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1siktkt

Looking for a 1st dual sport

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I'm looking into getting my 1st dual sport (must be plated).

What I want to do with it:

Commute about 50+ miles

Kids/family rides in the desert (OW mostly)

Big Boy rides

Info about me:

6'5" 325lbs nuff said

What I've been looking at :USED DR650, XR650l, these two mostly but I'm open. I've seen a couple of Husqvarna, KTM etc. but I don't know enough to make the best choice.

Reliability #1

low maintenance/ease of maintenance#2

ride quality#3 offroad performance#3

Thanks

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I'd throw a KLR in the mix, especially with the 50+ mile commute. XR is the most off road capable, and the DR falls somewhere in between.

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Looking at your list of needs I would recommend a modded Xr650l. This is coming from someone who is 6'5" used to be 325lbs. You will appreciate the size, reliability, ease of maintenance

and low cost of admission.

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Agreed, Xr650l is your best bet. The Dr650 is a great bike but even with lowered pegs your going to be cramped between seat and pegs.

Klr is better on the road but the Xr650l shines off road in comparison.

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im lookin for a xr 650 r .. 2003 or up ... low maintenance .. off road able .. reliability and easy to maintain.

preferably with black wheels and a see thru tank with pro taper bars and low miles.plated .

been dual sporting for a while and working on alot of bikes and thats my choise that i landed on. for those exact reasons .

6' 220lbs

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I would consider a husqvarna te610 or 630 my te630 is awesome light weight for class and tons of power and suspension in comparison to the dr650 and xr. Little harder to find but an awesome bike especially if you do ocotillo wells that extra weight will get tiring

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i agree. ive got the te 610 loads of power. lightwieght . fun ,and leg room for days..

parts arent as redily available as the honda . thats why i want a honda . parts are kinda cheap and motoworld has them or can get them and they ship fast .. two days ... KTM PARTS take five working days minimum right now. KTM are light and crazy fast but still ...

and the husky parts.. well buy them if you find em even if you dont need em .

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Yeah parts can be a problem with the husky does take over a week and only real place is gp downtown or guzzi up north.

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another vote for the XR650L... especially given your height; the KLR is not a dirt bike, and the DR will feel "small" while still seeming "large" (cockpit vs weight)

IF you go with the XRL, look at some of the commuting mods to consider. There have been mixed results, but cam oiling issues have been reported, and some heat related issues. Rejet away from factory lean condition... drill the slide (look up Dave's Mods). An oil cooler is a consideration, especially if you are putting on lots of miles commuting (high revs) and riding sand/trails on the weekends.

I hear the people talking about the 610/630- parts availability down the line would be my only concern... the XRL has been around forever, and parts are readily available

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Thanks to everyone for their advice. Alot of good info here. I went to a couple of dealers today and sat on The XRL, DR, and a KLR. I did not like the fairing on the KLR and thought that it would not be real good for the Dez. The XRL was taller than I expected, but the other bikes I've owned have all been just street bikes, but felt good I think this will probably be the route I go.

All the 450s I sat on just felt too small.

How good of an idea/how much work is it to have a spare st of rim/tires that are designed for street and then change them out if I'm going out to the Dez for the weekend? Is it a PITA or do alot of people roll that way? Told you I'm a NOOB

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What kind of life should I expect to get out of the engine before I'm going to need to think about rebuilding it? I'm looking at this information to help me decide on a used bike. I saw a 2012 on CL with 16K on it for $4750. 16K in 2-3 years seems like a lot of miles and just want to know when I'd be expecting to have to dump some money into the motor (valves, valve adjustment, top or bottom end).

Thanks again,

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you may want to hire a mobile motorcycle technician to go out and look at the bike with you to make sure your getting a good deal.

:coolio:

heres the phone number to the good one ...

619-405-7467

No creepy wierdo breathing into the phone after 9pm.

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You can find a low mile (5-8k) xr650l and run it up to 20k+ with just maintenance. Be patient and watch LA, OC and Inland Empire CL.

