What dual sport for a newbie?

[ed29]

Originally Posted by rawhide

I was riding it on loop 820 tonight cursing at 70+

That 800 can be a monster in the dirt. Certainly not for a rider new to dirt. I talked to a rider at Big Bend Ranch State Park about his, asked him what he would like to see different on it. His answer was for it to lose 100 pounds and lose 50 horsepower.

[M38A1]

Originally Posted by shanedman

...Only thing i see that i dont care for in the pics i saw, was the bird beak front end.

Hey now, don't be hate'n the beak...


.

[DFW_Warrior]

Originally Posted by shanedman

What about the idea of finding some super cheap dirt bike.... making it street legal....and turning it into a DS?
is this easy/hard? cheap/pricey?

It depends on the bike. If it has a six speed, great. If not, then I would stay away. My WR450 was a dirt bike that was dual sported and it didn't really like more than about 55mph sustained. Sure it would top out at 92, but it really didn't like to hang around up there for very long. XR250's and I think the 400's are six speeds, with a little larger motor for keeping up on with the higher speeds. But neither one of them makes great freeway bikes.

Really it is all a compromise. Nothing out there does all of it rally well. The F800 listed is a great street bike, but get that thing in the deep sand and I give it 5' till it's on it's side. The XR200 would motor through the sand without one hint of problem, but would cruise around 40mph on the easy stuff, where the F800 would be doing 80mph with ease. So there really isn't an easy answer for you, I'm afraid.

[rawhide]

Originally Posted by M38A1

Hey now, don't be hate'n the beak...


.

[shanedman]

Originally Posted by ed29

That 800 can be a monster in the dirt. Certainly not for a rider new to dirt. I talked to a rider at Big Bend Ranch State Park about his, asked him what he would like to see different on it. His answer was for it to lose 100 pounds and lose 50 horsepower.

Perhaps it would still work for someone liek me who wouldnt necessarily be wanting to get into the heavy dirt, but have the ability to still get a little dirty if the occasion presented itself.

Originally Posted by M38A1

Hey now, don't be hate'n the beak...


.

I said i liked the bike just would take "some getting used" to for me.

Originally Posted by DFW_Warrior

It depends on the bike. If it has a six speed, great. If not, then I would stay away. My WR450 was a dirt bike that was dual sported and it didn't really like more than about 55mph sustained. Sure it would top out at 92, but it really didn't like to hang around up there for very long. XR250's and I think the 400's are six speeds, with a little larger motor for keeping up on with the higher speeds. But neither one of them makes great freeway bikes.

Really it is all a compromise. Nothing out there does all of it rally well. The F800 listed is a great street bike, but get that thing in the deep sand and I give it 5' till it's on it's side. The XR200 would motor through the sand without one hint of problem, but would cruise around 40mph on the easy stuff, where the F800 would be doing 80mph with ease. So there really isn't an easy answer for you, I'm afraid.

Nothing ever is "THAT" easy.... im just taking it all in and letting it simmer in my brain... like i said.. im not really 100% decided, and i would have to wait for finances to be right....but i like to make informed decisions when possible, so nothing wrong with being proactive.

[Meriden]

Originally Posted by shanedman

due to my "beginner" part of this, i wouldnt be doign any heavy duty off road stuff....
again i say "IF" i got a DS, id mostly want something i could commute with to/from work, so has to be able to handle plenty of street...
and probably just occasional off road in the beginning, until i got more confident in that area.
80-90% street
10-20% off-road (gradually more once i learned the bike, and found some spots to go off road)

Old and common. No matter what you get you'll likely be upgrading it, or tossing it out for what you want once you get some miles under your belt. Hondas especially will have tons of aftermarket support, are common as pennies and can be bought at a reasonable price. Plan on breaking off parts fairly often as you learn, so stay away from orphans and thoroughbreds that may have high parts costs. When checking pricing see how many are for sale on line and then see how many pages your favorite on line store has in farkles.

Other than that, light and short. Light to make it more fun to ride and short since you're likely to be dabbing a lot as you learn. Save the plated dirt bike for your second phase. Ground clearance is great only if you have the skills to use it and you'll find most experienced riders lower their bikes, not raise them.

Finally, dirt roads are not off road. I can think of only a few dirt roads in Texas that require a real dual sport.

[Hellwig]

i am a new rider with about a year and half experience. I bought a klx250s as first bike and still have it. Love that bike for short street and trails although have put 400plus mile days on back roads a few times and it will comfortably handle 75-80 mph with stock gearing for short jaunts across town. I wouldnt want to run the interstate for alot of distance. Its a great compromise for a cheap beginner looking for a 50/50 or so dirt/ street bike. I recently jumped up to a drz400 for more offroad power and love that but miss 6th gear on the road! But what do i know about riding im a newbie still. And no im not trying to sell you or anyone else my klx just passing along my opinion. Just get a bike and ride!

[SilverBullet]

Originally Posted by Meriden

...Ground clearance is great only if you have the skills to use it and you'll find most experienced riders lower their bikes, not raise them.

What? have never heard of anyone doing this unless you mean the "inseam challenged" experienced riders. haha

Originally Posted by Meriden

...Finally, dirt roads are not off road. I can think of only a few dirt roads in Texas that require a real dual sport.

