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Bike advice

Joined
Jan 8, 2007
Messages
217
Reaction score
17
Location
San Angelo, TX
First Name
Wayland
Last Name
Cooksey
I am currently without a motorcycle. I have sold my 1996 DR350, which I loved, because I did not ride it enough to keep up on the maintenance. It was a great bike and matched my riding style (slow) very well.

I also sold my 2007 DL650, which I also loved. I was using it to commute to work, but living in West Texas and commuting in the dark down a long highway, I had too many close calls with deer and oil field trucks. The joy of riding lost out to the fear of death and dismemberment.

I really want a newer, smaller dual sport that is fuel injected. I have been kicking tires on the Kawaski KLX 250, the Suzuki DR200, the Yamaha XT250, the Yamaha XT250. I have not looked at the KTMs since I do not have a dealer in the area, and I am not sure that I am that aggressive of a rider.

At some point there was a thread on TWT comparing the bikes but I have not been able to locate that thread. I want something that I can make rides such as Uncle's on, not to mention some of the other TWT planned events. I want something that I can accessorize, but I never plan on doing things that I would want a big bike for.

Feel free to share your thoughts and/or help me locate that older thread.
 
I would not go smaller than a 400, like a DRZ400. If you plan to put luggage on it and do some highway miles, you will likely end up not being happy with anything smaller. That said, since you want FI, that does limit the options. Jarrett had a long thread about this recently and he bought the CRF250L, but sold it quickly. If you are not looking to do single track trails, there really isn't that much benefit with going with anything in the 250 range in my opinion. As for the KTMs and being aggressive, you don't HAVE to ride them aggressively to appreciate their performance. I am NOT an aggressive dirt rider and I have truly enjoyed my KTM 530 EXC. I would love to have a newer fuel injected 500 EXC. Even a 450 would be nice. Even better though, would be something like the KTM 690. Lighter than a KLR, way more power, far better suspension and brakes. Can be loaded like a pack mule and still handles nice. Can handle quite rough conditions or cruise down the highway with ease. If this is to be your only bike, the 690 would be hard to beat.
 
At some point there was a thread on TWT comparing the bikes but I have not been able to locate that thread.
Feel free to share your thoughts and/or help me locate that older thread.

Was it this one?

http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117797

I had the CRF250L for a short period, but didn't really bond with it. It's actually a cool bike, but I'm too heavy for it and I thought I wanted something more highway doable. I had to hold the CRF250L wide open to do highway speeds, which got tiring after a while. The CRF250 Rally seems cooler, imo. More versatile.

I bought a KLR recently, but will be getting rid of it as soon as the title arrives. Nothing wrong with the bike per se, but looking at it realistically, there's not that many real dual sport options available to me around here. I can ride my Africa Twin or my daughter's NC700X down any dirt road in the area. Nothing around here that requires a real dual sport bike.

Basically, don't take my advice on dual sport bikes :)
 
How bad are Wee Stroms in the dirt?

I’ve got a friend who has one and she tried running it down a sandy trail in Big Bend - not a good idea with street tires. I got it turned around for her so we could ride out and it has a lot of weight on the front end for sandy off-road conditions.
 
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A 690 like Tourmeister said, or a 701...

I'm not an aggressive rider and I love/hate my 690. (Luv it when it's running right and hate it when it's not.)
 
"I did not ride it enough to keep up on the maintenance. It was a great bike and matched my riding style (slow) very well. "
The Honda CRF250l is very very low maintenance, even if you hardly ride it, and it is pretty slow. I appreciate how reliable it is, it's very light on gas, and it's fun to ride off the highway. It's not enjoyable trying to keep it at 70mph, so not good on the highway.
I also have a Husqvarna 630 that I love ... And I almost always choose it over the CRF. However, it's finicky and I worry when taking it on longer rides because it's had a couple of minor electrical issues.
If I could only have one of those, considering that I'm not young anymore, ... I'd probably keep the CRF250l because it really does everything I need more frugally (even though the fun factor is lower).
 
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I am currently without a motorcycle. I have sold my 1996 DR350, which I loved, because I did not ride it enough to keep up on the maintenance. It was a great bike and matched my riding style (slow) very well.

I also sold my 2007 DL650, which I also loved. I was using it to commute to work, but living in West Texas and commuting in the dark down a long highway, I had too many close calls with deer and oil field trucks. The joy of riding lost out to the fear of death and dismemberment.

I really want a newer, smaller dual sport that is fuel injected. I have been kicking tires on the Kawaski KLX 250, the Suzuki DR200, the Yamaha XT250, the Yamaha XT250. I have not looked at the KTMs since I do not have a dealer in the area, and I am not sure that I am that aggressive of a rider.

At some point there was a thread on TWT comparing the bikes but I have not been able to locate that thread. I want something that I can make rides such as Uncle's on, not to mention some of the other TWT planned events. I want something that I can accessorize, but I never plan on doing things that I would want a big bike for.

Feel free to share your thoughts and/or help me locate that older thread.

Yamaha WR250r is fuel injected and low maintenance. Lots of aftermarket accessories for this bike too.
 
Yamaha WR250r is fuel injected and low maintenance. Lots of aftermarket accessories for this bike too.

And I know someone that might be willing to sell his for the right price... :deal:
 
Yeah, for the greater part of a year, it had TTS, "twitchy throttle syndrome" so bad that I nearly kicked into a steep ravine in Big Bend.

