Hi I just sold my jeep and my friend lead me to motorcycle world which I always want to have. I know there are tons of thread about this and I read pretty much a lot,, but still want to hear some opinion who has a lot of experience what I want to do. So I craved this forum and google a lot to find what bike is fit for me. I love to go nature where is out there and travel. biggest reason to move motor cycle from jeep is i can to do long long travel which mix with on and off road. I want good off road capability and normal on road capability. durability and reliability is also important. so here is what in my mind now. Suzuki DL650 vstrom - I know it is not really for off road but excellent long distance travel. KTM 690 enduro r - nice looking to me. excellent off road capability but I wonder how it is good for long distance travel. like with all the hard case and set up for long trip BMW F800GS - I know it is different class or price range (actually similar with ktm 690) but it looks pretty much what I want and everybody want. but worry about reliability and maintenance since it just came out about 2 years ago. you know I had jeep before so I know maintenance is pretty stressful. I want to go somewhere with really durable and reliable bike. Kawasaki KLR 650 - 25 years old easy to get parts and low maintenance. reliable. which one do you recommend ?
If you are looking for road and off road the 950/990 adv would be a good choice. The 690 enduro r would be great for your purposes when modified with rally raid fairings and tanks and a better seat. Lighter then its 9xx counterpart and better fuel economy. But it is an expensive mod. If you consider it try find a bike with the mods already in place. I myself have the 950 adv S and have no plans to change it any time soon but when the time comes it will be replaced with a 990 adv R or a 690 rally raid modified. For what you want to do you wouldn't have to look any further.
KLR650. First bike. Inexperienced, looking at a vertical learning curve. People who have never ridden before ride around the world on those things, maintenance is easy, reliable as a brick, can be fixed anywhere.. You don't want a KTM Adventure...not yet.
If its your first bike get a cheap KLR 650 that someone has already added all of the extra's to and has fixed the know issues. Then ride it for a few years until you figure out your riding style and preferences.
if you want a challenge and ready for the long haul the 990 is your bike. granted a 650 is a good bike for starting out. if your mechanically inclined the 990 will be everything you want and more!
I'd second the KLR650 idea until you get a feel for things. It's cheap and easy to resell. This is a thoroughbred race horse. It's very good on the road and it's capable off-road. It's not really a trail bike but it certainly can go on them. It's a bit expensive to just "jump into". It has it's "quirks" and for some that isn't acceptable. But for outright fun, this is an awesome machine.
A KLR at 400lbs dry would be the go-to learner bike,especially for an ex Jeep man. For some decent performance Id go DR650 though.
I will echo the opinions that the KLR 650 is a good place to start. It is a compromise motorcycle though. It is okay on road and off road but not particularly great at either one. Once you figure out whether the majority of your time is spent in the dirt or on the road you can hone in on the second bike. I went to the KTM 950 ADV. It lets me travel a distance on the road and then it performs very well off road. The 9xx ADV bikes can be deceptive. They handle very well and they are very fast! If one is not prepared for the pace at which things happen on these bikes you can get hurt very quickly. That being said, the adreneline rush from it is awesome!
I have a 650 Dakar and plan on keeping it for another 80k miles. Pretty well fits in your description. Low cost to operate & nothing exceptional in maintenance. Great do-it-all bike. An older KLR is cheaper though. I'll +1 the KLR too. If you want FI, get a 650GS, otherwise the KLR is a bit cheaper. There is also heaps of information out there about both of these bikes, so you'll always have a guide to getting help. I would not recommend anything larger than a 650 for your first DS bike though. The big adventure bikes will get out of hand *very* quickly offroad. Even my Dakar gets to be a handful when things get loose. And the V-Strom would be great too if you weren't doing much more than forest roads to get to trails. It's a fantastic ride for paved & gravel/dirt roads, but it lacks the suspension to do much else.
Agree. Get you first the KLR, ride it for a few years, then youl be ready to jump to the 990 adv. This monster just needs tiny touch of the pinky finger on the throttle to jump the hell out of the road! by the way, my beloved KLR got to go...
After lurking for a couple of years, this question convinced me to join. I learned how to ride a motorcycle at 58, never having (ever) ridden one before; I was an avid cyclist though and I'd driven in amateur performance rallys. I turn 60 mid-year and in these two years, I have put 30,000KM on the bike. I am looking at the 1190 Adventure or the big GS to replace it when I do. I will definitely take a mid-level or advanced course when I do. I wanted a motorcycle that would be a "tool for travelling", one that I could travel long distances on, was reliable and, embarrassingly, had some cachet (sue me, I'm a designer ). I narrowed it down to the BMW F650/800GS and the V-Strom 650. I chose the F650 because for me it ticked all my boxes and was more comfortable. Looking back, I probably would have preferred a shaft drive but the chain was not a big deal. Now, there were a special set of circumstances that allowed me to buy that bikemainly, I got an insane deal on it. If that hadn't happened, I would have bought something else, probably a used KLR650 or the V-Strom. The beauty of Japanese bikes is that parts are available and much, much cheaper. You will drop the bike (the first farkle I put on mine was a set of good crash barsbefore I even rode it!) and bits will need to be replaced. If you're thinking of going on third world expeditions, that Kawasaki will make you much happier in the long run. Don't be seduced by power numbersa zillion horsepower and inch-tonnes of torque might be cool to talk about but might make riding less enjoyable. Also, the urge to twist the throttle to blast out of a situation that has annoyed you, will pop up. It is seductive and swells the "boys" too much power there will get you into trouble very quickly. On the other hand, blasting across the desert at 170 KMH is soul-cleansing. Take a course (the quickest and safest way to get knowledge and starting experience; also can lower insurance), buy an easily-fixed, reasonably-powered bike with an upright-ish seating position, ride every chance you get, in all weather. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made and the riding community is one of the most welcoming I've encountered. Good luck!
