new to dual sporting - WR250R, XR650L, DRZ400S/E, DR650... KLR650???

[Johnny Monsoon]

My KLX250 isn't completely broken in yet, which might be contributing to its power issues.  But I doubt I could ever get it to do 80 on level pavement without making some changes to the fueling.

The front brakes on the other hand are weak.  I can almost pull the lever to the handle bars without generating stoppie inducing deceleration.  I'd describe them as being mushy and weak.  I've bled the front brake line twice with a Mity-Vac and although things improved a little, the brakes remain pretty much as described above.  My next plan is to lightly sand the brake pads and clean the rotor to see if I can't get them to bed in again with more power.

The brakes are light years ahead of the KLR...  Still, with any long-hose setup (always present on a DS bike) a braided SS like will be far superior.  The small expense probably yields the greatest return per dollar.  The next step, of course, is swapping the front brake assembly for something beefier; though a larger diameter rotor is also more prone to damage offroad.  Again, it's a give and take.  I find that the stockers are plenty adequate for the kind of street riding you have to do on a bike like this.  

I think it may be important to jump back a bit and think about a couple of things though:

These bikes aren't street bikes, and most folks, I think, only see the 'how fast can it go' issue as the main difference between street bikes and DS machines.  However, when you consider what the DS does; what its mission in life is, you have to realize that the whole of your riding experience is significantly different.  Still motorcycling, certainly, but completely different than street riding.

On a pure street machine, you almost don't use a rear brake; on a DS you have to use it liberally to keep the front from diving to the point of being dangerous in a rapid stop.  You also have to drive very defensively instead of bobbing and weaving like on a powerful streetbike.  Braking requires much more of a defensive position as well; no big meaty twin rotors clapped by 6 to 8 pucks in this neck of the woods; stopping is going to take time; and even with the greatest brakes ever, the ultimate 'braking' end of the spectrum is going to mean you have less rubber on the ground to stop with.

You really have to slow down a bit and smell the roses on a DS bike; but that doesn't make 'em boring.  It's just a different sort of ride.  At some point you have to accept the inherent shortcomings of a multi-tasking bike like a DS and just enjoy the bikes for what they are.  

[Uncle Leo]

Well....now that we've all pee'd on each other's shoes, the answer to the question posed in the first post is answered in the first post. He felt COMFORTABLE and CONFIDENT on the DR650.

They can be found cheap, are reliable as a hammer, add a Clarke tank and double your range....game, set, match. Get yourself a DR and don't look back.

[Windblown]

Still, with any long-hose setup (always present on a DS bike) a braided SS like will be far superior.  

I wouldn't want SS braided brake lines on my DS. Makes the brakes too twitchy for off-road use. A properly bled stock set-up on a modern DS should still be able to do a stoppie.  But the brakes will feel mushy compared to a modern streetbike.
 

You really have to slow down a bit and smell the roses on a DS bike.

LOL. Speak for yourself. Except for top end and acceleration I squirt around much quicker on the DS.  I'm also running MT-90's at the moment and that makes a huge difference in braking and cornering abilities on the street.  Would a 300 lb streetbike handle even better? Yes, but I don't have an FZR400.

Heck I'd be happy with just about any of the DS's or ADV bikes around. They're are all fun.

[bpg]

Well....now that we've all pee'd on each other's shoes, the answer to the question posed in the first post is answered in the first post. He felt COMFORTABLE and CONFIDENT on the DR650.

They can be found cheap, are reliable as a hammer, add a Clarke tank and double your range....game, set, match. Get yourself a DR and don't look back.

Doh!  Very good point!  

[Dano]

Three months into this,,,,  what have you bought?    

Remember whatever  bike you buy, you can always sell it later and try something else.

Riding my DS's on the asphalt makes me sick, cause I know when I get there I want my knobs back....  

[bpg]

Nuthin' yet - waiting for the right opportunity... and the right amount of $$ in my bank account...  Just wanted to get some good info before-hand is all...

