Bike Decision

[SouthTxAg]

Id go with something like a DRZ 400 if you think you'll spend at least half your riding off pavement or rarely above around 65 mph.

If you think you'll spend most time on pavement, like 60 or 70 percent, then I'd get something more comfortable for highway speeds.

Of course, the compromise of performance vs value vs versatility is the question here. I could ride a pure street bike on most Tx dirt roads but it wouldn't perform that well. I could also ride my plated dirt bike for 500 miles on the highway at 70, but it wouldn't be fun. You can buy a budget friendly compromise bike like a KLR 650 that will do both but not be high performance in either or you can buy an expensive, higher maintenance and performance bike like a KTM 790R which will do both with high performance, but at a cost.

I feel like the T700 really fits the bill for most of what you can do in Texas without getting to pricey. Seems like a pretty good compromise bike like you were saying.

Do you think a DRZ400 with some wind protection and either wide ratio or higher gearing would be a little more pleasant on the pavement?

 

[sandman]

Do you think a DRZ400 with some wind protection and either wide ratio or higher gearing would be a little more pleasant on the pavement?

My DRz400s with 15-41 will do 70-75 all day. Dirt riding is much more fun with 15-44 stock. The Dr650 is great for 90% pavement and 10% dirt.

 

[2WheelNut]

I feel like the T700 really fits the bill for most of what you can do in Texas without getting to pricey. Seems like a pretty good compromise bike like you were saying.

Do you think a DRZ400 with some wind protection and either wide ratio or higher gearing would be a little more pleasant on the pavement?

You could make a DRZ400 better for pavement, but it would make it worse off road and it would never be great on pavement.

So...instead of 100 miles of pavement being horrible, you might make it 200 miles of pavement being tolerable.

But...something like a T7 would start out with 200 miles of pavement being pretty fun and 500 being tolerable.

At the end of the day...what matters is what you plan to ride with it.

It would be hard to make a DRZ fun for 300 mile days. Much easier on a T7.

But...for 150 mile days...DRZ could be great.

 

[Jarrett]

Thanks for the detail feedback! Hard to argue with the positives of the 390...it just doesn't seem to have as much soul to it, in that classic dirt bike-ish kind of way. Along the same lines, I kind of like the idea of running a carb at least once, kind of a get it while you still can thing (might later regret that if I get one). The final nail in the coffin is the color orange. Nothing against KTM but I think my time in College Station forever ruined me on the color orange. I might still try to go sit on one at some point and see how it feels though. I do really like the idea of quick tire repairs with a plug rather than a tube change. Have you had decent reliability from yours?

Yeah, I get it. Bike purchases are very emotionally driven and subjective. Being "cool" factors in for a lot of folks and the 390 is not really that cool by any measure.

All of the KTMs I've owned have been reliable for the times I've owned them. But to be fair, I didn't own them that long. The funny thing about the 390 is I like to think this bike will be more reliable because it was actually made by a different company based in India.

 

[humanrace]

That would give me an opportunity to visit my old favorite restaurant in Bryan - Sodolaks. That place is the best.

Any place that calls a 16 oz. sirloin a lunch portion and sells it with 2 sides for $8.99 is my kind of place. Now that I know that you're an Aggie, you can borrow the bike for 4 hours. Class of '77. I should have been class of 71, but that pesky draft got in my way.

 

[humanrace]

My DRz400s with 15-41 will do 70-75 all day. Dirt riding is much more fun with 15-44 stock. The Dr650 is great for 90 pavement.

I recently bought my 5th DRZ. All of them got around 40 MPG at 70-75 MPH, even with a 16 tooth front sprocket. At 58-62, it's nearly always over 60 MPG.

 

[humanrace]

It would be hard to make a DRZ fun for 300 mile days. Much easier on a T7.

But...for 150 mile days...DRZ could be great.

I just got back from a 14,000 mile trip in 65 days on my DRZ 400SM. All 65 were fun, even the 568 mile final day. I'm already planning the second half for this year.

 

[SpiritAtBay]

Just get one of these and call it done. View attachment 284919

Sent from my SM-G892U using Tapatalk

JT says this is the rare KTM that will last forever.

know why?

 

[JMZ]

LOL [emoji23][emoji38][emoji23][emoji38][emoji23][emoji38]

Sent from my SM-G892U using Tapatalk

 

[2WheelNut]

I just got back from a 14,000 mile trip in 65 days on my DRZ 400SM. All 65 were fun, even the 568 mile final day. I'm already planning the second half for this year.

Good for you. Glad you enjoyed it.

Truth be told, if I could spend 65 days riding, I'm not sure I would care what I was riding as long as it was reliable and kept getting me there.

