Mid-Size Dual Sport bike recommendations! Please advise!!!

[BeemerCowboy]

Hey Everyone!~

I own a BMW R1150R. And I love the bike. It's amazing. However, it's not an offroader, and I sometimes get tired of the superslab. My first motorcycle was a Suzuki DR125 and I remember tearing up my old property with it. I would like to purchase a dual sport motorcycle with a little more power.

I've been doing some checking, and I've found that very few mid-range (250-550 cc) DS motorcycles are even produced anymore! Suzuki makes the DRZ400, but I prefer not to purchase new. Bikes that I have found that I like are the Suzuki DR350 and the Yamaha XT350, both ceasing production about 2000. Does anyone have any experiences with these models?

My main question is this: Are there any more mid-range dual sports that I don't know about? These things are getting hard to find!

I'd appreciate any help/advice!

Till then.........

[bushwhacker]

The DRZ400 has been around since 2000 so there are plenty of used ones around, some set up pretty good with skid plate, radiator guards, engine case guards, etc.

I do understand that they upgraded the suspension on the "S" in 2002 so that is a consideration.

However, it is pretty easy to modify and register the "E" and "K" (Dirt only) models in Texas.

-

[Tourmeister]

I have seen some smoking deals on the various versions of the DRZ400. Keep an eye on thumpertalk.com and also on the Texasoffroad.net site.

[Hood Ornament]

Hey Everyone!~

I own a BMW R1150R. And I love the bike. It's amazing. However, it's not an offroader, and I sometimes get tired of the superslab. My first motorcycle was a Suzuki DR125 and I remember tearing up my old property with it. I would like to purchase a dual sport motorcycle with a little more power.

I've been doing some checking, and I've found that very few mid-range (250-550 cc) DS motorcycles are even produced anymore! Suzuki makes the DRZ400, but I prefer not to purchase new. Bikes that I have found that I like are the Suzuki DR350 and the Yamaha XT350, both ceasing production about 2000. Does anyone have any experiences with these models?

My main question is this: Are there any more mid-range dual sports that I don't know about? These things are getting hard to find!

I'd appreciate any help/advice!

Till then.........

I know where you can get a DRZ 400E that has been dual sported and tagged if you're interested. I think he's asking something like $3500 for it. Has a ton of aftermarket stuff including a full Yosh system.

[Bagwell]

Suzuki DRZ400 is a great bike and comes in an electric street model and dirt elec start model as well as dirt kick only model

Kawasaki makes a KLX400 model which is basically the same as the Suzuki DRZ. I dont remember if they do a street model as well but I would imagine they do.

Honda made an XR400L I believe electric start street legal I may be wrong on the L designation. I know they made the R for dirt though.

XT350 by yamaha and the DR350 by suzuki are supposed to be great dual sport bikes. I think the DR is maybe a lil more bike than the XT tho.

Yamaha for some reason hasnt made a big or mid dual sport bike in a while.

They did have the XT600 for a while though.

I may be wrong on some of this info, so correct me if I am. :)
Hope this helps.

Vaughn

[bronco78]

a 2002 on up DRZ400 has your name all over it :trust: Unlike some other bands, the DRZ street legal and dirt only bike share the same motor, frame, brakes, and suspension. If you like to mod your bike,,you can start with either and end up in the same place, as just about all the same parts added to an S (the street model) are the same as you would add to an E (the dirt model) In stock trim the E is a better value for the dirt minded rider. Major differences include an FCR39 carb, vs CV BSR36 on the S. More aggressive cams in the E, and slightly higher CR for the E. The cab is a common swap, many folks upgrade either bike to a better set of cams from Hot Cams, and you can have the higher CR of the E with a simple change of the base gasket.

Want more details?? Ask.. I've built a few DRZ's :rider: And currently ride a slightly modified DRZ450, that started life as a showroom stock DRZ 400 S in 2003.

[BeemerCowboy]

Great advice! Thanks everyone!

[ColGoodnight]

If you'd like to prove your hair shirt itches you more than anyone else's hair shirt itches them, there's the Royal Enfield Trials/Scrambler models:

http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/custom_trials.html

Tom

[Desmo]

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/1410/20020913185757aa7ky.th.jpg (http://img218.imageshack.us/my.php?image=20020913185757aa7ky.jpg)

Ahh, I remember it well. Early 90's DR-350S purchased brand new. After almost 10 years, I sold it with only 1,600 miles. Why so few you ask? Well, it was so buzzy on the street it made my nether-regions tingle (not in a good way) after about 15 miles.

The good: light, agile, dependable, sips gas. Looks good and it was considered one of the best dual sports at the time. They made lots of them so you should'nt have trouble finding parts.

