I thought this thread just died an ugly death but guess not yet. I thought of two other considerations for you. I know you didn't ask about them, but they would be important to me.
Do you ride with anyone else? Do you have any social purpose for riding? You didn't mention it and mostly described a loner thing. I think you can see that if you ride with anyone else or want to, there is value in compatibility in terms of the roads you go on and the pace you share. There's really a whole lot to the social aspect in so many ways. Among other things, bikes are an "identity" thing for a lot of people.
More practically, the clothes you'll wear are a major factor in your enjoyment. On a dirt bike, you probably wear a helmet with goggles, a jersey maybe with a chest protector, trail pants, mx-style boots and gloves. None of this is any good at 50+mph over pavement. Regular street clothes are also worthless. Even if you wear a motorcycle jacket, cotton jeans don't provide any protection. When you ride on the street, the only way to protect yourself is with a two-piece motorcycling suit or a one-piece suit in either leather or Cordura. You'll also want a back protector, road boots and a helmet with a face-shield. Unlike dirt bikes where you sit over them and often stand up on the pegs, on almost every style of street bike you sit in them and hump the gas tank. The only kind of streetbike where you don't hump the gas tank is the foot-forward, ape-hangar cruiser style. Because you will be bent in the middle with your crotch to belly up against the tank, regular street clothes with belts and jackets with a long front are awfully uncomfortable. If you have a bigger belly, it's even worse. I'm not judging your body type, but you won't want to add bunched up clothing into that bend. One-piece suits are by far the most comfortable because they don't have the overlapping double layers where you're bent. I always wore leather, but I never get hot and rode in a climate where rain was rare. A suit from Aerostich or Klim might be better for some climates. To me, the bike and the suit are a package deal. I might like the way a bike looks standing away from it, but once I've figured out all the apparel that works best with it, I might find myself down a path in a direction I didn't want to go.
Last edited by Western_Juniper; 02/27/21.