 

[Biggs]

Really, I'm just looking for a 2-wheeled jeep.  A tractor.  Something fun and simple (I have another bike that's technology-laden and fast - kinda looking for a contrast!).  I want something that other bikes "run circles" around, while I chug along with a dumb grin on my face...

DR650 is the bomb, jap tractor, runs circles around the sport bikes in the tight stuff.  Easy to work on, and parts have been cheap.  Same bike from 1996 to now.





I picked mine up for 2G's with 2 thousand miles on it a few years back and haven't looked back.

[bpg]

Holy crap, I almost forgot about this thread, been over a year since I started it!  Anyway, dilemma solved:



  and for good measure:  

2008 Yamaha WR250R.  Liquid cooled, fuel injected, electric start, 6 speed, aluminum main frame & steel rear sub-frame (can actually handle some serious luggage and has a great weight capacity!), 350 watt alternator, relatively lightweight, killer suspension for a dual sport.  Me likey!

Thanks to a generous dealer back home who let me do a test ride - in December - at 30 degrees (he probably just wanted to see if I'd really go through with it!) - I was hooked.  90mph and it actually didn't sound or feel like it'd explode!  70mph and it felt fiiiiiiiiiiine!

Then read this thread about 3X: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=329337&highlight=ricochet

Then got a nice fat tax refund....

Then this weekend, found a place selling '08s for $4599, less than 40 miles away...  Deal!

Can't wait for the adventures to begin!

[Frantik1]

Niiiiiiice!!!  

[1moreroad]

Holy crap, I almost forgot about this thread, been over a year since I started it!  Anyway, dilemma solved:



  and for good measure:  

2008 Yamaha WR250R.  Liquid cooled, fuel injected, electric start, 6 speed, aluminum main frame & steel rear sub-frame (can actually handle some serious luggage and has a great weight capacity!), 350 watt alternator, relatively lightweight, killer suspension for a dual sport.  Me likey!

Thanks to a generous dealer back home who let me do a test ride - in December - at 30 degrees (he probably just wanted to see if I'd really go through with it!) - I was hooked.  90mph and it actually didn't sound or feel like it'd explode!  70mph and it felt fiiiiiiiiiiine!

Then read this thread about 3X: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=329337&highlight=ricochet

Then got a nice fat tax refund....

Then this weekend, found a place selling '08s for $4599, less than 40 miles away...  Deal!

Can't wait for the adventures to begin!

Something is wrong with that picture -- there aren't tire tracks on all that snow!

Congrats.

[bpg]

sorry folks - but that pic WAS taken right off the trailer...  I promise to beat her severely this weekend to make up for it!

[swingset]

You made a great choice....that's a superb bike!

[Fourstring]

Did you end up getting the left-side saddlebag?  Congrats on the bike!

[bpg]

Just an update - several months and many thousands of miles later, I'm extremely pleased w/ the WR250R.  

Stock gearing is way too tall - I first re-geared from stock 13/43 to 12/43. This was a great all-around set-up for highway to gnarly dirt.  70MPH (GPS indicated) is vibe-free and surprisingly comfortable, especially since I added a short fly-screen style windshield.  Next, I installed a 47T rear sprocket and left the 12T front.      PERFECT for hopping a log while scrambling up a steep rocky incline, or climbing boulders in the mountains - although a little strung out on the highway.  Putting the 13T front back on will balance it out again.  I'm still amazed at how it's such a great singletrack AND highway bike!

Maintenance has been simple, the oil sight glass is nice.  I broke mine in using the "motoman" method of numerous oil changes & varying RPMs with fairly rapid acceleration/decelration to seat the rings - swear it gets a little stronger with each ride.  

Put on heated grips, an aluminum bar (stock steel bar is a POS), risers, and lots of small mods like a Wolfman Enduro tank bag, # plate bag, spare tube fender bag, PVC tool tube, etc..  She carries the weight well - and it's fun to pull a tow strap and full tool wrap out of my "little" 250 to help some beastly bike that slid off the trail..

