DUAL SPORT BIKES Pro's and Con's

rezrider

rezrider

DS Bikes highlights :thumb: and :thumbsdown: lowlights...

As I've menationed in another thread (or 2 :devil:) I am going to be purchasing a new "offroad" bike in the near future and am considering the route of a Dual Sport (DS). I need to know the pro's and con's of a DS bike...Be it known, it will not be a regularly ridden bike on the street, 90%+ time will be spent in the dirt with those occassional happenings :devil: where the rubber might meet the road........:shocked:. My concerns (as minimal as they are) are legitemate such as dirt naps resulting in broken signals, plate mounts, etc.

What are your views on what I'm thinking of doing...? What's it take to go from the "show room to the dirt" to make it dirt worthy yet :devil: legal?
 
Rolls

Rolls

Nowadays, at least here in Cali, it makes no sense to buy a off road only bike unless it's a race only machine. Even if it never sees the pavement, there are a lot of off road areas that are open only to street liscensed vehicles. Having a plate just gives you so many more places to ride, and with the way OHV areas are shrinking, that's all the reason needed.
Take off the mirrors and the turn signals stalks. Some people put a low profile light on in place of the stalks, but if you really aren't going on the street, then don't bother with it. The liscense plate may need to be re-mounted. They usually are mounted too low from the factory and get ripped off during off road use. It's easy enough to just bolt it directly to the fender if you don't want to get creative.
If you do decide to get an off road only bike, I hope you really like whatever it is that you get. Because you probably won't be able to sell it without a plate. :prof:
 
cleonard

cleonard

I'm in the not strictly 100% legal from a lighting perspective as the only proper lighting part is the headlight. The taillight and signals are not DOT. I don't ride a lot of pavement and so far it's not been an issue. The option of being able to hit the road is a really nice thing after a crash injury or just being plain tuckered out from the ride. I have been considering a second bike like a light weight two stroke, but I'll always have a plated bike if I can.

Since the factory signals are sure to be gonners, remove them and put them in a box to be temporally reinstalled in the event of a fix it ticket.

Another con of a plated bike is the costs associated with registration and insurance, but I'm willing to pay that price.

One thing to consider is the cost of a OHV on the road ticket(s). You can mitigate that a lot if you get liability insurance as that is the most expensive thing you can get hit with other than an impoundment. If you don't and the cop writes up everything and impounds your bike, it could cost $2k to even over over $3k. That's pretty crazy.
 
530ktm

530ktm

I believe the two posts above sum it up from my perspective. :thumb: The main reason I bought my bike is the plate, just so I have it. I have ridden it on the street perhaps one time for a couple of miles and that was down in Anza Borrego going from a dirt road to the campground we were at. I may also add that anywhere down in Borrego, even out in the middle of the desert, you must have a street legal vehicle. It was pretty cool at one point when I came around this curve on the dirt road and there was a ranger in his Jeep and we just waved to each other. As far as costs, insurance is very cheap and the tags are not too much either. Well worth it. I took off anything that will break if I fall down which is not too often. :thinking:
 
Rack

Rack

rezrider:
DS Bikes highlights :thumb: and :thumbsdown: lowlights...

As I've menationed in another thread (or 2 :devil:) I am going to be purchasing a new "offroad" bike in the near future and am considering the route of a Dual Sport (DS). I need to know the pro's and con's of a DS bike...Be it known, it will not be a regularly ridden bike on the street, 90%+ time will be spent in the dirt with those occassional happenings :devil: where the rubber might meet the road........:shocked:. My concerns (as minimal as they are) are legitemate such as dirt naps resulting in broken signals, plate mounts, etc.

What are your views on what I'm thinking of doing...? What's it take to go from the "show room to the dirt" to make it dirt worthy yet :devil: legal?
Click to expand...

Right here is why you need a plated bike.

https://www.dirtbikeaddicts.com/forum/ride-reports/3520-2-day-dual-sport-ride.html
 
rezrider

rezrider

Travace:
this is why i wanted a DS...
i can get on and off of streets wherever i want
Click to expand...

I agree...that's the horse trail you talked abotu a while ago isn't it? looks like a nice ride. I think I mentioned it way back when...be careful when riding next to those to bar fence posts...I've heard horror stories of horse back riders fallign on them and being impaled...:shocked:

:thumb:...I think I'm convinced...especially on the DS ride in the mountains. :ride:
 
Travace

Travace

rezrider:
I agree...that's the horse trail you talked abotu a while ago isn't it? looks like a nice ride. I think I mentioned it way back when...be careful when riding next to those to bar fence posts...I've heard horror stories of horse back riders fallign on them and being impaled...:shocked:

:thumb:...I think I'm convinced...especially on the DS ride in the mountains. :ride:
Click to expand...

yea kinda dumb those are there. they farm hay in that field so im guessing thats why it was put there in the first place... i dont know. I would go remove em but its not my property so im not touching shit.
 
2smoke

2smoke

The only down side to having a true factory built dual sport. KLR, DR, or what ever flavor your going to purchase, is the lack of adjustability. My supervisore recently purchased a DR 650. He got a screaming deal on it, and it was set up already. Came with a FMF exhaust can, JD jet kit, and already dialed in for our elevation. Which is great. However....................... There are ZERO suspension adjustments for compression or rebound. I looked at some of the other guys bikes here at work KLR's. They dont have suspention adjustment either. I suppose you could adjust the suspension a little by increasing or decreasing the amount of oil in the forks but what a PITA.

I cannot say for the other manufactures that they do or do not have suspension adjustmenst for compression or rebound as I havent investigated them. If I were to get a "Dual Sport" bike. I would get an X model or WR model, and install the Baja kit. I know sometimes it can be a PITA to get them registered with DMV once they are converted. But the joys of having the adjustability of the suspension and a much lighter bike by comparision is worth it in my opinion.
 
rezrider

rezrider

2smoke:
The only down side to having a true factory built dual sport. KLR, DR, or what ever flavor your going to purchase, is the lack of adjustability. My supervisore recently purchased a DR 650. He got a screaming deal on it, and it was set up already. Came with a FMF exhaust can, JD jet kit, and already dialed in for our elevation. Which is great. However....................... There are ZERO suspension adjustments for compression or rebound. I looked at some of the other guys bikes here at work KLR's. They dont have suspention adjustment either. I suppose you could adjust the suspension a little by increasing or decreasing the amount of oil in the forks but what a PITA.

I cannot say for the other manufactures that they do or do not have suspension adjustmenst for compression or rebound as I havent investigated them. If I were to get a "Dual Sport" bike. I would get an X model or WR model, and install the Baja kit. I know sometimes it can be a PITA to get them registered with DMV once they are converted. But the joys of having the adjustability of the suspension and a much lighter bike by comparision is worth it in my opinion.
Click to expand...

I believe KTM and Husabergs are pretty much offroad bikes with on road necessaties.
 
cleonard

cleonard

You really can't compare the big DR and KLR to "real" dirtbikes. I can't imaging doing tirght trails on a KLR. It's just not made for that. The DR650 is a bit better, but I would rather be on my XR600 by a large margin.
 
rezrider

rezrider

cleonard:
You really can't compare the big DR and KLR to "real" dirtbikes. I can't imaging doing tirght trails on a KLR. It's just not made for that. The DR650 is a bit better, but I would rather be on my XR600 by a large margin.
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I'm thinking those are in the same category as the Husky TE630...built to take off road...BUT!!!!!
 
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