Buying a dual-purpose! [Archive]

HungusMaximist

2nd March 2009, 15:08

Looking to purchase a dual-purpose for road-riding/commutinganything from 250cc-650cc.

KLR, XR, DR, CRF, etc.

Budget realistically around the 3k mark, but willing to strech depedening on how much I get my CBR for.

Saw a nice Yama XT660, can't afford it, but it looks nice!

The whole debate about 250s, 400s, 650s?

Economical factor is the massive plus! Can't be bothered with rebuilds.

Discuss!

*Edit, hitting the dealerships this week to try out heaps of dual-purpose in Aucks. Any dealership/name mentions be all good!

thommo77

2nd March 2009, 15:26

buggsubique

2nd March 2009, 15:50

CrazyFrog

2nd March 2009, 16:40

I'd go for a road legal DRZ400 as well, best bang for your buck. Reliable, economical (as long as you're not running open airbox mods with loud exhaust), but think about how much distance you'll be doing on it, as 300kms days on the crappy enduro seat can hurt.
Longer legs than 250's obviously, don't need to thrash them as much, lighter than a 650 for trail work (but less comfy).
Browse the threads here, plenty of comparisons out there.... enjoy shopping.

buggsubique

2nd March 2009, 17:43

(as long as you're not running open airbox mods with loud exhaust)

yeah I really should go stock again... or not.:woohoo:

Waihou Thumper

2nd March 2009, 19:00

but think about how much distance you'll be doing on it, as 300kms days on the crappy enduro seat can hurt.

I rode the Husaberg over 600Km in a day, sure it hurt at the end but it was from fstigue, not a sore arse. The enduro seat isn't great for touring I agree, but stand on the pegs, suck it in and drink a bit more coffee...:second:

Even riding over 600km on the KTM, I gotta stand on the pegs, might be me but it might be the vibration, the lack of horsepower or the way you are sittingup all the time?

buggsubique

2nd March 2009, 19:22

I'd give my left nut for a windscreen some days...buzzing along on the road, copping the breeze the whole time can wear you out over the course of a day. But then I just take a little detour through a rocky river bed, up a firebreak etc etc and it's all worth it!

bart

2nd March 2009, 19:32

Padmei

2nd March 2009, 19:54

the lack of horsepower

On the 640? Man you have to ride a KLR someday - not much horsepower but oh so much smoother to ride.

pampa

2nd March 2009, 20:09

I did around 750K on a day end of year on the south Island on my G650 and it was Ok. I was tired :sweatdrop but it was bearable and the seat wasnt an issue may be the lack of windscreen in some parts. I'm with Buggsubique (wouldn't give anything for the windscreen tho) and what counts for me is a more manageable bike offroad but then its about what u prefer or plan to do. My previous bike had a windscreen and it was better on the road and bit heavy offroad (an F650GS Dakar).

My 1.1cent worth without discount

Cheers,
Pampa

Padmei

2nd March 2009, 20:29

I don't honestly think you'd get anything that doesn't need a lot of work for around 3K. Still hopefully I'm wrong

Waihou Thumper

2nd March 2009, 20:36

I don't honestly think you'd get anything that doesn't need a lot of work for around 3K. Still hopefully I'm wrong

I think you gotta spend $5000 to make it a good ADV bike

Waihou Thumper

2nd March 2009, 20:41

On the 640? Man you have to ride a KLR someday - not much horsepower but oh so much smoother to ride.

Funny you should say that...
The first time I went for a test ride on the 640A, I thought the vibration was way too much, big time!
It took me another visit south and a longer ride, and now I love it....
It has plenty of Horsepower, cruises at 120Kph all day and off road, mirrors off, tank a little empty, it performs like a trail bike with a gorilla on top of it...:woohoo:

marks

2nd March 2009, 20:43

you might get a DT230 for 3-4k

happy at 100km/hr - can do 300-500km days
as quick to 100k as DR's/KLR's
capable on just about any surface
reliable
light(ish)

you can end up feeling a bit like the motorcycle rider in Gumball Rally (if you are old enough to know what I'm waffling about) but you cant have it all

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Waihou Thumper

2nd March 2009, 20:54

you might get a DT230 for 3-4k

happy at 100km/hr - can do 300-500km days
as quick to 100k as DR's/KLR's
capable on just about any surface
reliable
light(ish)

you can end up feeling a bit like the motorcycle rider in Gumball Rally (if you are old enough to know what I'm waffling about) but you cant have it all

