NO EXPERIENCE WITH MOTORCYCLES. LOOKING FOR HELP

[Buliwyf]

Hehe. But seriously, I hate all of the Adventure bikes on the highway. Only the big BMW and KTM Aventure 990 get a pass for freeway use from me.

I chose a Suzuki DRZ400S. Way better offroad than the GS800, KTM Adventure 990, and KLR type bikes I was originally looking at. But I avoid the highways with it. Just dirt, gravel and 55mph back roads usually. Generally, I'd recommend avoiding freeways on a budget beater bike.

My top picks:
If you can get to work without the highway: DRZ400.
If you can cross out the "Gravel roads and camping" bit: Get a naked street bike.
Do it all, but with a bike that sucks offroad: KTM Adventure 990.

 

[AZ ADVenturist]

As long as we are still voting on this I'll second or 3rd on DR650.
But, for pure mystic & classic moto -consider R100 GS they can be got for $4k and will never lose a dime if maintained properly.

 

[thedjjack]

course and look at insurance rates...

for me in BC 400cc bike insure like scooters and 400+cc bikes insure like superbikes....

 

[Ozarker]

So I just convinced my wife that a motorcycle would be an efficient means of commuting to work but i have really no experience with them. I had a dirt bike when i was 10 and that was 20 years ago. I would like to find something that is more suited for highway riding and highway speeds that is an upright bike but can handle itself on gravel when we go camping. Im looking for a smaller bike, 650ish, I liked the bmw g650 GS but if there is another good choice out there i would love to hear about it. My budget is around $4000 or so. Any help would be appreciated.

Get a Honda XR 650L, street legal, bullet proof, within your budget and you can add stuff to it as you like. Get some adventure tires if it has knobbies, must L's will have dual sport tires I'd think. You don't want off road tires on the pavement especially when wet.

 

[Wiley]

I have a feeling he has made up his mind by now.



MSF Course...then focus on a bike.

 

[T.Low]

MSF course + underpowered beater bike until you learn what you are doing.

Yes.

I'd even recommend an xr 250 /wr250 for a diligent season of off roading practice. The bigger the bike, the most costly the learning curve, in terms of both dollars and bones.