Dual sport bike for a noob? (Learn me content)

So since the weekend I've been thinking semi seriously about getting a bike. At best the actual purchase would be a year out, so I'm starting the daydreaming/learning phase.

From what I've read so far, the type of bike I'd be interested in seems to be a dual sport bike. I've always called them enduros, but what evs.

Being a total noob, I'm thinking small bore would be good to start with. But I'd like to be able to grow into it and not be bored with it as my skills build. Is there such a bike/displacement?

And then there's the learning to ride part. Initially I'm thinking of taking it out on remote dirt roads up north where our cabin is. I haven't looked yet, but I'm sure there are more places to go that are more local to me. Then after I get comfortable with it maybe venture out on small road trips locally. Does this seem to be a good approach?

I've ridden a motorcycle exactly twice, twenty years ago. It was in a Saturday/Sunday motorcycle safety course. I passed the course and never did anything else.

Any advice?

Advice? Take another MSF course .

The main problem with enduro bikes is that you want something small and light for off-road and something like a 650 thumper for on-road so you don't get flattened by the first semi you encounter. With your plan I'd start small and stay off the highways - after all, skierd managed to ride a Yamaha 250 all the way to Alaska.

In reply to BoxheadTim:

Thank you! That is good advice.

Freeways are the last place I would want to be. If the bike goes any kind of distance to be ridden, it would be on a trailer until I get there.

What displacement would be a good place to start?

I ride a TW200 which is basically a Yamaha XT but with super fat tires. 65 is about max speed, and anything faster wouldn't feel real comfortable anyways. Around town and up trails, the low gearing gives it good grunt so it never really feels too under powered, and it keeps up with traffic. And it feels light and nimble making trails easier. So if your intended use is similar, then 200-250 would probably work well for you.

Do you want a motorcycle to ride off-road and only on road to get there or do you want a bike to ride everywhere that is competent on dirt/gravel roads?

My first dualsport was an old XT600- big aircooled kickstart only thumper. It was also my only mode of transportation for a while in college. Size depends on the trails you want to ride, the XT was great for dirt roads, service roads, and two track, but horrible for singletrack and woods stuff. My DRZ rallybike is the same way... and I'd make you a deal if you wanted it

It sounds like you could get away with nearly anything with a plate for your intended use, with decent tires even an old standard or sportbike can handle the odd dirt or gravel road here and there. I'm partial to old aircooled singles and twins due to simplicity and ease of maintenance.

Something like this would do everything you need and more without being too powerful: dr350

Even the "big" dual sports aren't scary powerful as long as you stay away from the street legal MX bikes- honestly the weight and height will be more of a challenge than the throttle will be.

An older single cylinder air cooled bike is light weight, simple to work on, and typically very reliable. At ~200 cc it will be quite light and not overly tall, which is darn nice for a newbie, and for getting mildly adventurous where you might have to drag the bike around. Also, at ~200 cc it will be perfectly capable of riding into town and such, but not be happy on a highway.

Very generically, 2 strokes are more hyper, 4 strokes are more doscile. This is more true as you go older. There certainly are exceptions.

Another very generic statement is water cooled bikes are heavier and bit more delicate with regards to falling down.

Front disc brakes are very worthwhile. Doubt you're going to be going old enough to find front drums. Front drums do work, but not nearly as well as front discs.

A generic street type UJM will also work in the dirt, but not as well. Not nearly as well on trails, but on dirt roads, they can do fine. Tires are the issue, and make sure you can get a dual sport or knobbyish tire in the particular bikes size.

Don't neglect personal protection gear just to buy a nicer bike. Dirt biking involves falling a whole lot more than street biking. Branches on trees and shrubs can also tear up the unguarded eye going down a trail. So budget for a helmet, eye protection, knee and elbow pads, gloves and boots.

Dual sports are much taller and have a higher center of gravity. That generally means, as a new rider, you're going to fall. For strictly dirt and trail work, anything older from 125 up to 250cc should fit the bill. Like Fox stated, don't scimp on gear.

I will add "back protector" and possibly a neck brace to foxtrapper's gear list. I've had my back saved more than once by my back brace when crashing at speed on dirt- in one instance it spread the load enough that my entire back was bruised, it would have been nasty if all of that force had gone into just a few vertebrae. They're also required equipment for RallyMoto, which we all know is the real reason you're looking into this

I like the DRZ400 as a town/trail ride and even a supermoto track bike. It's light, reasonably quick, super-easy to maneuver too. I've been shopping for one because my oldest (16) wants to learn to ride and it would make a nice 2nd bike for me as well, but I have failed to buy one 3x now though because people really beat the snot out of them around here before they sell them off.

