Need some help finding the right mid-sized ADV bikes

Unless you stick a turbo on that WR250R. Altitude then becomes inconsequential.

I'd avoid a 2008 690.

There are differences in ride height between the E and R models.
The E model headlight was much better than the headlight which
came with the R models. The 2012 model comes with a headlight
which is better than the headlight which came on the "R" models.

The E bikes had a large instrument cluster which included a tach and the R bikes
had a smaller cluster similar to what comes on the EXC bikes. The larger cluster
had some "issues" with vibration causing plastic to create "dust" which made the
display difficult to read; the smaller cluster seems to be less prone to problems.

The 2011 690 seems to have different triple clamps which allow the
bike to have a tighter turning circle than earlier model years ( the
turning circle is an issue for some people in tight trail riding, others
don't seem to mind it ).

It seems there were changes made in the fuel injection system of the
690 between the 2010 and the 2011 model years, and perhaps between
the 2008 and 2009/2010 models also ( it is difficult to find data which
explains some of those injection system changes in detail, which is
unfortunate because it would be useful stuff to know ).

And of course the 2012 / 2013 690 has an engine which is not 650cc but
is actually 690cc. They all need mods done before they are really ready to ride,
the first mod being to get the OEM catalytic converter removed from the bike and
replace it with a proper light weight "muffler" such as an Akra, FMF, Wings,
Leo Vince, etc.

There are other differences in 690 model years but I did try to mention
most of the main differences above.


For all owners of a 690 Enduro the "Wunderfest" thread on
ADVrider is a thread I'd consider to be required reading, because there is a
wealth of info in that thread. It is here :


http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=722987


================================


The 500 EXC was just introduced last year so it's either a 2012 or a brand new
one. I am not sufficiently informed to be able to tell you the differences
between the 2012 500 EXC and the 2013 500 EXC. Some of the differences
( if there are any ) might be things like a different "map" for the fuel and / or spark
and of course you cannot detect that while looking at the bikes.


It sounds more and more like the 500 EXC is the bike for you, if you are
as you say willing to make significant tradeoffs in roadworthiness in exchange for
trail riding goodness. But a test ride is really the only way to know whether
that bike will work for you. It's going to be interesting the first time
you pass a tractor trailer on the Interstate on a windy day on that
500 EXC. The 690 gets blown around a bit too when you are riding 75 mph
and there are 50 mph gusts, but if you have a steering damper and use it on
higher damping settings that helps a lot. Or you can leave the damper set to "loose"
and enjoy the excitement of the bike moving across a whole lane with no steering
inputs from the rider when a strong gust hits


================================



I'd caution you against inferring from videos that various bikes
can "easily" do various things. There is a KTM marketing video of
Giovanni Sala riding a KTM 950 Super Enduro in which his skill makes
the bike appear to be able to do amazing things. Well, a lot of that is
only possible because of the skill of Sala, and if I tried to ride a 950 like
he does in that video I'd end up dead or crippled.



.

I had a xr 650, I have a KLR 650, I have a 1200 gs. I just bought a 650 terra. It "seems" much lighter than the Honda or the KLR, as the gas is carried low. A much better bike all around. Now, I have not had to pick it up yet but moving it's very light feeling. Much better on the road and on bad dirt roads that the other two. If the KLR type stuff is the kind of riding you want to do but were unable to due to it's abilitys you will love the Terra. I can't say enough about this bike. So if it's 650s you're looking at I'd add this to the short list.
You need to figure out if you want a Dual Sport or a Trail bike with a plate.

What, you don't want to be a sitting duck for other
traffic on the highway on a 250 ?


Where's your spirit of adventure ?



.

New KTM 690 $12,000

New Husky 650 $7,000

The Husky is the better, more stable bike on pavement and has a smoother running engine. 690 is far better if you're an aggressive rider off-road.

The Husky is not so different than the BMWs the Sibersky guys are riding and is on Colebatch's radar. Big Dog loves his also. I think it's a better bike than it would appear on paper. I wouldn't hesitate to run the SanJuan passes or White Rim Trail on one.



.

The ORIGINAL POSTER who started this thread stated
goals which you are ignoring while you are pointlessly
proselytizing for the porcine pretender Husky.


The OP has made it clear he wants a bike which is well under 400 pounds.
The Husky weighs over 400 pounds. That means the Husky is not a bike the
OP is going to be interested in, because the Husky is too heavy for what the
OP wants in a bike. At this point it appears the OP might also be thinking the
KTM 690 is too heavy, though it weighs at least 75 pounds less than the
Husky. One thing's for sure, lighter is better when riding off road.


