Long time bike industry guy/dealer here.

Owned a heavily modded WR250R..not really enjoyable on the highway at all for any length of time. The Honda CRF250L is a tuuuuuurd, city/beginner bike for sure. KTM is out due to the pain in the ass of servicing/parts.

It's above your price range a little bit but it sounds like you need a Yamaha Tenere 700 based on what you're wanting to do.

Can't help you with bike choices, but in my older age and solo-oriented riding style, the only thing I've learned to do on my dual-sports is go to 70/30 street oriented tires. The majority of riding always seems to end up being mostly street miles and the asphalt comfort and noise reduction of road-oriented tires is huge. The really good off-road oriented tires would get me much further in the dirt exploration, unfortunately at my older age and the fact I like to ride solo, the really good off road tires have the ability to easily get me too deep into trouble while not being good enough make up for my personal lack of skill to get me back out of trouble. Sticking to more street oriented tires gives me lots of warnings far earlier that it's time to turn around on the off-road trails.

Contrary to all of the above comments I have found KTM (which is something I currently race and so need lots and lots of parts, so big experience base) on par with Yamaha and Suzuki for parts and only a bit behind Honda (all of which I also race and order thousands of dollars of parts annually). On a current model its perfectly fine. You could not get me on a superhighway with any of the choices you propose. The only real safety advantage of a motorcycle is negated completely when you are flat out. You need to find the money to go up a grade in capabilities and displacement for the use you want. OR find a used bike like the BMW or the KLR or KTM.

KLR650

The TransAmerica Trail on WR250R's



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i6gVoKvt6s

Can The WR250R Cruise On The Highway? Lets Find Out!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-gxJ9Ob1YE

To be honest I solved my off road/on road dilemma by getting a CRF250l and setting it up more for offroad and getting a used Kawasaki Versys more set up for road. It's hard to make one bike do everything, the limiting factor mainly being tires.

The Versys is my distance amd camping on dirt/gravel road rig, I let air out of the tires offroad if needed and reinflate when I go back to highway.

The CRF250l has 85/10 dirt/street tires. I ride it around town on errands, and short distances non freeway to riding spots but otherwise trailer it. I could replace this with a real dirt bike, but for my skills the CRF250l is fine and gives me another bike to use on the street.

Morning all,

Thanks for the replies. I work Saturdays so I couldn’t respond. Still wish I could find out more about the KTM’s off-road capabilities. I really like the Yamaha. Got an eye opener at a dealership yesterday. 2 vastly different out the door quotes. $8550 and $9710. The latter is 60% over the $6100 price! The shenanigans they play with freight, assembly, and doc fees is disgusting.

I’m headed. Out to the desert (truck) but will respond more thoroughly tonight or tomorrow morning.

quote:

Originally posted by nmsu:
We use Seat Concepts "comfort" seats on our dual sports and they are excellent. You can get them in high/standard/low versions. Only issue is they are expensive at $300 but worth it.

https://seatconcepts.com/produ...&variant=20645371462

Only $180 for my 2020 XT250. I just redid mine last week.

The Honda is now 300cc, uses the 300cc street bike engine, a nice upgrade in power.

The brand new KLR650 is fuel injected and water cooled. It might be just the ticket.

The bike you really want it the Yamaha Tenere 700, it sounds like.

I saw an article comparing the new Honda 300cc to the new Kawasaki 300cc, and the Kawasaki was down on power and the Honda was notably more powerful...

quote:

The bike you really want it the Yamaha Tenere 700

Around here there is a waiting list for the Tenere 700 at all the dealers within 100 miles. At least one dealer marked them up $1000 over MSRP none of them are budging on the extra fees. I have not been able to even sit on one since they are sold before they get them in, LOL. The Tenere 700 seems to be HOT right now.

To the OP, MSRP is $6699 for the 2020 WR250R but it looks like there will not be a 2021 WR250R now. So dealers may getting what they can out of them. Dual Sports are really hot right now. Many models were sold out in 2020. There was none around at local dealers around here in December 2020 except 5 figure husqvarna and KTMs when a friend was looking around.

I have a crf250L and I drive it all over souther Arizona back roads and over some pretty technical stuff. If you buy one you’ll need to plan on upgrading sprockets, tires, and suspension for sure. Plan B would include fuel programmer, exhaust, and intake.
I upgraded mine and it’s not longer a turd. I can go easily up past 70mph but the aerodynamics aren’t steady at that speed.

quote:

Originally posted by KBobAries:
I have the same hesitation about the CRF300 and KLX300 as the KTM. Both are new and I prefer a 2nd or 3rd year model after any kinks are worked out.

