Re: [emrat:12951] Starter dual sport recommendations?

Strongly recommend a 250. You'll be limited to 65-75 on the road, but once you hit the trail, you'll thank yourself. Weight—or lack thereof—is everything. Of course, Kawasaki and Honda now have 300s, but it'll be a few years before you can get one for $3K. 

The DR-Z400 has more power, but it only has five gears, and the general consensus is that it has poor road manners. If you do go that route, look for an "E" model that someone has made street-legal. 

The KTM 500 EXC Sean mentioned is the ultimate and might be worth selling a kidney for. Substantially lighter than a Japanese 250 with ungodly power. Probably not the bike you want to start on, though. 

On Mon, Aug 23, 2021 at 8:45 PM Jim Baker <beaker@pobox.com> wrote:

Martin, I'm going through a similar process.   I think it depends on what kind of riding you want to do and how far you want to travel to make trails.  I've stepped down from an R1200GS to a BMW 800 twin, and I still think it's too heavy; I got into some trouble in Hotel Gulch last weekend, and that's a pretty tame double-track trail.  I'm now thinking I want to step down to a DR650; 360 pounds dry, the lightest ADV I am aware of that still can move its ass on a highway.

If you're sticking close to home and don't want to do multi-day trips where you need to carry gear, there are a lot of lighter, far more capable bikes that are still street-legal getting to the trail; the KTM 500 is a good mid-displacement one, and of course there are polenty of mainly-dirtbikes below that displacement as well.  

Cheers,

Jim

On Mon, Aug 23, 2021 at 5:50 PM Martin Richard <martinarmy1961@gmail.com> wrote:

Rats:  After 39 years of exclusively riding on the street, I've decided to start looking for a dual sport so I can ride on mild trails and dirt roads.  Any recommendations for a beginner?  Any of you planning on any trail rides that I could tag along on and maybe take a turn on a bike to see if it's something i'd like before I go out and buy one?  

About the only requirements for me are (1) has to be street legal because I don't want to have to trailer it to the trailhead, (2) Would strongly prefer an electric starter because I'm not sure my old knees can take a kick starter and (3) would like to stay under $3k used.  

I know the KLR is the "go to" for a lot of people but looking at the specs it seems like a heavy pig and I'd like to avoid a bike that's excessively heavy.  I'm also concerned that something too small (200 - 250 class) might not be enough power wise.  I'm fairly tall (6'1") so a taller bike is OK.  

I know Kawasaki has the KLR/KLX in a 400 class, Honda and Suzuki have 400 class (XR and DR) but I'm not sure what Yamaha has in that class.  

Thanks in advance and if anybody has a bike for sale or knows of one that might work for me, shoot me a message.  

Thanks! 

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