Had a chance to ride around on a new Yamaha XT 250 for a few hours. It's a street legal dirt bike that rides at least as good as your ex. These are around $5500 new. Fuel injected. Disc brakes. But unlike your ex, it's light, nimble, and maneuverable.

Seemed like a quality bike that would run for 20 years easy. Suspension was good. Good throttle response. Digital gauge panel. Has a low fuel light and an engine light. If you looking for something low frills, low maintenance to ride around the neighborhood or get you somewhere in an emergency, this would be a good choice. With the fuel injection seems like it would run forever and startup every time. The stock exhaust was quiet so you ain't causing a ruckus.

What's the consensus on insurance on a dual sport?

2024 model, paid cash so no lender requirement. Value around $8500.

What companies to look at and any other type of coverage you'd get for good measure?

Progressive has consistently had the best rates of any decent insurance company and has treated me well when I've needed them. Avoid Dairyland like the plague.

I'd definitely be getting roadside assistance and trip interruption coverage. If you are going to be riding off-road, especially if you are riding solo, then I'd look hard at a Garmin InReach or a Spot tracker/messenger.

Progressive ftw

Living in a condo, I don't know where I would put a motorcycle. Otherwise I might have bought one by now.

Tear assing around on the new DRZ and this may be the some of the best money I've ever spent.

Riding on street feels like it should be illegal and i'm expecting to get stopped at some point or called in by Karen because it looks and sounds like someone riding a dirt bike on the street.

The ergonomics of it is overall good. Can flat foot it with about an inch off the seat. Might need some kind of riser on the handlebar. Seems like it would be more comfortable to have the bars a few inches up. What affect that would have on handling and the way it as designed, I don't know.

The stock exhaust is loud.

Heavier than I thought. The suspension is so soft you can't easily pick up the front or back because its all suspension at. 320lbs.

Geared low through 1st and second. Can see where you could creep along offroad.

No part of the design of this bike was intended for on road use. The is purely an off road enduro racing bike that it's somehow street legal and thats half the fun of it. Feels like you getting away with something but you not.

Fuel injected bike might not be as fun. Haven't opened it up yet. Going to try and do what Suzuki recommends for the break in.

Can see why this design is so popular and can see why the supermoto variant is so popular. Very fun to ride.

I still ride my DR650 almost daily, but my Son bought a Husky 701SM and I'm insanely jealous. That thing is a criminal amount of fun.

Now I'm looking at another DRZ as a project bike and a dedicated off-road bike thats reliable. Would try to bring it back to near original condition. Seems like theres a lot parts for these bikes and the prices are low.

I'm inclined to get a used DRZ or even a TW200 and set it up for primarily off-road with a focus on maximum reliability and max range.

Only thing I see suspect about the DRZ from a durability perspective is the two radiators. You hit something and compromise the cooling system it's game over.

On the DR650 you don't have those two coolers is that right? Whats the more reliable design the DR650 or DRZ400?

And one thing i didn't consider about ordering a new bike is that I was looking for a project. But now that I got it and have ridden it, I don't want to mess with it. It's good right out the crate. I can see why they haven't messed around with the design.

So that my plan now. Get and older DRZ and redo it with that goal in mind.

If a project is what you want and reliability is the thing you crave then look at the old DR350. It's the DRz before the DRz. Street legal, but dirt oriented. Kick start, Air cooled, and as solid as a stone.

A DR350 with more modern suspension would be a legit killer off road weapon.

Read up on that DR350

Made 1990-2001

2.5 in shorter wheelbase than the DRZ and weighs 40lbs less than the DRZ.

DR350 has 6-speed transmission where the 400 only has 5. Main complaint I saw about the DRZ is no 6th gear.

Both have about same fuel capacity. 350 gets slightly less mpg. The 350 has the same mpg as the DR650 but the DR650 has twice the range.

TW200 may win the mpg category with 78 mpg. Almost twice twice the mpg as the DR350 and 650.

90 mile range on DR350 vs 100 mile range on the DRZ vs 178 mile range on the DR650.

The air-cooled engine on the 350 seems bullet proof and sounds like its' close to the same design as the DR650.

Kickstart DR350 can start and run with no battery.

