What makes the best street-motard?

[orangeback]

as title asks
would like to hear diffrent opinions, bikes eg DRZ YZ KTM/ models & Modes,& eg wheels, brakes, Lines etc

[Pex Adams]

The dumb bastard holding the handle bars

[GaZBur]

Do you mean Street as in commuting or street as in racing?

Street commute/tour/fun then a DR650 with standard 21 front like I use (or similar other brand)does everything including clubmans and trackdays and gets you racing(but not overly competitively) on a shoesting budget.

You rich and you wanna race a 450 like the KLX for supermoto or the real drool open supermoto the 550 Aprillia V twin. God I wish I was rich!

You not sure which then maybe the KTM's seem to have the best range of all rounders. Depends on where you see you fit as there is only a best for your circumstances which are different to everyone elses.

EDIT: Sorry, I see now that I have looked at your bike list that you already Motard - but my comment stands for the less experienced. I guess you are looking for more technical opinions.

[orangeback]

Since little responce here's the american view

KTM LC4 640, 3000 mile oil changes. Great for commuting. They require (relatively) little maintenance, and are not "pure race motors" at all.

KTM 625, excellent bike, excellent components, excellent handling. There is no reliability drawback over anything else, it's fast and fun. The 625SMC is arguably one of the best street-tards. KTM does all the hard work for you and sells them street legal from the factory. Their only drawback is that they vibrate. Bad. Some people think it shakes too much for street riding.

MZ Baghira, very comfy. "I've put 12,000 miles on it with only oil changes every 2K, and 1 valve adjust. I love the bike, it fits my needs, and if I had to do it again, I would get it again. That said, it is heavy, but I feel that weight is not that big a deal on a street bike." Weight on these bikes is very easy to drop, to a point. For example, the stock muffler/cat is about 15 lbs. "The power of the motor is really good stock, I dropped 1 tooth on the countershaft, still goes 70 comfy on the hwy, but lofts the front in 2nd with ease now."

Husky 610, extremely reliable as a daily commuter. "I recommend buying the 610 if you plan on riding alot on the road. This is my commuting vehicle. I have some nice tight twisty farm roads on the way to work - almost no traffic (25 miles with 3 stop lights total). This is perfect for me, I can't imagine anything better."

XR650R, big, fast, powerful(ish), reliable, little maintenance, etc. While certainly heavier than more specialised machines, it is hard to beat for heavy use, day in day out, commuting, track days, trail riding, 500 mile days, etc. Dependable, all kinds of parts and info available. They are excellent bikes, very stable at speed and have all the potential you want to make out of them. "I ride a XR650R, and typically ride with sport bikes. We ride between 250 and 450 miles in a day, on twisty mountain roads. I have no wind protection, and stock seat foam. I have a range of 150 miles on a 4gal tank with 15/40 gearing, and a top speed of 119. I've done 1900 miles in a span of 9 days, two of them over 400 miles. Put a little over 7K on the supermoto last year, so I guess it's the riders butt and back that regulates how far you can ride a supermoto!" It's also been proven to do great off-road. The XR650R is a good choice, if you're kick start skills are up to par.

XR650L, Bombproof. "The XR650L is probably the most comfy bike you can ride in the city." Big seat, long suspension. "It's not too fun on the highway, though. I stick mainly to B roads." Heavy, old technology, air cooled dirt bike w/ sloppy suspension and low HP. Very dependable. "A good bike, smooth motor(for a thumper), bulletproof, and I can take it on pretty long rides, maintenance intervals are just like any other street bike and parts availability isn't a problem." There is pretty much no difference (performance wise) between an XR650L and DRZ400SM. The XR's an ancient design that is well outdated and its right on track with a more modern 400.

XR400, small, light, reliable. Not incredible power, but a fun bike.

DR650, "I was riding my DR650 142 miles round trip a day for a year, all year. 80/90mph most of the way. I got no complaints with the DR." "Dependable as hell and easy to maintain. Also handles well." "My DR650 is my 21st bike I've owned! I'm getting older so I wanted a good reliable bike to chase my son around the yard on his 50 and a fun way to and from work. No, I dont think I could race it, but these bikes are a blast on the street!! Reliable,pulls great wheelies and great looks!"

