Changing from street/sport to Dual sport motorcycle riding?

[greg vess]

I wish they could make a four-stroke motor that revved and pulled like a two-stroke. I bought my YZ80 from the dealer and it was owned by the dealer's son and he raced it. They had souped that sucker up for him and I bought it after they freshened up the engine. I could throttle that thing in the front end would come off the ground in a second and when that two-stroke Power band kicked in you better look out because it would dump you like a big Elsinore. I want that kind of power band in a dual sport. Now I know I'm just dreaming here but it sure would be nice. You get the best of both worlds with the two-stroke you can Cruise or you can rip the ground up like a plow. I'm afraid to get the power that I want I'm going to have to get one of those big bikes but that kind of defeats the purpose of an off-road rig. You want it to be light and nimble but to do that you sacrifice power. I guess I could go the full dirt bike route but that defeats the purpose of getting one to save gas on quick back and forth runs to the store.

 

[greg vess]

I could go in and do head and valve work, exhaust, carb and gear reduction sprockets to increase snap and acceleration but motorcycle parts are high as a kite.

 

[DirtySouth]

If you want performance in a small lightweight package, get a KTM 350 EXC-F or the 500 EXC-F. Something more Road friendly is the 690 Enduro.

More power than you’ll use on any dirt on the east coast. The KTM’s shine because they come with all of the good stuff that you’ll have to add to any of the Japanese bikes. Come from the factory with aftermarket suspension, pegs, bars and are a lot lighter than the their Japanese counterparts.

Flip side is they may require more maintenance, performance usually does and they are more expensive.

 

[FreezeDryGuy]

Holy crap, for some reason I either missed or didn't get notifications for these responses. Gonna have to read through it

 

[FreezeDryGuy]

Biker who broke leg in crash in north Georgia mountains survived on creek water for 8 days

In those eight days in the woods, he endured storms and shivered through below-freezing nights.

www.wsbtv.com

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — A Forsyth County man is recovering after he was stranded for eight days in the north Georgia mountains after crashing his motorcycle.

Kirk Wintersteen, 68, of Cumming was riding his bike home from Suches on March 25 when he lost control on a dirt road in the Chattahoochee National Forest.

“That bike came out from under me and landed on the back of my leg,” he said from his room at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. “I couldn’t use one good leg to pick up the bike and slide my leg out. It was caught somehow.”

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This guy's from my town. Another biker told me he knows this guy was riding a Suzuki V-Strom, so that would be an adventure type bike regarded as a fine choice for dirt "roads" (trails).

Good reason to ride with someone or leave your plans so someone will miss you if you don't report in at X time. Even when I'd day trip to the mountains, I'd tell my wife expect me home by 5

 

[FreezeDryGuy]

Tellico got closed
Parsons branch got closed
The USFS has closed just about every road


I’ve not seen that site before , I checked out a few locations I’m familiar with

Gravelmap makes no distinction between hiking trails and trails where motorcycles are allowed

Why did they close the roads, isn't it public land?

 

[Ken Ford]

Always wanted true dual sport. But alas the budget is only so large and drag race parts are expensive. But I’ll like try someday!

 

[basstracker89]

KTM seems to be a nice bike. I ride a KLR 650. I do like a twin over a single. At @260lbs, my weight, the KLR does fine. Just a little under powered going up really steep inclines off road. That's the only power issues I've noticed

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

Good reason to ride with someone or leave your plans so someone will miss you if you don't report in at X time. Even when I'd day trip to the mountains, I'd tell my wife expect me home by 5

Well, this guy's wife DID call the cops and report him missing a couple hours after dark on Day1, when he had only been trapped at the end of that dead-end dirt road for a few hours. She told the cops what city he had been visiting and suggested some probable routes he might have taken to head toward home.

Cops started searching that night, and both cops and volunteers from the local motorcycle / ATV / dirtbike community searched "the area" for him for the next week, and never found him.

Some guys who were NOT looking for him ending up finding him by accident (or Divine intervention) on the 8th day.

BOTTOM LINE: The only way he would have been better off by telling friends / relatives of his plans would have been to be more specific about what roads he would be taking and what cities he expected to pass through, to better focus the search area. Then, of course, he'd have to stick to the plans he made, not get lost, and not choose to explore new roads that aren't part of his "flight plan."

 

[oic123]

Check out the WR250R. Not to be confused with the WR250F, completely different (still great) bike. With the pipe and programmer most would have ~30ish HP. Plenty for FS roads. 2008-2022, All years were the same, share all the aftermarket and oem parts. A big bonus. 26k valve check

Adjustable for rebound and compression upfront, fork caps to adjust preload are cheap and effective. 1" adjustable rear, preload and rebound (one of the few issues with this bike) and compression are the same screw on the rear. Its not KTM quality but better than you'd think. You will need springs to get it really right.

I have approx 40K on mine, Never burned any oil, valves never out of spec. Ridden all over the SE and Midwest camping. I avoid the interstate in my truck so really go out of my way on the bikes but I have had to and it will do 75-80 MPH if geared correctly.

And thats another thing, they made a SM version WR250X 2008-09. I have a set of oem wheels and brake from the MC to caliper, Changing from dirt wheels to sticky street tires about 45 mins and I work slow. Too much fun. Every ride is like a James Bond chase scene.

Gearing is critical to getting this bike right for you and how you are riding. Lots of info on this.

The one thing to watch out for, the chain can and will grind through the underside where it connects to the frame. There is a slider (maintenance item) that gets worn and then its aluminum. Not good. I have seen a few chewed up but nothing catastrophic. Just look for that when looking at used.

Obviously Im a fan, 90% of the performance of some others with zero of the ownership hassles.