Bike reccomendation

[Fester]

Looking for a used bike for trail, street, dirt road use. Probably will see mostly trail time. I've previously owned a XR650R, but didn't care for the bulk it packed. I'd say I'm a novice rider. I'm also a larger rider (6'3" and around 200 lbs). I've been eyeing 450-530 KTM's, but I'm a little scared of the maintenance. I've also heard good things about the DRZ400. I'd like to stay under $5k.

Wants -
4-stroke
low maintenance
streetable
E-start

Are there any other models I should consider? Of the KTM's are there any models I should avoid or look for? I'm not sure of the differences between the 450, 505, 530.

Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[sixstringsteve]

i'd vote for the drz400, those are cool bikes.

 

[Rot Box]

Take it with a grain of salt, but my best advice is to decide now if you want a true dual sport or a street legal dirt bike/enduro. KTM and Husqvarna blend those two categories together pretty darn good but for the most part it's either one or the other with the Japanese bikes.

The DRZ400S (E-start model/street legal) is said to be the best bike out there when it comes to not doing one thing perfect but doing everything very well. I don't know about the kickstart only model but the S is great and I'd recommend one to anyone looking for a true dual sport. My biggest complaint with them is the weight and maybe power. They can be a handful on tight rocky single track and weight wise they are in the same ball park as your XR650R That said they are very reliable/dependable/forgiving and they're very low maintenance.

The Yamaha WR400-450 would be on the top of my list if it weren't for the gearing. It is the single biggest and pretty much the only complaint I have with mine. Other than that everything is top notch and they are an excellent trail bike. I have racked up a ton of miles on mine lately and so far it has asked for almost nothing in return. I think Yamaha nailed it when it comes to performance, reliability and maintenance. If you're riding less than 20% street and more than 80% dirt this is definitely the bike I recommend.

If you go the KTM route I'd shoot for the EXC model. Aftermarket support is endless and that model has the wide 6 speed gearing you need for 1st gear technical sections and 6th gear cruising on the highway. KTM's are very reliable imo I especially like the RFS motor's (07 and older) they rock. They might be a little needier than some of the others and cost substantially more but most consider it a fair trade and there's a reason they are so popular these days.

Other than that the CRF's rub me the wrong way (coming from a Honda fan) and I'm not sure what Kawasaki has been doing lately... So I really can't comment there. Husqvarna makes some models that would fit your needs too if you want to try something different.

With any 4 stroke spend the time to check your valve clearance before you start racking up the miles--its cheap insurance. I would definitely pay more for a 4T bike that has been cared for than try to save a buck or two and buy one that's obvioulsy been neglected. With the 5K budget I think you'll be in good hands as far as that goes

 

[rholbrook]

Arguably, the most problem free high performance 4 stroke are the Yamahas. I have read article after article on how well they hold up and I can reference them here but all you have to do is search for yourself on the web. Based on this, I wouldn't hesitate to buy a WR450. I have one now and have loved it, many here have had them too and like them. There are pluses and minuses with all bikes but when it boils right down to it, I like to ride and not worry about problems. I have a riding buddy who opted for a KTM 450 because he wanted to be cool and ride orange. We ride together all the time and in the last 4 years he has had the top end rebuilt twice and had to have a seal changed on the main shaft where the front sprocket is. In that same time period I have adjusted my valves once and changed the oil and filter twice a year. He is constantly loosing nuts and bolts.

Last month he finally got tired of the maintenance on his KTM and bought a new YZF450. His KTM sits in his garage collecting dust now. I know a lot of guys on here that ride KTMs and love them and have little to no issues. I personally can afford to own what ever I want but what I choose is a Yamaha.

My two cents for what it worth or not worth. I am not a KTM hater, I am not color blind to only blue, but for me, the WR450 is my bike of choice. There are some on RME that have ridden my WR and it runs well and has done so with no issues.

 

[Fester]

Good info. thanks. Yes I'd say less than 20% will be street. A buddy who is similar to my size has a KTM and a WR. He mentioned the geometry of the KTM fit him better, but I'm guessing I can make adjustments to either.

 

[glockman]

Another vote for the WR. I ride a YZ450 and have well over 200 hours with no valve adjustments and the stock piston. I would change the oil way more than twice a yer though. Modern 4 strokes run really hot and only hold a quart of oil. My dad had the street version drz400 and I hated t. It was really heavy, had no power and did not handle well on single track you would hate it. It was reliable though.


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[Jared]

I went from an XR650R to a DRZ-400K (kick start model). I loved the almost scary punch of the 650R and it's flawless high-speed performance, but didn't like wrestling the bike on single track.