DRZ400SM, I would say that a DRZSM would be a perfect bike for a new rider. "Cruises comfortably at 75-80 mph and will even cruise at 90 mph if I want to put up with the windblast." As you probably know the drz motor is bullet proof and needs very little maintenance. Enough power to have a ton of fun, but not too much. However, it does have it's drawbacks. "The DRZ is a great little bike, but it's slow, it's heavy, it needs more HP and another gear." "If you like riding the streets carving the corners and lifting the front wheel on every exit you'll want the hit of the real SM bikes." If you're a modder, then the DRZ will do you well, but you'll need to spend some time and $'s to do so. A stock DRZ-E is about the same power as a DR650, the DRZ-SM has less because of different cams, base gasket and CV carb. You can easily mod it from there to have a lot more go than a DR650 can, but it will take some time and effort of course. If you don't like to do maintenance, and just want to plow around on the street, the DRZ is the right bike for you. It's a great everyday bike, and for blasting around town. So you have to ask yourself, and answer honestly, "what am I going to use this bike for?

KLR650, excellent mileage munchers, but too heavy and soft to make a supermoto. Forget the KLR. Great bike but not motard material. Just too large and heavy.

KTM 950SM, won't mind long distances or hooliganism, if you can afford it!
TRACK:

Vertimati, Not really ideal for a street-tard just because of maintenance and reliability.

VOR, Some 02 530 E-Start VORs had bad crank bearings. Didn't seem to be a problem with the 03 bikes. Otherwise, VORs are good bikes with engines that make good power. They are high maintenance, though.

TM, for enthusiasts with a lot of money and a lot of patience. It may be street legal, but it's a race bike. Not recomended for street.

CRF, Again, race bike. Maintenance intensive, simply not designed for the street.

YZF, Just buy a WR.

KTM 450, Race bike. Not for the meek. Where as the DRZ is fun, this is insane. Add 20 hp to the DRZ and drop about 20-30 lbs in weight. It's not playing around. Blasting around town is good, but it takes a much more aggressive approach and is more difficult to ride slowly (It will hit 50 mph in 1st gear). Wheelies, stoppies are jokes for this. Maintenance - you'd better enjoy it.

Aprillia SXV, a ton of fun, but an easy way to get you a bunch of tickets and maybe thrown in jail....and a fast way to the poor house in repair and maintenance. The Aprilia SXV's are sweet bikes but maintenance and funding intensive.
Husaberg, "which category does a big fast as crap street legal tard with unproven reliabilty go? i'm thinking the "both" category, though maybe just the race category." shares a lot of tech with KTMs.

Husky 450/510, great competitive track bikes that come with sm suspension, wheels, e-start, brakes, and a plate. I can't think of a better track/occasional street bike. Huskys are cool, but dealerships are few and far between, and they are mildly maintenance intensive, but not bank account killers.

WR400/426/450, the WR's are great bikes. if you want less maintenance go with a DRZ400. Those things just don't die. I think the WR makes a pretty good tard. Its pretty much got the same power as the YZF and will smoke the DRZ (until your stuck rebuilding your WR and the DRZ goes flying by your garage). The WR isn't too maintenance intensive, but requires more frequent oil changes than a DRZ. The 450s have the magic button, but for the 400/426 you'd better be ready to kick. a great bike for street and track supermoto

[Gremlin]

Fun, Reliability and cheap maintenance.

Having tested a sxv550, I can tell you its bloody fun, but only has one mood... mad. Maintenance is... repetitive I guess, nice way to say it. For commuting, you need reliablility and long service intervals.

From the fun side, its got to be a bit of a hooligan, but still be capable of behaving when you want it to.

[Southmotian]

as title asks
would like to hear diffrent opinions, bikes eg DRZ YZ KTM/ models & Modes,& eg wheels, brakes, Lines etc

I reckon you're ahead of your time here mate, the motards haven't quite taken off yet in little old unzud. I think you're onto a good thing with the common jappa with easy to find parts though.

