Went up to Bailey, CO yesterday and did some exploring.

Ended up buying a hitch carrier from Rack & Ride. Steel construction made in Australia. Got it assembled haven't tested it yet. Problem I was running into was getting fatigued by the time I got where I wanted to ride. With dirt and gravel you got to be 100%. Also had a thunderstorm pass between me and the house the other day. Already fatigued, then riding on wet roads. Want to avoid that ever again.

The KTM got swiped last night. I called Aurora police and filed a claim with progressive. Not sure if I will get another bike anytime soon…

Man that sucks. Was it locked up? I used to lock and cover my R6 at the apartment I was at but nothing is guaranteed.

I did not have a lock or a cover on it. I did sign the papers on a new 10x10 storage shed a block from my house and I was going to put the bike and other stuff in there this weekend.

Sucks man. What did the insurance have to say?

Waiting to hear back from them.

combustion artist said:

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I do mountain biking. How does a dirt bike translate to mountain biking handling. Anyone do both? Sounds like a 400 would be a good place to start. I'm in the Austin area and ride Emma Long with a bike, doubt I would try that on a dirt bike

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I do quite a bit of both here in Colorado. There is pretty good crossover, but being good at one doesn't make you great at the other. My experience was, despite being a pretty good mountain biker and sport bike rider, I struggled on the dirt bike for 2 years. Most of this was due to trails in my areas being covered in decomposed granite, which is like riding on pea gravel.

Basics like looking far enough ahead, proper cornering body position (while standing at least), and brake control all transfer. The addition of the clutch and throttle, and using your foot for the rear brake will probably feel very odd. The amount of crap you can get away with on a proper dirt bike is tons of fun, I will regularly lose the front wheel or start a big slide, but just modulate the throttle a bit and we're all good. As you know, totally losing the front on a bicycle doesn't give you much time to react before you're slamming down on your shoulder.

Both are a ton of fun, being good at one will help with being good at the other, but you probably won't hop on a dirt bike and be comfortable on trails that are the same level of difficulty as you can ride on your bike.

Meanwhile the leader of some migrant-street gang in Aurora gonna be leading the charge riding your KTM.

Probably the case here. I doubt it was just a couple teenagers with a pickup.

KTM's are a priority theft target. All their parts are worth decent money on ebay.

I have had a DR650 for about 18 months, but I never really fit on it. I'm 6'4" and about 300 lbs. The bike had no issue hauling my butt around, but I always felt like the circus bear riding a tricycle.

Lo and behold my old V Strom popped up on FB and I made a deal for it. I sold the DR and am back on the big Vee. I'm giving up a fair amount of off road ability but thats ok. The V Strom fits me better than any other bike I've ever ridden.


At the Meriweather Lewis monument a few years back.....

Thinking of getting a CF Moto Ibex 450 if I get another one in the near future.

My wife sold her 2014 Super Tenere yesterday morning. Today we picked up a 2019 Triumph Scrambler 1200XE for her. Such an awesome bike. Comfortable, gorgeous and full of character and style.

This has been a good thread. I've decided to look into getting a starter adventure bike so I'm doing some research. I'm looking for something reliable, easy to work on and suitable for pavement and poor condition dirt roads.

Does anyone here have experience with Royal Enfield bikes? Their Himalayan looks pretty good and they have a good price point.

No personal experience, but from others, they are good bikes. Fairly simple and reliable. RE stands behind their bikes. The 24 Himalayan is a big step up from the previous model in performance.

Royal Enfield seems to be pretty legit. They are working hard to make the company relevant again.

I'll say this: They seem to make a good product, but they aren't exactly caught up to 21st century standards. It's still a relatively low powered, simple machine. If long distance touring is in your future you would be best served by one of the middle-weight Japanese bikes. The big Japanese manufacturers have this segment on lockdown. They are efficient, trouble-free, and make decent power. Can cruise at 70+ for hours on end with no worries. This is something that even the expensive Euro brands can't really do.

The Euro bikes are good, but super expensive, require more frequent and more difficult maintenance.

The Chinese bikes (CF Moto, etc) are on the come-up, but it remains to be seen if they'll be succesful and how does the parts supply look in ten years?

Royal Enfield has made an impressive mark on the industry, but innovation is understandably slow. They don't have the same performance of the big guys. They look incredible though if vintage is your thing.

The Japanese make boring appliances that just work. That however is a benefit if you are riding around the world. You want something with no drama and parts availability even in Mongolia.

Thanks. I agree about the Japanese bikes. Reliability and ease of maintenance are going to be most important to me. The new RE Himalayan bike looks pretty good and the price makes it intriguing, though.

I rode KLRs a good bit through Mexico and up to Alaska and never paid over $2,500 for one.

drumboy said:

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I rode KLRs a good bit through Mexico and up to Alaska and never paid over $2,500 for one.

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Its a great little cockroach.

I'm watching videos on the DR650 now. Maybe something basic and bulletproof is the way to go? Or maybe a V-Strom 650?

Green2Maroon said:

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I'm watching videos on the DR650 now. Maybe something basic and bulletproof is the way to go? Or maybe a V-Strom 650?

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Either of those are great options. The DR650 will never let you down. If you're tough enough it'll tackle pretty much any terrain.

