What motorcycle should I get?

Yeah the knobbies definitely don't help haha.
It was jetted by the prior owner (a friend) but no JD kit yet. I really wanted to find an FCR, but new they're so damn expensive. JD kit is on my short list. As are some new tires, been looking at the IRC GP-1 and Kenda K270.
Also have a Baja Designs headlight on the way, can't wait!

Also I love my drz, wanted one for a long time (really wanted an SM, but the S is still great), and zero complaints with respect to how I use the bike. For OP who has a long stretch of highway at 80-90mph and still needs it to handle dirt, I feel the KLR is more well suited. The DRZ would work much better on the dirt section, but the KLR 650 clearly has it beat for the highway. On the road at 80-90 it's far more stable and can easily go faster. At least in my experience above 70 on my drz I need to position my self further forward to keep weight on the front end, doing this means I can't see behind me via my mirrors. While being great off road is a part to take into consideration, road safety is a larger part. I'd vote all day for the road safety aspect and put the off road half lower on the priorities.

 

Not gonna lie, the drz-400 was the first bike I thought of when I realized I’m in a position to think about getting one, however I think my cousin is correct, this is what he said today about the Strom and I have to agree.
Another friend of mine who is an avid rider said essentially the same thing as well.

 

Not sure why everyone is giving me shit on this thread

I don't know much about enduros/super motos but I've owned around 15 different cruiser style motorcycles and I'm just speaking from my personal experience. I know on a 750cc Shadow Phantom I'll be getting tossed around in the wind pretty good with the semis next to me.

I can only imagine being on a 400cc lightweight adventure bike going 70mph next to a semi.

Not saying they're not capable of doing that but would rather be on a bigger bike for that kind of cruising

 

My vote is the Vstrom 650, the klr and the drz are both very reliable but IMO they are underpowered if you want to go on the freeway.
Yes you can re gear them and make them work. Both the Drz 400 and klr 650 make around 40 hp, the Vstrom makes around 60hp.
The v-twin the Vstrom has is easy to ride, just as reliable and you will not get bored with as quickly.

You wont break a KLR but man they are slow.

 

Your experience isn't wrong, definitely a benefit on a larger heavier bike. However for an enduro style bike the models up and over ~650cc are very tall and heavy. More along the lines of a desert bike. Not practical for what OP wants.
The KLR is a very versatile bike for on and off road. From what OP recently shared the dirt aspect is very mild and the vstrom 650 is more biased towards street which would suit his needs well.

 

I figure people are giving you a hard time because you suggested that nothing less than 900cc would be suitable on a highway for 20 minutes.

I mean sure- a 250cc dual sport, probably not a good idea. But almost all of the 500-800cc adventure bikes are excellent for commuting and plenty comfortable. Sounds like you were speaking to cruisers, but didnt clarify that, which is probably why it came off funny.

 

BMW F650GS.

 

I think that may be tough to find in OPs budget. Cool bike though!

 

I gotta be honest, at those speeds I agree, you're going to want a larger bike. It's doable on the smaller ones, but it's going to be sketch. The biggest assets of a bike are speed and maneuverability. How much off roading are you really wanting to do on this bike? (I read the thread, but only saw really rough dirt road going out of the property. How rough? Pics?)


Suzuki 600 modded

 

Good point, good point. My first bike was a 2006 BMW F650GS single cylinder. I also had an F650GS Twin (much more smooth on the highway). Was a member of f650.com for a while. Lots of good info there and sometimes you'll find a bike for sale that may fit that budget. I sold my bike via ibmwr.org. It's a marketplace for BMW motorcycles. I feel BMW's tend to only depreciate to a certain level, then they hold solid. Kinda like the Tacoma.

 

FWIW, I also loved having pannier cases and a tank bag when commuting. I hated hauling stuff in a backpack. It's great to stuff things like laptop, camera, layers of clothing (super helpful when you have cold mornings but warm/hot afternoons, or need rain gear), etc. in the pannier and lock it. Tank bag is great for gloves, GPS, stuff like that. But, these all come at an expense.

 

Do the V-Strom
(Full Disclosure - I'm slightly biased towards Suzuki)

 

From a KLR owner of the last 16 years. The KLR is a GREAT bike for tooling around town and hitting fire trails. It's good on gas, cheap to insure, maintain, nearly bullet proof and they've been around for ages, so there are lots of aftermarket components for it. For safety, I upgraded my brake lines, installed stiffer front springs, and a front fork brace. I have little knowledge of the newer models. I have a 2001 and I love it, but it does have its limitations. It is not a powerful bike- by any stretch of the imagination. It's not very stable cruising on the freeway at 70-75 mph. With stock gearing, you can push it a bit more for short periods, but you'll be winding the piss out of it. I was running around Phoenix a lot with it and at 70+'ish, you are frequently being passed. On freeways, I was always driving in the right-most lane which i f'ing hate because I have to deal with people merging on/off freeway. That's a significant safety issue for me. Primarily for this reason, I upgraded it to a 2016 Honda VFR1200x earlier this year. It's a heavy pig, but it's stable and has the power to cruise at any highway speed (and will never see 1 inch of a dirt road)

IMHO and without knowledge of the current KLR model abilities, I'd suggest a different bike if you are going to be spending a good bit of your ride on a highway. The SV650 would be a better choice. BMW's are good, but expensive to fix/maintain.

 

I sold this to buy my Tacoma.





And this was my first bike.

 

Looks like the same swing arm as my bike. (Got any spare square wall? Good we'll use that...)

 

This was my sport-touring bike. BMW R1100S. Boxer motor with full size cases. It was f'n awesome on the highway and long trips. I miss the hell out of this bike. Most beautiful bike BMW ever designed in my opinion. Bought it for $5900. But I missed dirt. So I sold it for a BMW F650GS Twin.

 

Damn now I'm looking at yz450f's on craigslist..... Might look for my first super moto

 

My bikes -

 

The maintenance intervals for some of the supermotos are very frequent. Just be sure to do your research, yz450s do not have large oil capacities and need frequent oil changes. Not to mention if they go boom its $$$$$$.

 

They are reliable though. The unicam on a Honda is a because the valves can get tight rather easily. The YZ and WR 4 strokes with a dual cam last longer between adjustments. Change the oil frequently, keep the chain tight, and when it starts to idle and ride rough check the valves. If you blow up the motor though it is BANK