Saying that I love my husky and if you love riding the bike and can afford to run it then all is well.

Might have to stick to the US forums for motard stuff

p.s. where is the motard forum on KB anyway, there is a scooter one FFS!

[GaZBur]

p.s. where is the motard forum on KB anyway, there is a scooter one FFS!

Most of the people who Motard down my way are into dirt or adventure type stuff as well. Have seen a couple of threads in the Sport/Road section and a few references in the Racing section but not much.
I Motard my DR650 just for fun coz whenever I try to go real fast I end up injured. I figured that because I am not uber fast the only people interested in my motarding comments would be DR owners so put my experiences in the DR650 thread.
Probably motarding would be best put in Racing no Street/Road, no what about Adventure, damn they realy are modified Dirt bikes, hmmmm!!!
OK maybe a forum of thier own.

[Coyote]

I'm still keen to get an XR650R as a road motard. Seems like a good bike for what I need, a reliable commuter that should be some fun in the weekend and I could possibly race. Might get one in the next few months. Plus I've ridden one and fell in love with it. Wheelie, backfire, wheelie, backfire...

Luckily the local shop here deals in Yamahas and Huskys, plus I used to work for them so I get along with the boss. If I wanted a race motard, like the NOX they have in store (so tempted, so poor), I should get a good deal.


Does anyone know just how much more maintenance is involved with a WR? Not that I'm toon keen on one anyway, only a grand or 2 more and I could get a ZX10R.

[R6_kid:Me]

WR450 was farking good fun and held up well even with a couple of bins (due to pilot error!)

Top end service i dont think was expensive (ask The Stranger)... but we never had any troubles with it in the time he owned it (except for me being a twit and laying it down twice).

Only niggle was that we had a slightly too wide tire on the rear and it would get nibbled by the chain a bit, but only on the very edge, still wasnt a problem at the track and i was getting it well over on that side (peg down/knee down).

Runs out of smoke at about 160kmh, but that was gearing because its not like it was on the limiter.

Think he scored it for $10k with motard gear (excel rims with brembos up front.)

[orangeback]

Does anyone know just how much more maintenance is involved with a WR? Not that I'm toon keen on one anyway, only a grand or 2 more and I could get a ZX10R.

matinance $500 will do up the top end do it 8-10,000km for the road 4-5000 for race , pritty much bullet prof, cush drive rear hub would be smother on the road and eazyer on the box,
For the ZX10, i had one b4 the WR Retard, and i dont regret selling it to buy the WR , i sold my ZX for 13.5k and spent it all on the WR , it's the most fun youll ever have on a bike, and i can ride it faster than the 10 in the tight stuff by 15-25 km. watch out as they tuck the front verry fast and run wright of the tyre with ground clearance.

[orangeback]

[Aero165]

I had a 2004 WR 450 motard. I sold it to buy my current bike (06 R1) but boy am I missing the Tard!

I'm considering selling the R1, getting a cheaper R1 (Lightly damaged or something) AND another motard.

[Motardman]

I've been using a KTM 525 EXC-R for the last 6 months now. Have stiffened up the suspension and bunged in a 310mm front disc. Awesome bike, cheap to run as its ultra reliable.

Mods for this year include 540 big bore kit, akrapovic full system and a steering damper as it spends most of the time pointing skywards and the landings could be a little less flighty when your lean't over

Sold my GSXR750 to fund the final mods to the tard....best thing I ever did, ultimate fun on the road and twisty tracks....not so much fun on the straights!!

[jimmy 2006]

i don't see anyone saying the KTM 690sm ??

[Motardman]

i don't see anyone saying the KTM 690sm ??

I don't know about you guys but I prefer my motard to be as light and nimble as possible so some of the larger KTM's just feel like tarted up desert cross bikes.....plus I always like the idea that motards are custom built to a certain extent.....factory built feels like cheating......but thats just me