Need Help Getting Dirty and Adventerous

Hail

Hail

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www.haileyan.net
I am seriously considering gettin a second bike. Specifically, a dual purpose bike. I have never ridden in dirt excpet for human powered BMX and mountain bikes so I do not want to go straight to a high performance off road bike. My only pre-requisite is that it be street legal.

My head is spinning from all the options. ...and not knowing if I like it or not I don't want to spend a ton of money.

I was originally thinking I would go with something like the Kawasaking KLR650 or BMW .

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These bikes would be great entry level Adventure bikes. They both have great resale. They are also almost impossible to find used unless you have a quick trigger finger. The down side of these bikes is that I really have no wide open areas to explore near me. We are talking a one day trip to even get to anything like that.

What I do have near me is a lot of single track through Sam Houston National Forest. I am not sure that either of these bikes would be good for learing dirt on single track.

Because of this I am thinking I might start with an even less expensive dual purpose like a Honda CRF250L, Yamaha XT250 or Yamaha TW200. All of these seem like they would be good bikes to learn on single track and all are street legal. The TW200 I just think is cool. It does get muddy in the Houston are after rain.

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What questions am I not asking myself that I should? The guys at the dealership think the most important question is the ratio of on to off road driving. Do you Agree?
 
IMO,

You should be buying something used and older, like an XR250L or 250R. Some sort of dual sport. CRF230 etc. You'll most likely want to upgrade fairly quick. Single track is a lot of fun, and you want a light, nimble bike for that.
 
I test rode a WR250 and I am 250lbs. Power was ok up to 50mph, above that it is really sluggish. I guess that a smaller rider would do better. I would suggest to try it before you buy any 250cc bike but even is it was lacking in power it was a really fun bike, small and agile.

At that time, I was looking to purchase a second bike and the KLR 650 looked very nice but I would also consider the DR 650, XR 650 and the DR 400 that is much smaller the the 650.

Personally I would stay clear of any BMW bike because service is non-existent in my area and the price is always fairly high.

Also look at the fuel tank capacity because some of these models barely have a range of 70 miles. On the other en the KLR has a massive tank and a massive range (250 miles)
 
What about a DRZ? I owned the SM and a friend had the S model and we took both them off to some forest service roads and what not before. The SM was terrifying for me but his bike seemed to tackle it just fine. They're cheap to buy, bulletproof, fairly light (unlike that KLR) decent tank range and the 400cc single has some beef

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It might not be the most refined, lightest or most capable but you gotta figure they're a good introduction to adventure riding

And you be like my my friend and do fun wheelies

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bjuWu6GYsA]Suzuki DRZ400S wheelie - YouTube[/ame]
 
You only live once, so..........I know it costs a little to get out there to their ranch north of LA, but it might be worth considering this. Since it will give you a full sense of offroad, can learn real skills, can rent one of their bikes, and will let you get a full taste of it before you commit to a bike. Because this way you can sample it and you'll probably know for sure then if you want to continue offroad exploits. Friendly people and some of the instructors have backgrounds in law enforecement. I've spoken with them several times & others who have done it tell me good things about the experience. For me and from my experience, there is a different skill set for offroad. As you may recall from our talking, I grew up doing trial & error method. :) Fun, but sometimes counter-productive without guidance of some sort. You may know how comfortable you are, I'm sure. Just thought I'd throw this out there. Or, just get the KLR and have at it! 2 cents. ;)

This is the way I'd do it now and if I can afford to do it the right way (still might, just for fun):

Jim Hyde's (213.713.5652 or 661.993.9942) rawhyde adventure [adventure moto training]
RawHyde Adventures

2.5 day fri afternoon to monday morning weekend ~$1300 + plus airfair and ride from LA to ranch...

RawHyde's Intro to Adventure

Jim goes to the Dakar Rally each year (January), also.
 
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Dustin said:
What about a DRZ? I owned the SM and a friend had the S model and we took both them off to some forest service roads and what not before. The SM was terrifying for me but his bike seemed to tackle it just fine. They're cheap to buy, bulletproof, fairly light (unlike that KLR) decent tank range and the 400cc single has some beef

110_main.jpg


It might not be the most refined, lightest or most capable but you gotta figure they're a good introduction to adventure riding

And you be like my my friend and do fun wheelies

Suzuki DRZ400S wheelie - YouTube
Click to expand...

