in the trails and fun on the road around town. Didn't have enough ass for anything over 60 mph though and I couldn't afford 2 bikes.

 

ITs not the speed that gets you, its the duration. I rode that crf230 about 40 minutes the other day. That seat is the same seat they put on the dirt bikes... you know, the ones you're supposed to stand up all day on.

Its like sitting on a fence. Well a fence with a blanket on it. I'm iron butt practicing.....

 

Dual sports are my personal favorites,

Here is my DRZ400s and my brother inlaws Husqvarna TE-250


I really like vintage dual sports or as they used to be called "enduros" as well.

 

theyre some sweet vintage yamahas! good friend of mine restores and sells vintage bikes as a hobby. and speaking of dual sports, our club has one every year the weekend after memorial day. check out the site. www.durtydabbers.com . ill probably post up somethin in the bike section closer to the date of the ride. awesome weekend! well worth the trip to PA if anyones interested. 500+ riders in a weekend every year!

 

Sweet yammies. THat's kind of how my nighthawk scrambler looked. Still eyeballin the triumph version. Just for a straight no nonsense motorcycle with fuel injection that LOOKS old.

In my mind, and its probably more open to interpretation than straight defined somewhere. An enduro is a dirt bike with a headlight for use in long rides/races that may have road sections and travel between sections. A dual sport has turn signals and street legal tires.

Basically, a dual sport has to be a bit more than a dirtbike with a license plate, it has to have some modification for road riding over the original dirtbike heritage, if not a whole new chassis.

 

I went from a Honda CBR600R to a Suzuki DRZ400S, but after a year found out it wasn't a good long distance bike, then I went to a Suzuki M50, hated it, then got a Kawasaki Vulcan 800, hated it more, then got a Yamaha FZ6, loved that, then I wanted a Suzuki 650 Burgman cause I was impressed riding a one a friend owned, went to buy a Burgman and the Suzuki Dealer was impossible to deal with, so I got the Yamaha Tmax and am very happy currently owning the Tmax.
I tried and tried the cruiser bikes and never found any I liked, but the past bike I really miss the most was the Suzuki DRZ400S and I always recommend it as the best dual sport bike out there.
I am the guy that buys a new motorcycle or ATV every year, I don't know what one I will buy this year, but my heart is set on the Suzuki V Strom 1000 (don't like the V Strom 650 cause its the same engine on the SV650S and I don't like the internal almost junky engine sounds it makes.
Everybody makes fun of my Yamaha Tmax, yes its a scooter, but I can cruise sitting very comfortable all day at 80 mph, quiet, smooth, no wind hitting me (like a Gold Wing) plus I have enough of under seat storage space that I can go to Lowes and pick up 2 big bags of lawn fertiziler, or go shopping at the food store and fit a case of soda and 7 bags of food. It will out accelerate any cruiser bike from a stop and will pass up any car on any steep hill.

 

DId they stop making the drz super moto? Looks like 2009? I can't find one.


Yea, d606 for me. But not right now. Have the avons on there. Get a lot more "gs" out of it and stopping, and I don't go off road here.

 

XR650R that doubles as a work commuter!

 

here's my super cycle had it out today!!!! ripping the neighborhoods up!!



94cr500 07cbr100rr 2005crf50 2007crf450rSM 2003crf450r in bed
and my boy Ryder!

 

hey, there's no turn signals on that!

 

Anyone ever go off adventure touring? Run the ALCAN, rubicon, on a bike .. anything like that?

I want to ride from eastern US or southwest to the arctic circle. I just feel I might get sick of it once I get to my goal.

Maybe run texas to ny via alaska.

 

i have a 1989 yamaha tdr. it looks exactly like this. i'll take some pics when its riding season.

 

Glad I found this thread, I currently have a 2003 KDX220R, love the bike, its super fast and light, and in tight wooded areas its a real treat. Looking to sell or trade it for a DRZ400SM or the like.

I like the KLX250SM and the CRF450SM as well. Not sure if the 250SM will keep me happy though.

If you guys are looking for a great trail bike for your super moto's hit me up!!


My KDX

 

great thread!

i am looking to get a dual sport for trails and commuting. i have an SV650 now for the twisties and the track. i was originaly looking at a drz400s, but was told they are like dogs and that i should look at a wr450 or a crf450, then add the lights to make it street legal. in AZ you can make just about anything street legal...

any thoughts?

 

My new toy as of about 4 weeks ago. Talk about a stud of a bike. Great on the street and even better off road. A little heavy though, but I'm working on that issue with several different modifications now.

 

nice bike

 

Mmmmmm a TDR... I took one identical to this on a test run back in the day, and even though the '08 KLR650 I have now is nice, I've been wanting one of these ever since. I guess my now departed RZ350 and 500 haven't taught me the two-smoke lesson yet...

How many miles on it? Mods? Engine troubles (I know there will have been some, but how many and how bad?)