Finding something 450cc or more will be worth more...
There is a gap in the market for road legal 450cc and above, especially the Enduro/road legal bikes..
I found the Husaberg 450, great! Then, for the long road I went KTM 640A.
The DR, the KLR, the XT etc are all considerations. I never went for the BMW Dakar. The range, the cost and the things that go wrong when you are half-way over the Motu sort of dissuaded me....

pampa

2nd March 2009, 21:09

That looks even older than the first second hand KLX was made ... :done:

Pampa

you might get a DT230 for 3-4k

happy at 100km/hr - can do 300-500km days
as quick to 100k as DR's/KLR's
capable on just about any surface
reliable
light(ish)

you can end up feeling a bit like the motorcycle rider in Gumball Rally (if you are old enough to know what I'm waffling about) but you cant have it all

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marks

2nd March 2009, 21:16

That looks even older than the first second hand KLX was made ... :done:

Pampa

I saw that movie when it was first released - 1976
I thought it was awesome :yes:

Padmei

2nd March 2009, 21:26

I remember when it used to play at the Academy theatre in Auckland every Sunday avo. It went on for about 3 years I think. Gotta get it out again & relive those cray 12 yr old days

pete376403

2nd March 2009, 21:38

Getting a bit off topic now but IIRC the stunt rider was Yvon DuHamel, kawasaki factory rider of H1Rs and H2Rs

Waihou Thumper

2nd March 2009, 21:47

I remember when it used to play at the Academy theatre in Auckland every Sunday avo. It went on for about 3 years I think. Gotta get it out again & relive those cray 12 yr old days

You are as old as me....
I went to the theatre in my PJ's for the Rocky Horror in Avondale, midnight showing...
It was a regular dress up...
I went about three times as it was a regular institution to do after the dinner and coffee.....

NordieBoy

3rd March 2009, 06:25

I think you gotta spend $5000 to make it a good ADV bike

That's a 2nd hand DR650 with $1000 left over for beer/trips/farkling.

Padmei

3rd March 2009, 06:30

You are as old as me....
I went to the theatre in my PJ's for the Rocky Horror in Avondale, midnight showing...
It was a regular dress up...
I went about three times as it was a regular institution to do after the dinner and coffee.....

never wore pjs but went there a few times - I nearly always fell asleep tho...

HungusMaximist

3rd March 2009, 09:15

Fanks for all your replies folks.

I am pretty clueless on dual-purpose bikes and from my limited knowledge, DRZ engines are more motard styles right? Prompting for more service intervals?

Any big differences between the DRZ250 and the 400s?

Saw this DF200 on Trademe. Looked mean. No idea about the bike though.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Dual-purpose/auction-205944233.htm

Rang up a dew dealerships and they kept going on about how the DR650 is the perfect commuter.

HungusMaximist

3rd March 2009, 09:20

depends what sort of adv riding you're gonna swing towards mate. I ride a DR-Z 400 and did 1000km on it in one day in Jan. I put up with it on the road cos I love making a prick of myself offroad and the 400 lets me be a right obnoxious prick. If you want to travel in comfort or want to carry loads then look bigger, if you want to go off rd heaps look at the DR / XR option, otherwise look at something with a bit of fairing and bigger tank to do the road hauls on.

It will mainly be for commuting through the streets of Aucks as I am trying to save cash this year and plus being 6 foot 1, the taller size of the bike is gonna really help my back. Also gonna look forward to riding through flooded roads where my sportsbike could've never done.

Though still have the ability to hit up the sand and gravel. Not keen on a hardcore dirt focused bike.

Crisis management

3rd March 2009, 09:21

Look just buy a DR650 then you get to go adventure riding and can spend endless hours on here denigrating KLRs...what more can you want? :chase:

Seriously tho, it may be benificial to meet up and talk over the bike choices you have rather than trying to make sense of the interweeb Q & A system, if you're interested send me a PM.

Iain

warewolf

3rd March 2009, 09:55

I am pretty clueless on dual-purpose bikes and from my limited knowledge, DRZ engines are more motard styles right? Prompting for more service intervals? There's no such thing as a motard-style engine, per se - at least not in that context, and certainly not in the same sentence as DR-Z :no:. Motards are simply streeted enduro bikes, so the service intervals and performance levels can vary enormously per the base or donor dirt bike. To that end, DR-Zs are low-spec rugged trail bikes rather than highly-strung race bikes.

