First Dual Sport

Doktor said:

Sorry, I disagree there too. Weight buys you nothing on the highway. The engine works harder, the suspension works harder and the brakes work harder.

You don't notice the weight as much but, it is still working against you.

Additional weight for added function or rigidity is one thing, weight for added weight sake buys you zip.

You remove 100 lbs off a KLR and I guarantee it's a better bike EVERYWHERE.

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I prefer to have a little extra weight on the highway, compared to a dirt bike. It is a more relaxing ride that way. For me personally, the KLR is just a little overweight for the road. The first gen would be about right as far as weight goes, especially if highway means boring 70mph cruising.

But then again, I'm a little off, according to some.

jqueen said:

I prefer to have a little extra weight on the highway, compared to a dirt bike. It is a more relaxing ride that way. For me personally, the KLR is just a little overweight for the road. The first gen would be about right as far as weight goes, especially if highway means boring 70mph cruising.

But then again, I'm a little off, according to some.

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Slow and relaxing like an Elephant vs. a Cheetah? lol

Weight makes a bike seemed relaxed since it takes more effort to move it around obviously. Remove 50-100 lbs. off a KLR and I bet anyone would think it's a better bike.

You could go to lighter rate springs, the suspension becomes more compliant, the forks flex less, the bike accelerates, turns and stops quicker since there is less mass to move or stop.

There is ZERO advantage to a more weight as long as strength and function aren't compromised making it lighter. A heavy bike does mask heavy unsprung weight, not exactly an advantage.

1. Cheap
2. Light
3. Reliable

Pick 2, guess which two Kawasaki picked?

I like the KLR but, if I owned one I would put it on a serious (costly) diet.

Doktor said:

Weight makes a bike seemed relaxed since it takes more effort to move it around obviously.

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Yep, that's why I like it.

Doktor said:

Remove 50-100 lbs. off a KLR and I bet anyone would think it's a better bike.

You could go to lighter rate springs, the suspension becomes more compliant, the forks flex less, the bike accelerates, turns and stops quicker since there is less mass to move or stop.

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Why would I do that? I don't want it to accelerate, turn, or stop any quicker. I like that it has a fair amount of mass. I specifically stepped down from a much higher performance bike to this one. On purpose, even.

Doktor said:

There is ZERO advantage to a more weight as long as strength and function aren't compromised making it lighter. A heavy bike does mask heavy unsprung weight, not exactly an advantage.

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Except the advantage of:

Doktor said:

Weight makes a bike seemed relaxed since it takes more effort to move it around obviously.

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Does it take more effort for the wind to move it around?

To the OP- I think this is actually very relevant. It demonstrates perfectly that different people want different things out of bikes. Buy something cheep so you can figure out what you want.

After riding my Strom in SOCAL for over a year now on various trails and fireroads I'd say NEARLY everything in Texas is easily doable on a KLR or DR since most "off road" areas that I've found in Texas are simply unpaved farm and ranch roads. To get to the "Good stuff" you need to travel to SHNF or BIG BEND and I've been to Big Bend on the Strom you couldn't go as fast as the dual sport guys but the Strom went everywhere I pointed it and got the job done.

If you want something dirt bike oriented though I'd go DRZ400 all the way.

jqueen said:

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Yep, that's why I like it.



Why would I do that? I don't want it to accelerate, turn, or stop any quicker. I like that it has a fair amount of mass. I specifically stepped down from a much higher performance bike to this one. On purpose, even.



Except the advantage of:



Does it take more effort for the wind to move it around?

To the OP- I think this is actually very relevant. It demonstrates perfectly that different people want different things out of bikes. Buy something cheep so you can figure out what you want.

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Agreed. Different people want different things.

Every bike I've owned that I've worked at making lighter has been a better bike for me. Lighter means quicker and more responsive w/o needing to add HP or bigger brakes.

As I get older, I prefer to have better tools and work less hard doing the same thing. Easier on an old body.

Watching my buddy smash thru Hidden Falls on a KLR re-enforced that lighter is better. That's why I own more than one bike, a lightweight off-road bike and a street bike when I'm just hitting the pavement.

My KTM with the Motard wheels installed is just too much fun. It's tempting to act like a teenager on the thing.

I want to follow someone on a V-Strom thru Hidden Falls with the GoPro going.

Thanks for all the help. I'm still looking for the right deal.

