Airhead GS vs. current thumpers?

[Lornce]

Originally Posted by Rucksta

My G/S weighs considerably less than 450lbs.
My riders handbook states 368lbs dry.

[B]DR 650 SE 2004
Dry weight: 147 kg (324 lbs)

Owright, I'll drag a couple of bathroom scales out to the garage later today and lay the debate to rest.

Pictures at 11:00.

Can't weigh the GSPD just now, fckn thing's never in one piece long enough...

Couple'a years ago:



Currently:

[AntonLargiader]

My R100GS with an empty gas tank weighs 446. Mostly stock. I'd think the G/S would be at least 15 pounds less, mostly thinking of the wheels and suspension.

My XR400R is supposed to be about 258, so I don't see a street-legal electric-start 650 being only 22 pounds more.

[Country Doc]

Originally Posted by Lornce

A KLR weighs 330lbs.

A BMW R80G/S weighs about 450lbs.

There's 120lbs between them, people.

DR650's weigh even less at about 280lbs.

fwiw: The GSPD has been down all season with another failed driveshaft.
The KLR and the DR have been shouldering the riding chores until I can
stomach buying a replacement piece.

DR650's definitely weigh more than 280lbs. My DR350 is supposed to be just shy of 300 lbs, and it's a bunch lighter than a DR650.

Looking forward to the bathroom scale comparison!

(ps - NONE of these bikes in question are dirtbikes, and I personally wouldn't have fun on any of them in technical singletrack. The DR650 might get me close to the trailhead, but the KLR and (gasp) an airhead GS wouldn't get anywhere near the singletrack I typically ride on my KTM).

That being said, if someone held a gun to my head and said that I have to choose ONE bike for everything, I'd pick a DR650. Lighter/better off-road than the KLR, good enough on the highway/twisties, reliable, cheap to own and maintain. For me it would cover a big chunk of the riding I like to do in one motorcycle. After years of owning airheads, I wouldn't own one as a "single" bike because I like riding more than wrenching. Lornce's pictures above reflect my experience with airheads also.

dc

[ChromeSux]

One thing to remember when considering a ALL around multi purpose bike is the FACT a chain can be repaired on the roadside 9 times out of 10, unless you completely loose it, and chains can be bought fairly cheap and easy.

[Sniper X]

Originally Posted by Gravytrain

I have a R100GS and a XR650L and have been suprised how much the GS can do off road as well as the XR.
If I get on the XR directly after I have been on the GS I don't like it nearly as much.
I will always have an airhead GS. It makes my soul happy. Can't explain why but it for sure is more than the sum of its parts.

Therein lies "That BMW Thing" I mentioned earlier.

[AntonLargiader]

Some Googling gives me:
KLR: 337 dry for the old one, 430 curb weight for the new one
DR: 360~385 dry for the old one, 324 dry for some newer ones, back up to 390 today.

I've heard that published dry weights are typically on the low side. Nothing beats simply weighing one.

[Lornce]

Don't know if it's the over-stiff springs the PO installed on the DR, but in my limited experience, the KLR works much better for off road and singletrack. KLR seems to have more ground clearance, too. KLR will go anywhere a more serious dirt-only bike will go. Might take a little longer, but it'll get there.

Off road the DR just bounces around going everywhere but where it's pointed. Again, it may be the too-stiff springs (which work pretty well on the road) but I'm thinking with lighter springs it's ground clearance might be even more compromised than it already is.

In defense of the BMW, it's 18 years old and has 265k kms on it. Doesn't really owe me a thing, and I love it to pieces. Finest all-round traveling bike I've ever been on.

And it'll shred a twisty road - pavement or gravel.

[ChromeSux]

I did take my 2002 KLR to the scales and weigh it last year, full of gas and saddle bags empty it weighed 415lbs.
Have not weighed the DR650 yet, Suz says 366 wet, we will see, i have taken off some things i felt were not needed i.e passenger pegs and brackets, helmet lock, rear fender skirt, grab rails, front reflector brackets but i did add skid plate and rear rack, reflective tape for safety in the absence of reflectors.