The core idea in these "which bike is best for me" threads is to actually
help the OP, not to be a cheerleader for the particular bike you own
( sadly this "cheerleader" phenomenon is all too common, but advice
from such sources should be taken with a front end loader bucket full of salt )


.

The KTM 500 EXC does exist and it does have a six speed transmission
and fuel injection. You can add the windshield, luggage carrying setup, etc.
and you will have the super light adventure bike of your dreams. A 6 gallon tank
when full weighs so much that the handling of the bike will be adversely affected
by all the weight which is close to the front of the bike, so I'd suggest a 4.x gallon tank
and a Rotopax or similar aux tank setup instead, for extended range rides. Also,
most rides don't actually require a "supertanker" tank and such tanks tend to be
so large that they affect the ergonomics of the bike ( they are often much wider than
a smaller tank ).


It is unlikely that the exact bike you specify above will ever be built by any company
because the market for such bikes is not large enough to justify mass production of
such a bike, and the manufacturers know this. So people who want such a bike buy a bike
which is a good foundation on which to build and then add the mods they want, such as small
windshields, etc. There are 300+ pages on doing exactly this in the thread below :


http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=201026


.

Hey Cainer.
I have been dealing with the same thoughts as you. My 990 Adventure is up for sale. Tired of wrestling.
I got over the term "dual sport". Now I think in terms of "long distance dirt biking". Just picked up a cheap used KTM 530. Putting on a 5.5 gallon tank. Probably will have enough money left for a used "little bike" too.

Not enough oil in the 530? I will change the oil when I can. Mostly weekend trips anyway. I will use my truck for those pesky trips down the freeway. I used to truck my 990 because I hate the freeway, and didn't enjoy wearing-out my dirt tires before I got to the fun stuff. If you want to do 5 hr. freeway runs, get a goldwing.

There is no perfect bike that will magically give us more time for riding. There is no bike that can do single track, carry luggage, do 80 mph down the freeway for hours, be reliable, be low to the ground, have great ground clearance, have wind protection, be light weight, be really stable, etc.

Pick a bike that you can get a good deal on, get serviced locally, and enjoy. Pick something that suits your local conditions. Pick something that has lost it's showroom value. If it turns out to be not what you want, sell it and try again. If you ever have the opportunity for a giant trip, get a different bike at that time. I feel much relieved now that I am no longer seeking the Holy-grail of bikes.

There is no perfect bike that can do everything awesomely!

Poverty sucks, doesn't it ?



.

Methinks someone should change their name to ItsNotTheRider...

Actually, it's obvious you don't think much at all, given
the way you suggested bikes which were so obviously
inappropriate for the OP.



.

*snipped* for brevity...

Thanks a ton! This is precisely the type of information I was looking for! :) At this point, I don't think I could go too wrong with either the 500 EXC or the 690 (and I'm still not completely off the idea of the 640 either yet. I think you're right, I just need to ride them and see.

This is an excellent thread! I am def. learning a lot there! Thanks for the tip!

The more I look at these mid-sized bikes, I just don't think an interstate highway is an ideal playground for any of them. I'm sure I could grin and bear it though. Honestly, the more I really think about it, the more I realize that the interstate problem is pretty much a corner case for me. I like to imagine myself cruising along for days to get to a far off technical riding destination, but the vast majority of my riding opportunities are technical trails in Colorado or Utah and they are basically a day's ride from here pretty much any way I go. I think I can put up with on secondary roads for a day and there's always, as someone mentioned, the 'put it in the truck' interstate option. I think you are right in that I'm leaning a bit more toward the 500...it just seems to have everything I need for the trails mixed with just enough road prowess to not be torturous to ride a bit to get somewhere. That said, I think I'd like to test ride the 690, 640, and the 500 (and potentially a TE510/TE530) to get my final ridability questions settled.

True true true...I didn't mean to put too much emphasis on the bike itself. I guess I just look at that video of Chilly on the 500 and think 'Oh, that looks like terrain I could handle and dream of riding but if I tried that with my skill on my GS, I'd never get all the pieces back together again!.'

Guess I should have expected that feedback from "It'sNotTheBike" too eh?


As always, thanks for the great insight!

Interesting. I'm certainly not opposed to trying one out. I think at this point, I have an idea of the 'feel' that I want for a bike much more than I have an solid understanding of what will get me there. As It'sNotTheBike said, I have been looking at lighter bikes, but this is basically based on my experience on my KLR and my common sense that tells me that I probably want the lightest thing I can tolerate on the road because I want a bike I can be very confident on in the tricky bits. I certainly wouldn't discount the 650 just because of its weight, but as you say, I would definitely prefer something that handled "better than it would appear on paper" if it's going to be a bit on the heavier side. I think I am just going to have to ride some bikes and see what I like, but this thread has really helped me understand the general landscape of bikes I should be focused on and for that I thank you all!