Please tell me about these few roads you speak of. Have yet to find them.

Originally Posted by Hellwig

... And no im not trying to sell you or anyone else my klx just passing along my opinion.

But wait why then does your signature say that the bike is for sale then? Sounds like a slick used car salesmen setting the hook to me, hahaha

_

[ed29]

Chispa Rd west of Candelaria would be such a road. Most maps don't even show it anymore, but it is still there.

[Meriden]

He's just giving me a hard time. There are a couple near the soccer field. 9 mile road comes to mind. I'm not sure I'm going to cross the James river on the RT.

[SilverBullet]

Originally Posted by Meriden

He's just giving me a hard time. There are a couple near the soccer field. 9 mile road comes to mind. I'm not sure I'm going to cross the James river on the RT.

Guess it depends how you define "real dual sport". If that includes the big adventure bikes sometimes labeled as dual sports then yes you're correct. But when I hear "real dual sport" my scope is limited to XRL, DR, KLR, WRR or equivalent only and then I still say no public road be it dirt, gravel, sand or other actually requires one of those to ride it.

Mudclod, MotoTex, Ed dirt, Hemibee and many others do quite well on the above mentioned type roads with 1000cc, 500-600lb, 100hp adventure bikes.

_

[sodapop]

Read all of this and then decide: Yamaha WR250R Mega Thread

[hizzo3]

Wr250r is my top pick.

If $ is a concern KLR650.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[SilverBullet]

Originally Posted by sodapop

Read all of this and then decide: Yamaha WR250R Mega Thread

Don't do it! It's a trick. Read 2,000+ pages of any thread on Advrider and you'll become brainwashed. hahaha

_

[WoodButcher]

So, how tall are you? That comes into play too. Some DS bikes are just plain tall. You can lower many of them or just get used to the height. Others are a big lower or have a option to easily change to lower (like the DR650).

I'm north of RM620, west of the Round Rock hospital if you want to try my DR650. It is not a tall bike, but not short either. Plenty of power and I actually have it geared down so it is better offroad, but will run down the highway just fine. I'll be putting a new tire on it tonight or tomorrow. Plus I've had and/or ridden many of the bikes mentioned and could talk your ear off.

[shanedman]

Originally Posted by WoodButcher

So, how tall are you? That comes into play too. Some DS bikes are just plain tall. You can lower many of them or just get used to the height. Others are a big lower or have a option to easily change to lower (like the DR650).

I'm north of RM620, west of the Round Rock hospital if you want to try my DR650. It is not a tall bike, but not short either. Plenty of power and I actually have it geared down so it is better offroad, but will run down the highway just fine. I'll be putting a new tire on it tonight or tomorrow. Plus I've had and/or ridden many of the bikes mentioned and could talk your ear off.

im 6'0, 220lbs, so im not the smallest guy...
perhaps we should get together in the near future.. wouldnt mind trying a different/new to me bike.... and i aint afraid to sit and chat about bikes.. especially if beer is involved.

[swoody126]

Dusty

here is a website that will give you specific information, as to seat height, weight, length.. etc.

http://www.bikez.com/index.php

the selections are on the left side of the page

the next site i might suggest is:

http://www.bikefinds.com/

it lists ALL dirt/dual sport bikes for sale, on the internet

w/ these 2 sites, you can get an idea of what folks are talking about in their ads, as well as what you have been reading here

you haven't mentioned what your budget might be, if things work out...

in time, you will most likely end up w/ more than 1 skoot

maybe even 3(dirt, d/s & street/road), like many of us

don't push your lady into riding her own bike

let her make up her own mind

if she rides w/ you, enjoy

if she wishes you well on your rides, enjoy

just for the record, i have a TTR230 dirt bike, a DR350 d/s & a DL650 street/road bike

i weigh 260#+ & am 5'10" w/ a short stride(30")

i have ridden & enjoyed many sizes & configurations, over the years & am looking fwd to many more years of riding pleasure

all of the folks who have replied to your post have shared their best thoughts & information

most of the skoots on the market have pro's & con's

stick w/ a major manufacturer & as mentioned above, check out internet advertisers & fleabay, etc... to see what kind of parts & farkle support a particular skoot has, b4 buying anything

keep your eyes on the ads & take some time to straddle as many skoots as you can

check out what NADA & KELLY BLUE BOOK have to say about pricing, remembering that insurance companies use services like these to pay off after an incident

don't get caught up in someone's hype & end up w/ more invested than you can expect to recover from the insurance company after an incident

good luck on your quest & keep on reading & joining in everything TWT...

& that's my 2¢ worth on this subject

sw

[Andrew T]

Originally Posted by rawhide

I was riding it on loop 820 tonight cursing at 70+

Cursing because the traffic was so slow and you wanted to be doing 90?

[rawhide]

Originally Posted by Andrew T

Cursing because the traffic was so slow and you wanted to be doing 90?

"cruising" What r you, an English teacher?

[WoodButcher]

Originally Posted by shanedman

im 6'0, 220lbs, so im not the smallest guy...
perhaps we should get together in the near future.. wouldnt mind trying a different/new to me bike.... and i aint afraid to sit and chat about bikes.. especially if beer is involved.

Okay, 20 pounds heavier then me so you can handle a full sized bike.