Best "I got to drive 60 miles to get to fire roads bike"

[Ruffus]

2006 Husky TE 510 can do it easy.
If I'm headed for really tight single track, I change sprockets & usually trailer.
But fire roads , 2 track & open single track, easy as pie. Can do tight single track with my dual sport gearing, but not as much fun.

[eakins]

Originally Posted by 805gregg

DR650, would be perfect, unless you just want to throw away money and work on your bike then KTM.

I can agree with that too. You could knock off 120mi (60 out and back like nothing) and then ride fire roads all day long. Just put on a bigger tank, better seat and some bike protection and go for it. Other bikes have better suspension however.

If the OP was riding more advanced dirt then i'd say something like the wr250r with a better seat.

All in all IMO the 650 class of thumper dual-sports are the ideal 50/50 for what we wants to do (bang out 60 hi-speed miles of pavement, rock dirt roads in style, bang out another 60mi back home). The larger multi adv bikes advantage are the motors are somewhat smoother but the 650 DS class will pull 80mph all day long to your riding area. The multi bikes, however, are heavier in the fun dirt when you get there. It's better to be lighter in the dirt.

Is the time & experience on the pavement or the time & experience on the dirt more important to you???

[ReferJohn]

Honda XR650L

MINE

[mojave]

Agree, a DR650 can bang out 60 miles at 80mph no problem. Lots of wind blast for sure so I rarely cruised that fast. My WR250R can do this too though I rarely cruise faster than 70 due to wind blast.

The DR650 is improved so much with springs and fork brace I'd say these are absolutely necessary for proper enjoyment. And the Dynojet carb mods. Pumper carb not nece unless you are throttle happy.

[NoVa Rider]

I know, not exactly responsive, but should be considered. Opens up a lot of options:



http://www.versahaul.com/

[absoluteclint]

What you desire out of your bike sounds pretty similar to my riding style/intentions. I did alot of research this year on bikes in the 650 range... DR, XRL, and KLR. I pretty quickly ruled out the KLR... Too much plastic, too heavy, and too road-worthy for me.

That left me the DR or the XRL. I would have been happy with either and pursued several used/for sale ads for both models. I ended up with an '02 XRL and love it! The DR seems to be more utilitarian of the two while the XRL is considered to be more dirt-friendly. One of the big differences I found is the DR's saddle height is much lower than the XRL's... Although both model's suspensions can be adjusted to suit your stature and riding style. Another thing I've been reading about is that the XRL's subframe is known to be weak... If you're planning to ride 2-up or haul a bunch of gear consider reinforcing the subframe. Both models are reliable, cheap, and have huge aftermarket support.

Again though... I have been really pleased with the XRL so far... Good luck!

[HandKPhil]

'99 DR350, with a TKC80 on the front, and a Pirelli MT90 Scorpion A/T on the rear. Take the 55 mph secondary roads and enjoy the whole trip.

[Thinc2]

Originally Posted by absoluteclint

What you desire out of your bike sounds pretty similar to my riding style/intentions. I did alot of research this year on bikes in the 650 range... DR, XRL, and KLR. I pretty quickly ruled out the KLR... Too much plastic, too heavy, and too road-worthy for me.

That left me the DR or the XRL. I would have been happy with either and pursued several used/for sale ads for both models. I ended up with an '02 XRL and love it! The DR seems to be more utilitarian of the two while the XRL is considered to be more dirt-friendly. One of the big differences I found is the DR's saddle height is much lower than the XRL's... Although both model's suspensions can be adjusted to suit your stature and riding style. Another thing I've been reading about is that the XRL's subframe is known to be weak... If you're planning to ride 2-up or haul a bunch of gear consider reinforcing the subframe. Both models are reliable, cheap, and have huge aftermarket support.

Again though... I have been really pleased with the XRL so far... Good luck!

Just curious - why not a TE610?

[straightrod]

^ The TE610 works with its wide gearing lower weight than DR650.

[absoluteclint]

Originally Posted by Thinc2

Just curious - why not a TE610?

Good question... it simply came down to local support and lack of used Husqvarna's for sale in my area. There are tons of folks locally on Suzuki's, Honda's, and Kawasaki's. I haven't ran across too many folks near me that ride Husqvarna's. Of course lack of local rider's/support/dealers is not necessarily a reason to not pursue a good bike/model but when first getting into the dual sport world it helps to have a model that's common amongst local riders/mechanics. To be fair... in all of the research I've done recently, Husky's seem to maintain an exceptional reputation with dual sport riders and I feel the TE610 would be an excellent option to consider. I didn't mention it in my original post because I had originally dismissed it as an option for me due to their lack of presence in my area.

