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Re: My Dual Sport/Dirt Bike Experiment (CRF250L Related)

copb8 said:
I love mine, but only for doing the things it's good at.

You really need a minimum of 3 bikes to cover the dirt spectrum. A small light dirt bike. A midsize that can travel some distances to the trails, and a big bike for 2 up long hauls on paved and unpaved roads.



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This is true. That's why I have three bikes.
 
Re: My Dual Sport/Dirt Bike Experiment (CRF250L Related)

Jarrett said:
Trying to stay away from carbs
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:tab I feel you on this... ;-) But really, that is just because my trips seem to be to places with tall mountains, which means rejetting from sea level jetting. Going to Arkansas doesn't require me to rejet. I rode all over the Smoky Mountains without rejetting and the bike ran great. The only real issue is that because I let the bike sit so long between rides, I have to remember to drain the carb. If I do that, I never have any issues. If I forget, it just means I have to replace the idle jet (I'm too lazy to bother cleaning it).

:tab My point is that I would not get too worked up over absolutely having to have an FI bike. That 530 EXC that just got posted is an awesome bike. It is essentially identical to mine except that mine has 10 extra HP and is wicked fast because of the Red Bull racing stickers on the body work :trust: It would handle your weight FAR better than the 250 and it has LOADS of power. I would not waste money trying to squeeze more power out of the 250. Odds are, power is not going to be your real issue since you are going to be racing it. Doing the suspension might be worth it though.

... and low mile service intervals for now.
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:tab Let's be real for a moment. You are not likely to be racing the bike. Nor are you likely to be commuting and racking up huge miles. Odds are, this will be a weekend play bike and possibly an occasional trip like you just did to Arkansas. That said, the maintenance intervals listed in the KTM manual are typically based on the bikes being raced (at least for the smaller EXC style bikes). I have had my 530 since 2011. I think it has 12K miles on it now. I've done the valves once, at around 5K miles. I change the oil once a year or if I am about to do a big trip. I clean the air filter as needed. I've yet to replace it. I am still on the original spark plug. I am about to replace the wheel bearings and steering head bearings. This is almost the same as my old KLR 650 in terms of needed maintenance for typical dual sport riding. I had to replace the bearings on the KLR as well. My KTM runs fantastic right now and the motor really needs nothing at the moment. So the idea that just because a bike is a KTM it necessarily requires intense maintenance is not really true.
 
Re: My Dual Sport/Dirt Bike Experiment (CRF250L Related)

Jarrett said:
After looking high and low, I can't find a KTM 690 for under $10k. I just don't want to invest that much into a second bike.

I guess I'm going to try adding some springs to this CRF250L and see how it goes.

I also notice there is a 305 big bore kit + fuel controller/exhaust setup that supposedly takes it from 19hp to 27hp or so.

Do those things typically work out well or a waste of time in general?
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Shop harder, shop down here has new ones at 9300+ tax of course, got to be used ones out there. A KTM/Husky is a great fit (what I rode this weekend), but you're pretty tough if you can enjoy a 100 mile road ride on one. Way more to being uncomfortable than the seat. No wind protection, too loud even stock (that drone from the motor is terrible at hiway speed), bike is light and it just moves around too much, and vibration to name a few. All just my 2 cents. But for this last weekend and similar can't beat it. Mine had a big tank, go forever!

I'm a KTM fanboy for lots of reasons, but one big one is the 6 seed tranny versus WR and CRFX 5 speed, really matters on the road to me, if that is not an issue for you those will work just as good as a KTM for this.

Also the Suzuki RM450X (Think that's the model name) did not sell as an offroad model and can be found cheap and be plated. Probably work well for d/s.

My buddy has a Yamaha WR250R, it's lighter, more powerful, and better suspended than your 250. He cruises at 65-70 without too much problem and hangs right with me on the offroad stuff. It's not a single track bike, but for Saturday type stuff would have done find.
 
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As far as fitting in the truck, have you tried corner to opposite corner? There is a way to tie down and works great.
KLR has their following, but to me no better than what you have.
 
My KTM fits in the bed of my F150 5.5' box sideways with the tailgate up. Tying it down is no big deal, especially with the built-in loops. Getting it in and out I use a bi-fold ramp and find a curb or ditch or ??? to help the break-over angle.

I assume you can't run with the tailgate down because you're pulling a trailer?
 
I have a hard time writing this as I am the self proclaimed president of the KLR fan club. There is not a better looking bike in my opinion then a red or green Gen 1 or a true Barbie Bike. That being said, I think you will be disappointed based on what I think you are looking for.
KLR650s are a great bike and I will not ever be without one if I can help it. That being said they are very top heavy with. 6+ gallon fuel tank mounted very high. The are decent on horsepower and torque and some what of a tractor if they are geared right. With the weight distribution of the bike, you better be darn close to 6' tall to handle this bike and it can be a work out on technical stuff as the high CG has to be overcome by rider strength some time. The suspension can be lacking at times off-road and sometimes it is just no fun. Overall it is a great bike. I have done several 1000+ rides on my and a lot of off road in my younger days. The bike will go almost anywhere you want to take it but it will not do it all very well. The KLR is a budget friendly adventure bike. It does not like the interstate and loves to cruise at 60mph with stock gears. It will vibrate you to death on long rides over 60 mph and will get thrown around in the wind. All that said it is a great bike and loves paved corners. I just don't think it is the bike your looking for. I love Kawasaki as well and they have some of the best looking bikes in my opinion. Especially anything with square headlights. I hope one day they bring over the KLX450R that they sell overseas.
Best of luck to you.

