We finally got two dual sports
Mo and I are very recent to motorcycles and extremely recent to dual sports. We do have a long history of bicycling, both on and off road, but motors are WAY different.
I bought a Victory Cross Country Tour last October and have really enjoyed it but we enjoy being back country much more than pavement. So we thought we would consider two dual sports. We first thought that two BMWs would be great but after going to the BMW shop and seeing what it was going to cost for a 1200 GSA and a 700 GS, we thought we might be better off looking at something smaller and less expensive. The problem, as I am sure that all of you know is that it's hard to find a dual sport that will fit a shorter rider. After going to the International Motorcycle Show in Phoenix we say a Suzuki DR 650 that was factory lowered and Mo could fit on it and have both feet on the ground. Not flat footed but she still had a position that she was comfortable with.
We got home and started looking for a DR 650 for her and a Kawasaki KLR for me. I found a KLR within driving distance and she found a DR in Texas and we had it shipped out.
Here is Mo's 2008 DR 650. It has upgraded suspension front and rear and a lot of additional parts.
The fork tubes are slid up the the triple clamps and the internal fork spacer changed out to lower the front even more. The rear spacer has been moved from top to bottom of the shock, there by allowing the rear to drop down significantly. The Sargeant low seat and the low kick stand and it is ready to go. The changes brought it down about four inches. When we first got it, Mo couldn't even touch the ground or get near it. By the way, Mo is about 5'4".
As you can see by the pictures, the bike is a lot lower than stock but even with my big butt on it, it doen't bottom out. At least not on the trails that I took it on today. Certainly nothing very severe. I think it is going to work for her pretty well.
Here is my KLR. It's a 2011 and has very low miles on it. The suspension seems very soft and I plan to upgrade as time and money allow. I have been riding it to work and I take a dirt trail back home every day. It's really a romp to get to play on the way home.
So now the fun starts as we upgrade and try out different set ups for camping. I still have all my gear from our bicycle touring so that should work fine. Just need the bags to carry the stuff in.
Mikey
