Looking For My First Motorcycle

[cja89]

Hey guys,

I've decided I'd like to get a motorcycle for commuting and having fun on some dirt roads, which I think means dual-sport/enduro. I'm a frequent mountain biker/road cyclist, but I've only ridden a motorcycle once or twice in my life. I'm trying to figure out what I should get, but I'm clueless on engine size, brands, etc as I've never owned one before.

I was thinking of something used and probably older (my friend had an early 80s Yamaha 500 XL that seemed like it could work), but wanted to see what you guys could teach me and recommend.

Thanks,

Casey

 

[Rot Box]

Do you plan on spending more time on the pavement or on dirt roads? How far would your commutes be and at what speeds?

Older bikes (pre 1995-ish) can work well but one major drawback is part availability, crappy wiring/electrical and crappy suspension. As bikes get older parts become obsolete and difficult to find used. Trust me you don't want an old bike with a short production run either... like the one I'm rebuilding (trying to anyway) right now

If you liked the Yamaha 500 you might look into the Honda XR650L or a Suzuki DRZ400S.

If you have trail riding in mind there's plenty of options there as well. Usually the better the bike is on the trail the worse it is on the street and vice versa.

 

[boogie_4wheel]

Honda XR650L: more dirt oriented. Air cooled. Easy maintenance. Tall suspension.
Suzuki DR650: middle of the pack. (Know nothing personally about this one).
Kawasaki KLR650: more street oriented. Water cooled. Fairing for wind protection. Little harder for maintenance.

I just got rid of my XR400R for an XR650L at the beginning of the year. I love this bike. It is a blast, and prefer it over my 400 90% of the time. I had a KLX650R (dirt only version of the KLR) for many years and it proved to be reliable as well.
The 3 listed above are all electric start and street legal from the factory. As long as you keep up on minimal maintenance and keep oil in them, you can expect great reliability.
KSL has 650L's in the $3k range. There is next to 0 difference in the years from the 90's to current.
The KLR is similar in price. There was an upgrade to the cam chain tensioner starting in '08; look up the doohickey mod.
A DRZ400 is another good option, as well as a KLR250 or CRF250/230L.
Engine size depends on your height/weight, riding style, what are you bringing along, and how much street riding vs dirt riding. In my opinion a 250 has little business running the highway for extended periods but do just fine in town and on the trail (lack of gearing and power). The DRZ400S is a good mix of power and lighter weight. The 650's have the power and gearing to cover some ground.
I used my XR400 for 200+ mile day rides and while it flat ripped in the dirt I was limited on the highway in comfort. My 650 scratched that itch at the sacrifice of about 40lbs more bike, but does so much better on the long adventure rides.
I'm 6'2" 230 and the XR is tall. Lowering link is available.

 

[Gravy]

Tell us more and we can give some recommendatuons.

How far is your commute?
What is your budget?
And what are your goals? More dirt? More street?

 

[Tonkaman]

Also keep in mind that just like bicycles there is no perfect option to do it all. Try to keep it as light and small as you can while still accommodating your needs, at least until you have more experience

 

[cja89]

Tell us more and we can give some recommendatuons.

How far is your commute?
What is your budget?
And what are your goals? More dirt? More street?

Sorry I didn’t give more specifics before, I kind of just threw it out there without much thought.

My commute is 11 miles each way and all city driving with a max speed limit of 50.

My budget would probably be 2500 max, but if I could get closer to 1500-2000 (or even less) that’d be ideal.

I’m not looking to do anything crazy in the dirt, mostly just hit some forest roads and ATV trails. In the mountain biking world I think I’d be looking for an xc bike if anyone can relate. Hopefully that helps.

 

[Deleted member 12904]

Drz400 I sold an 02 for $1500 and it was perfect for what you're wanting it to do

 

[Tonkaman]

Drz400 I sold an 02 for $1500 and it was perfect for what you're wanting it to do

He's probably right. They aren't great at anything but can be had cheap and they always get the job done

 

[Gravy]

Most bikes have motor size in CC's listed in their name.

Look at these below: You probably want an Enduro style bike. They are essentially trail bikes that share some things with their motocross brothers, but usually have softer suspension, tamer motor tuning, larger gas tanks, headlights and taillights and wider gearing.

None will be street legal out of the box (except the drz400s and KLR400s) but can be made legal with very little work.
These can be found in the upper range of your budget.

Suzuki DRZ400, (E means electric start, S means street legal & electric start)
Yamaha WR250F or 450F
Honda CRF250x or 450x

Some odd balls to look at are:
Yamaha WR400F, and WR426F (older versions of the WR450f)
Kawasaki KLR400 (it's like a DRZ) and KLR250, KLX250.
Honda CRF250L /230L
the 250's are going to be better to learn with because they're lighter and less powerful.
All of them are 4 stroke with wide ratio transmissions and a headlight.

If you don't mind a 2 stroke:
Kawasaki KDX 200 or 220
or perhaps an older KTM 250exc or 300 exc (but they'll likely be closer to $3k)

To make most of these bikes street legal you'll need:

Headlight (low and high beam)
Tail light (brake light included)
Turn signals
Horn
Rear facing mirror (at least one).

As far as enduro's I've had:
DRZ400E
WR250F
KDX 200 and 220
and some other newer 2 stroke enduros

and ridden extensively on
WR450F
CRF450x
CRF250x
WR400F
and some big 525 KTM enduros

and I'd recommend the smaller CC bikes to learn on (250's usually). You can always sell and get a bigger bike later, but you pay a steep handling penalty with a bigger motor.
A bigger motor won't turn, brake or be as forgiving. You will drop it a lot, so consider a 10lb difference a LARGE #.

Additionally I've found that if you spend closer to the upper range of your budget you're going to be happier in the long run (and hopefully avoid maintenance and repair costs)