Doktor said:

...I want to follow someone on a V-Strom thru Hidden Falls with the GoPro going.

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How about Crooked Creek on a Versys (even more of a street bike than a V-Strom). This only proves though that it is truly 90% rider and 10% bike. Actually probably more like 95/5. I also saw him ride 30 miles of unmaintained deep sand beach on that same bike after a full knobbied KTM 950 turned around after one mile.

http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92829&highlight=versys+video

And I also agree that more weight for the highway makes for a better ride. Comfort, less vibrations, stable handling, less getting blown all over the road by wind and trucks. You just cannot expect a 240 lb plated dirtbike to perform the same on pavement as a 350 lb dual sport bike. Same you cannot expect the dual sport bike to perform the same as the plated dirtbike on dirt.

_

My dual sport bike is a Tiger 800XC and I think a bigger bike is a definite plus on the paved road to the trail, and a definite minus once you are there. I ride mostly gravel/dirt roads with the occasionally single track. I think the questions that swoody126 posed are valid questions you should give serious thoughts about.

The problem is that what you need to ride two up, is exactly what you don't want riding on a trail--size and weight. You really need to define your needs before looking at what type of bike to buy. If I were going to ride a lot of rocky single track like they have at big bend I'd definitely be looking at a bike 400 cc or less and that wouldn't be a comfortable two-up bike for most other riding.

bmcdonau said:

My dual sport bike is a Tiger 800XC and I think a bigger bike is a definite plus on the paved road to the trail, and a definite minus once you are there. I ride mostly gravel/dirt roads with the occasionally single track. I think the questions that swoody126 posed are valid questions you should give serious thoughts about.

The problem is that what you need to ride two up, is exactly what you don't want riding on a trail--size and weight. You really need to define your needs before looking at what type of bike to buy. If I were going to ride a lot of rocky single track like they have at big bend I'd definitely be looking at a bike 400 cc or less and that wouldn't be a comfortable two-up bike for most other riding.

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Every bike is a compromise, that is why you need multiple bikes...

There's a guy on ADV and his wife on a KTM 990; did hardcore desert single tracks as well as cruise comfortably on highways.

Can't really add a lot to what has been said but at 70k I really enjoy my klr650. I'm not a real off the road type of guy but I do enjoy the gravel road type of exploring. Sometimes I do a short ride down the interstate. Unlike my old K100 rs (which I really like) there is no computer, no fuel injection, no fuel pump, ect. It's not the fastest or prettiest bike around and I don't ride two up. It has ran on 87 octane and rolled on cheap tires, along with regular oil and filter changes ever since I purchased it. Basic maintenance is simple, and if gives out somewhere in Podunk Texas on a Saturday afternoon and there's a Tractor Supply or a Napa close by I can probaly get it home. To each his own, stay safe.

KLR or DR650 would fit your wants from what I read. Both fill in the grey area between big dual sports and small adventure bikes by doing both jobs well enough. Notice I typed well enough, not plain well.

Back when I was shopping I looked at all the specs and couldn't see how a heavy bike with too small forks, soft feeling brakes, and a slow revving motor could be as much fun as its fan base claimed. I came from a racing background and my toy of choice was a modified CRF450R. Dynoed 54 ponies at the rear wheel and had good suspension mods.

Skipping a lot of episodes to jump to now... My KLR has 54,000 plus miles on it and has put more grins on my face than any other bike I have owned. Slow??? So I have heard. Mine has only managed to nudge 103 on the GPS, but really how much faster do I want to go on an adventure or dual sport ride? Heavy??? Yup, no bones about that. Its weight spells momentum off pavement. When you learn to use this for you rough obstacles like miles of baby head creek bottom become easier and result in the silly grins I spoke of earlier. Reliable? Yup again. So far almost everything that has broken on mine is because I broke it. The exception to that is the anti spill valve in the stock gas cap. It fouled up and went into no spill mode when it should have been venting. Had a nice gasoline geyser on a hot day while riding a desert creek bottom.

I'm a little guy, 5'7" and about 150 with short legs. I still needed to increase the front spring rate to fit my riding. Changed the rear shock for a better unit after I broke the stock unit.

I'll offer you an all day test ride on mine if you find yourself in Big Bend area. I'd offer up my buddy's bike in DFW, but that would have to be an agreement between you and him. Go to the Friday Ice Cream gathering in Richland Hills and you will probably see some well loved and well equipped KLRs there. Especially if they know you are coming and want to see them.

