Need to choose one bike.

So for a number of reason I need to thin out my current heard down to only one bike. Now I love my sport bike and I love the dual sport but I really can't have more than one bike until I am done with school. So the plan is now to get rid of all the bikes and replace them with one dual sport and some SM wheels

So I have a few options that are within budget... Number one being keep my KLR and start the farkles. Now I like my KLR, but it is HEAVY and I just don't know if there is enough polish to make it shine like I want to. It's not that the KLR is a bad bike, I just want to go off road, and I don't mean gravel roads. So that means the other option is to ditch the KLR for a lighter bike that is a better base for what I want to do. Within the budget that leaves really one other option, the DRZ 400.

So I guess I am torn on wether or not the DRZ is better enough to go through the hassle of selling the KLR to buy one. My one last concern is durability, can the DRZ go a minimum of 25k miles between rebuilds?

The DR-Z400S will go 25000 miles if you replace the automatic cam chain tensioner with a manual one, keep the air filter clean, change oil/filter regularly, and don't ride it 80mph on the freeway.

Lots and lots of good info here:

http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/215-drz400-faq/

DR650SE. Sort the suspension. Open the airbox and sort the carbing. Throw on some inexpensive Shinko 244s, and keep a cheap front knobby around for offroad weekends. Ride the piss out of it. It has better gearing spread and torque than a DR-Z400S, while being lighter and better offroad than the KLR. There are those of us that prefer it onroad to the KLR too.

I like my DRZ 400 being that it is light enuogh for off road adventures and its not the speed demon on the hyw, but It depends on what gearing you pick. I like the 15/44 in the off road mode, and the 15/41 for the hyw. It seems that the gearing is not spread enough for both worlds. The cam chain should be looked at in the 15 000 mile mark to check for wear, but some fellows go long past this point. The folks on the DRZ Form in the USA has a lot of info on the DRZ 400 S and E model, and Eddie Oh'Dell is our power up tuner dude with lots of info from top to bottom.

Check out their site for more info !!!

From Jeathrow Bowdean in Western Canada

I have a xr650l and it fits all my needs. I have done 500 mile days on it hwy and dirt. I even had a spare set of rims for canyon and motard riding. But I think your would be better off with a dr650. its just a better on the road and hwy and the xr650l is.

My 2011 DRZ 400cc-S model with the Mikuni BSR36 single carb with the DJ carb kit #JDS005 25 pilot blue needle 2nd clip 160 main jet and Kientech fuel screw. Then I backed it up with a MDR tuned muffler SSM model. 11.3:1 compression

I'm on a stage 1 kit that gives me about 35 hp at the rear wheel with a 44/15 gears= 2.93:1 at 80 mpr in 5th at 8250 rpm........... 4th gear dyno hp is 35hp
A 41/15 gear set gives me a 2.73:1 at 80mpr in 5th at 8000 rpm.......... rear wheel 4th gear dyno 34.8 hp
A 39/15 gear set at 2.60:1 =80mpr in 5th at 7610 rpm......... rear wheel 4th gear dyno 34.1 hp
This gives you some room to run the poor quality fuel that you will come across, providing the compression is not up in the 12.1 or 12.3. Bad fuel and high compression is not a good mix once you leave the USA border.
11.3 to 11.7:1 compression will give you lots of safety to prevent motor knock witht the fuel down there. I class the DRZ as a zigger motor, so RPM's are a must for hills and passing. Don't get me wrong, if they are tuned up well, they can come out of the bottom hole with enough power to jump and fly, but they really shine when it is signing like a chain saw running hard and fast. Ha Ha.

I posted this for a fellow that was heading to South America, so you can forget the part on the fuel unless you are head down that way with the stage 4 kit. Ha

From Jeathrow Bowdean in Western Canada

I am not at all interested in a DR650, I would rather keep the KLR.

Just kidding, I like my WR250r, and it is my only bike. Of course, coming off of a sport bike it's going to feel slow. But it is an excellent bike.

Of course KTM makes fine bikes, a 690 does it all, I hear, of course it comes with a price.