They aren't clean-sheet-of-paper new. They're upgrades of long proven motorcycles.

Thanks for all the replies. It's been a chaotic week and I'm coming home exhausted. FWIW, I don't want to ride at 80mph. I want a bike that will do 75 or 80 so that I can cruise in the slow lane at 65/70 without it being wide open.

quote:

Originally posted by Jelly: I've had a dual sport bike around since the mid 70s. I like the smaller ones myself, the 500 - 650 singles were always a big pig when you got them offroad. The power is better but the weight really really hurts offroad.

I'am older than you LOL. I own a number of bike two are the CRF250L and the WR250R. My CRF250L weighs about 25 pounds more than the WR250R and I can tell it when I'am off road in rougher stuff. I take both out on the freeway, but run in the slow lane about 55 - 65 MPH. My WR250R will do about 87-88 MPH the CRF250L 79-80 MPH both with stock gearing...

Thanks Jelly, very helpful along with the videos you posted after the above. That's a lot of experience behind that opinion. Some of the precipices along the edge of the road on the TransAmerica Trail gave me the willies just watching. The second one clinched it for me at 80+mph.

quote:

Originally posted by Xer0: ...but in my older age and solo-oriented riding style, the only thing I've learned to do on my dual-sports is go to 70/30 street oriented tires. The majority of riding always seems to end up being mostly street miles and the asphalt comfort and noise reduction of road-oriented tires is huge. The really good off-road oriented tires would get me much further in the dirt exploration, unfortunately at my older age and the fact I like to ride solo, the really good off road tires have the ability to easily get me too deep into trouble while not being good enough make up for my personal lack of skill to get me back out of trouble. Sticking to more street oriented tires gives me lots of warnings far earlier that it's time to turn around on the off-road trails.

Xero, thanks for the insight. I'll be on my own the majority of the time.

quote:

Originally posted by k:...To be honest I solved my off road/on road dilemma by getting a CRF250l and setting it up more for offroad and getting a used Kawasaki Versys more set up for road. It's hard to make one bike do everything, the limiting factor mainly being tires... ...The CRF250l has 85/10 dirt/street tires. I ride it around town on errands, and short distances non freeway to riding spots but otherwise trailer it. I could replace this with a real dirt bike, but for my skills the CRF250l is fine and gives me another bike to use on the street.

All the bikes I've looked at are well beyond my off-road skill level and I doubt I'll ever push a bike to its limits.


Dan

It's a done deal! Brought home a 2020 WR250R Monday night. 1 mile on the odometer and about 60 now; half of that dirt near my home. Just dinking around in 1st & 2nd gears and avoiding the rev limiters during the break-in period. I'd forgotten how much fun motorcycles are to ride and I'm going to enjoy this. I'm still getting used to the goosy throttle. lol Nothing like the Vespa or Sportster.

I've been riding on established roads but there are many areas of loose dirt (almost like powder), pea gravel, and sand where the tires are trying to plow through leaving 3" deep ruts. I'm sooo glad I didn't buy a 650 or 700. I can't imagine trying to manhandle another 150 or 200 pounds through that type of terrain even though it's flat. Uphill and downhill would be even worse.

When one is standing on the pegs how do you know if the handlebar is at the correct height?

Other than a tire repair kit what should I be taking with me?


It's also time to pick up some accessories. Would like to read recommendations on quality brands and/or retailers.

1. Skid plate. Or is it called a bash plate?

2. Hand guards.

3. Small wind screen. Would 6 or 8 inches be enough?

4. Some sort of luggage rack. Doesn't have to be huge, just big enough to bungee a small 6 or 12 pack size cooler. Do these racks also include mounts for panniers? Again, not huge touring bags. Big enough to hold a Ruger mk IV, an extra mag or two and a couple boxes of ammo. Soft sided would be fine.

5. A tank bag.

6. A phone or iPad mount.


Thanks,

Dan

So did you find a better dealer to buy from. At what price?

Congrats.

I would of went to a 400cc class myself. Is it a tall bike. Me think so.

Congrats on the new ride. I have a Yamaha TTR-250. I was considering making it street legal, but in my state, it is quite a process.

But I had planned on having someone make a “hard bag” frame mount, and using .50 cal ammo cans. Maybe even use different size ammo cans depending on the ride, and maybe even add a small gas can for those long adventures. Lol. I never got around to it.

