OT: Help on buying dual sport mortorcycle

Hey guys,

Here's the parameters:

Mostly street riding some trail. 2-3k budget. Something a 250lb rider can ride. Age of bike not an issue if it has a reputation for lasting. Prefer air cooled but not rabid on this. 4 stroke only.

I have no knowledge of dual sports but think one may be the most bang for my buck. I haven't ridden since my 20s and most of my internet drooling has been over old imported cafe racers. (one of these might do but I never find anything in the 2-3k range that doesn't need seroius work)

This bike would be transpo here in Simi Valley for about 8 weeks then a putting around machine for the back roads of Montana....

Thanks,
Ted

I live in a desert town and hundreds of trailers with off road bikes pass through here every year.
75% of them are BMWs, and the rest are KLRs.
Most people say that a electric start water cooled KLR is the best bike for your situation, dead reliable, lots of aftermarket, cheap to buy. They are light enough to pick up for the tenth time in some sandy arroyo. And they are pretty crash-proof.
The BMWs are real bulky and high, in my opinion. And parts and service are expensive.
I have friends that ride down to Copper Canyon in Chihuahua every year. One found that there are no Suzy dealers in Chihuahuha City, but good Honda nand BMW dealers.
One rode a Norton Commando...a real adventure.
I'd look at KLRs.

Zachary

One of the older BMW boxers, 650 or 750 would be nice. It is a pity you are prejudiced against two stroke because a Suzuki GT 750 three would be my first choice.

Charles.

yeah, a Suzuki GT750 (AKA Water buffalo) is a really nice dual sport bike. Sheesh, where do some of these guys come from?. KLR will do the deed nicely.

I have had a KLR for 3 years. It's probably the best compromise you will find. If you are planning on more time in the dirt, I might lean towards a Honda XR 650L. But the KLR is better on the street, while not being quite the dirt bike the XR is. I use mine as a commute bike, and for fun on the weekends. I have had it in some pretty serious off road stuff, and it performed very well. I have some suspension modifications that help a lot. I do find it heavy, but I grew up riding lightweight 2 stroke dirt bikes. The KLR weighs about 420 or so. The motor does have one design flaw, the balancer adjustment lever or doohickey as us KLR nuts call it. There is a guy in San Diego who makes an excellent replacement. It's an easy job for anyone who can turn a wrench. Other advantages of the KLR is that they have sold thousands with little change till the 2008 model. There are lots of aftermarket parts available and a huge support community of other riders. I would take some time exploring this site...

http://klr650.net/

There are two KLRs.

The 650 and the 250. I personally ride a KLR250 for
commuting and dirt road riding. The real issue is tires,
if you want to ride on the road or on highways (I do,
the 250 will indicate 65 on the taconic, rode it in today)
then you cannot really run full knobbies. My preference
is a 50/50 tread, metzler sahara-3s. This is not a good
tire for real dirt trail riding but it handles great on
dirt/gravel/highways.

The 650 is a big-boy bike and a bit heavier. Not a light
weight at all.

If I were buying new I'd look into the suzuki dual sport
400 single, really nice bike. Much more solid front
suspension than the KLR I would say.

Jim

Shop,..... http://ventura.craigslist.org/mcy/607709957.html
It's kinda near you too! I also noticed La prices were more than us inland jamokes.-matt

I've only used Honda dual sports. The newest one I had was an '86 I believe.

If you haven't ridden in a while, be aware that the D/S bikes in the 500 to 650+ ranges are powerful. They are geared low, so you can easily raise the front in first gear without touching the clutch.

I had a XL600 Honda. Nice bike, plenty of power for the interstate (I don't like a M/C on the interstate). I've also used a XL250. Great for exploring off of paved roads and trails. Top speed is around 65 (maybe). I once drove it on a 250 mile trip, great gas mileage. I think a really good size would be in the 350 to 400cc range, but you are a bigger rider than I.

