Which bike....dual sport edition

Docwemple said:

Unless you're going for a light weight,  extremely nimble bike, BMW has been and continues to be king. End of story.  They've been used all over the globe and have endured ridiculous punishment. IMO the r1150gs is the best. Extremely rugged, tons of available mods and will last a lifetime. If tlyou want to see the insane ruggedness of these bike look at 2ridetheworld. 

Big GS's are BIG. Not for beginners. Expensive. And the reliability isn't necessarily all that on the later model stuff. 

The only small GS is the new 310 and that's not the bike to choose in that segment.  The best small bore dual sports are thumpers, whether that's a WR250R, DRZ400, DR650, then stepping up to the KTM 690/701 if you're a more advanced rider.  For dual cylinder, not beginner bikes, the Yamaha T7 and new Aprilia Toureg are very attractive.

Cheap KLR

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In reply to ddavidv :

Sorry to disagree,  but I do. The reliability is as good as any bike on the market. They are easy to ride. Heavy,  sure. But incredibly well balanced. My r1150gs isnt much tougher to keep upright than my old tl125 and certainly easier to ride than my Husky xc430. And they will do anything you ask. 

In reply to docwyte :

I'm 6'4" and fit the 310, fwiw. Don't ignore the F series from BMW. A 650 Dakar is quite capable. 

In reply to Docwemple :

F650 Dakar was my first bike.  They haven't made them in awhile, not sure how easy they are to find now.  It was....fine?  I mean, it does it all, just not with a ton of character or performance.  After a short while I was left wanting.

In reply to docwyte :

I have one in the garage now as my city bike. 2006 F650GS Dakar. It's got aftermarket suspension on it and overall it's pretty good. I mean for what I paid for it, it's a rock star but if I was back in Colorado at the old house, I would be wanting for something more too.

It's great to mess around in the Ozarks but I could just see it being very weezy at altitude. The thing is very simple for a BMW so I expect to have it for a long time as at 27K miles, it's not even broke in. 

Looking at current pricing, there is much better options out there. Most are double what I paid for mine a year or so ago. 

If you want hp, go old school 2 stroke, like my Husky. If you want nuance and reliability then BMW. Most dual-purpose bikes just aren't.  They either perform on road or off. Tire choice is critical too. Again,  my gs isn't a light weight and wouldn't go motocrossing with it, but for logging roads, wide trails and so on, it's great, AND you get there in comfort.

I think it really depends more on the weight of the bike.  If you want an under 400lb dual sport, then yeah, you're going to suffer a bit on the interstate.  My KTM690 is the best unicorn under 400lb dual sport there is, but mine is far from stock.  If you're willing to have a 450lb dual sport, then there are quite a few options out there like the Yamaha T7, Aprilia Toureg (my current lust), KTM 790/890 etc.  450lbs is still more than I care to lift off road, where I ride here in Colorado.  The high mtn passes here are loose, rocky, tight switchbacks and generally technical and the 75+lbs more that a T7/Toureg weigh too much of a trade off for me for their improved road manners.

If your off road riding isn't nearly as technical as what I'm doing, or you're a better rider than me (which isn't hard to be!) than the middle weight T7/Toureg might be perfect for you.