ADV/Dual Sports...give me a recommendation

Ok, so I've never really ridden any bikes short of some dirt bikes when I was younger. I want to get a bike and this style bike appeals to me more so than anything else. I already do a fair amount of vehicle-based trips in my Land Rovers and this type of bike is the next natural progression it seems.

If I was made of money I'd say screw it and get a G1200GS as I think they are beautiful, but I know that's not logical (or feasible $ wise) right now.

So hopefully you guys with some experience in this realm can give me some advice based on affordability, reliability, etc. as to where would be the BEST place to start looking. Also, I'm 6'4" which may or may not play into things.

Thanks.

just bought a v strom 1000, i can tell its going to be a fun bike. Lots of power, room for gear, and is affordable.
hit up craigslist, thats where i found mine. i think the strom is going to be the cheapest street/adv bike.

The budget bikes are KLR 650, XR650L, and DR 650 from kawasaki, Honda, and Suzuki.

I'm 6'4" - plan on adding bar risers and a tall seat to just about any bike in order to make it comfortable for your knees & back.

I've spent a little bit of time on the latest generation KLR650 (08 later) and it's a fun bike but nothing to exciting - it does everything adequately.

Bike model is dependent on what you really want to do. Ride to Alaska? Get the BMW. Go fast on the dirt? Get the KTM. Save a lot of money? Get the KLR.

Brian

What's your budget? How often will you be offroading? Highway riding?

In no particular order,
Triumph Tiger Explorer/800/800xc/1050
Suzuki DL650/DL1000
Suzuki DR650
Honda XR650L
Kawasaki KLR650
KTM 950/990
KTM Singles/690
BMW G/S series (1200/800/1150)
Ducati Multistrada (sort of)
Yamaha Super Tenere
Buell XB12X
Moto Guzzi Stelvio

I'm gonna say 50/50 highway/dirt, whether or not that will happen, that's what I'm shooting for. The more dirt the better but I do want to be able to run errands on it if need be.

Don't really have a set budget right now since I really don't know which direction I'm going.

I should also point out that I may end up in WY/CO at some point in the near future. That is the main motivation for looking for the bike as I would like to be a decent rider by the time I get there.

Not to rip you, but everyone thinks they will do 50% dirt and 50% road, but in reality most ADV/DS riders do 70-80% road and 20-30% dirt.

YMMV

IMHO, the KLR650 is a great all around bike.

I had a DL650 VStrom for a couple years and IMHO it didn't have good offroad handling qualities (it's heavy) but was a dream on the highway. It' more of an ADV bike and less of a DS bike.

A true DS bike is, more or less, a dirt bike with brake lights, a head light and turn signals.

An ADV bike is a road bike with arguably very limited off road capabilities.

The Yamaha Super Tenere is probably the most kick ass bike to arrive on the scene for quite some time, IMHO.

No, you're not ripping....I completely understand. That is just what I would like it to be capable of...you are likely correct that it will see more road time than dirt.

It is for the reasons you pointed out that I think I would get more use out of an ADV bike, but the logical choice seems to be a DS for starting out. So you can see why I'm a little torn. I don't want to get in over my head but at the same time I don't want to be turning around to sell it a couple months later due to wanting to upgrade.

I'm thinkin' I'm gonna have a tough time finding something better than the KLR650...but I'm open to suggestions.

Eh?

Honda XR650R

I'm running an F800GS... its a very capable bike. The seat sucks

Where do you live?.... and more importantly whats your definition of dirt and whats your definition of street?

If your dirt is wide gravel roads and your street is superslab than your leaning into polycylinder ADV touring bike territory (DL650, DL1000, BMW GS, Versys, Tenere, etc)

If your dirt is goat trails and single track and your street is gravel roads connecting singletrack plate a dirtbike or grab at KTM

IF your dirt is jeep trails and forest service roads and your street is around town back-roads, and occasional interstate your into Dual sport territory, (KLR, XR, DR, DRZ, etc)


If its your first bike I'd definitely lean towards the smaller dual sport variety. Cheaper easier to maintain much more dirt worthy and easier to learn on. Shoving a bike like a DRZ or XRL around in the dirt is hard enough let alone a KLR with the Exon Valdez tank or a loaded GS or DL1000 with panniers. Get your skills under you with a smaller dual sport first. If you need more street ability and are willing to trade weight and off road ability for it do it.

At 6'4" you'll have no problem sitting on any of the bikes. The DRZ adn XRL are probably the tallest followed by the KLR, and DR

I really enjoy my DR650 and its easy to customize it for whatever style of riding you do.
With that said any of the DRZ400, DR650, XRL650, pre 08 KLR650 or even old yammy XT600s are great middleweight bikes. See what you can find used.