Anyway, just wanted to stop in and share my thoughts..  I'm very glad I didn't discount the WR250R.  It might be off some folks' radar because of the displacement, but it's actually a better streetbike than many would believe!  

[marc11]

Do you get any sort of wobble on the highway from the big front fender?

[bpg]

If I take it to 90+ (GPS, not indicated), it does start to wobble in some situations.  Is the front fender that big?  If so, I just figure it keeps clumps of mud from smacking my visor, LOL!  

[river]

You have two choices if you're comparing the DS bikes available to the XRR.  That's it.  The TE-610 and the LC4.  You will be disappointed by anything else.  The KLR, DR, DRz, XRL all suffer by leaps and bounds by comparison both ON and OFF road.

Honestly, get the XRR and do the DS thing.  You'll be happier if you can live with a kickstart (which I happen to really enjoy).  You can go further offroad with your DS machine, but you begin to pay a price in maintenance and/or higher speed streetabilty.  The XRR is FAR easier to get around offroad; especially when you start dropping things.  Also, while I know that magic button is a wonderful thing most often, when you get out in the woods, dropping, etc. it is really easy to kill that battery.  Where are you then?  Only the LC4 and XRR have the kicker to get you home.  You're not going to bump/pull start a bike that only has e-start out in the wild on gnarly terrain.

One more thing; my XRR has lowering links on it, which put it just a touch taller than the DR650.  You should strongly look into this.  In fact, if I like my XRR with the stock links put back in, I'll let you know and you can get the lowering links from me.

However, from what you've said, the two I mentioned earlier would be best.  Just keep in mind that the XRR is also a better ROAD bike (as are the Husky and KTM) as well as being a better offroad bike.  The Husky will be a little more 'honda-ish' reliable for maintenance though.

I think you have one major misconception to overcome too:  more power offroad makes a bike EASIER to ride.  You can loft the front wheel with a lot less clutchwork and body english.  You can power your way through muck and deep sandy stuff.  The only downside to more power in the offroad arena is that it comes with a weight penalty in most cases.  However, in the cases of the XRR, TE, and LC4, you not only gain power but lose weight compared to the other bikes you're looking at.  Your inexperience is really your undoing.  It isn't like buying a Hayabusa as a first bike, it's more like being handed a brand new Honda S2000 instead of a rat-trap VW Bug convertible.  Sure, they both get you to the corner store, and are both topless, but they're entirely different animals otherwise, and one is far superior to the other without being a 'killer'.

Read my posting on 'how I learned to love a kicker' http://:http://www.sport-touring.net/forums/index.php/topic,22107.0.html

This is the info I've been looking for.

Johnny:

I've found a couple 2000, 2001 XR650Rs, in the 1500 - 2000 price range. The problem is, they don't have odometers, so how do I select one in good condition? I'd have to ride quite a few of them to be able to tell the difference between a "low mileage" one and a "high mileage" one.

[marc11]

If I take it to 90+ (GPS, not indicated), it does start to wobble in some situations.  Is the front fender that big?  If so, I just figure it keeps clumps of mud from smacking my visor, LOL!  

I have a standard dirt/MX type fender in my bike and I get a nice weave/wobble above 65 MPH (GPS indicated).  Going to try a supermoto fender to see if it helps, but was wondering if I was alone with this issue.

[R.Markus]

Going to try a supermoto fender to see if it helps, but was wondering if I was alone with this issue.

The problem I had with a supermoto fender is that it is too short and allows a lot of water/mud to flip up past it and into my face. This is especially noticeable when riding down the road in the rain.

[marc11]

The problem I had with a supermoto fender is that it is too short and allows a lot of water/mud to flip up past it and into my face. This is especially noticeable when riding down the road in the rain.

Yep I heard that too.  My thought is for adventure type rides where I need to take some highway to ride dirt roads and such the SM fender should be fine, for real off road and single track, the MX fender.  It is either that, a $400 damper or trailer everywhere.