Edit: for trail riding and exploring, the 600 can be a handful. I much prefer a lighter bike for that service.

Good input guys.....speedsport i did say that i wouldn't mind an old street bike so don't be too rough on Charles!


Keith, most of my off highway riding would be on dirt roads. No serious trail work.....

You didn't say what kind of riding you'd be doing. To me a backroad is a dirt logging road but in Montana just about every road might be a backroad. My first thought was a KLR 650. Put some boxes on the sides and there isn't much you can't do with it. If you are more interested in offroad riding look at a XR650L or a Suzuki 400 something or other like Jim mentioned. On the other hand if you are firmly on the street side of the spectrum and interested in longer trips a Suzuki DL650 V-Strom is a great bike that handles surprisingly well on gravel or well packed dirt roads.

Whatever you do check around on some rider training whether it's MSF or some state run or private program. You'll be glad you did especially since it's been a while. And don't get cheap on the riding gear. At minimum buy a quality helmet and textile jacket.

Have fun,

Marc

I had a Suzuki DR350, great bike. It wasn't particularly powerful off road, but it was a really good on/off road bike. I used to ride that thing all over hell's half acre. They are cheap and reliable. There are lots and lots of them out there, due to their longevity. They built the same bike for probably 10 years, so parts are easy to come by.

As mentioned earlier, for mostly road and light offroad riding, the KLR 650 would be the ticket, I had a Honda XR650L, and while I loved that bike, it was more comfortable off road than on. I sold that bike with about 25k miles on it with zero problems,, not ever, I ran that thing very hard and the Honda air cooled motors are bullet proof. Having said that, I still am a fan of the KLR, and I think liquid cooling is a huge plus, the big XR lost power when run hard on a hot day.

The Vstrom is *huge*. It's an enormous vehicle.

The hondas tend to be very tall bikes. I tried to sit
a 400 cc honda dual sport, and it was just too tall, and
I am six feet tall.

I would suggest a DR400 suzi for you to inspect. Nice
bike.

Jim

smallshop said:

Hey guys,

Here's the parameters:

Mostly street riding some trail. 2-3k budget. Something a 250lb rider can ride. Age of bike not an issue if it has a reputation for lasting. Prefer air cooled but not rabid on this. 4 stroke only.

I have no knowledge of dual sports but think one may be the most bang for my buck. I haven't ridden since my 20s and most of my internet drooling has been over old imported cafe racers. (one of these might do but I never find anything in the 2-3k range that doesn't need seroius work)

This bike would be transpo here in Simi Valley for about 8 weeks then a putting around machine for the back roads of Montana....

Thanks,
Ted

Click to expand...

KLR650 is good....Suzuki DR650 (my ride) not quite as good on the highway, but better on the dirt. If you get the KLR be sure and have the counterbalancer chain tightening mechanism, called the "doohickey" by most KLR owners, changed out. Just as an aside...I was raised in Simi Valley. Lived at 5143 Cochran street, and then at 2856 Alamo. Neither address is still there. I lived there from '54 to '65.

I have a 93 Kawasaki KLX 650 and love it, they were sold here in the US 1993-96 and were ahead of their time- it looks like a supermoto bike with lights. They still come up on ebay once in a while. It is a completely diferent bike than the KLR, not a single part swaps. The klx has big inverted forks and more suspension travel front and rear. It has a lot more power than the klr and is lighter. Downside is the tank is only 3.5 gallons compared to 6 on the klr. It will run 100mph

Honda XR 650L

I've owned quite a few mx bikes and four stroke trail bikes. Suzuki's, Yamaha's, and Kawasaki's and I'm partial to the Honda. Their trannies are truly bullet proof and they are very low maintenance machines

smallshop said:

Hey guys,

Here's the parameters:

Mostly street riding some trail. 2-3k budget.

Click to expand...