V-Strom's are awesome if you are more road/gravel road oriented.

This is as good a thread as any to ask this question. Are these 650 size bikes suitable for a beginner bike, or what would y'all suggest for size?

Good to know. Thanks!

After riding the DRZ for a year I've come to the conclusion that you eventually run up against the issue of tires and weight.

80/20 tires are fine for pavement and dirt roads and gravel. But from what I understand once you put full knobbies on you dealing with more vibration and decreased on road performance.

Weight also seems like a huge issue if you trying to do single track trail riding. Seems like you need a really solid skill set to ride these heavier bikes off-road. The lightest of the 4stroke dual sports are over 300lbs.

Thinking about trying to find an electric start 2-stroke. The YZ250 checks in at 227lbs which seems as manageable as you can get. 4stroke WR250 is 249lbs. Seen people on the internet plate both these bikes.

That might be the way to go learning the skill set to ride off road before attempting on heavier bike.

Is there a all-in-one-bike that can do everything, probably not, imo. You always going to be compromising on tires and weight.

The lighter the bike is, the worse it is on the road. Everything about "adventure" biking is a comprimise. You have to decide if you want to stay local and hit gnarlier trails, or go somewhere new, far away, but not get that far off the beaten path.


I've had a DR650 for two years. Never really did any trail work with it, and it wore me out riding on the road. Just switched back to a V-Strom 1000, and tonight went out for a "quick one-hour ride" and put in about 100 miles over most of the evening. Being back on this large, but effortlessly fast street bike just agrees with me. I'll give up the dirt trails.....

I envision most of my riding to be on pavement and poor condition dirt roads even in the rainy season.
An adventure type vine looks like a good choice.

Took the DRZ out to see how it handled in crosswind and intermittent gusts the other day. Figured better to test it near the house than get caught by surprise somewhere. Conclusion was that that it sits up tall and rider creates a big sail area. And also in the event of a storm to find shelter early on and not try and power through. Lesson learned on both rain and wind with this light bike.

Thats where I'm at as well. I want to try full knobbies to lock in on dirt roads but also hesitant to trade the comfort of the stock 80/20 tires. Plan is to get the rest of the life out of the stock tires and try some Dunlop 605/606.

Have about decided that I don't like the long distance riding and will never be comfortable at long distances because it takes a physical toll and drains mental energy. Plan is to compromise on the tires and see how it goes with that. Meanwhile still on the look out for a light two stroke to mess around with. Electric start is the deal breaker on that though. Got enough problems without having to kick start a mfer.

Is kick starting a 250 2 stroke that bad? The Yamahas have been almost the same since 2006 and are supposed to have much better stock suspension then all but the latest KTMs. Not sure how they compare to Beta.

I can vouch for stock 2020 xplor forks on my husky being absolute crap. Easily fixed though.

NRH ag 10 said:

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Is kick starting a 250 2 stroke that bad? The Yamahas have been almost the same since 2006 and are supposed to have much better stock suspension then all but the latest KTMs. Not sure how they compare to Beta.

I can vouch for stock 2020 xplor forks on my husky being absolute crap. Easily fixed though.

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Not at all, my 250 wasn't 'that' much worse than the 125 but don't do it without mx boots on.

XR650R is a different story.

Stat Monitor Repairman said:

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Thats where I'm at as well. I want to try full knobbies to lock in on dirt roads but also hesitant to trade the comfort of the stock 80/20 tires. Plan is to get the rest of the life out of the stock tires and try some Dunlop 605/606.

Have about decided that I don't like the long distance riding and will never be comfortable at long distances because it takes a physical toll and drains mental energy. Plan is to compromise on the tires and see how it goes with that. Meanwhile still on the look out for a light two stroke to mess around with. Electric start is the deal breaker on that though. Got enough problems without having to kick start a mfer.

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DS bikes are all about a tradeoff. I ran Kenda K270s most of the time but splurged from the big block continental TKC80s a few times and liked the road aspect much more.

Tim Weaver said:

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Royal Enfield seems to be pretty legit. They are working hard to make the company relevant again.

I'll say this: They seem to make a good product, but they aren't exactly caught up to 21st century standards. It's still a relatively low powered, simple machine. If long distance touring is in your future you would be best served by one of the middle-weight Japanese bikes. The big Japanese manufacturers have this segment on lockdown. They are efficient, trouble-free, and make decent power. Can cruise at 70+ for hours on end with no worries. This is something that even the expensive Euro brands can't really do.

The Euro bikes are good, but super expensive, require more frequent and more difficult maintenance.

The Chinese bikes (CF Moto, etc) are on the come-up, but it remains to be seen if they'll be succesful and how does the parts supply look in ten years?

Royal Enfield has made an impressive mark on the industry, but innovation is understandably slow. They don't have the same performance of the big guys. They look incredible though if vintage is your thing.

The Japanese make boring appliances that just work. That however is a benefit if you are riding around the world. You want something with no drama and parts availability even in Mongolia.

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Japanese bikes are cheaper but BMWs are on a different level for ride & build quality. I've had 4 or so KLR650s and a DRZ400 (and countless 2 stroke Honda/Yamaha mx bikes) and the GSPD and & 1200GSA felt night & day in every aspect. I'll be riding a GSA to Alaska at some point in my life after the first go round on a KLR.