Good points all around and generally, I do agree with what you are saying here. Does it seem like I am asking too much here though?

I'll have to re-read my original post. If it wasn't clear before, let me elaborate... I don't expect to find a bike that is a GS on the highway and a 250 on the single track, but I really don't have much experience figuring out which bikes fall into the middle area of 'bikes capable of single track' but are 'capable road bikes that aren't intolerable to bear riding for any length of time on a highway', which is why I started this thread. Most of the bikes I've ridden technical trails on have been in the 200cc range...but I have a strong instinct having ridden my wife's old titled/plated TTR-225 on the highway (not interstate! ) a few times that there are some limits to the road worthiness of a 200cc class bike.

My KLR was fine on the highway, but not really confidence-inspiring for me on the trails. When I went to the GS, I sort of went the other way (I had that TTR to ride then and didn't need -my- bike to have any single-track ability), but now I'm looking for something somewhere in the middle ground...somewhere between a KLR on the highway and my TTR on the trail with the notion that if I have to give a little on one of these fronts, it'd be the highway (and if I can get better than the TTR on the trails, I'd certainly take it!)

This seems like a much narrower band to search in than "a perfect bike that can do everything awesomely" and it's where I'm focused on now...I just really have no experience in this part of the spectrum. Now I've got a pretty good idea of the general landscape here and most of this is just fine details...sorry if it seems like we're going off in the weeds, I can be a bit ADHD sometimes and fixate on the fine details and it's all too tempting to ask just one more question here as there are some seriously helpful experts lurking around these parts that just keep answering them.

A cheap DR650SE or Husky Terra are definitely worth a test-ride, at their prices. The 367lb (curb) DR will run slab better than some streetbikes, if set up properly. It'll follow plated dirtbikes offroad too. Just don't expect it to be race-ready.

G650x country with adventure mods hits all of the OP's list. The only problem is it requires a fair bit of work to make the necessary changes which adds $.
I am in the same boat and doing this to an xchallenge because I am taller.

Sent from my GT-I9100M using Tapatalk 2

Husky TE610 is capable of doing what you're asking...310lbs/50hp/12" quality suspension/great brakes/wide ratio 6 speed gear box/aftermarket seat and fairing available. It'll do single track and road...it will wear you out to try to do single track at a faster pace (chasing your buddy on his 525 KTM), but it'll do it fine

3 options if you must only have one bike:

650,get in the weight room, practice a lot, ger good tires, slow down offroad, avoid goat trails. As time has gone on, this has been the compromise that works best for me. Looking hard at the Sertao/Terra as my next bike.

250/400, maybe a removable windshield, tailgate a slow vehicle the whole way there or take slower scenic route. Did this for a while, the novelty wore off pretty quickly.

Plated dirt bike, air conditioned truck/ trailer with tools,food,first aid, ad proper offroad apparel in the back too. I see myself going this direction eventually. The freeways here suck, and its what serious offroaders have been doing for decades. (Note: no one except a few keyboard jockeys will hold it against you). FWIW, I see people trailering JEEPS to offroad spots. Select the right tool for the job.

Eventually shooting for a 30/70 650 in the garage partnered with a 90/10 plated bike. All it takes is time and money :)

Be open to all the possibilities. Scan the ads here and on CL. When you find the right bike, it will jump out at you. Recognize that and seize it. I sold my TE450 in September and have been looking since. I dragged my feet on a couple that would have worked and sold. When the right one came up, it was almost too good to be true and I almost dragged my feet on that.

While looking, I would put more value on suspension mods vs. engine mods. Well set up suspension benefits all riders. Engine mods, not so much.

In the summer of '94 I was living in Gunnison, I had a neighbor I never met but one day I saw he had a brand new XR650L. He was from Dallas, he had zero experience on any motorcycle and bought the XR650L for a street bike he could commute to class with. He was about 5-10 and 160 pounds. He never imagined the trails I was going to take him on.

The first pass we did was Pearl, from Crested Butte to Aspen. He did not one time drop the bike, have to clutch it, or have any issues and that was his first time ever off road. By the end of the summer we did every named pass in the Elk Mountains and San Juan range. Plus the group around Pitkin like Tomichi pass Alpine tunnel and others. Before the end of the summer we went down to Grant and did Redcone pass, got to the bottom and went right back up. His XR650L was 100% stock, tires jets air filter sprockets, seat height etc. and it performed without fault.

It may not be the bike you want and there are certainly better looking choices but to say the XR650L is not a capable off road bike in the hands of a novice is just not true.

BTW that summer I had a plated 92 Yamaha WR250R and he kept up just fine and was my most frequent riding buddy.