Took the 89 R100GS to the scales and full of gas and hard bags empty it weighed 500lbs, it does have a tour tech skid plate.

i did ask the guy at the scales about his accuracy and he said "his scales were accurate within 20lbs"

[Mathias]

Originally Posted by ChromeSux

I did take my 2002 KLR to the scales and weigh it last year, full of gas and saddle bags empty it weighed 415lbs.
Have not weighed the DR650 yet, Suz says 366 wet, we will see, i have taken off some things i felt were not needed i.e passenger pegs and brackets, helmet lock, rear fender skirt, grab rails, front reflector brackets but i did add skid plate and rear rack, reflective tape for safety in the absence of reflectors.

Took the 89 R100GS to the scales and full of gas and hard bags empty it weighed 500lbs, it does have a tour tech skid plate.

i did ask the guy at the scales about his accuracy and he said "his scales were accurate within 20lbs"

Great input, everybody!
Would you agree with what somebody else said that even though the GS weighs more, the low center of gravity makes it feel lighter?

Personally I'm not looking to do complex technical off-road riding, but I like the idea of entering an unknown gravel road without worries. The GS really sounds like the bike for me, but the lack of competition for it, and a dwindling supply, drives the price up a bit far. I wonder if the Ural ST would get close to filling the spot?

[Airhead Wrangler]

Originally Posted by AntonLargiader

I've heard that published dry weights are typically on the low side. Nothing beats simply weighing one.

Especially when BMW decides to weigh their bikes without the 10 lb starter motor in them citing it as optional equipment.

[StephenB]

I don't ride single trails, but any hard-packed gravel will do for me. The G/S is as comfortable there as riding on tarmac after the necessary suspension upgrades and I don't mind the lifting of the monolever. I have no actual comparison to any thumper. I had the street version of the XT500 about 30yrs ago.
But I would bet that after 6 weeks at 500km/day, I will be as fresh as ever whereas a guy on a thumper must be beat ... unless he's in better condition than I am at over 50. I truly believe that on a mixed (tarmac, gravel) long distance ride nothing beats an airhead.


As for the weight, I just weighed mine dry (incl all oils) for comparison:

206kg/454lbs (w/ empty 32l tank)





I thought I was more around the 205Kg/451lbs mark like the original 1981-1987 G/S Paris-Dakar with full tank, but the optional accessoires such as the luggage carrier, crashbars, 2 bashplates, tool roll plus additional tools, oilcooler, Corbin seat, R100R exhaust etc as well as the 1988-on GS forks do account for significant add-on weight compared to the G/S Paris-Dakar. Yes, a starter is in there too!

[Sniper X]

Originally Posted by AntonLargiader

Some Googling gives me:
KLR: 337 dry for the old one, 430 curb weight for the new one
DR: 360~385 dry for the old one, 324 dry for some newer ones, back up to 390 today.

I've heard that published dry weights are typically on the low side. Nothing beats simply weighing one.

Reminds me of the Great Scales at Dirt Bike magazine, where (and when) Super hunky and the crew weighed all the latest dirt bikes and found ALL but a few to be outright lying about their weight.

[marksbonneville]

Crap my stock KLR weighed more than 330lbs. and a 280lb DR650??? maybe with the engine taken out of it.

Originally Posted by Lornce

A KLR weighs 330lbs.

A BMW R80G/S weighs about 450lbs.

There's 120lbs between them, people.

DR650's weigh even less at about 280lbs.

fwiw: The GSPD has been down all season with another failed driveshaft.
The KLR and the DR have been shouldering the riding chores until I can
stomach buying a replacement piece.

[AntonLargiader]

He was pretty accurate on the G/S.

[timdog]

Before I traded my 2005 KLR for a G/S, I weighed it at 385lbs. It was stock with 1/2 tank of gas. I have not weighed the G/S yet. I know it is heavier, but with the cylinder guards it is still easier to pick up.

The only downside I have noticed with the G/S is less ground clearance.

I can ride it at least twice as far as the KLR in a day without discomfort.