new to dual sporting

[Scrambler]

I am considering getting a new 2001 LC 4 400. I am primarily an offroad rider and was thinking that the smaller displacement might be better for single track off road riding. I currently have a 2000 200exc that is "street legal" but not real practical for road riding. My back has been causing me a lot of problems lately, so I am going to get away from racing harescrambles and start taking it a lot easier. Two herniated discs in a 34 year old guys back will do that to ya. Any advice on finding the right dual sport bike. I still want to use it primarily offroad, but I want to be able to take it easy when I want and not have to ride it aggressively like I do my 200exc.

Thanks,
Neal

[Chopperman]

Originally posted by Jinx


First things first, welcome to the asylum! Sucks about the back, but I've had two knife-ectomies myself.

Those big KTM singles are getting pretty good reviews around here, better than what the commercial press would have us believe. I am guessing you want something pretty light and snappy with your experiance.

So who's out there tonight? OK, who's out there and sober enough to give Scambler some thoughts?

DRZ 400. from what I been hearing it is about as close to the perfect blend of motox and street as can get.

[Scrambler]

Light and snappy sounds good! Especially the light part.

[Marc]

Hey scabber!

Hello and welcome. I don't know shit (yet another .sig quote) about LC 4 400's, but that won't stop me from spewing forth another opinion. You read about PUI? Well, you're gonna have to know about it if you're gonna be around here.

No matter. Glad to have you aborard the S.S. Advrider. And good luck sorting out the "which bike" thing. I've got a feeling that it's a question that never gets answered, and a quest you remain on as long as you ride.

Marc

[fish]

Originally posted by Chopperman


DRZ 400. from what I been hearing it is about as close to the perfect blend of motox and street as can get.

but you have no actual experience riding one, right?

[fish]

Originally posted by Marc
Hey scabber
No matter. Glad to have you aborard the S.S. Advrider. And good luck sorting out the "which bike" thing. I've got a feeling that it's a question that never gets answered, and a quest you remain on as long as you ride.

Marc

That's really eloquent...well put, my friend.

[Chopperman]

Originally posted by fish


but you have no actual experience riding one, right?

true. I thought that was obvious from my statement...no?

[boyscout]

OK, I've been holding off because I figured there were others on this site with way more experience on thumpers than I but I'll give you my opinion on KTM's.

Manufacturing quality is amazing. Little things like all trapped bolts and aluminum inserts in plastic parts make working on it a breeze. Engine is definitely vibey but not unmanageable and POWERFUL. A ton of fun to ride with kick ass suspension. I would say if you want to cover 100+ miles of road on the way to the dirt, get the 640 (625). I don't think it's that much heavier and you'll appreciate being able to do 90 on the highway.

This comes from somebody who's first ever thumper is the KTM Adventure 640 so I don't have a whole lot to compare it to.

-BS

[Chopperman]

Originally posted by boyscout
OK, I've been holding off because I figured there were others on this site with way more experience on thumpers than I but I'll give you my opinion on KTM's.

Manufacturing quality is amazing. Little things like all trapped bolts and aluminum inserts in plastic parts make working on it a breeze. Engine is definitely vibey but not unmanageable and POWERFUL. A ton of fun to ride with kick ass suspension. I would say if you want to cover 100+ miles of road on the way to the dirt, get the 640 (625). I don't think it's that much heavier and you'll appreciate being able to do 90 on the highway.

This comes from somebody who's first ever thumper is the KTM Adventure 640 so I don't have a whole lot to compare it to.

-BS

ANd as with all bikes, they are only heavy when they fall over.

[fish]

Originally posted by Chopperman


ANd as with all bikes, they are only heavy when they fall over.

gotta disagree with ya there, captain. The K12LT is heavy all the time. From the time you pick it up off the stand to the time you tilt it back over at the end of the day..it's a heavy bike. It is no small feat running one of those half-ton bastards through the twisties...lemmme tell ya.

I can feel the extra weight on my RT over my GS...it's very noticeable, but when we get up over 80mph, it doesn't seem to matter anymore...except that the stuff that's causing the weight is also helping me slice through the wind, so topend acceleration is really strong.

oh my. Did I just hijack this thread? I'm terribly sorry. Please...continue on.

[Scrambler]

It sounds like most of you guys do a lot of street riding. I certainly intend to go more that direction, because my old ass is telling me to. I live in a pretty rural area so I will probably spend a lot of time on back roads, dirt roads, some trails and an occaassional trip around town. I keep fantasizing about going down into the creek behind my house and railing the creek banks until i find a place that I can't traverse and then hoping over the bank, but then my back says huhuh no more of that shit for a long time. I'm still an offroader at heart, but I think back to when I was 14 years old or so and rode all over the country side on old tank of an enduro bike and had a blast. That was long before the racing bug bit me. Remembering how fun that was and the fact that an old friend of mine just got a KLR650, makes me think that I could have even more fun now on a good enduro bike, especially since I can legally ride on the road now.

So far it seems like the KTM LC4 or the DRZ400 is the best bet. I'm partial to KTM's but they are more expensive. Keep the advice coming. I just put my race bike up for sale.

Thanks,
Neal

[Trevor S]

I looked and look and at the start of 2001 decided on the Husky TE 610 E. I had nearly decided on the KTM LC4 until I saw the Husky. There is also a new 450 e-start but it is more a serious enduro machine, like the KTM 520 etc then what I would call a daul sport bike.

It has alower seat then the KTM but this is good on the side of a hill :)

Electric start, a must, superb suspension, not a race engine ah la Husky TE 570, KTM 520 etc, and smoother then the KTM IMO. The Aussie model comes with a 17 litre tank I am not sure of the US model ? The ONLY thing I have added (besides the GPS) is a bash plate. Great, straight out of the box.