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Also wanted to add that I used to put my old 87 KLR650 in the bed of my short bed GMC with a tool box and the tail gate down. Went in sideways without the tool box but find a ditch to unload or use a wide atv ramp.

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Jarrett... a lot of this is just learning dirt on a small bike and not the bike itself.

It does need springs, but order a set and come over and I'll put them on for you. It's really not that hard. Probably 2 or 3 hours in the garage while we drink a beer or two. (Maybe 4 or 5 hours if we drink more than 2 :) )

The rest is just practice and skill development. Yes, a KTM enduro will be more capable and powerful out of the box, but you're really not using all the capabilities of your 250 now so I don't think the bike is holding you back as much as you might think. (Besides the springs and bar risers being needed)

Point being....You can learn a lot from what you have. I would hold on to it for another 6 months to a year and ride it a lot and then upgrade when you have reached the capability limit of the 250.

Having said that, you can learn on a KTM enduro too and if you know you want one, it won't hurt to upgrade immediately. The only downside is the cost and you have to learn throttle control at the same time.

I'm just saying there are options with the old bike unless the upgrade cash is just burning a hole in your pocket.
 
I know I'm in the minority here, but I like the KLR and the DR. To me the Ark ride is exactly where they shine. Neither is a power brute or particularly well suspended and not exactly light. They won't win any drag races or hill climbs. But both have tractable power and can cruise at a decent speed on the tarmac. They won't soak up the big bumps and make you forget that there are babyhead rocks in the trail but they will go just about anywhere you point them and at a decent speed. They are not Red River bikes but that is not what you are looking for. Yep they are both 30 year old technology with very few updates through the years, but there is a reason they are still around. A big part of that is price point. Another part is they are bullet proof, capable and comfortable.

All that being said weight is becoming more of a factor for me all the time. Not so much riding weight but those instances when you need to get a foot down and all you can reach is a couple toes due to the terrain. So if I were looking for a replacement bike I would have to give serious consideration to WR250 (still 300+ lbs), 690 or 701 (too much horsepower for me, but both great bikes) KTM 350/500 Exc.
 
Tailgates are optional, I remove mine when pulling a trailer and hauling more than one bike in the bed. It lets the back tire stick out but not interfere with the trailer.
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Jarrett said:
Dave, that's a very generous offer. I really appreciate it. And thanks again for the info.

After last weekend seeing what real riders can do, I don't know that I'm looking to be an aggressive off road rider like that. I kinda feel like that's something someone would have to learn at a young age rather than try to pick it up when they're pushing 50 and trying not to fall down.

That plus my daughter's lack of interest in dirt bikes made me think I should shift my focus to finding a mini Africa Twin of sorts that will fit in the back of my truck for RV trips. Something that is decent on pavement and ok off pavement, but I don't feel like I want or need any single track capability at this point.

Maybe the (post mods) CRF250L is the best fit for that, I dunno. Still learning.
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Fair enough.

Yeah...50 is a little old to start but it's not impossible if you are smart about it. I got my first dirt bike around 30. I began racing about 40. I crashed very little between 30 and 40. I didn't crash a lot until I started racing and then it was probably once or twice a weekend. Riding doesn't lead to crashing, racing does.

Same thing happened with road bikes. I started riding road when I was 15,I started racing sport bikes when I was 45. I crashed more in the 2 years riding sport bikes on a track than in the 30 years prior riding street.

In both cases, I had developed a strong set of base skill (that did not require crashing to develop them) before I began racing.

Point being...you don't have to crash all the time to build skill on dirt any more than you have to crash to learn skill on the street. It's just time and experience.

There's no reason to crash when just trail riding. You build skill incrementally and gradually with seat time. No crashing needed.

Now....if all you want is to be able to take your bike with you camping and you're never going to want to ride something like that section of K trail that was definitely a bit out of the comfort zone for a big bike....just sell the 250, lose the tailgate on the truck and take your AT with you.

Given that you don't want to do single track or hard trails, I guess I just don't see what a mini AT is going to get you that you can't do on the AT except fitting in the truck with the tailgate shut.
 
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I would say that this forum is littered with guys that started on KLR"s and migrated to something else. more than one or two of them after riding the whole K trail. Bigger guys do tend to do better with them than smaller guys.

You have found what many of us consider to be a dark hole in the dual sport world. The WR250, DR, DRZ and the Honda 650's are the usual alternatives to the KLR, but most of them need updating. I liked the Husq 610/630 bike's but they quit making them and the SWM clone may as well be vaporware. More and more folks are turning to KTM's 500 and 690's. Of course there's lots of interest in Hondas new 450. I would come close to buying a FI, 6 speed DRX450 from Suzuki without even seeing it. I have been told they're working on it, but nowhere in site.

I will say that Leon (Focusfrenzy) has ridden his Honda 250 on some pretty rough Arkansas trails and greatly outperformed me on my DRZ. That was before I did suspension work, but he really does ride the bike pretty well. I think his suspension is still stock too though.

My DRZ will be available for you to ride in a few days. It may not be what you want, but getting to ride different bikes is always a good learning experience. I just need to get a fork put back together. That would happen sooner if I would get off the internet.
 
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