As the title of this thread indicates, the dirt is calling my name. Having grown up on dirt bikes, I have a strong itch to get back on one and explore areas that are off limits to the CB. The type of riding I would mostly likely be doing is fire roads, double track, single track, even technical stuff if it arose. So basically whatever terrain was in front of me. I have a few leads on models that attract me, but am interested to here opinions from y’all who have experience with off road riding currently. Basically what you do and don’t like about any particular bike that you currently own or have owned.
Thanks in advance!
Hmmm the big question is how are you getting to the dirt..If your trailering or putting it in a p/u you’ve or tons of options..
However, if you’re planning on riding to trails, your looking at needing something that can sustain highway speeds for a period of time. If you get caught in crap weather or get a call, you’ll need something you can slab home on
I’ve owned several and here are the pro-cons:
Past:
Dr350se - big for a 350, I had one of the later one with adjustable suspension , little anemic on the highway but could do 65-70 without it feeling like you were beating a baby seal thanks to a 6th gear. I put an aftermarket tank, exhaust, and loved it.. I wanted a bit more for adv riding, and sold it.. Wish I still had it, and keep and eye out for another, but while cheap relatively speaking, unmolested one don’t appear often.
Drz400sm.. had dirt wheels as well. Great bike, but it’s only a 5speed so gearing options (sprockets) become important if your doing both dirt/street same day. You will sacrifice one for the other. To uncork it, you need a carb from the dirt model, exhaust, and you need to buy some added stuff to protect motor components (case savers, rad Protection. The bikes are bullet proof, but if you go down hard without the protecting stuff, you will be walking home.. sold it to go adv riding
Ktm sxc625 dirt/motard wheels.. best off-road bike, all surface riding bike I have ever had, but unlike the smc motard only, it had smaller oil capacity and required frequent oil changes. So while great to ride, pain in the ass to work on, which you had to do a lot. Sold it because I wanted to ride more wrench less
Honda Xr650l.. it’s big and heavy but it’s a tank. I had the motor rebored for a bigger piston as the motor started blowing oil as the P.O. was a tad careless. It’s air cooled, so you need to check oil and temp level, but it’s a Honda. I put a lot of hard miles with a bigger tank and exhaust, on it.. Sold it as I had kids and wasn’t riding it much
Ktm990adv.. great bike, but huge offroad.. Took some official off-road classes and could ride off road but as it wasn’t cheap. Riding off-road wasn’t fun as you worry about dropping a 10k+ bike.. it was a great sport touring bike.. With kids I wasn’t traveling much, sold it and bought the cb1100
Still have
Krm620EGS-E. This the predecessor to the 640adv, but with lower pipes. It’s huge, almost as big as my 990 (huge) as it’s gotta giant 7 gallon tank. It could do double duty as a paint shaker, as it makes donuts when on its side stand.. it’s a pita to change the oil, but it’s got standard oil capacity so I can deal with it.. it’s not great in the tight stuff, but it’s well balanced and with patience and picking your line,
Nothing stops it.. it’s the best all purpose bike I found with some dirt riding in mind as part of the trip
Bikes I’d consider
Later model dr650.. oil cooled, cheap, dependable, but dated and 5 speed.
Klr650. Bigger so handful off-road, water-cooled, but they take more abuse and Are heartier than the drz. More all purpose than dirt friendly, but you can do dirt on em
Wr250r.. modern, reliable, ton of aftermarket support.. unfortunately,
I’m a big guy, and it’s a little small. Plus unlike my dr350se, that had torque/grunt, the wr is peaky.. I’m a bigger dude so I didn’t buy one new when I was riding technical. I’d buy a well cared used one in a sec if I was doing tighter stuff for the right price.
Yamaha t7... This isn’t even out yet.. it’s got the Fz-07 bit set up as a full on adv bike..
I’ve ridden hundreds of different motorcycles from pitbikes to CBX’s to racebikes to hardcore KTM MX and have concluded the newest ebikes or electric BICYCLES are the future and most fun off-road BY FAR. No throttle, using variable pedal assist only these hi-tech bikes weigh only 50 pounds and will go just about anywhere. Range is around 40-75 miles. Look at Focus Jam2, Bulls ebikes, or most FULL-SUSPENSION mountain ebikes.
Good exercise too, a healthy lifestyle that allows more freedom than motorcycles because they go anywhere bicycles are allowed w/o liscense, plates or most traffic. Throw it in the back of your suv or hatchback and go right to your destination. Better yet, bring 2 ebikes and a friend.
With the battery and dialing up the controllable assist, pedaling a steep uphill is as ez as pedaling downhill! And if you get in a tight spot or really difficult section, simply pick up the bike and lift it over or carry it out.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tBYEvfzduXw
I currently have a KLX400 (rebadged DRZ400E) that I really like.
Also have a XR200R for friends to play on.
I do miss 2-strokes though, as that is what I grew up on.
I should have specified. I would be hauling the bike to the trail in my truck. I think I’d rather have a smaller, lighter, off road specific machine as opposed to a dual sport/adv.
(03-18-2018, 11:38 PM)PowerDubs_imp Wrote: [ -> ]I currently have a KLX400 (rebadged DRZ400E) that I really like.
Also have a XR200R for friends to play on.
I do miss 2-strokes though, as that is what I grew up on.
Iirc the klx400sr is a drz400s and the klx400r or klx400ek is a drz400e
The drz400e was not street legal, has a different rear and more importantly came with a fcr-39 flat slide carb :-)
As I see you’d be hauling it, off can see wanting off road spec. However, I might recommend getting it plated. Lots of places for us to ride are split by a mile or so of road between em. Getting caught doing that is $$
I’d take a look at a ktm500exc. It’s street legal in the terms it’s got lights and t/s but it rips and isn’t too big or too small.. it’s awesome in all except price
looks like you're from ark...so a street legal bike is what you want/need. I've ridden most of the good dirt stuff out in n.ARK and from what i've seen other riders ride, just about any dirt bike will do. One bike I won't suggest is a kick start 4 stroke b/c there's alot of creeks w/ fast running water to cross, and if you fail and drown those bikes, it takes forever to get them to fire back up.
I've seen two stroke mx bikes do 500 dual sport miles out there, and I've seen 650cc singles climb up the rocky slippery single tracks. I've also seen 650-1000cc ADV bikes ride the ATV trails and cross deep water creeks out in ARK as well. So it's not the bike, it's the rider. Get the best bike you can afford, and find a group to ride with. There was a saturday d/s ride that started out at Queen Wilhemina state park. I got their gps route, and it looked like an awesome full day's ride out there. I would have joined them but i was out riding the single tracks up in talimena state park 40 miles west of there.
Some choices may be limited by inseam.
Inseam not really an issue, luckily.
That's it rub it in ( where is my raspberry emoji) lol