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Advice on mix of trail and street
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Posted by: GonzoCSU---------------------
This is exactly the type of forum I have been looking for so hopefully you guys can give me some experienced advice.
1) your physical size (both height and weight are important) 5'10" 210#
2) How physical / aggressive are you ? Pretty physical, mild to moderate agressive
3) what do you plan to ride- MX/SX tracks, woods, fields with friends or ????? Mountain Trails, With friends, trips to town
4) Do you have any riding experience? Rode dirt bikes for 6 years about 5 years ago
5) Do you think you will race ? no
6) Are you mechanically inclined and will you be doing your own bike work? yes and yes
7) Do YOU have a preferance to a brand/ motor choice (2 or 4 stroke)? I have always been a fan of Yamaha, not picky on 2 or 4 stroke
8) Do you have a dealer close by your home that you might use and what brand(s) does he carry? Pretty much major brands
9) How much ($) do you plan to spend on a bike? Up to $5000
10) Do you live in California? no
11) Your age? 28
12) anything else that you think would help form an opinion
I use to ride dirt bikes around the fields by my house and go up into the mountains and ride trails. I sold my bike about 5 years ago because I had outgrown it and I just never ended up getting another bike because I was in college. Now I want to get a bike again and thought I would like to get another enduro so I could ride the trails or run to town on errands, some of the trails I ride you have to drive on public roads also so your bike needs to be street legal. I also work 40 miles from my house so every once in a while I have to drive myself to work so it would be nice to be able to ride my bike there but it is interstate to my job. I think a 650 would be too big to be good on trails (I rode a DR650 and thought it just felt too big and bulky), I was really leaning toward a WR250 but I am afraid that it would not be big enough to ride on the street and highway but I don't know if a 450 would be too heavy for riding the trails. I have also had a few people suggest looking at KTMs. I think I will spend next weekend test driving bikes but wanted to get some opinions first. Thanks for any input.
Posted by: _JOE_---------------------
The DRZ400 is supposed to be a good d/s ride. The newer 450s are pretty light, I would look there as well. Might be hard to find a 450 in your price range though. I think the 250s would struggle on the interstate. The KTMs are super nice, but pricey. And they can be hard to find used. Good luck!
Posted by: Patman---------------------
Where do you live? Different states have different laws about "street legal".
Posted by: fatcat216---------------------
You should go take one of the new wr's for a ride as they are a lot of fun!
However, for riding 40 miles on the Interstate I'd vote against it. I've ridden my dr200se on the Interstate as well as state roads @70 on rides of 45 or more miles. On a regular basis it just isn't a great commute. I'd vote against any dual sport 250 at high speeds around commuter traffic, even when I DO have my death thing grooving. Death wishes should never be a sure thing if you might still want to have fun later on. High speed shake around those monster cars and their crazed occupants makes it a no-go for me. 
For getting to the trails the WR would definitely do fine and be a lot of fun getting there. They have plenty of giddyup out of the gate, and plenty of speed. The wr's are getting great reviews. I think you'd be quite happy with it. (The x is great, but, I think you'd be happier with the r for where you want to ride most?)
As to bigger &/or commuting.
While looking for a commuter bike, I didn't take out any of the bigger dual sports, although I've been tempted to. However, I test road the drz400-sm, as a possibility..... Again, a lot of fun, feels great since I have a preference for the light bikes, but for commuting 50 miles at 70 mph...not my bike of choice at the moment, for the reasons mentioned. The additional power is great, but it still won't get away from headshake and wobble at sustained 70mph.**
The KTM dual sporters love their bikes, without a doubt. I believe a few of the Michigan riders are riding them- I think the 525EXC... I can't remember who though. Maybe they'll see your post and give you some more feedback. Some people complain about parts, but, I don't honestly know if that is an issue, or just internet ranting.
In my uninformed opinion, a 400/500 dual sport would fit you fine and at least give you power on the highway to get out of the way, so long as you have the skills you need to handle the situation.
Given your experience, you could probably handle a 400 as easy as a 250 on the trails. I don't take my 200 off road so much, but the e-start makes it nice. I'd probably take it more if the trails were within driving distance like they are for you. I usually take it when I want to be able to go on both the motorcycle and atv trails, since most of the atv trails are closed to unlicensed motorcycles here. THe KTM525EXC is only 249 pounds- the same as my DR. At 290 pounds the Suzuki dr400s is about 40 pounds more than the 200. I'd think you could handle that, though? The WR250-r is about 275 pounds.
My only other recommendation is get two (or more) bikes. Lol. Works for me anyway! ;-)
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**A simple little book which explains the physics of headshake shimmy, wobble, and weave is "Motorcycle Design and Technology". Bottom line, the light chassis and flickability is the curse at those sustained high speeds. You'll feel it.
Posted by: GonzoCSU---------------------
Thanks for the suggestions. I forgot to mention, I live in Colorado...we are lucky to have a lot of good trails open to motorcycles in the mountains.
I have been asking as many people as I can find about advice about what kind of bike to get and I keep hearing WR or KTM. I am now leaning toward the 400 range, just need to find a brand and model. I will look at the DRs again, my local Yamaha dealer had a few used ones. I took a riding class this past weekend and got my license so now I really have the itch to get a bike.
Oh and I wouldn't be riding interstate a lot, I am in a vanpool just every once in a while I have to drive myself to work so like once a month or less I drive myself...and actually I remembered this weekend there is a 2 lane highway that I can take with a lower speed limit that would probably be a better option to ride a bike on.
I saw a used 2001 WR426 on my local KTM dealers website...is there anything that would be a huge advantage on a newer model than this one? If I am looking at used bikes what is the oldest models I should look at? It usually seems like with bikes, snomobiles, atvs, etc. there are years when some company comes up with something new that really helps the power or ride and then everyone adopts it and it kind of becomes standard (like the recent rider forward snowmobile design). I would love to buy a brand new bike but I am just not sure if that is an option or not so I want to make sure I don't look at too old of a bike and miss out on some cool technology.
Thanks again for the replies I really do appreciate the help.
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