I wonder why the DR650 is less than the DRZ400? Does the 650 have less capable off road suspension?
 
FZ1yb said:
You only live once, so..........I know it costs a little to get out there to their ranch north of LA, but it might be worth considering this. Since it will give you a full sense of offroad, can learn real skills, can rent one of their bikes, and will let you get a full taste of it before you commit to a bike. Because this way you can sample it and you'll probably know for sure then if you want to continue offroad exploits. Friendly people and some of the instructors have backgrounds in law enforecement. I've spoken with them several times & others who have done it tell me good things about the experience. For me and from my experience, there is a different skill set for offroad. As you may recall from our talking, I grew up doing trial & error method. :) Fun, but sometimes counter-productive without guidance of some sort. You may know how comfortable you are, I'm sure. Just thought I'd throw this out there. Or, just get the KLR and have at it! 2 cents. ;)

This is the way I'd do it now and if I can afford to do it the right way (still might, just for fun):

Jim Hyde's (213.713.5652 or 661.993.9942) rawhyde adventure [adventure moto training]
RawHyde Adventures

2.5 day fri afternoon to monday morning weekend ~$1300 + plus airfair and ride from LA to ranch...

RawHyde's Intro to Adventure

Jim goes to the Dakar Rally each year (January), also.
Click to expand...

You obviously have not heard of the Texas Tornado Boot Camp. 45 minutes from my house but it can also be expensive.

Welcome - Texas Tornado Boot Camp

Well I am at least thinking it may be a good way to get comfortable on dirt in a very short time frame. ;)
 
you cant go wrong with a deezer, klx250, or a wr250 you best bet would be the wr250 its extremely light, best suspension out of the bunch and the best looking IMO. But if you want a real bike ktm is where its at. I think you should go with the wr you would enjoy it. The deezer is outdated and a heavy pig. The klx is a little underpowered but also a little cheaper.

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Hail said:
You obviously have not heard of the Texas Tornado Boot Camp. 45 minutes from my house but it can also be expensive.

Welcome - Texas Tornado Boot Camp

Well I am at least thinking it may be a good way to get comfortable on dirt in a very short time frame. ;)
Click to expand...

Yah. Looks like it is only small engine Yamaha for that? "Yamaha TTR 50, 110, 125 & 230"

The other one has BMW (it's the official school) and you can ride in the desert ;) BMW 650, 800, R1200 GS :)

Guess it depends what you are looking for........:)
 
Also if your thinking just the occasional Forrest service gravel road then i would consider one of the bigger bikes like the bmw or the klr. If you want to do some tight woods trail riding you want the lightest most nimble bike. I ride with people who have drzs and they are pooped by the end of the day compared to someone on a wr or a ktm.
 
My thinking is that learning dirt on a light nimble bike is the best way to go. Especially considering most of the places I have easy access to learn/practice dirt on is tight single track. Then move on to the bigger adventure bikes on long trips.
 
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Go sit on a wr i think you will like it. It has a tall seat height if your a taller guy to. I'm pretty sure its the tallest out of the three I stated.
 
Hail said:
The 650 might be a little more capable on the street while the 400 a little more capable on rough terrain.
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To be honest, I think the 400 would be better on the street too. That 650 lump is a bit of a turd compared to the water-cooled 400 I think. In the city, the 400 would be the better bike and for highway cruising it can comfortably cruise at 70 all day long. Anything more than maybe 75MPH would be unpleasant but the DR650 really can't do much better anyway

Another advantage is that you could pick up a DRZ400SM used for not much money and buy an extra set of dual sport wheels to swap between SM and DS. The SM has better suspension and brakes as well
 
This guy knows whats up! :tup: ^ Best of both worlds street hooligan then 15 minutes later after wheel swap go rip up the trails.

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I need to buy another one soon lol.
 
Hail said:
29" inseam. Not tall at all. All of these bikes will take a little getting used to the higher seat heights.
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That's not exactly short and you should have no problem at all!

I lent my DRZSM to my ex for a week once and she adjusted to it after a couple trips. I was pretty surprised how easily she could manage it after I showed her some techniques.
 
Yami WR250X... very versatile rig. you can swap out the wheels for dirt/street in just a few minutes. Small, nimble, great gas milage (65mpg), FI power plant, and you can throw it on a simple bike platform with a standard 2" trailer hitch and take your adventure ANYWHERE. Motard is da bomb.
 
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