The bad: Rear shock is way too soft. Kick start only (later models had magic button). First gear way too tall for dirt so I went one down on the countershaft sprocket. Then too buzzy on street (see tingle note above).

That said, I now have a KLR. I put more miles on the KLR in a month than I put on the DR in years. Althought the KLR is heavier, it is still more fun in the dirt and there is just no comparison on the street.

Steve

[leekellerking]

Hey Everyone!~

I own a BMW R1150R. And I love the bike. It's amazing. However, it's not an offroader, and I sometimes get tired of the superslab. My first motorcycle was a Suzuki DR125 and I remember tearing up my old property with it. I would like to purchase a dual sport motorcycle with a little more power.

I've been doing some checking, and I've found that very few mid-range (250-550 cc) DS motorcycles are even produced anymore! Suzuki makes the DRZ400, but I prefer not to purchase new. Bikes that I have found that I like are the Suzuki DR350 and the Yamaha XT350, both ceasing production about 2000. Does anyone have any experiences with these models?

Interestingly, the Corpus Christi PD uses DRZ 400s for some of their motor cops. I was working late at the office last when I heard the sound of motorcycles in our parking lot. I stepped out the back door to see two bikes & riders in the lot and one on the street. It was CCPD checking out a report of someone sleeping in our parking lot.

The DRZ 400 makes a lot of sense in Corpus. You can ride it on the street and on the beach, and for a LOT less than the BMW dual purpose police bike.


Lee

[Georgiapeach]

You'll just have to come down to North Houston area. You can ride my DR-Z400s, and I'm pretty sure one of the many KLR's owned by some of the other guys here would let you at least sit on their's. The only recommendation I can make is get one that has an aftermarket seat available. My husband had his Honda CRF450X converted to street legal and still trailers it because the seat is too uncomfortable to ride any distance. I can ride my DR-Z miles and miles to dirt then miles and miles home. (Still liking the Corbin)

[Bagwell]

I dont know if corbin makes anything for his CRF, but Ceet makes some good foam and a cover that makes my WR real comfortable for a dirtbike. :)

Vaughn

[VFRJohn]

I recently acquired an XT-350. It was pretty well worn out when I got it, but it will do for my initiation into dualsporting. I have nothing to compare it to, but it seems pretty peppy, and smooth for a single. (It has a counterbalancer in the engine).

Kick start only, though. I already think that will become a big issue, once I fall down a few times and get too exhausted to start it!

Hope to give a better report after I learn to ride it, in a few years...

[Bagwell]

kickstarting really isnt an issue
they are not usually hard to start if they are tuned right.

Vaughn

[Tourmeister]

And you have good knees... :-|

[bronco78]

and your not stuck on a hill, in a creek, in the mud, and the motors not flooded because you fell over (that’s what happens, dont ya know ,, when ys fall :trust: )

The E button is a big reason I stick with a very modded DRZ450. I can make a simple mistake,, stall the motor in a tight technical corner, hill, drop off, and just push the button and keep on rolling. Most would never notice I stalled out. Kickers making the same mistake (or sometimes things just happen, no mistake) will have to fit both the bike position at the obstacle and kick starting. Seen it hundreds of kick...kick...fall...kick.. fall...kick... while I :lol2: and offer help :giveup: then:rider: then :eat: and again offer help :giveup:

[Bagwell]

no one ever accused my knees of being good. :)
hehe.

Vaughn

[Jack Giesecke]

Hey Everyone!~

I own a BMW R1150R. And I love the bike. It's amazing. However, it's not an offroader, and I sometimes get tired of the superslab. My first motorcycle was a Suzuki DR125 and I remember tearing up my old property with it. I would like to purchase a dual sport motorcycle with a little more power.

I've been doing some checking, and I've found that very few mid-range (250-550 cc) DS motorcycles are even produced anymore! Suzuki makes the DRZ400, but I prefer not to purchase new. Bikes that I have found that I like are the Suzuki DR350 and the Yamaha XT350, both ceasing production about 2000. Does anyone have any experiences with these models?

My main question is this: Are there any more mid-range dual sports that I don't know about? These things are getting hard to find!

I'd appreciate any help/advice!

Till then.........

It's kinda small, but my diamo LS200 is a total hoot off road. It's basically a XR200 clone with lights and street legal. You can see 'em at http://www.diamousa.com . They're cheap and they seem to hold up well. I've sold five and kept one. It comes with a luggage rack which is handy for trips to the store and to haul my feed into my feeder down on my place. I love that thing for no more than it cost. It's a good option if you don't wanna spend a buncha money. You can get a brand new bike for less than what a used Japanese bike costs. The fit and finish on the frame is below Japanese standards and some of the wiring seems a bit cheesy, but that's about the only complaints I have about the bike. Considering it's not main transportation and it hasn't screwed up on me, I'm pretty happy with it. I've had no complaints about the ones I've sold, either. It ain't real fast, cruise about 50 on the street max, so I don't go taking it on west Texas trips unless it's on my van's Moto Tote. :mrgreen: But, if you ain't looking at any long freeway/highway stuff, it's a good option in a little DP. I wish the Chinese would offer an XR400 clone, but the 200 is as big as I've found. It serves for what I use it for, though.