You can go down in weight and power and pick up more off road ability but will loose some highway performance and the ability to carry extra gear for much longer than a weekend of camping on the bike.

Much of it depends on what you realistically will do on the bike and what riding is available around you.

I live in ID where there a lots more miles of unpaved roads that paved roads and middleweight dual sports can get you just about anywhere.

If you truly want or plan on doing that much dirt riding, I would go LC8 KTM, budget permitting. The motors are fun, powerful, (the KLRs are not), and proven. Lots of high mileage Adventures still out doing long trips. The Adventures are kinda ugly at first, but become beautiful after just a short time. The aftermarket is large, highway manners are decent. I'm 6'4"-6'5" also, and they can be made pretty comfortable for us.. and generally we don't have to worry as much about the helmet buffeting as much as smaller guys. There are a fair amount of them around if you want to buy used, anywhere from the 6k up depending on years. You can get a 990R in the newer models, which are taller, a little more suspension travel, and a few more horsepower.

I really love my KLR 650. It's not the fastest bike around but that isn't why I have it. I do as much exploring as my copious free time will allow... And the bike does quite well off the beaten path.

KLR all the way.

I do like everything I've seen as far as the Adventure goes, but they are difficult to find around here. KTMs in general I don't see very often. On top of that it's a little more than I wanted to spend. I think a cheap KLR will be a good way to go. I've already found several KLRs with 1-3k miles on them for around $3500-4k. But I'm gonna keep my options open. I'm going to ride a friends KLR next weekend, so if I hate it I'll look elsewhere.

Very cool.

If you just want a reliable tractor like motorcycle, for not much money, the KLR is tough to beat. And they are competent on the highway and off the highway. Not much thrill factor to riding them, and they are not something that I actually looked forward to riding in the morning. I kept mine for less than a year.

It was perfect while I had it, and I made a couple three hundred mile trips to TN on it. It got the job done, but wasnt a ton of fun passing big trucks at 70 mph. It would cruise, seemingly forever at 70 or so, but that was about it, semi comfortably anyway.

I made the mistake of riding my dads 09 BMW 1200GS. Damn, that thing is fucking awesome. Felt like a crotch rocket and still has the ability to do light trails. It is my dream bike, and I am still fighting the urge to buy one. It is a tough fight.


I am convinced that if I had the 1200GS, I would ride it near daily because it is more comfortable and has the power and amenities to make it a pleasant, fun, and exhilarating ride.

The KLR gets the job done, reliably as a rock for not much investment. But the GS is a fucking ball.

ETA- I am 6' 3"/6' 4" or so (seems everyone on the web is) and I am comfy, size wise, on both.

I bought a Kawasaki KLX400 last year and it is the PERFECT bike for me even though I really wanted the KLR650. Most of my riding is offroad. A friend and I were riding some back roads yesterday and found a great trail. I cannot imagine wresting that beast the KLR650 through this trail we were on with all the ruts it had.

The 650 is probably a better bike if most of your riding is road or gravel, but a smaller bike is much better if off road is what you'll be doing the most.

Just the opinion of a new, inexperienced rider.

Oh, just so you know, it's probably the funnest toy I've ever bought!

I really appreciate the input guys. Seems that I have made up my mind that the KLR is going to be the rig for me. Unless I come across some crazy good deal. I have based it on a couple things:

-Around here they are much easier to find than some of the other options
-They are about as cheap as it gets for a decent road-going motorcycle
-They hold their value relatively well
-I'm not going to be out a lot of money if I end up not liking it and reselling.
-Even if I upgrade in the future to something like a 640 Adventure, Super Tenere, or even a Bimmer, I can keep this bike around and not feel like it's redundant to own.

I used to own a KLR 650 and I used to ride hundreds of miles burning up tires and chains to get to forest service roads, DNR roads and off-road vehicle areas.

Fuck that noise.

I sold the KLR and bought a KTM 530.
Better gearbox, fucking Kawasaki and Suzuki need to look at the 350 gearbox to see how it's done right.
Fuck the 5 speed transmissions of the KLR and DRZ.

Now I toss the 530 into the back of the truck and drive in comfort to where I want to ride.
I can do slab, forest service roads and single track.

I bought a Suzuki TL1000R for the street riding.

If I were to buy a ADV type bike I would buy a Husky 630 (fucking retards at BMW killed it) or a KTM 690.

If I were to do long distances it would be a KTM 990 hands down.

Become a member of www.klr650.net and look in the classifieds for bikes for sale. You'll find some really great prices there sometimes. Also, it's an incredible resource for information on the KLR650.

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