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Bike Decision

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SouthTxAg

SouthTxAg

Joined
Jan 18, 2021
Messages
42
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35
Location
Cibolo
First Name
Matt
I've come to a bit of a crossroads recently. I've been riding my KLX 250 (FI model) since September and have a few mods into it already. The bike has been a ton of fun (1700 miles in so far) and I'm definitely sold on DS and light adventure riding, however, there are a few quirks with the KLX that I'm a bit hung up on. First off is power - or lack of it. I understood when I bought it that it's a 250 and not to expect much in this department but there are times when it's a bit lacking. To help with this I got a fuel controller, aftermarket snorkel, and full exhaust system. It helped a little bit but the bike still struggles to haul me up bigger hills (even at WOT) without giving up some speed or downshifting to the point where the bike is screaming. In conjunction with this I feel at times that the bike is just built for a smaller person than me. I weigh 225-230 lbs without gear on and the bike is in need of some suspension work just to haul me, much less me plus gear. My ultimate goal is to build a reliable DS bike that can still comfortably haul me and enough gear for light camping, and I'm not sure if the KLX is the right bike for it.

This video:
sums up what I'd like to do with the bike, however, the KLX doesn't seem to have the aftermarket and/or forum support out there for much of this stuff and with all the extra weight I worry that it'll be even slower yet.

I hate to think about selling already when I've only had the bike for a few months, but I also don't like the idea of throwing more money at the KLX when ultimately it might not be the right bike for what I want to do. After tons of research I really like the idea of a DRZ400s, and there are a bunch of examples of "adventurized" DRZs out there to get ideas from. So the question is, continue improving the KLX or make the switch? Any thoughts or opinions (especially from those who have owned the same/similar bikes would be greatly appreciated.
 
I was almost exactly where you are about 3 years ago. Had a CRF250L that was fun, but limited. So I did exactly what your thinking of doing and upgraded to a 2014 DRZ I currently have.

It is such a great bike and has lots of potential to modify into a light ADV bike. Over the last few years I've invested in mods to make it just that: larger fuel tank, outlet to charge a phone, skid plate, case savers, bark busters, seat concepts seat, etc. I also lowered the rear sprocket size to give it a little more comfort on the road at higher speeds. One thing I have never done is open up the air box and re-jet. I dont need any more power than it already provides. Its been a great bike for the various rallies held around the state and is also so fun to ride out at a place like Big Bend. Its easy to pick up, tough and has plenty of power to get through some challenging stuff. You should get lots of feed back on this site!
 
You might consider the KTM 390 Adventure if you are thinking of an Adventure bike.

Carbs can be a pain in asteroid.
 
You also might consider a DR650. It'll need suspension work, but at your weight (and mine, I'm 250lbs) any bigger is going to need suspension work. The 650 has a much wider reason transmission than the DRZ (honestly the 400's biggest flaw). Both are good bikes, it just depends on your preferences.
 
Jarrett said:
You might consider the KTM 390 Adventure if you are thinking of an Adventure bike.

Carbs can be a pain in asteroid.
Click to expand...

I like the idea of it but I'm not crazy about the cast wheels and had read that the riding position was a little cramped.
 
William Wolfen said:
You also might consider a DR650. It'll need suspension work, but at your weight (and mine, I'm 250lbs) any bigger is going to need suspension work. The 650 has a much wider reason transmission than the DRZ (honestly the 400's biggest flaw). Both are good bikes, it just depends on your preferences.
Click to expand...

I actually have been considering the DR650 as well. I like the simplicity of air/oil cooling and the better road manners seems like it would be nice. One review I read made it seem like the seat height was low and the pegs are high making it a little hard on tall people (I'm 6'3"). I probably need to go sit on one of both.
 
SouthTxAg said:
I actually have been considering the DR650 as well. I like the simplicity of air/oil cooling and the better road manners seems like it would be nice. One review I read made it seem like the seat height was low and the pegs are high making it a little hard on tall people (I'm 6'3"). I probably need to go sit on one of both.
Click to expand...
Lowering pegs and tall seats are readily available if you have really long legs. I found it comfortable in the stock positions with my 30" inseam. I was cursed with short and and legs for my 5' 10" or so height.
 
Suspension on a DR650 is more soft. There is a great video comparison of the two bikes on that same Rocky mountain ATV site.
 
What kind of dual sport riding are you wanting to do, and what is your off pavement experience? Without knowing these two things, it really is just a complete shot in the dark with suggesting a bike.
 
You're now a motorcycle rider, so here's what you'll need:

A dual sport
An adventure bike
A dirt bike
A street bike
A touring bike

Just go ahead and get them all now, because you'll have them all eventually.

If you're married, might want to consider introducing them slowly.
Best of luck, and welcome.
 
DFW_Warrior said:
What kind of dual sport riding are you wanting to do, and what is your off pavement experience? Without knowing these two things, it really is just a complete shot in the dark with suggesting a bike.
Click to expand...
Pretty limited off pavement. Just some trail riding and a few times at the MX track prior to the KLX. With the KLX mostly just dirt roads and a few trails here and there. I don't want to give up too much off road capability but also don't wanna be completely miserable on the road. If I went with the DRZ I would probably gear up for more on-road/higher speed dirt road riding.
 
If you are just going to ride TX dirt roads then I’d just grab (insert your favorite 650 dual sport here) and call it a day.

If you want something for off-road and to ride on a MX track, it is going to be pretty awful on the pavement. And on that same note, something that you gear up for 70-80 mph pavement riding will be pretty lousy off road.