Havig said that,, not sure you are a typical DRZ rider...then again, I've seen / heard of people riding coast to coast on a sport bike and thousands of miles to Alaska and back on a plated dirt bike.

Point being...as long as it's fun, you can ride just about anything anywhere.

 

[sanderjavant]

Unfortunately the only way to find the best bike for you is to try different bikes.

For adventure bikes I've had, enjoyed and sold.
2003 KLR650
Yamaha TDM 850
V-STROM 1000
2001 DRz400
2007 KLR650
2001 XR650L
And now a 1998 DR650. I sure do like the looks of the new T700....

I've had fun on all of them and would be happy with any one of them now.

All of those models except the TDM were ridden in the Medina 200 recently, plus many others, including an XR400, which I also have an example of in the garage.

Lots of different tools can accomplish the same job sometimes.

I know that's not the answer you are looking for, I've also bought bikes because I thought they would work for me because they were loved by others.

Be honest with yourself about what you want out of the experience, sounds like you are, and find the best fit for you.

 

[woodsguy]

I also find dealing with carbs to be a pain. If you don't run them frequently enough, you end up having to clean the carb before you ride again. People will say carb maintenance is no big deal, but if you read between the lines on the forum, you'll see people have ditched their carb'ed bikes for FI bikes where possible in most cases. And then if you do haul it to the mountains, will the jetting be good enough to make the bike perform correctly? Many here say they won't buy a carb'ed bike again for some of these reasons. If you really enjoy working on motorcycles as much as you like riding them, then carbs are a non issue. I'd much rather ride them than work on them, personally. So FI bikes for me.

I agree, hope I don't have to ever go carb again!

If you are really going to do single track you don't want a DR650 or KLR650 there, probably not even a DRZ 400 either. Sure you'll see people say they did it that one time, but not folks that do it regularly with those bikes. Realistically, a KLX250 or CRF250L wouldn't be that much fun in real single track either. I kept hearing that my Husky FE450 was even too big. If you are going to do single track on a regular basis, a dedicated dirt bike would be the way to go for that.

Hmmm, the 450 is a great single track bike, not for everyone but I'd ride it in a heartbeat. And have had many 450's, next bike will probably be some flavor 450.
Depending on definition of single track the DR/KLR 650 would not be much fun, even if folks have and will continue to do it. Their choice! Heck the 690 is much more dirt friendly and still a handful in tough stuff for most. Again several folks on here do it, and do it well, just not for everybody! The smaller trail bikes might be ok, never ridden one but would imagine at some point weak power, soft suspension, and weight would be a curse. But at the same time they're pretty simple bikes that will run forever probably. But for the casual rider they still work. Have a client at work bigger than me, explores the SHNF from his house all the time on his street legal Honda and is perfectly happy with it. Probably helps to stay off forums and not know there is something better out there, lol!

 

[Jarrett]

Unfortunately the only way to find the best bike for you is to try different bikes. I know that's not the answer you are looking for, I've also bought bikes because I thought they would work for me because they were loved by others. Be honest with yourself about what you want out of the experience, sounds like you are, and find the best fit for you.

Probably the best advice in the thread. I certainly had to go this route to find what I enjoy riding.

Bought bikes others assured me were the best ones to have, only to find out I didn't like them at all.

 

[StromXTc]

T700 best "Swiss army bike" and good price at $10k

 

[woodsguy]

T700 best "Swiss army bike" and good price at $10k

Quite possibly the correct answer, especially for the money.

 

[DFW_Warrior]

T700 best "Swiss army bike" and good price at $10k

Quite possibly the correct answer, especially for the money.

I tend to agree as well. If I didn't have the two bikes I already have right now, and was looking for a true do-all bike, the Tenere 700 would be on the very top of my list of bikes to buy. I cemented that after doing a test ride on one a few months back.

 

[woodsguy]

I tend to agree as well. If I didn't have the two bikes I already have right now, and was looking for a true do-all bike, the Tenere 700 would be on the very top of my list of bikes to buy. I cemented that after doing a test ride on one a few months back.

And i haven't even seen one in person yet!

 

[DFW_Warrior]

And i haven't even seen one in person yet!

I tried to keep my test ride short as it was a brand new bike and I didn't want to put miles on it for no reason. It was mainly surface/neighborhood streets, and then a quick jaunt onto a freeway for a few miles. The steering and handling felt every bit as quick as any larger 450'ish dirtbike I've ever ridden, but it wasn't twitchy at higher freeway speeds. I would love to have one out in Big Bend or even take one out to Silverton to see how it does on those mining roads. I have a feeling that it would be pretty good.

I will say this, I had pretty high expectations before riding it, and at least on pavement and in a few miles, it didn't give me any reason to think my expectations were unreasonably too high. It has all the makings of a really good bike.