Might look at getting my hands on one.

It's a disease! lol.

Pretty soon you'll have a track bike, a tourer, a cruiser, etc, etc.



The DR350 is one of those end-of-days cockroach vehicles though. VW bugs, 7.3 diesels, and DR350's all; roaming the Mad Max streets.....

Got about 100mi on the DRZ.

90 of those miles were on blacktop with the rest on hard pack gravel.

Most comfortable top speed is around 55mph. Engine is not pulling at 55. Seems like the best cruising speed.

Another sweet spot is around 30-35mph.

A mile or two of the road was washboarded but the suspension dampened 80% of it. No bouncing around of any sort. Tires stayed in contact with the road and the vibration was minimal. If you hit these washboards in a vehicle it would rattle the **** out of you. So the stock suspension is good.

I'm burning 89 non-ethanol right now. I'm tempted to run a tank tank of 87 and a tank of 91 just to see if I notice a difference and then go back to non-ethanol.

I think the carb can be dialed in more than it is right now. It may be a little off. Will get an expert opinion on this issue from a mechanic that knows these bikes. But I think the carb is 90% there, but may not optimal. But before I do anything with it I'm going to run it with different grades of gas to see how it reacts.

I might try and do a gas mileage test over the weekend to see what result. Some estimates are 55mpg for mixed riding and that number drops at highway speed. So we'll see what that is and whether gas makes a difference.

Will try ad finish the break in period in the next couple weeks and do the initial service and adjustment at 500 miles which is what I think is recommended.

Watching this video on the DR650.

Says they can no longer be sold in Australia due to regulations mandating anti-lock brakes.

Also says the DR650 is no longer sold in Europe due to emissions.

I don't doubt it.

Australia should be good for decades though. They probably bought more DR650's than any other country. It's got a huge cult following down there.

Wouldn't surprise me if Suzuki redesigns it to fit modern emission and safety standards, a lot like the '22 KLR650. Remains to be seen if it'll be better or not.

Stat Monitor Repairman said:

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I think the carb can be dialed in more than it is right now. It may be a little off. Will get an expert opinion on this issue from a mechanic that knows these bikes. But I think the carb is 90% there, but may not optimal. But before I do anything with it I'm going to run it with different grades of gas to see how it reacts.

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Get a Kehin carb off a DRZ400E. I started w/ an E for that & the plastic tank and made it street legal. Then sumo tires.

Was reading where some of the E models have higher compression due to a different head or head gasket.Is this what you have?

Reddit user put wide knobbies on his supermoto. I like the look of this but it seems like it would decrease the overall functionality of the bike. You'd have problems with gearing, additional weight and probably front suspension, and probably not as stable on highway at speed. But I do like the look of it and the fuel injection of KLX.

I've seen some YouTube reviews on the dual sport KLX. Looks like a really good setup for the price. Even not bad at highway cruising for a little 300cc machine too.

I shared a parking space yesterday in downtown Bryan with an XT 250 that had that setup. 17" wheels with wide knobbies. Never saw the owner unfortunately.

Was a pretty cool looking bike tho.

I need to get a maintenance stand for this bike. I'm not gonna mess around with those square stands. Wrestling a bike on one of those seems like a pain in the ass. So I might order one of those lifts that you roll under skid plate and jack it up. Preferably one with some sort of lockout so it isn't at rest on the hydraulics.

Stat Monitor Repairman said:

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I need to get a maintenance stand for this bike. I'm not gonna mess around with those square stands. Wrestling a bike on one of those seems like a pain in the ass. So I might order one of those lifts that you roll under skid plate and jack it up. Preferably one with some sort of lockout so it isn't at rest on the hydraulics.

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They work well. I have used them in the past. A lot more stable than you think it would be. Friend of mine gave me one after he sold his bike, then like 3 years later he bought another bike and wanted it back! lol

Fuel tank on the DRZ is 2.6 gallons.

It looks like you can get a solid 100 miles out of it with 25 more switching to reserve.

I'm working to figure out a way to safely carry an additional gallon, to half gallon of emergency fuel.for none other than peace of mind. It looks like the safest way to do this might be a fuel bottle secured to a rack behind the seat. I've seen some flat plastic fuel cells so thats also an option.