Any big differences between the DRZ250 and the 400s? Heaps. The 250 is air & oil cooled, essentially unchanged since at least 1995 maybe earlier, with a long history before that. The 400 is an all-new watercooled bike debuting late 1990s. The nearly 2x cubes makes the 400 much gruntier, you have to wring the neck of the 250 in comparison. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as it can be more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow. The 400 is taller and heavier, too.

Saw this DF200 on Trademe. Looked mean. No idea about the bike though.The DF is the ag version of the DR200. A different family of bike again to the 250 & 400. It's been around a looooooong time. I had a 2001 for a while before the 250. Same weight as the 250, 50% less power & suspension. Worked well as an adventure bike for short lightly loaded trips, but struggled in the forest on enduro single-track. Not a trail bike, really, that next step streetified than the DR-Zs. But the comments about wringing its neck apply double. Underpowered on the highway but tolerable for what it was, and muchos fun to ride because you couldn't afford to back off the throttle - holding corner speed was the name of the game. Apparently they respond well to basic performance mods (airbox, exhaust, jetting) and there's lots of info on the web about it.

HungusMaximist

3rd March 2009, 13:03

Bro, appreciate that explaination, if you ever around or live Aucks we should have a chat aye. Online forums can be a bit hard sometimes like Crisis Management mentioned above.

For me my 929 is way too much power for the sort of riding I am doing at the moment. Ride to uni, work, motorway and occasional open road ride.

Preferably with a rear rack so I can carry shit and quite a few of the DR650 come with these. Originally thought about getting a 125 cc scooter but then realised it's pretty limiting in the things I can do.

From all the bikes I've seen DR-Z tend to be on the more expensive side. The honda XR 650 looked like a good bet also, tad on the expensive side. No idea about the KLR series. So far, the DR series looks like the best value.

clint640

3rd March 2009, 13:31

From all the bikes I've seen DR-Z tend to be on the more expensive side. The honda XR 650 looked like a good bet also, tad on the expensive side. No idea about the KLR series. So far, the DR series looks like the best value.

Yep, it is hard to go past a DR650 for value. When looking at XR650s be aware they come in 2 flavours: the XR650R which is alloy framed & liquid cooled & a real mans go fast trail / light adv bike & the XR650L which is not that common in NZ but is similar in spec to a DR650, but taller, so worth a look if you spot one for sale.

Cheers
Clint

warewolf

3rd March 2009, 14:32

the XR650R which is alloy framed & liquid cooled & a real mans go fast trail / light adv bike ie Kick-start only :sweatdrop The -L has an electric leg.

junkmanjoe

3rd March 2009, 19:03

my old xr600r man i spent nearly 20min one morn kicking the shit out of it, it did start and i was late for work, :argue:

pete376403

3rd March 2009, 20:24

... for the sort of riding I am doing at the moment. Ride to uni, work, motorway and occasional open road ride.

Preferably with a rear rack so I can carry shit ...

The KLR is a better road bike than the DR. The DR is a better trail bike than the KLR. Your sort of riding appears to be more road than trail. The KLR has a bigger rack and a much bigger tank than a DR - sure you can add both to the DR but thats an extra cost.
The stuff that DR riders seem to hate so much about the KLR - water cooling, big fairing and windscreen, really excellent dual headlights (talking about the 08 and later) big tank, pretty good seat, etc are the things that make them a better roadie for pretty much the same price as a DR in stock trim.
Or you can get the DR and spend quite a bit to get it to the same state as a standard KLR. Your money, your call.

HungusMaximist

3rd March 2009, 21:05

Cheers to Ian aka Crisis Management, I had a good yarn with him today at this work and he had the same points to make as you Pete, about the DR Vs KLR.

Unfortunately I can't afford an 08 KLR but you're right they're more comfy and road orientated than the DR, however it's gonna come down to what's the best price and value at the time of purchase.

I am gonna go test ride a few bike at the dealership on Thursday and Friday.

Do like the whole idea of having a kick start aye. I just want to ask, do the electric start bikes come with kick start also? Like as safety feature you can fall back on, in case your starter is stuffed.

warewolf

3rd March 2009, 21:57

I just want to ask, do the electric start bikes come with kick start also? Like as safety feature you can fall back on, in case your starter is stuffed.Less and less often, and not usually in the larger capacity or more roadie end of the dual purpose market. The DR-Z250 had both, as does my KTM 640. The DR650, KLR650 and DR200SE are electric only.