And, though it has a kicker, the little button on the right grip by the throttle works really well.;-)

[Paoli Veloce]

What's the top speed of the DRZ400? Is it fast enough to ride on the highway
(not interstate)? What is the range with the stock fuel tank? I'm particularly interested in the SM version as a second bike.

Paul B.

[Jack Giesecke]

What's the top speed of the DRZ400? Is it fast enough to ride on the highway
(not interstate)? What is the range with the stock fuel tank? I'm particularly interested in the SM version as a second bike.

Paul B.

The SM bike will push 100 mph with stock gearing I'm told. Any version of the DRZ is plenty highway capable, though I've heard it's not the most comfortable bike out there for long hauls.

[sharkey]

Too bad Honda doesn't import the TransAlp into the US. It seems like a nice mid range dual sport. We always miss out on some nice bike from across the pond.

I'd buy a Honda Deauvalle but I'm weird....

[bushwhacker]

What's the top speed of the DRZ400? Is it fast enough to ride on the highway
(not interstate)? What is the range with the stock fuel tank? I'm particularly interested in the SM version as a second bike.

Paul B.

Mine is bone stock except for open airbox and rejet. I have had it to about 99 indicated on the HOV which is about 90-91 per GPS.

I cruise at 75-85 indicated with no problems.

-

[bronco78]

A stock S will run out of HP at just under 90 .. it still has more gearing at that point.. just no HP to make it to RPM limit (10,000 for the S and SM) Once you mod it a bit... it will do just under 100 mph. It's not much fun to ride at those speeds. I've done a dozen 220 mile rides, getting from work site to home and back one summer. That was more then I would want to ride, but very doable. It has the power to ride 75-80 all day long.

[Hood Ornament]

And you have good knees... :-|

And you ride with the nut jobs that I ride with. :giveup:

[Hood Ornament]

What's the top speed of the DRZ400? Is it fast enough to ride on the highway
(not interstate)? What is the range with the stock fuel tank? I'm particularly interested in the SM version as a second bike.

Paul B.


I want to say the stock tank is good for a little over 150 miles before you hit reserve if you ride at the speed limits. I put an IMS 3.2 gallon tank on mine not to long after I got it.

[bushwhacker]

I want to say the stock tank is good for a little over 150 miles before you hit reserve if you ride at the speed limits. I put an IMS 3.2 gallon tank on mine not to long after I got it.

The best I have gotten out of mine, riding conservatively, is 60 mpg which would put you at just under 120 with the stock tank. Of course my conservative riding may appear to some as a tad agressive.

Very agressive riding, ie rabbit starts and cruising at 85 actual for extended periods brings the gas mileage down to the low to mid 40's which puts you at reserve at something under 90 miles.

Sounds like a Valkyrie, don't it.:lol2:

-

[Tx Rider]

A 400 will do highway, I used to interstate on my honda 350 from Houston to Beaumont on I-10, course the limit was 55 then, but I did 65-70. But it was a twin not a single and a bit less vibrations.

I'm waiting for two things before my next dual sport purchase, to see how well the Aprillia 450 twin works and hopefully get to try one out, I think a light v twin 450 would be a supremely nice DS bike.

The other is to see what KTM is moving to. The rumors have been flying that they are working hard on a replacement for the LC4 engine, and I've heard more rumors it might be a small v twin since the Dakar race they so dominate with the LC4 thumper engined bikes has now eliminated any twin cylinder motorcycles over 450cc from the race.

Either one of those at the 250lb-325lb range for weight would be a great DS bike, smoother on the highway and still an animal in the dirt.

[Jack Giesecke]

I sort of miss my XL600, but it was really needing some work. Of course, it's stone simple to rebuild, but I just didn't wanna mess with it. Heck, if I still had it, it'd probably evolved into a flat tracker by now. :lol:

[Hood Ornament]

The best I have gotten out of mine, riding conservatively, is 60 mpg which would put you at just under 120 with the stock tank. Of course my conservative riding may appear to some as a tad agressive.

Very agressive riding, ie rabbit starts and cruising at 85 actual for extended periods brings the gas mileage down to the low to mid 40's which puts you at reserve at something under 90 miles.

Sounds like a Valkyrie, don't it.:lol2:

-

I've managed to get less then 100 miles with the 3.2 gallon tank. The milage drops way down when you're plowing around in first gear! :mrgreen: