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My next bike, dual sport opinions please


V4junkie

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I love my 400sm. I never thought something so fun could be legal, not to mention the 3x3,pipe and jet kit help make it come to life. Dead reliable and low maintenance. Circleville tracks days are the best to!

Motards look fun but then again arn't you just putting street tires on a dirt bike? Well that and the associated "bling bling". :D I guess I just don't get it, my yz426 if fun to tear around on the road with now that it's dual sported but it's far from a comfortable ride. That's what the V-strom is for.:rolleyes:

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I owned the F650 GS before I had the FZ6... I absolutely loved it...the torque, the gripwarmers :-) and the soft seat... But since everyone in our riding club had street bikes I needed to get something different. I almost cried when I sold it. :-(... Mine was a 2001, fuel injected, ABS and it was a totally reliable bike. A little heavy for serious off road but I never did that anyways.

The adjustable suspension was great too. Easy and quick adjustment...BMW... Great stuff....Germany!! Home, sweet home... :-)

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Definitely like the KTM but it seems to be more expensive. Loving the Husky, but some people really complain about the dealer network. The BMW XChallenge is still the frontrunner for price, looks, and farkles.

If I can only have one bike I'm not going Japanese. Very competent, but for as much as I like my R6 it needs more personality.

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Sounds like the air shock is the only weak point of the BMW from what I can tell. It'll be quite a while before I know how to ride aggressively so I'm sure that'll help the life of it. The Rotax single will probably be good longer than I need it. Brand loyalty and a distinct look should go a long way toward me not wanting to pitch it after a season. A KLR, for example, might as well be a bandsaw. :p

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A friend of mine has a BMW X Country....It has set for a year, he never rides it. He also bounced around with a "standard" bike (ZRX1200), some kind of "cruiser", and now this thing. He is over 6', and can barley touch the ground on it, I have a 30" inseam, and couldn't ride it if I wanted to (and I don't). The seat is like a 2X4 standing on edge....

A "dual sport" bike is at best a compromise IMO not good for street, or off road.......Why not keep your R6, and buy a real dirt bike ???

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A "dual sport" bike is at best a compromise IMO not good for street, or off road.......Why not keep your R6, and buy a real dirt bike ???

My very frugal significant other disapproves of this idea :(. Still trying to win her over. That and I wanted to replace the R6 with something more upright anyway. You do have a point.

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You can lower almost anything, so seat-height isn't that big of a concern IMHO. If you want the travel and suspension to really do dirt, however, you're going to have to accept a certain amount of "tall". My TTR250 is a tall bike, I can't flat foot but I can do balls of the feet so it's fine to me. Offroad, it's perfect.

I also second Buildit's opinion to buy cheap, small and used for your first DS and get your sea-legs. Ride the fuck out of it, see what works and what doesn't, and THEN move up to something expensive (if you are even inclined).

Yeah, lowering. Might be ok. This wouldn't be my first bike, street, dirt or in between. I've been riding 40+ years, lots of bikes and lots of places.

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In my experience when you find a bike you like you start to add stuff to it and make mods which make it individual. Another big mistake it seems lots of people make is lowering the bike so they can flat foot it. This often results in lowering ground clearance and on trails and in mud that can be a real drag. :) In the end it's not what people who look at your bike think it's the performace of the bike and does it do what you want? Function over form. All offroad bikes look the same if you cover them with enough mud. :lol:

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Just tell them Buildit sent you and they'll give you a special deal.:takeit:

Actually, I filled out the request a quote form on this one, just out of curiosity.

http://www.motohio.com/new_vehicle_detail.asp?sid=02095606X11K3K2009J11I45I56JAMQ3143R0&veh=43587&pov=1207248

I'll be sure to drop your name later on, it's the ace in my sleeve. :p

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