[Goon310]

I'm in the same situation.
I live in the city(for now) and riding areas are about an hour away.
Would need to do about an hour of freeway riding to get to good spots.

Been considering a CRF250L, or WR250R.
I like the CRFL for its price - but not it's low power and heavy weight.
I'm looking at Husqvarnas currently, and the 310 seems like a worthy bike - but pricey.

See a lot of plated XR650R's in my area but my gut feeling is they will be heavy and uncomfortable off road.
I'm 5'9'' and 140, and while I'm sure I could do fine on a 650 - I don't want to tire myself out.

The multitude of bikes and price points is astounding, and really hard to find whats going to be "right".
Buy used, or make payments, go small(250) or go big(650)?

There is no right bike for me it seems.
Light weight, heavily off road capable, yet can still do long haul trips at freeway speeds with good manners.

[oldxr]

I own a plated Honda xr650r and really like it for dual sport/touring .Xrr's arent really that heavy but it gets heavy with a giant loop pack and 6 gallons of fuel.No problem getting around motorhomes.Down side-no e-start and it eats back tires.But I got the bike for riding highway to forest service roads + baja trips .The engine has enough torque so that you can gear it up and still run single track.It would be better with an e-start and a wide ratio 6 speed box.Think husky te630-not the new 650.

[TDM Rider]

I'll throw my $0.02 in here. I've got a WR250R and a BMW XChallenge and for the distance you're talking about and riding fire roads, I'd take the XChallenge. The 650-class bikes just have so much more punch on the highway and rips on open fire road terrain.

If it were tighter, more single-track like riding, I'd favor the WR.

[Goon310]

Originally Posted by oldxr

I own a plated Honda xr650r and really like it for dual sport/touring .Xrr's arent really that heavy but it gets heavy with a giant loop pack and 6 gallons of fuel.No problem getting around motorhomes.Down side-no e-start and it eats back tires.But I got the bike for riding highway to forest service roads + baja trips .The engine has enough torque so that you can gear it up and still run single track.It would be better with an e-start and a wide ratio 6 speed box.Think husky te630-not the new 650.

Well, claimed curb weight of an XR650R is about 305 pounds.
It's 320 for the CRF250L!!!
I think I'd feel more comfortable on a 650 on Freeway trips - especially when I want to ride up to WA or farther.
Baja proven, large aftermarket... It's a solid choice.

I've also considered a 650 from BMW but that's a whole 'nother can of worms.

[gatorgrizz27]

Originally Posted by Goon310

I'm in the same situation.
I live in the city(for now) and riding areas are about an hour away.
Would need to do about an hour of freeway riding to get to good spots.

Been considering a CRF250L, or WR250R.
I like the CRFL for its price - but not it's low power and heavy weight.
I'm looking at Husqvarnas currently, and the 310 seems like a worthy bike - but pricey.

See a lot of plated XR650R's in my area but my gut feeling is they will be heavy and uncomfortable off road.
I'm 5'9'' and 140, and while I'm sure I could do fine on a 650 - I don't want to tire myself out.

The multitude of bikes and price points is astounding, and really hard to find whats going to be "right".
Buy used, or make payments, go small(250) or go big(650)?

There is no right bike for me it seems.
Light weight, heavily off road capable, yet can still do long haul trips at freeway speeds with good manners.

Unfortunately, dual sports are not "both a dirt bike and a street bike" in the sense that they can be great at both sides at the same time. They are "half a dirt bike and half a street bike", or a trade off towards one side or the other. Even if you could get everything else right, tires are always going to be a compromise.

I don't think that the lower tech 250's are a good choice for what you want to do. For riding back roads or racking up miles at a slower pace, then riding some dirt trails at a casual pace they are an excellent choice, but they dont have the power for the interstate or the light weight and proper suspension to hammer through the whoops like a MX bike.

IMO the best true dirt bike that won't make you miserable on the street are the KTM 450 or 530 EXCs, fitted with something like Michelin T63 tires. Off road you can't do much better, and it has the power and gearing to keep up at higher speeds and be smooth.

However, riding true dirt bikes on the interstate or freeway for more than a couple miles has always sucked for me. Wind blast, head shake, vibration, and noise take a toll on you at high speeds. Two lane highways up to 60 mph or so is no problem, but I was fatigued enough from getting to the trails that I couldn't ride to my potential, and then always ended up really dreading the ride home when everyone else was throwing them in the truck beds or trailers and relaxing.