Then one day (luckily) not far from home, it just quit. Wouldn't start for nothing. JT worked his magic but-nuttin honey.

Took it to Munn's. Many weeks and many many €£¥$ later, and I have a running bike.

It had 2 separate issues, the uneven running, surging/lagging was computer related. The sudden death was due to a rocker arm failure. Yes, it was bad. ?
 
Maybe yours was assembled the day after Beerfest... :-P
 
Lots of options to choose from. I met a fellow on a ride in Montana on a WR 250 with almost 80,000 miles on it and no problems. He had only adjusted the valves once. That was really impressive for 250 thumper. Yamaha makes a very solid motorcycle, but for ME, the 250’s I’ve ridden were a bit anemic.

I also happen to be a big fan of the 690 KTM, but I would suggest sticking with the 14 and later 690’s with the dual spark head and single CPU. I’ve got a 14 with 10,000 miles, no issues, and the fueling is always spot on. I have to say it’s my second favorite bike of all time...




.
 
Honda has the new crf450l

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
Are you more interested in something that is heavily dirt-capable, or in (like the DL650) a good street machine with light off-road capabilities? If the second, but you want something lighter than the old VStrom, then here are some options you might consider. Suzuki has the VStrom 250, Kawasaki has the Versys-X 300, and BMW offers the 310GS. I wouldn't consider any of them for long distance touring, but all should be enjoyable commuter bikes that offer high gas mileage, reasonable dirt road capabilities (the GS probably being the best in that category), and they're all a whole lot lighter than a VStrom 650. All are very modern machines - not a carburetor in the bunch.
 
Put a set of Shinko 804, 805's or Mitas e09 or e10's and the Vstrom will be a much better dirt road machine.

I agree , but will hinder road smoothness. I ran Anakee 3's. I just treated my wee as a great sport tourer. I loved it but it is heavy on dirt roads and the front wheel would wash out in sand unless I was back on seat and keeping the revs up in first or second, It scared me in sand and I would not recommend for rolling rock or sandy roads. My Super Sherpa could do sand and so can my Enfield.
 
The sudden death was due to a rocker arm failure. Yes, it was bad. ?

Sorry you got hammered with this. That's a bad one.

As I'm sure you're aware now, the rocker arm issue has been a well known issue with those bikes of those years. Many folks preemptively did the upgrade.

I'm definitely a 690 homer. I LOVE that bike for it's ability to do multiple things, all pretty well. I've done trips of 1200 miles on it 'relatively' comfortably and loaded with gear, but also have done single track with it, but with more energy exerted than my riding buddies on 350's. But still, It can do both pretty d*rn well.
 
:tab I tried multiple tires on the 04 Strom 650. It just never felt "planted". It is one of those things that is hard to describe, but you know it when you feel it. My KLR, 1150GS, both 1200 GSs, and my 530 all have the right feel. The Strom just never had it for me. It was unnerving anytime I took it off the pavement, even on easy gravel. I could not even begin to tell you why though. It just constantly felt like the front end was going to go away any second.

:tab I would suggest attending something like the Roll The Bones event this weekend and seeing if you can snag some test rides on various bikes. That might give you a better idea before you run out and spend a lot of money.
 
:tab I tried multiple tires on the 04 Strom 650. It just never felt "planted". It is one of those things that is hard to describe, but you know it when you feel it. My KLR, 1150GS, both 1200 GSs, and my 530 all have the right feel. The Strom just never had it for me. It was unnerving anytime I took it off the pavement, even on easy gravel. I could not even begin to tell you why though. It just constantly felt like the front end was going to go away any second.

It's interesting you say that. I felt that way about the KLR compared to my AT and NC700X.

With Shinko 805's on all, I feel more comfortable going down gravel roads on the other two than the KLR. Same feeling. Just a weird vibe that it might go nuts any any time. At first I thought it was just newbie jitters, but then remembered I actually saw it happen following two KLR's through the dirt in the Hill Country back in May. They were all over the place while the AT stayed planted. I'll try to find the video.

I was hoping the Strom would be more planted than the KLR as I was going to suggest it to a friend as a first bike.
 
Was it this one?

http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117797

I had the CRF250L for a short period, but didn't really bond with it. It's actually a cool bike, but I'm too heavy for it and I thought I wanted something more highway doable. I had to hold the CRF250L wide open to do highway speeds, which got tiring after a while. The CRF250 Rally seems cooler, imo. More versatile.

I bought a KLR recently, but will be getting rid of it as soon as the title arrives. Nothing wrong with the bike per se, but looking at it realistically, there's not that many real dual sport options available to me around here. I can ride my Africa Twin or my daughter's NC700X down any dirt road in the area. Nothing around here that requires a real dual sport bike.

Basically, don't take my advice on dual sport bikes :)

One of the things that draws me to the smaller bikes is that I am 5'8" and 165. I am in decent shape, but also know that I have worn myself out trying to manage the larger bikes.

I want to do class 1 & 2 roads and possibly some water crossing. I am thinking Junction/Camp Wood stuff.
 
How bad are Wee Stroms in the dirt?

I used mine as a road bike. I bought it in Boston, MA and rode it back to Austin, TX. It was the perfect bike for that...

I did not like it in the dirt but that was the fault of the rider, not the bike.
 
Might dig this video:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SINyNWwFvFk"]Honda CRF250L Rally vs Kawasaki Versys-X 300: The Summer the Coast was Closed | ON TWO WHEELS - YouTube[/ame]
 
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