Another New Rider From Central Texas

Howdy, I am from near Temple in Bell County. Currently have a 1996 Suzuki DR350SE and a 2003 Suzuki DR650 (Well, there is also a 1981 Honda XL125 in the shed too). These are dual sport bikes that I use on the back roads of Texas. I started motorcycling in 1972 and still at it!

Geezer

Welcome new "rider!"

If all goes well, I'll be picking up a '98 DR650 today. w00t.

Feel absolutely free to talk about your favorite back roads and routes in the, well, Roads and Routes section...

From one geezer to another...

Welcome aboard, Geezer!

Gotta say, that dual-sport thing is really catchin' on. Although I've done plenty of dirt-roadin' on both of my bikes, I'm about ready to find a dual-sport and get a little further off the beaten path! :clap

Welcome! I am also from Temple, though I ride a VFR. Hope to meet sometime.

Dual sport rocks, Ive been doing it off and on since I was a kid and got my first XL350 twin Honda back in the seventies.

It's nice that a few bike companies are making decent bikes for it again. Seems they quit making good ones back in the late 70's when motocross got big, and are just now rediscovering the middleweight on/off road bikes and focusing on them more and more.

I haven't been keeping good track of what's come out since 1996 when I bought my KTM, what are the better dual sports out there that can handle a 1000mi highway run now?

Wow... that is a loaded question!

Let's see...

BMW f650GS/Dakar
BMW R1150GS and R1150GS Adventure
Kawasaki/Suzuki KLR650
Suzuki DR650
Honda XR650L
A whole mess of KTM's
Suzuki Vstrom 650 and 1000
Aprilia Caponord

I'm sure I have missed a few...

For the 1000 mile rides I would not mess with anything other than the BMW's, VStrom's, and the Aprilia. The rest are much more dirt oriented, especially the KTM's and are not as comfy when soaking up the big miles. Of course, if you still have the stamina of a mid twenty something kid, any of them will do

Adios,

LoL, the mid 20's stamina wore down some time ago, and the mid thirties stamina as well, the mid forties stamina is winding down fast.

I was just looking around and saw a custom seat that would go on my KTM, that would make it rideable for some distance anyway.

Trying to make a roadable dual sport out of it may have to wait for a while though, I put in about 600 miles this weekend on the Dyna which I haven't had very long, and decided it needs a 2:1 supertrapp, fork brace and a steering damper and a few other bits to adjust pegs and reach better to my 6'3" height.

Then I want to do some longer rides with it this summer and decide if I want to keep it long term and have the engine popped up to 100HP or sell it and try something else.

Another good question, have you heard of any shops that rent dual sports by the day or week? I know I've seen touring bikes and Harley rentals all over the place, would be real good way to try a few out.

Renting anything other than a Harley in Texas is hard to do. I have heard there are a few places in the DFW area to rent Goldwings, but that is about it. You could do a Pancho Villa Dual Sport tour out of El Paso I believe they will even provide the bikes. However, they are mostly XR650's and the like.

Adios,

There's lot's of places who rent them in Arizona and Baja Mex., for those with a real sense of adventure... you'd have to take their tours though.

The Vstrom would be good for paved roads with patches, the XR650L good if you just need to hop on a road for a few feet to get to to the next trail... actually it's not bad on the highway, but I used it primarilly as a trail bike. The Kaw KLR650's are a great in-between choice, and there are tons of touring accessories available for them. They have quite a cult following.

By the way, I'm a new guy... my name's Casey Fry, Scott knows me. I recently bought a house in Leander, and currently ride a Honda NX650. I have an interest in all forms of riding, but am cursed with a particular passion for off-road and adventure touring. I've been on a 1-1/2 year hiatus from riding, a result of a nasty injury to my right wrist. Yep, the wrist that makes it all go. I'm on the road again, looking forward to what's to come.

Well, well, well... So you are back to riding!? Have you regained full use of your hand? Nice to see you found your way here. PM me your address so I can figure out where you live. Welcome back to Texas!!

Adios,

Hey Scott, that didn't take long...

Hand, yes, wrist, no. I found I can roll the throttle with my fingers just fine, wheelies and such are very difficult though. I feel like God installed governor in my wrist. HMMM...

WHOA!!!! What's this? R1150 GS?!?! If it's silver with the "Adventure" badge, I'm gonna beat yer butt. You can't beat me to my dream bike! Oh wait, it's blue, you're safe. I'm still terribly jealous though.