And by off road, I am actually talking about real off road. Not the TX definition of “anything not on freshly paved asphalt”. 🤣
 
Rydah said:
You're now a motorcycle rider, so here's what you'll need:

A dual sport
An adventure bike
A dirt bike
A street bike
A touring bike

Just go ahead and get them all now, because you'll have them all eventually.

If you're married, might want to consider introducing them slowly.
Best of luck, and welcome.
Click to expand...
As well as bikes for the kids!
 
Mostly for Texas dirt roads and the occasional trip (likely trailering) out to Big Bend and National Forests in NM. Probably wouldn't get in to too much more than fire roads in NM unless I had a group and even then I'm not looking to go beyond some light single track. For my riding type a 650 probably would be best but I worry that I would lose that light dirt bike feeling going that route. Definitely not going to be on an MX track with it lol.
 
SouthTxAg said:
Mostly for Texas dirt roads and the occasional trip (likely trailering) out to Big Bend and National Forests in NM. Probably wouldn't get in to too much more than fire roads in NM unless I had a group and even then I'm not looking to go beyond some light single track. For my riding type a 650 probably would be best but I worry that I would lose that light dirt bike feeling going that route. Definitely not going to be on an MX track with it lol.
Click to expand...
I did ride my DR650 around the MX tracks at 3 palms once. I turned some heads with lights, mirrors, and saddlebags!
 
I was in your shoes a little over a year ago. KLX250 and wanting more power better suspension. I had two choices sink a bunch of money into a bike that would never quite be what I wanted or trade up. I traded it for a DRZ400s and haven't looked back.
 
Just get one of these and call it done.
1982478597c2767d2b28a33b291225be.jpg


Sent from my SM-G892U using Tapatalk
 
Just throwing this out there. You don't need much bike to ride on the dirt roads in Texas. Certainly not a real dirt bike like you might in other states. What you typically need in Texas is a bike that can do long pavement miles somewhat comfortably in order to get to short sections of Class 1 or 2 dirt roads. A lot of bikes can do that in reality.

I've been down this road. I've owned a CRF250L, CRF250L Rally, KLR650, Husky FE450, among others. Like you have mentioned, the 250's are too underpowered for highway sections. The KLR650 is too big to feel like a small bike on dirt roads. The Husky FE450 can go anywhere, but it kinda sucks on pavement for any real length of time. Not to mention you have to change the oil on it every 600 miles and that brings its own limitations.

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.

After going through all of those bikes, I've found a sweet spot in the KTM 390 Adventure for a smallish bike that is fun on dirt roads and can still pass on the highway. Sure, it has cast wheels, but I haven't seen a single case of one being damaged yet and I watch all the forums about them. And yes, it only has 8 inches of ground clearance, but I've seen folks go into some crazy places on much heavier bikes that had the same amount of clearance with no problem. Yes, the bike needs a set $99 bar risers to feel comfortable. You could also spend $159 on lowered footpegs if you need some more leg room.

You also get a bike that goes 170+ miles stock, 4,000+ mile oil changes, feels similar to a smaller bike on a dirt road, will out run a KLR on the highway, has better/adjustable suspension than the Japanese dual sports, is comfortable for 250+ mile days on pavement or dirt, needs less tools to fix a flat, plug a puncture in 20 minutes and be on your way, has a gear indicator, gas gauge, miles to go gauge, Road/Offroad ABS, On/Off Traction Control, slipper clutch, quickshifter if you want, etc.

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.

I've considered the new 300cc (really 286cc) Japanese dual sports that are coming out soon, but I suspect power might be an issue with them as well. And again, you get much less quality suspension on those bikes. Not to mention, way less bang for the buck by comparison.

Now if it is a look you are going for, then the 390 Adventure doesn't have that cool dirt bike look like the others do. But if functionality and bang for the buck are more important, it might be a bike to consider as well.

Anyway, just some food for thought.
 
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Rydah said:
You're now a motorcycle rider, so here's what you'll need:

A dual sport
An adventure bike
A dirt bike
A street bike
A touring bike

Just go ahead and get them all now, because you'll have them all eventually.

If you're married, might want to consider introducing them slowly.
Best of luck, and welcome.
Click to expand...
Lol. Yep. That's what I did.

Helps to get the wife hooked on riding too though.
 
SouthTxAg said:
Mostly for Texas dirt roads and the occasional trip (likely trailering) out to Big Bend and National Forests in NM. Probably wouldn't get in to too much more than fire roads in NM unless I had a group and even then I'm not looking to go beyond some light single track. For my riding type a 650 probably would be best but I worry that I would lose that light dirt bike feeling going that route. Definitely not going to be on an MX track with it lol.
Click to expand...
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.
 
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I think you should BAT over to Bryan and ride one of my DRZ400s for a couple of hours. It'll be for sale shortly.:trust::trust:
 
Jarrett said:
You also get a bike that goes 170+ miles stock, 4,000+ mile oil changes, feels similar to a smaller bike on a dirt road, will out run a KLR on the highway, has better/adjustable suspension than the Japanese dual sports, is comfortable for 250+ mile days on pavement or dirt, needs less tools to fix a flat, plug a puncture in 20 minutes and be on your way, has a gear indicator, gas gauge, miles to go gauge, Road/Offroad ABS, On/Off Traction Control, slipper clutch, quickshifter if you want, etc.
Click to expand...

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?
 
humanrace said:
I think you should BAT over to Bryan and ride one of my DRZ400s for a couple of hours. It'll be for sale shortly.:trust::trust:
Click to expand...

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