Got ahold of some 87 non-ethanol and put that in it.

Ran 25 miles or so. Conclusion is that it runs better on 87. Feels like it has more torque and exhaust sounds smoother especially on deceleration.

My plan is to stick with 87, order another carb and rejet it. Keep the OEM carb as a known good backup.

Green2Maroon said:

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I've seen some YouTube reviews on the dual sport KLX. Looks like a really good setup for the price. Even not bad at highway cruising for a little 300cc machine too.

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Been looking at these KLXs as well.

Theres almost no difference between the KLX 300R offroad model and the KLX 300 which is street legal.

A different ignition system on the offroad only model and it's 15 pounds lighter.

280 vs 300 lbs.

Range on the KLX is around 120 miles at around 60mpg.

About to do the initial oil change and service procedure on this DRZ400.

Plan is to change the oil and filter. Then go through and re-torque everything to spec. There is also a metal screen connected to the oil system that you got to take out and check on the initial oil change. They say to look for any debris from engine assembly, gasket selant or anything else that gets in there during break in.

The service manual also has a bunch of measurement for chain stretch rotor wear. So I'll take those for a baseline measurement at 600 miles.

Suzuki uses a lot of crush washers. In total the full oil change requires two orings, two crush washers, and two other washers that go to a banjo fitting that don't need to be replaced unless damaged, but I got anyway just in case. One of those plugs is magnetic.

Plan to put Suzuki's full synthetic back in it. The conventional wisdom is to use the manufacturers oil on stuff like this because the engine oil is the same oil that operates the wet clutch and some formulations of oil might not work with the wet clutch. Theres been reports of that So I'll go with what Suzuki engineers say since they designed an engine that been unchanged and in production for 23-years.

In any event, what other types of things would you look for on this initial inspection that is known to rattle loose?

Do you make a point to put loctite on anything in particular?

Also safety wire. I've seen some folks say to safety wire certain things. any thoughts on that?

I've never seen anyone use safety wire outside track bikes. I use loctite on stuff if it says to in the FSM, and sometimes on accessories like footpegs and mirrors.

Factory oil is perfectly fine, but there are plenty of other options that will work as well.

I'll echo what Maverick said, plenty of synthetic oil options that are meant to be used in motorcycles with a wet clutch.

I run this stuff in my bike with a wet clutch.

https://www.lucasoil.com/product/high-performance-motorcycle-oils/

Stat Monitor Repairman said:

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Green2Maroon said:

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I've seen some YouTube reviews on the dual sport KLX. Looks like a really good setup for the price. Even not bad at highway cruising for a little 300cc machine too.

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Been looking at these KLXs as well.

Theres almost no difference between the KLX 300R offroad model and the KLX 300 which is street legal.

A different ignition system on the offroad only model and it's 15 pounds lighter.

280 vs 300 lbs.

Range on the KLX is around 120 miles at around 60mpg.

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Not very much fuel capacity on this. I had a little Ninja 250 in college with a 4.8 gallon gas tank instead of like 2 gallons on the KLX.

For what its worth I run Rotella T4 in all of my bikes and have done so for decades.

Diesel oils work well with the wet clutch and as it gets dirty it won't stop working.

I ran Rotella T6 5/40 in the Ninja. Seemed to work well with the high revving engine.

Green2Maroon said:

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Stat Monitor Repairman said:

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Green2Maroon said:

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I've seen some YouTube reviews on the dual sport KLX. Looks like a really good setup for the price. Even not bad at highway cruising for a little 300cc machine too.

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Been looking at these KLXs as well.

Theres almost no difference between the KLX 300R offroad model and the KLX 300 which is street legal.

A different ignition system on the offroad only model and it's 15 pounds lighter.

280 vs 300 lbs.

Range on the KLX is around 120 miles at around 60mpg.

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Not very much fuel capacity on this. I had a little Ninja 250 in college with a 4.8 gallon gas tank instead of like 2 gallons on the KLX.

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See where the Honda CRF300L has the longest range of all these bikes on a stock 4 gallon tank. ~250 miles.

Seems like a good value at $6500 retail.