Flat battery from a neglected bike is the most common cause of e-start failures. I'd rather buy a battery tender once (for use at home) than buy a kickstart and carry it on each bike.

NordieBoy

4th March 2009, 06:21

my old xr600r man i spent nearly 20min one morn kicking the shit out of it, it did start and i was late for work, :argue:

Wonder if anyone else is imagining you walking around the bike kicking the shit out of it and swearing away :D

frewi

4th March 2009, 08:18

Flick out abit of coin and buy an xr650r. Seats abit hard but you can get a gel seat. Pretty thirsty too, so a larger tank if your'e going into no mans land. Heaps of grunt and then some. I havn't found mine to be too heavy to handle, infact I had an xl250 the exact same as the white one on the thread and weight wise feels much the same. Bit higher, but I'm only 5,9 and its no worries. Test a few bikes and see what you like

buggsubique

4th March 2009, 08:32

Less and less often, and not usually in the larger capacity or more roadie end of the dual purpose market. The DR-Z250 had both, as does my KTM 640. The DR650, KLR650 and DR200SE are electric only.

Flat battery from a neglected bike is the most common cause of e-start failures. I'd rather buy a battery tender once (for use at home) than buy a kickstart and carry it on each bike.

on my DR-Z for example, I swapped out the "7S" battery for a "10S". Same dimensions except a bit deeper. Battery box mod and now I have a battery with a higher CCA and capacity to keep turning over a wet engine...no kicker just means you have to think about what you're doing and how you might get home if you make the wrong D or cock it up.

Mystic13

4th March 2009, 09:25

Well, I chose the 250. I looked at bigger bikes (400's etc), but Im not the biggest and the 250 can be chucked around a bit over 3-4 hours without too much strain. This is older, but looks pretty good for age, and the guy looks like he's treated it well (work, receipts etc):
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Dual-purpose/auction-204797387.htm

DRZ250 Weight 120kg

DRZ400 Weight 119kg

DRZ650 Weight 147kg (from memory) 30 kgs more is half an adult pillion. Or imagine riding around off road with a 12 year old on the back.

I'm in the DRZ400 camp and you know you made the right choice on adventure bike when you get off road for two reasons.

1/ the harder you ride it the better it goes.

2/ when you drop it on the off road stuff, usually, nothing breaks.

And the thing motors on road.

DRZ400 and KLX400 (Kawasaki) are the same bike.

And the power difference between the 250 and 400 is "@*$^#%" unbelievable.

HungusMaximist

4th March 2009, 09:53

Less and less often, and not usually in the larger capacity or more roadie end of the dual purpose market. The DR-Z250 had both, as does my KTM 640. The DR650, KLR650 and DR200SE are electric only.

Always loved the whole idea about kicking your bike into life!

Flick out abit of coin and buy an xr650r. Seats abit hard but you can get a gel seat. Pretty thirsty too, so a larger tank if your'e going into no mans land. Heaps of grunt and then some. I havn't found mine to be too heavy to handle, infact I had an xl250 the exact same as the white one on the thread and weight wise feels much the same. Bit higher, but I'm only 5,9 and its no worries. Test a few bikes and see what you like

Saw this XL650R http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=205330992 on the net. Will have to check it out aye.

DRZ250 Weight 120kg

DRZ400 Weight 119kg

DRZ650 Weight 147kg (from memory) 30 kgs more is half an adult pillion. Or imagine riding around off road with a 12 year old on the back.

No idea there was a DRZ650, just read that most of them were bit older as newer DRZ400 took over.

BMWST?

4th March 2009, 10:29

waht about that klr500?? kawi that was on trademe a while back...

nallac

4th March 2009, 10:43

there is no DRZ650 only th Dr650...
which is the one you should get, perfect for what you are after..

the novelty of kick starting wears off after a while...found that with my old Xr250.. the elecky start on the DR650 was bliss..

warewolf

4th March 2009, 18:03

DRZ250 Weight 120kg

DRZ400 Weight 119kg

DRZ650 Weight 147kg (from memoryAlmost; from www.suzuki.co.nz (http://www.suzuki.co.nz/), dry weights as follows:

DR200SE Street legal (http://www.suzuki.co.nz/Motorcycle/Dual+Sport/DR200SE+Street+Legal/): 113kg seat 810mm tank 13.0L
DR-Z250 Street legal (http://www.suzuki.co.nz/Motorcycle/Dual+Sport/DR-Z250+Street+Legal/): 118kg seat 890mm tank 12.5L
DR-Z400E Street legal (http://www.suzuki.co.nz/Motorcycle/Dual+Sport/DR-Z400E+Street+Legal/): 127kg seat 935mm tank 10.0L (the only bike here to require coolant, a further wet weight penalty vs the 250)
DR650SE (http://www.suzuki.co.nz/Motorcycle/Dual+Sport/DR650SE/): 147kg seat 845-885mm tank 12.0L

The 400 has probably the best power-to-weight, but it's also the tallest with the least comfortable seat and smallest tank. Those three factors are all negatives for a novice/first-time adventurer. Great bike for lots of reasons, just perhaps not for the OP's purposes.

No idea there was a DRZ650, just read that most of them were bit older as newer DRZ400 took over.Effectively there is no DR-Z250, either. It's just a same old, same old DR250 with new marketing. So there's no reason Suzuki couldn't do similar and re-sticker the equally aging 650 as a DR-Z650! :laugh:

pete376403

4th March 2009, 18:31

Do like the whole idea of having a kick start aye. I just want to ask, do the electric start bikes come with kick start also? Like as safety feature you can fall back on, in case your starter is stuffed.

No, for the same reason modern cars don't come with a crank handle.

At least the bike has manual trans, you could bump start it (as long as the battery has enough juice to make a spark.) OTOH, if the bike is fuel injected you can more or less forget it. I recall that BMW twins required the engine to be spinning at around 3K rpm to generate enough volts to run the EFI (with a totally flat battery) Thats a helluva bump start.

NordieBoy

4th March 2009, 19:03

No, for the same reason modern cars don't come with a crank handle.

At least the bike has manual trans, you could bump start it (as long as the battery has enough juice to make a spark.) OTOH, if the bike is fuel injected you can more or less forget it. I recall that BMW twins required the engine to be spinning at around 3K rpm to generate enough volts to run the EFI (with a totally flat battery) Thats a helluva bump start.

Some of the injected MX bikes are powered up by the 2nd turn of the crank when kicking.

clint640

5th March 2009, 08:56

the novelty of kick starting wears off after a while...found that with my old Xr250.. the elecky start on the DR650 was bliss..

Kicking an XR 250? luxury!

After about 12 months of kicking over 625cc's of high compression Austrian goodness due to a worn out starter clutch (fixed eventually) & now a worn out battery (fixed soon) I'm getting pretty good at it.
However when you're learning to ride offroad on a big bike the last thing you need after picking the thing up for the 10th time on some snotty trail is to have to kick the bitch for 10 minutes. That's what ruled out the XR650R for me when I was shopping for an adv bike.

Cheers
Clint

NordieBoy

5th March 2009, 09:03

Kicking an XR 250? luxury!

After about 12 months of kicking over 625cc's of high compression Austrian goodness due to a worn out starter clutch (fixed eventually) & now a worn out battery (fixed soon) I'm getting pretty good at it.

Yep. When the starter clutch on the Nordie died I got a kickstart conversion and learned how to kick it successfully over the next 3 months before I got a decompression cable and lever fitted :D

Good old "1/4 past tdc and a good full long kick" seemed to do the job.

BMWST?

5th March 2009, 13:25

a slection of dual purpose bikes on tm at or near price required

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Dual-purpose/auction-205893007.htm

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Dual-purpose/auction-205812155.htm

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Dual-purpose/auction-205672187.htm

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Dual-purpose/auction-205649614.htm

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Dual-purpose/auction-205166344.htm

mattsdakar

5th March 2009, 19:11

I never went for the BMW Dakar. The range, the cost and the things that go wrong when you are half-way over the Motu sort of dissuaded me....[/QUOTE]

I don't understand the Anti-Dakar crowd???
I have had mine for over 6 years having done dozens of full on adventure rides including first bike home out of 20 odd in last two 1000km Dusty Butt 1day events.
Never spent any money on repairs bar one broken indicator and have dropped it many times.

As per above, range (260km b4 reserve not enough?) cost (compared to a KTM640A ?) think I have answered the things that go wrong point made above.