Knowing what I know now, I should of keeped my DR 650, but that is after the fact !!!

From Jeathrow Bowdean

If my budget were higher I would be buying a WR250... And if it was even higher I wouldnt have made a thread and I would just buy the X Country for sale locally and been done with it.

Yes. The DR is a bit heavier with the IMS fuel tank that would put you in the 387 lbs, and the 790cc kit would make it hard to hold down.

Eddie Oh'Dell set me up on the stage 1 kit for now, and I lost some weight with the tuned MDR pipe, but gain some with the 3.9 gallon Clark fuel tank. this puts me in the 330 lbs range.

I'm running Sadona off road tires for now, but I will switch over to Siped Heidenau K 60 Scout tires next...

From Jeathrow Bowdean PS: Year end on sale in Canada at $6900 out the door. and 2013 $7600 out the door.

Here is the DRZ Forum if you are after DRZ info. I haven't looked in a while, but the odd one comes up for sale on thier Forum
http://drzforums.com/

Get rid of the KLR. Buy a DRZ or a XRL with some SUMO wheels. You will be much happier with the power band of both. My Dad has a KLR and i got the XR. The pull from the XR is a whole different animal.

Just FYI, my last bike was a GSXR, i couldnt be happier with the XRL.

Chris

Don't ride a 690 if you aren't able to buy one, because once you ride one
you will never be satisfied with anything else.


The price difference isn't all that big actually. It's not like you are buying
a Bimota or something. Most people waste enough money on expenses
that are not essential ( expensive beer, latte, eating out, movies at theaters
instead of renting a DVD, etc. ) that they could rein in those expenses and
then be able to make the payments on a 690. Life is too short to
ride mediocre bikes.


I agree with getting rid of the KLR. No matter what else you do those
things are heavy and underpowered and the suspension and brakes are
just plain sad.


.

I would hunt around for a WR250 or similar 250.

The DRZs can be made into a decent dirt machine if you throw money at it. It's not an ideal everyday machine imo....higher compression, high center of gravity, no 6th gear.

Again, it all depends on your needs and wants. You can ride a KLR almost everwhere, but not everyone wants to.

Buy a good lock and lock it to something on campus.

Xr650l is hard to beat for your needs. Wide transmition, good power, e start. I think it is a better all around bike than a drz and its about the same price range.

This is how it will/should go down:

You sell the sport bike. They get outdated quicker than stereo equipment anyhow.

Keep the KLR. It's slow, heavy and ugly. It's yours though, its reliable and it'll be cheap. You need all that while in school.

At some point if not already, you'll meet some chick that you'll have to carry on a regular basis. The KLR is ok for that. At some point you're going to be at a kegger and some drunk douche nozzle is going to back over your bike. The KLR will be fine. You'll have to buck up $30 for new handlebars. That's it.

You'll lose the girl to some guy with a Harley. Don't worry. He's financing it. She gets knocked up and drops out. You're better off without her.

You'll finish school with a busted up but still running KLR with bald tires. Youll finally change the oil, put new tires on it and head out for a 6 month road trip. Maybe Argentina? When you get back you'll start some entry level job and advance quickly. Finishing top of your class has nothing to do with it. It's because your boss thinks you have great stories and wishes they would have done that when they were younger. Then you get to buy any and all the bikes you want. Also, the other language that you learned in your travels helps to pick up women.

I wish to hell that someone would have laid shit out like that back when I was starting out.

/thread

How true that is. I just finish school last year at 50, and I did my world trip. My new boss dude will like my world travel storys, I can't wait to get a job and make some money for doing nothing all day. Thats why I'm on this forum all the time.

ADV forum and biking is what life is all about !!!

From Jeathrow Bowdean PS: I never did find tha girl, HA HA !!!

I sold my KLR with 10K miles, replaced it with a WR250R with 3K miles, and came out $200 ahead. I miss the KLR a bit on the street or well-maintained dirt roads, but with the kind of trails that are accessible on the WR250R, it's a more enjoyable bike overall. And even though my KLR didn't have any real issues (used oil, but that's it), I expect the WRR to be more reliable in the long run.

Me too!