There is a very good reason it was "voted the BEST Dual-Purpose motorcycle by Cycle World USA!" IMO

http://www.husky.com.au/html/archive...10e/te610e.htm

http://www.husky.com.au/html/archive...oftheworld.htm

Trevor S

[Mully]

Originally posted by Scrambler
I am considering getting a new 2001 LC 4 400. I am primarily an offroad rider and was thinking that the smaller displacement might be better for single track off road riding. I currently have a 2000 200exc that is "street legal" but not real practical for road riding. My back has been causing me a lot of problems lately, so I am going to get away from racing harescrambles and start taking it a lot easier. Two herniated discs in a 34 year old guys back will do that to ya. Any advice on finding the right dual sport bike. I still want to use it primarily offroad, but I want to be able to take it easy when I want and not have to ride it aggressively like I do my 200exc.

Thanks,
Neal

Sounds like you're a "soul brother", dood! I did that HS/Enduro/MX thaing for 25 years and have been down this same road. I had a 400LC4 and did DS on it, and also had a KLR650 and an oilhead GS in the garage at the same time. Here're my thoughts on yer question:

The LC4 400 will do fine for you if you can transit to the trails via back roads, and once on the singletrack it'll get the job done. It requires more "aggressiveness" than the big-bore, but nothing like your 200. My personal opinion is that between the 400 and the 620/640, the big-bore gets the nod, because you only add a few measly pounds and pick up the ability to cruise at 70-75 on the transit roads.

My suggestion would be a nice `97 620RXC: that was the first year of the electric start motor and the year KTM went back to WP suspension from the Marzocchi/Ohlins combo. They have great potential at a low price. Stock suspension will be harsh so send the forks & shock to Neil Hores at Hitchcock Industries, 4003 S. Grant Street,Englewood, CO 80110-4705, 303-761-4652 and have it set up for your use. Next, get a good seat on it (Bill Mayer Saddles or Russell); a slightly taller handlebar will make it more livable on the transit rides and not take much away on the trail . Tires will be a dilemma: if you ride where it's muddy, you're going to need knobs. I never found a solution for that part and finally settled on Avon Gripsters aired-down and tried to ride around the muddy parts when I could.

Yes, there are other choices among the Japanese DS offerings, but I haven't ridden them and won't step in that pile. If I ever find an Adventure R that's in my budget I'm going to try one of them. Just my $0.02. HTH.

GSMullins
El Lay

[Trevor S]

Originally posted by Jinx
Would you tell us a little more of your experiences with it? TIA.

Well, what's to tell. :)

The bike will do 150km/h (I have no idea what that is in non metric) (or a bit higher if you get down on the tank) but boy do the knobbies HOWL at that speed :) A friend who has one has made a little shield that bolts onto the plate at the front but at my height, the air is clean, so no buffeting, his deflector screen buffets the air around my head. I have had two other friends try them and try the LC4 (not the bigger KTM Adventurer) and they both picked the Husky as well.

The power is linear, this took abit of getting used to actually, as I would keep winding the throttle on and then next thing, shit, waaaaaaaaaaaay to fast :) The power delivery is very different to the DRZ for example. As an aside, I happen to think that the DRZ is the best Japenese dual sport bike at the moment, I ride with lots of guys that have the DRZ, the standard tank is to small, they lack a little bit of torque and need a sixth gear are my only complaints but if you are a smaller person and don't plan to carry much gear and the torque is not as necessary, definetly a good bit of gear, if not you will be forever changing gears ;) If you want a racing type dual sport, the new Yam. WR 450 e-start will be a beast but it is to race bred for the type of riding I want to do.

I use the Husky for 1 and 2 day rides typically, though I do have a 4 day ride planned for 12 July BUT my motto is if you can't carry it in a 30l back pack it does not go, some of you guys seem to carry everything, including the kitchen sink and a gun, you have no idea how "foreign" that is to me, anyway...

The most I have done in a day is 900km but only 100km of that was bitumen, there were creek crossings up above my knees and wet black soil which is like ice. I had to miodify the seat a littile, like all of these bikes (DRZ etc) they are pretty uncomfortable. I added 10 mm of HD foam to the top and 15mm of soft foam to the sides and top and had it re-covered in the same colours.

The only weak point is the rear shock mount , I have heard of 2 that have collasped (including mine) the top rear shock mount needs a small amount of bracing (mine was repaired under the 2 year warranty it failed a couple months ago.)

Personally, I think the KLR is way to soft a bike for my liking, the bike is not popular in Australia, yet seems very popular in the USA. To my mind it is heavy, lacking power and handles like a bull elephant mating with a rhinocerous. If I wanted to do 80% bitumen work and no serious dirt, the KLR would be fine, or as a commuter but to me it is not a serious dual sport bike.

The 2000 and on Husky 610 model have no kick start only e-start, the '99 model had a kickstart as well as an e-start.

I have no brand or factory loyalty, at the time I bought it, it was the best bike for my needs. The KTM Adventurer was not avalable in Aus. at the time, only some other model LC4 . The KTM Adventurer has waaaayyy to much plastic hanging off it for my liking BUT it really depends on what /where you want to ride. I want it for tight single trails where a goat can't go, as well as open fire trails and transport sections on bitumen.

I quite like the looks of KTM LC 4 (18 l) but they do not bring this model into Australia.
http://www.ktmusa.com/modelle/model.asp?id=130

That's enough dribble for one night !

[Scrambler]

I'm begining to lean towards the LC4 640 or the TE610E. The relatively short seat height of the 610 is pretty appealing for a guy with a 30" inseam. I called a couple of places looking for both the LC4 and the 610 but no one has any in stock. It sure would be nice to set on one.

Neal