best dual sport for a short guy

[quietfighting]

heres the deal:
im getting married at the end of may and for my honeymoon my wife and i will travel throught the northwest. in doing so we will be carrying a motorcycle on a carrier with us.

if my wife and i combined are a little less than 300 lbs. what will be powerful enough to carry us?

this bike will mostly be ridden on the road but with dirt roads and smooth trails to explore, nothing crazy.

here are my concerns:
-i am 5'8, she is 5'3; so we need a bike that isnt to high to sit on comfortable. around 33' tops. the xl650l is too high at 37 inches. unless there is a very inexpensive way to lower the seat heighth.
-i would prefer to spend less than 2000 total (w/adding new tires). is that possible?
-i obviously want a durable bike that if something happens to go wrong isnt super expensive to work on. i here the hondas are bullet proof, and i am not sure about the others (kawasaki, suzuki, yamaha). considering the price we are looking at bikes made in the 90's probably.

any suggestion on makes, models and years?

thanks for the help.

[espacef1fan]

I know the KLR650 is fairly low...not exactly sure ont he seat height though....

I'm 5'6" and handle My 34.5" seat height on my KLX250S jsut fine..I'm on my tip toes alot....but can flat foot one side at a time.

[Hoagie]

Yamaha XT225 will do what you want. Stone simple bike. It will carry 300 pounds no problem. Bike weighs 238 (or so) pounds dry.

[Truckin_Thumper]

I have a 30" inseam
I can ride everythig stock jeight except an XR

[eakins]

Originally Posted by espacef1fan

I know the KLR650 is fairly low...not exactly sure ont he seat height though....

I'm 5'6" and handle My 34.5" seat height on my KLX250S jsut fine..I'm on my tip toes alot....but can flat foot one side at a time.

klr is not low for a short guy!

[eakins]

Originally Posted by Hoagie

Yamaha XT225 will do what you want. Stone simple bike. It will carry 300 pounds no problem. Bike weighs 238 (or so) pounds dry.

weak rear hub & springs

[eakins]

dr650 with stiffer front & rear spring. height is good (& can be adjusted even lower), 650 motor for power (225 would be a dog 2 up), dead reliable. you'll need a a better seat no matter what you buy. corbin nice a nice one for the dr.

[eakins]

Originally Posted by Truckin_Thumper

I have a 30" inseam
I can ride everythig stock jeight except an XR

so do i and i ride my stock xr just fine.

[idahoskiguy]

Simple answer: DR650 or KLR650

Believe lowering links can be fitted to both if stock is too high. But then May is a long ways off ;-)

[N1ckR]

Originally Posted by eakins

weak rear hub & springs

The XT225 was designed in Japan where the average male weighs in at 65kg, 2 up that's 130kg, ~280lb so in theory should be able to you guys 2 up... BUT ...
I weigh in at ~80kg or ~180lb and the suspension is just enough for me, with pre-load and damping rate at maximum it is OK for me alone off road.

You will need suspension mods/upgrade on the XT225 to carry you both, bottoming out will be an issue off road and on road you might JUST be OK. Plus I don't think the engine will be too comfortable. IMHO you will need atleast 400cc to have comfortable amounts of power.

Best bet is to go out and sit on some bikes and start making a list of which ones you both can fit on and the suspension holds up.

[truck6driver]

Add another vote for the DR650. Good power for the weight you will have riding, reilable and easy to lower. Most dealerships will lower one. You can find good used ones for under $2000. It has better road manners than the XR650L and better off road manners than the KLR650. The DR has a 17" rim vs 18" for the XR&KLR. Thats a reduction right off the bat. Lowering links are common and seats with a lower profile are avaliable too.

RH

[Bucho]

Hey quietfighting, I'm sure you realize you have to take everyone's reply w/ a grain of salt. Some people are mentioning getting aftermarket seats and aftermarket suspension, and may tell you the stock bike is unridable.
If you and your woman are just riding around a little, the stock seat/suspension or whatever will do fine. Especially when you have buget of $2000.
Pretty much any of the Jap bikes are fairly reliable.
Sometimes the beauty of having little experience w/ bikes, is the ability to have fun with some old piece of junk that will do the job.

If your new bride has agreed to bring a motorcycle along and ride you, I'm sure you will have a great time no matter what.

[gordo5]

Sounds to me like you might want to consider a dr350 or xt350. Both were made in the 90s and you shouldn't have any trouble finding one for under $2K. I have an xt350 and I'm 5'8" and it's easily flat footed with a bit to spare. Apparently the DR has slightly better suspesion and has a rear disk instead of a drum, but I went with the XT because it's almost 30 pounds lighter. Of course a lot of that weight saving is because the XT doesn't have e-start, but it kicks over very easily.

[quietfighting]

im going to look at a honda xr650l to check out the seat height.

its a 95' with 17430 miles. tires at 70% and new rear sprocket

he wants $1,950.

what would be a good price?

my search continues

i am also looking for the suzuki dr650es, but all ive found is a 93' with 1800 miles and it is kickstart which can be a pain apparently.

any chance on finding a decent 96' for around $2000.

thanks for the help

[mewerj]

truck6driver, the klr has a 17" wheel . . . still doesn't lower as easy as a dr650.