DR/KLR = waste of money?

[PirateJafa]

Let's face it. These "adventure" bikes serve no purpose.

A mate bought one last year and has done what most of their owners consider to be "some serious offroading" - namely riding across his lawn occasionally when he's too drunk to stay on the footpath.

Sure, they look real good parked outside the cafe whilst the riders are having their frapacapalattechino inside, but do they ever actually use them? Not a chance!

Here's your typical DR. Note that even the knobblies are clean. Can't be traipsing any dirt onto mah polished garage floor, by golly.



If you're going to leave the sealed track in NZ, you might as well do it in style IMO. Style, comfort, speed and handling - no downside! Plus you don't even need to change out of first. 'Course, all the wildlife are scared away by the sound, buuut it's more of a safety feature really.

About the only "upside" to the these "adventure" bikes is that they use less gas. Where the hell is the fun in that? With the world's oil reserves running out, I want to use as much as possible before those dicks in their mid-life crisis Falcadore use up the last of it. If this means blowing flames from the exhaust for no good reason, so be it.



Get a real bike, you poofters.

[Slyer]

These bikes are an all-purpose AKA no purpose bike.
Sport bikes are better at road riding
Tourers are better at long distance
Small dirt bikes are much better at off road.
Scooters are better at city riding

Unless you live in the third world and your daily commute involves 100km of gravel and rivers etc, you don't need one.
But then, a ute with a top mounted .50cal might be a better choice anyway.

[Squiggles]

I love how clean my bike is

[Spyke]

just like you say, thats the way.

ROCK ON

[Eddieb]

Haha, feel better now? did your little outburst make you feel like a real man, manage to push those inadaquacy's back to the dark places where they normally live?

[Blackshear]

Dual purpose have always looked a little 'bland', for lack of better words.
Like Slyer said, they kinda don't really fit into any catagory.

I have used my bandit, with too-soft front forks on gravel before, and she coped pretty damn well. You'd get a KDX200/XR250 for the REAL bush/gravel lands.

Perhaps it's the mindset, where you 'can go anywhere' on one, but to each their own.

[Squiggles]

Im thinking off road coro after exams then, we'll see who "cant make it" all of a sudden

[TLDV8]

[PirateJafa]

Im thinking off road coro after exams then, we'll see who "cant make it" all of a sudden

We'll be riding in the South Island if you recall?

Showing you girly-men how it's really done.

Unless you live in the third world and your daily commute involves 100km of gravel and rivers etc, you don't need one.
But then, a ute with a top mounted .50cal might be a better choice anyway.

The man speaks the truth.

[Squiggles]

We'll be riding in the South Island if you recall?

Showing you girly-men how it's really done.

Ill time it so we'll go once you're back

[Swoop]

A flat, straight road?
Surely a harley would be better suited to those conditions.

[Mystic13]

Hey Pirate I have a DR and I can tell you it gets dirty.

Like you my road bike has been up long metal roads. It's also been up beaches across streams 3/4's of the way up a sand dune (a bugger that I had to retreat and take the long way). More off road than you can imagine.

The reason I have the DR is it takes me where the road bike can't. You can do 7 hours of loose metal on the DR at speed and follow that with the 42nd Traverse.

If I took my road bike where the DR has been there would be a road bike abandoned in the middle of nowhere.

I think sometimes folks by the DR to explore the idea of going to the back of beyond but find it's not them. My DR doesn't clock up as many km's.

The problem for me is my DRZ400 weighs 119kg's and off road that is just so damned easy to ride. I wouldn't want to take a dual purpose 1000cc KT-MW thingy that weighs 230 kg over the same terrain. I'd be buggered just picking the thing up a few times.

I think you've mistaken your ride up metal roads for DR country. There are some amazing sights in the back of beyond.

[BMWST?]

and the DR and KLR are very good value for money.You can get a new or near new bike for very resonable money.

[Slyer]

He's not ragging on you mystic, the 250's and 400's etc are decent bikes for off road, the DR650 weighs 166kg.

[.chris]

Unfortunately you have only seen one small part of adventure riding, have a look at Nordy's videos in the North Invade the south thread, see how your sports bike would handle some real adventure.

Good on you for getting your sport bike in the gravel tho, you should join some of the adventure rides around the place, last ride we had a guy on a CB250 and one on a Buel.

Sport bikes are better at road riding
Tourers are better at long distance
Small dirt bikes are much better at off road.
Scooters are better at city riding

For the riding that I do for fun, none of those suit at all.

Sport bike, trail riding I do not think so.
Tourers on the trail, would be left in the car park with the sport bike, too heavy to take on any decent trail.
Small dirt bikes, yeah great off road but have you every spent more than 10 minutes on one? like sitting on a 2x4, the ride to the trails would cripple you. Cage + Trailer being the best option, where is the fun in that?
Scooter yeah well, obviously the comedy option.