I've ridden or owned most of the bikes mentioned here. I've ridden an unknowable number of street miles, at least 20,000 miles off-road and have ridden on six continents, from single track to freeways, through all conditions, solo and two-up.
There's been a lot of great advice in this thread. I won't repeat it, but I will point out a few comments that I have found to not be true in those >40 years of riding.
- 2 Up on dirt: My wife and I have ridden many miles off-road two-up on medium size (DRZ400) and big (GS1150A) bikes. To ride off-road two-up, you both need to be able to stand up on the pegs together. (I know your wife doesn't plan to ride, but others will find this thread)
- ABS on 1st bike: You need to learn to ride the bike without artificial aids. Our GS has ABS, but I would never put one of our kids, or anybody else, on an ABS bike as their learning experience.
- Big early: Big, heavy, high center of gravity, large capacity, high seat height, lots of complexity, expensive to repair, etc. are all the enemy of learning to ride and having a good time doing it.
General goodness that I will reinforce and add to:
- Do not get on a bike without excellent riding gear. Buy it all and wear it all. Every time.
- Take an MSF course.
- Street riding is about the other vehicles.
- Cars turning left in front of you will kill you. They kill most of the motorcyclists killed in two vehicle accidents.
- Assume that no one driving any other vehicle on the street sees you. You are invisible to them.
- Get a high beam headlight flasher for your street licensed bike(s). Put one on every bike you ride on the street.
- Being conspicuous is a Very Good Thing. You will increase your life span significantly by wearing brightly colored gear on the street.
- Learn to ride wherever you can. But, you will learn to ride on the dirt. Learning to ride in the dirt will make you a much better street rider.
Starting out:
- Start with a bike that is small enough to stand up and let go. Literally. You'll have a lot more fun and it will be a lot easier to pick up.
- Definitely buy a used bike. Buy something that is already scratched and dented so you don't go through the trauma of putting those on a pristine bike.
- Buy an electric start bike. It will make you a *much* better rider on the dirt. (Make sure any electric start dual sport or dirt bike you buy has a kick start kit on it.)
- Start small. Think 200 or 250. A 350/400 class dual sport bike can be intimidatingly tall and top heavy. Get something small, light and low. While you're learning, being able to put both feet down, especially in rocks, is a Very Good Thing.
- Concentrate on having fun. When you are learning, you will be overloaded with thinking about what you are doing, what you need to do next and what you don't know how to do. The fun starts when you don't have to think so much. The more you add on top of the early learning experience (weight, high center of gravity, high seat height, big trips, intermediate or expert trails, deep sand, silt, luggage, farkles, gear, electronics, cameras, passengers, etc.) you will delay the fun factor. Start with very little. Start with very small rides. Get to the point of fun, fast. Then add little bits, a little at a time.
- Ride with some experienced riders who are patient and who remember what it was like to be a beginner. Guys who roost you and disappear into a cloud of dust are of no help to you. You'll learn more from a patient, experienced rider who puts in some miles and long days with you than any book, video, posts, blogs or ego-challenged hotshot can ever teach you.
Next steps:
- Stand up. Riding off-road is about riding up on the pegs. When you stand up, you lower the center of gravity of the bike dramatically.
- Loosen up. Loosen your grip on the bars. If you feel your arms pumping up or your shoulders and neck getting tight then you are death-gripping the bars. Holding on tighter will not avoid going down. Loosen your grip and let the bars float around in sand, silt and soft surfaces.
- Find some mud (no problem in your area) and some sand (look for sand bars in the rivers) and go ride there. This is why you got a small, light bike, because you are going to pick it up a lot. Stay up on the pegs. In the sand, attack every corner, meaning stick your front wheel in and then whack the throttle to rock the weight of the bike back onto the rear wheel and pivot the bike around the corner. Crash. Pick up. Ponder. Repeat.
- Learn to steer the bike with your hips and the throttle. You'll understand what I mean when it happens.
- Get comfortable with both ends of the bike sliding in a corner. (This is one of the many ways learning to ride the dirt makes you a better street rider.)
Always:
- Remember there are two types of riders: Those who have been down and those who will go down.
- Pavement is very hard and it hurts.
- It's not the crash that hurts, it's the sudden stop at the end.
- Look where you want to go. If you focus on that rock/pothole/wet manhole cover you want to avoid, you will hit it. Look where you want to go and you will go there.
- All the important controls are in your right hand.
And, most importantly:
- It's not about the bike; it's about the experiences.
I look forward to riding with you someday.
Doug