The DRZ has plenty of power, and seems to top out around 95MPH. I can wheelie whenever I want to. My only gripes are the dirt bike style seat (narrow and firm), and the gearing. It always feels like 1st is a little high and 5th is a little low. That being said, the bike is very trail capable and much more nimble feeling than the XR. Maintenance is also a breeze, with recommended valve adjustments at 10,000 mile intervals. Another perk of the DRZ is that you can find nice used ones for pretty cheap... usually around $2500 or less.

As mentioned above, the WR450R is probably a better overall bike, but you will likely end up paying at least a grand more for a similar year, similar condition bike. That money could be spent on quite a bit of nice gear or upgrades. It would be very hard to go wrong with either bike, IMHO.

Good luck!
Jared

 

[Fester]

Thanks for the replies. I'm keeping my eye out for a good deal on a WR or KTM 450.

 

[Samersen]

I have a 2007 F650 GS I am actually looking about throwing up on KSL. If you want it we could work something out. I have had it for over 2 years with no issues. I bought it to save on gas but once summer hits and I take the top and doors off the Jeep its the only thing I want to drive.

 

[Caleb]

What kind of riding are you planning on doing? (realistically) I loved my 4-stroke and will most likely buy another but every time I go ride my 300Xc, I get a huge grin from ear to ear. The only riding the 300 wouldn't be good for is real long distance (say 100+ miles) because you can't just stop at any gas station and fuel up. For everything else, I love my 2-stroke. The maintenance is almost nonexistent, the parts are super cheap and plentiful, and the power of my 300 is almost identical to the power my 450X had. The best thing about the 300 (or any 2-stoke) is they are lots lighter than 4-strokes making your rides way less tiring. Even though on paper they may only be 15-30lbs lighter, the way the weight is carried (down low) compared to 4-strokes makes them feel 50lbs lighter.

I think Rot Box nailed it on the DRZ400, they do nothing great, but lots of things good. Unless you are talking the E model, they are heavy and will wear you out if you plan to ride single track. Not saying it can't be done (I've seen Greg man handle his old DR650 like it was a small 2-stroke, and I know there's video of him riding AFC single track on another DR650) but the fun factor of the smaller bikes goes up tremendously if you're just planning on trail riding, dunes, etc.

If you want to, I'd let you take my 300 for a spin. I'm actually thinking about selling it, only because I never ride it (maybe 5 rides since I've owned the bike).

 

[Fester]

Realistically it will probably be mountain roads, ATV trails, and whatever public streets are necessary to get to these locations. If it requires more than 10 or 20 miles of roading I'd likely throw it in the truck. I live in Price so I'm easily within 10 miles of being able to get off the pavement. I doubt I will get in to any technical stuff, mostly just exploration. I keep hearing good things about the 2 strokes.....and I used to own 2 stroke atv's. I guess I might be pre-judging the type of power they're producing? I'll do more research.

 

[Deleted member 12904]

I picked up a new to me bike this spring. My list of wants look very close to yours but my budget was $3500. Im my price range every wr450 and crf450x I looked at was well used and none of them had valves replaced recently. They all kinda seemed like a time bomb. I ended up going with a 2002 drz400 that was in near new condition. I picked it up for $2K then spent about another $1k doing suspension, ram mount and wire kit for my gps, tires, chain and sprockets, hand guards, new grips, new sticker kit, oil filter and oil, air filter.

My plan was to make it street legal but I live in grantsville and its legal to drive them on roads anyways so I gutted it of everything it didn't need. Stock I hit 87 mph on gps with still room to go but that was as fast as I wanted to go on dirt without a steering stabilizer. After the new sprockets +2 in back I can still hit 80 mph no problem but have a tractor first gear.

I love this bike! 80% of my riding is the single track stansbury front trail and while it is a bigger heaver bike then a 2 smoke Im a bigger heaver guy @240 lbs and I dont mind it at all. In fact to low end power is so smooth and nice this bike is much easier for my to ride on single track then my old yz250 ever was.

If you want to spend all $5k buy a nice wr450 if you would like to stay lower then that dont rule out a drz400 they are an excellent bike and for how cheap they can be had you cam make large improvements and set them up for you and still be far under your budget.

 

[Jared]

If you'd ever like to throw a leg over my DRZ just speak up. I'm in Ogden near Weber State.

Jared

 

[Fester]

Thanks for the input and the offers. I live in Price and work has gotten busy so this took a back seat. I'm keeping my eyes open for a good deal on a WR or KTM. I've found a few decent looking deals on the western slope craigslist that I'm hoping to check out next week. If anyone sees a deal and wants to share please post.

 

[jentzschman]

Good info. I am highly considering selling my CBR600rr to get a dual sport. Some really good input. I just can't deiced what my % of road vs off road will be. If I think honestly about it, it will be a good 70/30 for the road, maybe even 80/20 road, unless I find others to go off roading with more, then I would be more interested in off roading.