KLR650's for a couple new to adventure riding?

prerunner221

Adventurer
The wife and I have really enjoyed going out and exploring in my FJ the last few years, but we're looking to try something new. Adventure riding seems to fit the bill for us. Due to us being new to this part of the hobby and riding in general we don't want to spend a fortune and go buy 2 BMW GS's. Looking around online it looks like a pair of KLRs with basic upgrades will fit the bill for us without breaking the bank and would be a good choice to get our feet wet.

We're both going to go get our motorcycle endorsements, and will both be riding in full gear when we go out.

Can anyone make recommendations on gear and equipment? What about the bikes themselves? I know they are on the heavy side, but from a couple guys I know that have them it seems to be a non issue. My wife is about 5'6" and is in very good shape, so I'm hoping it won't be too big for her.
 

Ozrockrat

Expedition Leader
kLRs would be OK but can be a bit of a handful in the dirt. DR650s tend to be better for the dirt but not as good on the road. BMW 650s are available at reasonable prices these days.

But depending on what sort of travel you are thinking of doing you could go with smaller and lighter bikes.

I have sold off all my GS's, KLRs and DRs and now have a TW200 for my dirt fun but it's definitely not a "ride a lot of pavement to get to the trail/track" type of bike.

Oh and for gear. MuskoMoto for soft bags and Jesse Luggage for hard bags. Wolf man seem to have the pick of tank bags. Keep your gear to a minimum.

I am the last person to ask about riding gear. I always buy 2nd hand BMW stuff (no longer in fashion ) and it has never let me down. Some of the RTW travelers that have stayed with us swear by Klim and others swear at it. I would probably steer clear of the cheaper stuff from Cycle Gear if possible as I have seen some quality issues with it but if comes down to that or jeans etc then go with the cycle gear stuff.

Big thing is to try it on before you buy it and be totally honest with yourself when working out what riding you will be doing then work out what gear you need. Buy the best boots you can afford especially if you will be walking in them. Make sure you try boots on before buying.

Ok essay mode over. Hope it helps.
 
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haven

Expedition Leader
Ditto on the "large and heavy for a novice" comment. Buy a couple of used dual-sport 250s or 185s to learn. After a couple of months of riding you'll have a better idea what you want/need. You'll be able to sell the small displacement bikes for what you paid for them.
 

JPR4LFE

Adventurer
One thing to note is that the KLR 650 is very tall right out of the gate. I am 5'10" and still run the stock seat on my KLR650, and I cannot flat foot it at stop lights, and it also makes it a bit less confident on dirt tracks. An aftermarket seat that rides lower would go a long ways, and they do make lowering kits (you do have to shorten your kick stand as well). To me it seems like the KLR650 would treat a novice well on pavement and forest roads as the power is very manageable and does highway speeds with confidence, but for anything more technical/challenging it is pretty heavy for a novice. It is something you could work up to though, and I do think they are really fun bikes at a great price. If you both intend to ride more technical terrain in the beginning, seek something smaller/lighter to get better acquainted with and then work your way up.
 

Mud Dawg

Observer
Ditto on the "large and heavy for a novice" comment. Buy a couple of used dual-sport 250s or 185s to learn. After a couple of months of riding you'll have a better idea what you want/need. You'll be able to sell the small displacement bikes for what you paid for them.

^^^^This

Best advice you'll get in this thread
 

prerunner221

Adventurer
Guess I should have updated this.

I ended up buying a Honda CRF250L Rally ABS for myself and a Yamaha XT250 for my wife. I got my licence a couple weeks ago and have been riding as much as possible on both the street and off road. The long stretches of deep, loose sand have been challenging. The bike rides nice on the street, but between me being super new to riding and the stock tires not being great off road the bike is a lot to handle.

My wife gets her license next weekend and we just plan to pack on mileage. We will reevaluate the bikes in a year or so and see if these small dual sports still work for the riding we intend to do or not. Thanks for the suggestions.
 

prerunner221

Adventurer
The CRF250L Rally has been a blast for me. I've done a few mods to make it better for the kind of riding I do and I've put around 1,500 miles on it, half off road and half on. I like the bike for what it is, but it is tall, heavy and not geared properly for the riding I like to do. I'm ordering a new lower Seat Concepts seat for it to hopefully help a little, I've installed a 13T up front to regear (which made a nice difference) and changed tires (which made a huge difference). Still, the bike is heavy and under powered. I'm keeping it for a while longer, but it will eventually be replaced with something along the lines of a KTM or Husky 350.

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The XT250 originally bought for my wife has turned into my offroad only bike. She rides it once in a while, but just to keep it running right it has to be taken out more than she's going to. She refuses to ride on the streets, which means towing it somewhere for her to ride, which wouldn't be a big deal accept we have nowhere to keep a trailer at the house. I take it out when I'm just going to be riding offroad. The bike is lower than the Rally, lighter than the rally and has torque lower in its rev range, making it better for me in the sand. I enjoy riding it on the street too, but it's no speed demon, even compared to the Rally. It has better off road feel, but worse on road manners. When she does get to take it out she enjoys herself and it gives us something to do together.

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tatanka48

Active member
the XT-250 is the streetable model of Yamaha's TTR-230 which is a platform i rode while the grandkids were learning on the smaller TTR's

once the granddaughter went on to other activities i got the grandson a 230 for strictly dirt w/ me

on his 15th B-day i got an XT 250(same frame same engie as the 230) for him to ride to school and do some back roading w/ me on my DR-350

IF the XT-250 is fun for you off road and back roading you might consider stepping up to a Suzuki DRZ-400

the DRZ-400 is simply the newer rendition of Suzy's DR-350 and it is a water pumper where the older 350 was air cooled

i weigh 275# + gear and the old '99 DR-350 packed my larduss bottomuss maximuss well enough up to about 60mph(225 mile days were enuff) with my weekend pack on the tail rack tank bag and Giant Loop bags over the seat

having had 2-KLR's a GS-1100 a V-Strom(650) the DR-350 & a Ural w/ a hack(amongst MANY others) i can honestly say that being in complete control is far more important than being able to run highway speeds

there is a pair of what'z called DOG BONES that will allow you to lower most of the mono-shock skoots w/o affecting handling if installed properly and the proper adjustments are made to the front fork positioning

DUAL SPORT TYRES like come stock on the XT-250 the V-Strom and the GS-1100(now a 1250) are all the aggression i want to ride on the highway

buzzing down highways on dirt rated tyres aint no picnic(your butt gets numb in short order)

as mentioned above ^^^ you need to be brutally honest with yourself about where and what type of riding you are really likely to do

otherwise you are going to be wasting your money on something you don't end up enjoying and therefore end up leaving in the garage for the fuel to get wonky

just this old man's 2¢ worth this morning

T
 

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