Guys...... remember his budget is 2-3K and He still lives in Cali........
People here think old Honda mini trails are worth 2K and he will most likely get it.
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/mcy/607376700.html
Finding a good bike is hard sometimes around here.

I had a Honda XR250L. Really liked it. Only reason I got rid of it was I missed electric start too much, mainly because of 2 back surgeries and an ankle surgery, if you're in better shape then it may not bother you.

Less than 14 days ago you posted this:-



OT: Forclosure vs rental.... advise needed.

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Here’s the details:

I bought my house here in Southern California 13 yrs ago for 175k. This was a beater two bedroom two bath. (yes , that’s what you’d pay for a beater here then)
Refinanced my way up to 420K by way of: Paying off debts from being off work from a near fatal case of spinal meningitus,two remodels, a kid that had heart failure, and buying a machine shop. (Hey, I just summed up the last eight yrs of my life in one sentence!)

The last remodel was to sell the house to move. Two weeks after listing it the sub prime scandal surfaced. The house that the real estate agent said would sell easily within two month’s for $550k is now being taken off the market after languishing at a $480k sales price for many months. With closing and agent fees I can’t go much below that.


The rental agency that swore that this house will rent for $2200.00/mo within 30 days has now had us lower the price to $1875.00/mo. That was two weeks ago and still no nibbles. The sub prime scandal has affected the rents in my area greatly and they are much more competitive than they were.


When I contracted diabetes in 2006 my legs and feet were bothering so much that by late 2007 I told my wife we would go under if we didn’t do something quick. (I made $60k less in 2007 than the year before on because I couldn’t stand as much.there was plenty of work. $60k to a one man shop is a lot…) So I refinanced KNOWING I was not going to stay in the house. As housing prices were already coming down and I needed the smallest payment possible I got a negative loan.(full interest kicks in in 3 more yrs)


Two weeks after starting the new loan I discovered the place in Montana that we are moving to and put a deposit on it. The place is a country grocery store with a huge shop below. The money from the sale of my house here was to give me the down payment and put some back in savings that I had depleted by subsidizing my diabetes. Well, now I am nervously working more hours than I probably should to drum up the down payment and will be making this move with nothing in savings.


While no one suckered me into this loan, I am still greatly affected by this sub prime nonsense. I tried to contact the mortgage company to see what we could do and they are in the middle of bankruptcy proceedings. I have had friend and family tell me that I should just walk away. This feels real cheesy to me regardless of my health issues. And, I don’t know what my tax and credit liabilities and legal liabilities. Ultimately I will do whatever is legal and best benefits my family. I have excellent credit and hate to trash that but I know in the long run I may not have a choice.


My goal has recently been to rent this place and then sell before I lose my owner occupied capitol gains benefit(within three yrs). I am so cash strapped that if a renter caused a vacancy or quit paying for three months I would probably be forced to forclose. Hopefully prices will go up in a couple years and I would even make some money.

In two weeks I move my family and then I come back to live in the shop a few months and drum up more dollars. The people we are buying the store from are carrying all the paper so nothing here affects the deal.

I’m a pretty private guy and telling these many details makes my eye twitch……But there are a lot of bright people here and any ideas on how to make the cleanest break with California would be appreciated. Especially anyone with knowledge of how the different choices will be assessed by the IRS.


Thanks guys...

Ted

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There's an old saying:- When you're in a hole, stop digging.

So to hell with the flaming, I'm going to ask the question no one else has,........ how are you going to pay for it?

The older KLRs had soft intake valves. It's a known bug.

Lots of folks blame the cam chain tensioner or the
counterbalancer chain for top end failures, but I suspect
that intake valves get sucked in and that's what does them
in.

On mine the intake valve clearance just kept going away.

When I finally took the head off, I could remove the
valve keepers by hand, no spring compressor required.
If I had waited another week or so, the motor would have
grenaded. New valves seals and a head gasket were
around a hundred bucks. Easy to do.

Jim