I'm starting to think new might be the only way to get one that isn't in need of a complete overhaul.

In reply to Huckleberry:

See here my ad on ADV: DRZ

But mine probably isn't set up well to be a starter bike- it's tall, has a 1/4 turn throttle, and is more powerful than your typical DRZ. Also geared absurdly high but that's an easy fix.

We just picked up a Yamaha XT250 for my wife. I expected to dislike it and write it off as a putter/pit bike. But it is surprisingly excellent. We sprung for a Fuel Injected model.

Super low seat height, around 31" I think. Great power delivery. Feels way lighter than it should, but that might be because I tower over it.

I would definitely recommend one to a newb.

We also picked up a WR250X for me. Only got the X because I got tired of waiting for a user R to come up.

It's a blast, but I will say that the power delivery is a bit choppy and it's difficult to ride smoothly. I think there's some free fixes for this, though. Other than that it's exactly what I thought it would be.

I have a klr 250 that I have had for several months. If you don't mind a kickstart only bike, it is great dual sport.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: RallyMoto, which we all know is the real reason you're looking into this

You are exactly right! Ultimately I hope I will end up doing rally moto.

But, I have to start somewhere that won't end up leaving me or the bike severely broken . Hence the baby steps approach.

This is all great advice, thank you all for the input! Honestly I didn't even really know what kind of bike to look for, as well as protective gear. Now I have some ideas.

I vote WR250R. Only because that's what I want.

For cheap gear, craigslist and ADVrider classifieds are the places to look- I'd still go to your local Cycle Gear store to see what fits you though. If you want to run RallyMoto, buy stuff that's legal the first time, so full length MX boots rather than short ones, Snell helmet, etc.

As far as riding in the dirt and safety - you need blunt force impact protection from rocks on all the major joints, chest and back but the biggest one is boots. You don't need to actually fall off the bike to smash your feet to bits. For trail riding - full MX boots only. If we are talking mild stuff like improved gravel/dirt or forest roads you can use anything from high top work boots to what is now called "Adventure Boots" (which makes me laugh every time I hear it).

I'm a pretty experienced road rider (100k+ miles, although I've cut back on riding since moving over here) with zero off road experience. I did take the DR650 I used to own off road once before deciding that it's way too heavy for someone who doesn't know what they're doing.

I'd look at 125cc-250cc to start with as well.

I 2nd the DRZ400 suggestion. I'm not a noob to two wheels, I rode/raced motocross for 16 years, but haven't ridden much street. Picked up my Moto permit a couple months ago and went trail riding on my dad's DRZ. I loved it because I'm comfortable with the ergonomics of a moto-x bike. Didn't take it much over 65 on the short freeway trip, but it handled fine at speed. Powerful enough to get you on the freeway but good size for off-road. Hopped on my brother's KLR650 and that thing felt massive (but very stable).

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: In reply to Huckleberry: See here my ad on ADV: DRZ But mine probably isn't set up well to be a starter bike- it's tall, has a 1/4 turn throttle, and is more powerful than your typical DRZ. Also geared absurdly high but that's an easy fix.

No can see the linky yet- just joined that site.

Maybe I can scrape enough money together by, oh, say, September 16th (wink, wink)! Just kidding...

mith612 wrote: I ride a TW200 which is basically a Yamaha XT but with super fat tires. 65 is about max speed, and anything faster wouldn't feel real comfortable anyways. Around town and up trails, the low gearing gives it good grunt so it never really feels too under powered, and it keeps up with traffic. And it feels light and nimble making trails easier. So if your intended use is similar, then 200-250 would probably work well for you.

The T dub gets my vote as well. I've been really tempted to snag a cheap one because they look like a really fun yard/field/trail bike!

In reply to ¯_(ツ)_/¯:

That looks like a good deal for somebody looking to hoon up the dirt but I'm more interested in a non-threatening looking (for mom's sake) stock S model. I will pass that link on to others though.

I looked for a DRZ400 for quite awhile, but wasn't able to find one under $5k around here. I ended up with a much cheaper (but heavier) DR650 - I like it and it's decent for commuting to work at 55mph and does fine on forest service roads and 2 tracks. I wish it had a 6th gear for highway cruising. Definitely not great for single track, but it's also not that much heaver than a DRZ400.

I really want to talk myself into a CRF250L, but they're still kinda expensive since they're pretty new.

This is great info, thank you to all!

I have an email out for a local riding safety class. It only looks to be $25, so that's a win win.

I've read of a few cases where a dirt bike was made road legal with a lighting "kit". Would this open up any advantages for me?