Padmei

5th March 2009, 19:19

I don't understand the Anti-Dakar crowd???
I have had mine for over 6 years having done dozens of full on adventure rides including first bike home out of 20 odd in last two 1000km Dusty Butt 1day events.
Never spent any money on repairs bar one broken indicator and have dropped it many times.

As per above, range (260km b4 reserve not enough?) cost (compared to a KTM640A ?) think I have answered the things that go wrong point made above.

Quick run - you own a f650 - you're not supposed to like them - they're ssshhhBMWs

mattsdakar

5th March 2009, 19:22

Quick run - you own a f650 - you're not supposed to like them - they're ssshhhBMWs

What was I thinking, burn them at the stake :-)

NordieBoy

5th March 2009, 20:04

What was I thinking, burn them at the stake :-)

I'll bring the petrol :woohoo:

warewolf

5th March 2009, 22:33

cost (compared to a KTM640A ?)The Dakar is $1000 dearer than the 640A, except one year when KTM put the price up to match the Dakar. Guess when I bought mine :bash:. Same thing happened with the TDM850 :doh:

The cost argument is frequently levied against the 640A - particularly annoyingly by the Septics - yet the Dakar is more expensive and no-one ever seems to mention the price of them, even relative to the KLR or DR. Must be blinded by the flash when they hand over the Gold Amex for the blue & white badge?? :shutup: :girlfight:

Never spent any money on repairs bar one broken indicator and have dropped it many times.Give it to Woodman for a week. I'll run the Book on how long it takes him to break something - but I guess in that case I'll have to be on the rides too, damn shame:Punk:. Ante up, folks! :laugh: Woody reminds me of those torturers that steadily break/cut more bits off their victims, prolonging the time until they die. Maybe he should change his username to KLR_Torturer :lol:

Woodman

6th March 2009, 21:06

If I cut more bits off then there are less bits to break when /if i do succumb to gravity/trees/small ravines. Thats what we call futureproofing.:2thumbsup

monchopper

7th March 2009, 21:46

Adventure riding has at least two different types. Adventure/trail and Adventure/soft (Gravel roads, nothing technical)
I've got an XR400 with a few performance extras an I think it'ls the best bike for the kinda budget I have (3-4k)
It's no good for doing lots of km's on gravel roads but when the going gets rough it's the best bike (in my opinion) buck for buck that you can get.

Pros: 100 km/h no probs, light, super reliable (bullet proof), many free mods
Cons: 5 speed gear box

If you've got a limited budget and like the trail side of adventure riding get yourself an xr400!!

Woodman

8th March 2009, 08:02

HungusMaximist

8th March 2009, 09:09

Ok had a squizz on a brand new 09 DR650 with 20 kms on the clock at colemans. Bit boring, it was wet though so I didn't really open her up but the salesmen agreed, because it hasn't been runned in properly and the restricting exhaust adds to effects. However I need to ride a runned in second one with some free flowing pipes.

However the 02/03 second hand KLR650 at Mt Eden Motorcycles was pretty mean, loud too on stock pipes where the DR suffered. Slightly bigger than the DR. At the moment I can't really make a judgement based on these two short test rides.

Yet to ride the Yamaha, Hondas and the DRZ series.

TLDV8

8th March 2009, 18:41

Ok had a squizz on a brand new 09 DR650 with 20 kms on the clock at colemans. Bit boring, it was wet though so I didn't really open her up but the salesmen agreed, because it hasn't been runned in properly and the restricting exhaust adds to effects. However I need to ride a runned in second one with some free flowing pipes.

A new DR650 will be a POS until 500 kms plus,at 2000 kms better and so on.
The thing with any bike with only 34 HP is you actually have to ride it and use the gearbox.
I have no problems sitting on 140 kmh (indicated) on the open road but in the twisties they are more like a Morris Minor :laugh: you have to keep the momentum up,revving the crap out of them will only make more engine noise.
My DR is one of the most fun bikes i have owned,kind of like less is more.

<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/manurewa/IMG_8428.jpg>

NordieBoy

8th March 2009, 20:32

A new DR650 will be a POS until 500 kms plus,at 2000 kms better and so on.
The thing with any bike with only 34 HP is you actually have to ride it and use the gearbox.
I have no problems sitting on 140 kmh (indicated) on the open road but in the twisties they are more like a Morris Minor :laugh: you have to keep the momentum up,revving the crap out of them will only make more engine noise.
My DR is one of the most fun bikes i have owned,kind of like less is more.

Your carb/motor is stock is it not?