Need help choosing lil thumper

For a brief back story, I totaled my 00 GS 1150 on 9/8/12. Head on crash w a Harley. (One less Harley!!) I broke my leg pretty severely. I used to ride 12-15,000 miles per year, a lot for us Minnesota riders. I want to replace the big pig with a small or mid size dual sport. Like maybe a drz400 or wr250 but I need help which is where you all come in. Here's my dream list:

- small and nimble off road but street legal.
- low maintenance and easily farkled.
- $2-4000 price range ideally and I'd prefer to find one w a few mods.

I still plan to ride on the street but probably no more than 50 miles or so, non freeway.

Start spittin your ideas!

kLX250s fits the bill easily. The huge price savings over the wr or drz gets you lighter weight and better suspension but far less power until modified.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

KTM 450-525-530 EXC.



Bang.


Done.

KLX250/300/351S if you don't mind a carb. Beef the subframe if you want to carry much on it.

In that price range, DRZ400. I don't think ya can find a decent street legal KTM/Husky/Berg... in that range, but if ya can, do it!

WR250R great
DRZ400S great
XR400 great (title woes?)

I'm considering replacing my drz with a xr, just for the kickstart.

Here's a VERY GOOD candidate: a fellow ADVRider who takes very good care of his bikes.

Dave

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=842781

You can find plenty of EXC KTM's for $4k and under. Like this one:

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=852958

Start searching.

DR350.

Easy to fit in that budget. Tons of aftermarket support. Super easy to work on and low maintenance. Light and nimble off road and the 6 speed makes highway very doable.

+1, DRZ400, Cheap, low maintenance, fine for 50 miles on the street with the right gearing. XR400 would be fine too if you can find one that is plated.

KTM/Husky/Berg are not low maintenance compared to the DRZ, but they are more fun for aggressive/fast riding.

Thanks for all the replies. Especially when followed with a "why" after your recommendation. I don't plan on doing high speed stuff. Normal off road and hopefully more technical stuff. My accident has scared me from speed a little... Probably will forget about that fear after I let the clutch out for the first time tho :)

why? for $194 you can put a kick starter on the DRZ and have e start.

Id go with the DRZ, easier maint. than a KTM, reliable, inexpensive (you can get one with 2500 miles for 3K) its the honda civic of dual sports, so you can get anything you want for it...anything. And farkles are cheap, plus your not limited to KTM orange or KTM black.

Ive ridden mine for hundreds of street miles and taken it on the rubicon...in the same day.

tw200 is a super fun bike.

Surprised no one has mentioned this yet... (though, admittedly, it breaks the OPs price limit somewhat...)

For $4499 you can ride home on a new, 2013 Honda CRF250L. (Watch that $310 destination charge, though...sheesh...)

Looks to be an excellent little dual sport, reliable, easy on insurance, fuel, etc., and with aftermarket support.

It's getting rave reviews in the press too.

I've owned/ridden one for a couple of months now.

Great machine.

I didn't mention it because it's above the OP's price range.

Dave

I just purchased the new Honda CRF250L, what a great bike, water cooled, and fuel injection, at $4499 what a steal.

John

The xr400/xr600 seems to be more reliable so far. Given, I have 20000 miles on my drz, but the xr guys suffer little to no electrical problems. I'm looking into it, all the while loving the versatile drz 1

I've had three DRZ400's before the new CRF250L, the DRZ's are great bikes as long as they are running. Now when I say running, I don't mean mechanical problems, I'm talking about today's gasoline. I had more carburetors problems with these bikes then I wanted, I do admit that I let the bikes set sometimes for two or three months with out riding them. If they made a fuel injected DRZ I would have one. Moral of the story is if it ain't fuel injected I don't want it. Great bike though, it just time for upgrades on these bikes, DRZ, KLR, DR, etc.

John

I haven't had a problem, but then, I use stabilizer if I'm parking a bike for longer than a few days.