Which 650 Scrambler would you buy and why?

[garry]

Husqvarna TE-610 FTW!!!!

[Sport-Touring]

[birdrunner]

I've the Honda.

The KLR, DR and XL are all OLD technology.  The bikes are very similar, with differences only leaning them toward different ends of the Dual Sport curve.   The Honda is the one for off road,  the KLR for adventure touring  (especially the new ones IMO).

What I really want is the new KTM 690 Enduro.  Lighter, better suspension, fuel injected, six-speed, Smoother. slipper clutch.   ie.  not a 30 year old design.  The TE 610 mentioned, would be in there if the path followed went off road more often than not.

The Suzuki DR 400  slips about 1/2 into the old vs new tech, but leans a bit to the off road side.

[Virginian]

Husqvarna TE-610 FTW!!!!

+++1,000,000  

[Mike-H]

Why weren't KTM included .....just askin.....

[R.Markus]

Why weren't KTM included .....just askin.....

Probably due to price, but right now you can get some pretty damn good deals at dealerships on them.

[Mike-H]

Probably due to price, but right now you can get some pretty damn good deals at dealerships on them.

Wouldn't that be at all the various stealer's with the possible exception of BMW........

[Paul Barnard]

Not sure what kind of riding you want to do. But I spent the better part of the IMS in Chicago comparing the DR650 to the KLR650. I see why the KLR got the nod from Motorcyclist magazine as "the poor man's adventure bike", its basically good to go. The DR650 that has a "cult" following is a mere dirt bike, that would require extensive mods to make it rideable. The Honda was a tank and I never really took a hard look at. The KLR650 will soon be in my garage.

SHHHHH.  Don't let my DR hear that.  It's silly enough to think it's 500 mile day slab rideable with nothing more than an aftermarket seat.

[GRN]

DR, lighter, cheaper, better dirt bike than KLR, better street bike than XR, crashes better than KLR  

[motrhead]

DR, lighter, cheaper, better dirt bike than KLR, better street bike than XR, crashes better than KLR  

+1

 On paper the DRZ seems better, but I prefer the solid feel and size of the DR650, and love the easy cruising on the highway (and the air cooled simplicity).  

[Jeremy Z]

I was just going through the old polls. (where are the new ones?)

Found mine from 9 years ago. A lot can happen in 9 years' time. Thought you might want to hear the update.

I went with the KLR. It was an oil-burner. Took it to the stealership, they topped off the oil and sealed the drain and fill plugs with white-out so they could tell if I had tampered with it.  They told me to come back after xx miles and they would check it. If it was burning more than a certain (ridiculous) amount, they would put new and improved rings in it. If not, I'm out of luck. I decided that was a bunch of crap and started looking for other options. I joined a KLR-specific forum. One or two members there had oil burners and said one fun way to fix that was to put a 700cc big bore kit in it. So I did. I offered to to a pictorial install for Schnitz Racing in exchange for the cost of the kit. They agreed, but I had to do it first, then they would refund the cost of the kit.

So I did it. The bike was better. More torque in the midrange was noticeable, and it didn't burn oil any more, even at sustained 75 mph. (after break-in) The recommendation from my engine guy/machinist for break-in was that I don't need to limit anything, but I should be sure to do as much engine-breaking as possible, to ensure the rings get seated properly.

It was a great bike; plush suspension. Yeah, it was a pig off-road, and I dropped it once and was barely able to lift it up again. No damage.

I wore out the stock tires, and replaced them with Kendas. I was running them a few psi higher than recommended; trying to get better fuel economy; bad move. I crashed it on a twisty road through the woods and found myself tumbling through the trees at 40 mph.  I was wearing full gear, and escaped with my right leg broken in 3 places. I low-sided when I ran out of clearance and the tire let go all at once. Bike landed on my leg, my toe caught the pavement and twisted it 180° backwards. The next couple months were a hard time.

I gave up motorcycling for a year or two; bought a Miata with my wife's blessing. Missed riding. Got into scooters. Got bigger and bigger ones. Just sold the last one and am back on a bike now. I considered an adventure bike again, but I would REALLY have to look hard around here, or travel far, to find a place to ride offroad, even a gravel road.

Though about a V-Strom 650 ABS; rode one and loved it. Thought about a CBR500x, Versys....  In the end, I've bought my first sportbike, a softcore one, and am making it into a lightweight sport-tourer.

Back to the original topic. If I were to do it again, I'd probably get a CBR500x ABS or V-Strom 650 ABS.

I don't trust Kawasaki quality any more. I've had 3, and they all had one problem or another. The 01 Concours was buzzy, despite being a mature design by then. The '94 Ninja 250 was pretty good, but build quality was not quite there with the other Japanese brands I've tried. The gearbox especially was notchy. I figured I hadn't given Kawasaki a fair shake, since I had only ridden 20+ year old designs. So I went in with an open mind and got the new KLR, which I had ridden a rental of in the mountains of So Cal and liked. But it was an oil-burner, and Kawasaki was not really owning up to it.

The latest Consumer Reports article on which bikes are the most reliable had Kawasaki at 4th place; last of the Big 4 Japanese brands. (although it was a narrow margin: Yamaha was top at 11% failures, Honda/Suzuki were tied with 12% and Kawasaki was 14%) The worst, reliability-wise, were Can-Am, BMW, Triumph and Harley, with significantly more.

[Oilhed]

The one I wanted and never bought, never even rode, was the BMW G650XCountry in yellow!

I just couldn't afford one at the time as a second bike and they are rare now.

[Blue is Best]

That BMW is a great looking bike.

[jay547]

That BMW is a great looking bike.

Agreed. One of the few that appeals to me. IMO, only the S1000XR looks better.

[rajflyboy]

Some of the bikes shown here are not even true scramblers

[jay547]

I don't consider any in the original poll to be scramblers. I count them as dual-sports.

[rajflyboy]

I don't consider any in the original poll to be scramblers. I count them as dual-sports.

 

If you want the real scrambler start with the Triumph Version in my opinion.

[motrhead]

I agree.  
 The original Triumph Scrambler was big, but close, and was the best we had.  The new Scrambler has completely lost the plot. That leaves the Ducati Scrambler, and the Guzzi Stornello. The Desert Sled looks pretty good, but I'm a Guzzi guy, so I want a Stornello. According to owners it is surprisingly competent in the dirt. Probably a good as the Triumph...meanwhile the new Yamaha is a pig, and a joke, just like the Bolt.

[Jeremy Z]

I don't consider any in the original poll to be scramblers. I count them as dual-sports.

In the 60s, "dual sport" was not a category. They had to settle for scramblers.

Nowadays, "scrambler" means a 60s-looking bike with a high power and knobbyish tires.

But you can bet that if they had the technology back then, they would have looked JUST like our modern dual sports.