Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire DualSport/SuperMoto riders

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.

Not sure if this would sway anyone’s recommendations but I’ll be buying a used bike. Most I’m looking at are under 10000 miles or so

Not sure if this would sway anyone’s recommendations but I’ll be buying a used bike. Most I’m looking at are under 10000 miles or so

Your timing for that is perfect. Buy motorcycles, convertibles & boats in the winter. Buy snow blowers, snow plows & snow mobiles in the summer.

For 80/20 street vs dirt I would take the KLX/DRZ400-SM over my KLR650 any day.

Consider The Mighty DR, Suzuki's DR650. It's bulletproof with a ton of aftermarket support. I put Pro Taper bars, a bash plate, billet levers, Acerbis bark busters, Intiminators, OEM rack, etc, on mine. The Australians do some crazy stuff with them:

Great suggestion. Only thing I don’t like about them is the boxy old school look to them, but I can get over that

I’m hunting for my first street legal bike and I’m mainly looking at bikes like the Suzuki Vstrom, Triumph Tiger, Yamaha Tenere, Aprilia Dorsoduro, Kawasaki KLR/KLX, Ducati Hypermotard, Multistrada and Scrambler.... as you can see there is a crossover/dual sport theme here...

I expect to be nearly all road riding but would enjoy the ability to rip around if I want to on some roads and trails. Not technical single tracks, just dirt roads and trails. There will be some highway use so it can’t be a slow bike but I don’t need a rocket.

Let’s hear some feedback on these bikes. What are some regrets you had after your first purchase that you wish you considered before buying that first bike? What are repair costs like on them? Overall durability? General advice is appreciated too

Edit: I also looked at supermotos but I’d imagine you cant ride for any real length of time on those. I’m sure it’s a blast for hour or so rips, more than that and I think my ass would hurt

EDIT2: I should note that I’m 5 foot 11 and 220 pounds.

Or, you could just get what actually gets the blood flowing. This was the last Duc that I owned...sure loved that bike.

Hey Paul, a buddy of mine had a Versys when I had the Wee-Strom, and he liked it very much. I never rode it but he had a lot of fun on it.

Or, you could just get what actually gets the blood flowing. This was the last Duc that I owned...sure loved that bike.