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Yep, buy a couple year old (or older, the XR650L hasn't changed in over 20 years) bike with lower miles and mods already done. Ride and enjoy it. Spare set of wheels is a good idea if you do a lot of commuting, you can get a set of 17" supermoto wheels and have a blast.

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Yep, buy a couple year old (or older, the XR650L hasn't changed in over 20 years) bike with lower miles and mods already done. Ride and enjoy it. Spare set of wheels is a good idea if you do a lot of commuting, you can get a set of 17" supermoto wheels and have a blast.

Agreed. And changing out the wheels is pretty easy.

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Ive owned a KLR and a DR650. Both good bikes, wouldnt ride the KLR off the road unless i felt like testing out new body armor. My guess is you are a lot stronger than me, at the same time both the KLR and DR were built for 5'6" Japanese guys to put around, and without some modding they will be a ton of work offroad.

Now theres people in this group who ride a KLR like its RV's factory race machine. It s a great bike for the road and will have way more passing/pick up and go power than the DR on those daily commutes. Both great bikes, thats why my vote is for the XR650L.

My suggestion, ride all of them before you decide.

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I've been looking on CL and there hasn't been many XR650Ls to choose from. This could be that people don't want to give these bikes up without a ton of miles on them. I know new is more expensive but then there is financing for them also. Most dealers are getting about $7k OTD without any haggling and the used ones I've seen have been in the $3500 range with anywhere up to 30k miles on them. So is my thought process here flawed or what?? Get a new bike and ride it for commuting, and out in the Dez (maybe, I'm still not quite sure that I'm going to fully commit to solely riding this in the Dez, never really been on 2 wheels out there). Then when I go to buy my Harley sell the XR (unless I commit to it for the Dez)

Thoughts????

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Don't sell your Harley yet and don't buy anything close to new for your first offroad bike. Buy a bike that's fully depreciated and has been dropped a bunch of times. You should be able to find any number of bikes in the 3-4k range that are already somewhat set up for a tall dude. Don't be afraid to buy something with high miles if it's been well maintained. Ride it until you're sure you want to keep doing it, then sell it for what you paid for it and buy what you really want.

Watch places like ADVrider.com flea market for the good deals, or even better, put up a "WTB, noob" thread and someone will probably help you into a great deal quickly enough. A last generation KLR is an unstoppable tank that can be fixed with baling wire and chewing gum in third world countries; just don't expect it to rip like a motocross bike and you'll do just fine.

FYI I'm 6'5" and have set up my KTM to be very comfortable for tall guys, and you can always get something resprung for your weight, so I wouldn't rule out an older KTM 525 or similar. It's another of those "buy for 3k, ride, sell for 3k" type of propositions.

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BTW, Goofy Footer has an extremely nice DR650 with all the goodies that I'm sure he'd rather sell than store. Contact him and maybe you guys can work something out.

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I don't want to squish a sale, and I think the DR650 is a fine bike for do-almost-anything... but the guy is 6'5"... a DR650 is going to feel like riding a big wheel. Knees in the chest and hands in your lap... the cockpit on the DR is pretty small, even compared to the KLR.

The XRL is taller and longer (feeling anyway). It would still be my first choice for a guy that big. I sold mine for $1800 (is that right Ahmed?) with less than 15,000 miles on it... Mostly stock except for lights and gas tank.

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I'd throw a KLR in the mix, especially with the 50+ mile commute. XR is the most off road capable, and the DR falls somewhere in between.

SEE ABOVE: ENOUGH SAID.

street comfort/commute + fireroad = klr

more offroad = DR

more, more offroad/layout to fit a large person = XR

---- from a guy 6'4", your bike needs to fit your size.

I always buy "tall" seats, handle bar risers, and change springs front and back to match my weight.

It is money well spent.

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VacMan not selling a Harley looking to buy one in the future just don't have nearly enough available $ for one but man I miss riding a bike great stress reliever. I'm just getting impatient always happens when I get set on something and have a little cash in my pocket.

Thanks everyone for the advice I'll try to be more patient and check so other forums for bikes. I'm pretty well settled on the Xr650l

If anyone hears of a deal on an xr650l LMK

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