Since you are thinking of a KLR650 there are some really good options to rent it and similar bikes. We rented from http://gsmmotorent.com . They rent in the Smoky Mountains in the Sumer and in Big Ben in the winter and have a wide variety of bikes from 250's to big BMW's. A day rental is cheaper than one modification to a bike and/or registering a bike.

If your plans can at all include a trip to the Smokies I highly recommend it.

Been having my present KLR for 14 years now. Bought it to finish the TAT back in 2000 after doing a bit of it on a DR350SE. The 350 was better on the trail, but, having to make long runs from South Louisiana to the next part of the tAT I doing, not so good. It's never been my only bike in my stable, but the longest standing bike in my stable. Bikes it's seen come and go : BMWs > R11R,. R1150GS, DL1000, DRZ400SE, DR650SE. The light DRZ 400 and DR650 went due to comfort, stability in cross winds and motor characteristics. Mileage range didn't hurt either.
My old KLR is still my GO TO bike down here doing back roads due to more suspension on these ruff roads and the gravel ones also. My Bandit gets the nod for a longer, faster run on the better roads. But, it's set up so I can stand on the pegs on bad sections or if I get on a gravel road.
I do prefer the older KLR over the New ones. Less stuff to break when you drop it and a bit less weight.
Been riding for near 55 years and a bit over 400,000 miles and at present, if I had to have just one bike, the old KLR would get the nod. If I was 20, 30, 40 years younger and in a go fast , wheelie mode, I'd spring for a KTM or the like. But, for what I do now days, the old KLR works just fine.

achesley said:

Been having my present KLR for 14 years now. Bought it to finish the TAT back in 2000 after doing a bit of it on a DR350SE. The 350 was better on the trail, but, having to make long runs from South Louisiana to the next part of the tAT I doing, not so good. It's never been my only bike in my stable, but the longest standing bike in my stable. Bikes it's seen come and go : BMWs > R11R,. R1150GS, DL1000, DRZ400SE, DR650SE. The light DRZ 400 and DR650 went due to comfort, stability in cross winds and motor characteristics. Mileage range didn't hurt either.
My old KLR is still my GO TO bike down here doing back roads due to more suspension on these ruff roads and the gravel ones also. My Bandit gets the nod for a longer, faster run on the better roads. But, it's set up so I can stand on the pegs on bad sections or if I get on a gravel road.
I do prefer the older KLR over the New ones. Less stuff to break when you drop it and a bit less weight.
Been riding for near 55 years and a bit over 400,000 miles and at present, if I had to have just one bike, the old KLR would get the nod. If I was 20, 30, 40 years younger and in a go fast , wheelie mode, I'd spring for a KTM or the like. But, for what I do now days, the old KLR works just fine.

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I often like to think that I've been there and done that after 44 years of riding. 400k!! Not...Sir, I salute you.

I had a DR350S, with a 435 kit and a lot of upgrades, set up for about 90% dirt/10% pavement to ride the AMA Dual Sport rides back east for many years and it was a pretty good bike off road in single track, deep sand and mud. Not a lot of fun for more than a few miles on pavement. I did ride it on the LA-Barstow-Vegas ride and while it we OK I could have used a bit more top end in the desert. I would compare that bike to a current DRZ400S.

When I got out to Texas I bought a KLX450R with a Baja Designs Kit. Very nice bike. Would have been a real woods weapon back east. I rode the Terlingua DS ride a couple of years back and it was great fun in the rocks and sand. Serious monkeybutt on the payment sections. OK for connecting trails but not a comfortable road bike. I recently sold it as I have not found much in the way of trails open to the public here in our part of the Hill Country. I was spoiled with all of the public land back in Maryland and Virginia with tons of trails and AMA DS rides for 10 to 12 weekends each year.

I now have the VStrom as I have found that the riding here is more roads and I can comfortably ride gravel and mild two track dirt. If I was going to focus more on dirt then a KLR650 would be the low cost ticket. I figure it could be reasonably set up for 50% road/ 50% dirt and not beat you up too much on the road. My buddy was on one for the LA-Vegas DS ride and while he got a workout the bike did very well.

I think the key is to think hard about what you want the bike to do and how much you are willing to spend then see what fits your needs.

Good luck with looking. It's part of the fun.