Triple Threat
Be like water My friend..
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2006
- Location
- Silly-con Valley
- Moto(s)
- Aprilia Dorsoduro 750, BMW S1000RR & R1200RT
- Name
- Michael
-
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Best Street/Dirt Bike for a Guy like me...
- Thread starter Triple Threat
- Start date
ThumperX
Slayer of Deer
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2007
- Location
- Off Elk Mtn
- Moto(s)
- Different strokes
Big Bore and little bore Thumpers and a Twingle
- BARF perks
- AMA #: 2817058
because you have completely abandonned your other thread...BAN YOU!
Oh wait, talking about motorcycles here.
If I was 6', had buckets of cash, and tons of time, I would go right down to the KTM store and buy that 690.
Then I'd pack that baby up, throw out my maps and GPS and go!
Oh wait, talking about motorcycles here.
If I was 6', had buckets of cash, and tons of time, I would go right down to the KTM store and buy that 690.
Then I'd pack that baby up, throw out my maps and GPS and go!
Sharky
Well-known member
First off, none of those bikes will be worth much at the dunes in Pismo. You could ride it there, and you could mess around a little bit, but to do the dunes on a motorcycle requires light weight and lots of power 250 cc and 500cc two strokes are the way to go. The big bore 4 strokes would do ok as well, but you will dump them and you will have to pick them up.
With that aside...
Any of these bikes will do 60-100 miles round trip on the highway. I used to do dual sport rides with a plated Yamaha YZ400 and I would ride 40+ miles on the highway to the riding spot and 40+ back. Sure my butt hurt, but the bike was fun to carve in the twisties (even with MX tires on it). But I ultimately sold it and favored the DRZ-400 (despite the heavier weight and lower power) because of its on-road manners. The key/speedo and e-start were necessary for commuting.
I rode that DRZ in all ways: single track, dual sport rides, jeep trails/fire roads, 4 hour highway rides, commuting around town, etc. It was the best compromising bike I have ever had and I miss it. The one area that bothered me was the all day highway riding. Not because it didn't perform well, but I was worried about it. I felt like riding 70 mph for 100 miles at a time was going to ruin it. I ultimately sold it to fund a Sportster (which I thought would be better on the long trips, and ironically it is not).
I have considered getting another Dual Sport bike. If I could have two bikes, one for highway and street/sport riding, and one for DS purposes; I would seriously consider a Husqvarna TE310 or a Yamaha WR250R. But, if I was doing a one bike for all rides (and going with a DS platform) I would be looking at the Husqvarna SM or TE 610 or possibly one of the 600+CC KTMs.
Again, they are all a compromise, yet they will all do what you are looking for. It really comes down to how comfortable you want to be on the highway at 70 mph vs how "flickable" you want it to be off road.
With that aside...
Any of these bikes will do 60-100 miles round trip on the highway. I used to do dual sport rides with a plated Yamaha YZ400 and I would ride 40+ miles on the highway to the riding spot and 40+ back. Sure my butt hurt, but the bike was fun to carve in the twisties (even with MX tires on it). But I ultimately sold it and favored the DRZ-400 (despite the heavier weight and lower power) because of its on-road manners. The key/speedo and e-start were necessary for commuting.
I rode that DRZ in all ways: single track, dual sport rides, jeep trails/fire roads, 4 hour highway rides, commuting around town, etc. It was the best compromising bike I have ever had and I miss it. The one area that bothered me was the all day highway riding. Not because it didn't perform well, but I was worried about it. I felt like riding 70 mph for 100 miles at a time was going to ruin it. I ultimately sold it to fund a Sportster (which I thought would be better on the long trips, and ironically it is not).
I have considered getting another Dual Sport bike. If I could have two bikes, one for highway and street/sport riding, and one for DS purposes; I would seriously consider a Husqvarna TE310 or a Yamaha WR250R. But, if I was doing a one bike for all rides (and going with a DS platform) I would be looking at the Husqvarna SM or TE 610 or possibly one of the 600+CC KTMs.
Again, they are all a compromise, yet they will all do what you are looking for. It really comes down to how comfortable you want to be on the highway at 70 mph vs how "flickable" you want it to be off road.