Enjoy the new bike, and ride safe.

I got it at average price I suppose. Inventory within 100 miles is almost nonexistent. Only one of the new 300 bikes. Used prices are nuts too. A mechanic at work owns 5 or 6 bikes and races his KTM dirt bike warned me there aren’t any deals to be had. 2 dealers refused to go below $8500 out the door so I went with the one who would. From the threads I was able to find on the web that’s about $1200 over what could be had a couple years ago. Seems dual sports are the current hot trend. I’ve been kicking this idea around for a couple years but had other priorities and then COVID hit and that seems to have skewed the market as well.

Dan

Congrats on your new purchase. You made a great choice.

quote:

Originally posted by KBobAries:
Other than a tire repair kit what should I be taking with me?

I carry wire and zip ties as well as extra bolts for things like the shifter linkage. It is a good idea to check the tightness of all the fasteners after riding about 500 miles. I've caught a few working loose or maybe they were never tight to begin with.

quote:

Originally posted by KBobAries:
It's a done deal! Brought home a 2020 WR250R Monday night. 1 mile on the odometer and about 60 now; half of that dirt near my home. Just dinking around in 1st & 2nd gears and avoiding the rev limiters during the break-in period. I'd forgotten how much fun motorcycles are to ride and I'm going to enjoy this. I'm still getting used to the goosy throttle. lol Nothing like the Vespa or Sportster.

I've been riding on established roads but there are many areas of loose dirt (almost like powder), pea gravel, and sand where the tires are trying to plow through leaving 3" deep ruts. I'm sooo glad I didn't buy a 650 or 700. I can't imagine trying to manhandle another 150 or 200 pounds through that type of terrain even though it's flat. Uphill and downhill would be even worse.

When one is standing on the pegs how do you know if the handlebar is at the correct height?

Other than a tire repair kit what should I be taking with me?


It's also time to pick up some accessories. Would like to read recommendations on quality brands and/or retailers.

1. Skid plate. Or is it called a bash plate?

2. Hand guards.

3. Small wind screen. Would 6 or 8 inches be enough?

4. Some sort of luggage rack. Doesn't have to be huge, just big enough to bungee a small 6 or 12 pack size cooler. Do these racks also include mounts for panniers? Again, not huge touring bags. Big enough to hold a Ruger mk IV, an extra mag or two and a couple boxes of ammo. Soft sided would be fine.

5. A tank bag.

6. A phone or iPad mount.


Thanks,

Dan

Order for add-ons.

#1 If you're going to road commute a lot, then windscreen before everything else. Taller is better in actual usage, but will look stupid if too tall on that bike, and regardless of utility, looks are still important!

#2 Handguards before bash/skid plate. Why? Because the handguards protect the clutch/brake levers from snapping off when you drop the bike on it's side (like in the driveway), which is far more likely than bashing a large rock. Plus in cooler weather they keep a lot of the wind off your hands, which is a HUGE upgrade in colder weather comfort even with gloves, especially on those early morning commutes. I've got a bash guards on my stuff, even though I'm too chicken to really traverse big rocky areas where the guard is actually useful! They do keep kicked-up smaller crap from boinking the front of the engine/frame though. The negative is that they make the engine sounds much nosier (because of sound reflection). Makes me look like I'm a better/braver rider than I am though! :-)

#3 If you are just day/fun/work commute riding (not camping), 90% of all normal storage needs are met with a tankbag and backpack. To get the backpack weight off, add a cheap tail rack like the Tusk (around $60 bucks ebay) and bolt on a cheap harbor freight Apache 16 or 18 inch plastic waterproof storage cases (Pelican knockoff) and you'll still be covered for 90% of normal needs and still on the cheap side (milk crate if you don't need waterproof). Throw the backpack back on and your up tp 95% normal carrying needs. In my experience, with a simple bolt-on tail rack, spending more doesn't get you more or better looking. Yes, there are some tail racks that can take 120+lb loads, indestructable, etc.. So what. Why spend more money when you're never going to stack an extra 120+lbs on the tail unless it's a hot girl! When you get into hard-mounted panniers, it is NOT cheap anymore, whether hard or soft cases! Simply put, unless you want to try the overburdened adventure riding, less is more, especially in terms of riding enjoyment. Dragging around 80lbs of camping gear on a motorcycle is not fun, even with the bigger bikes. That all being said, I have hard panniers on my KLR650, but I use them far more often for groceries, than any adventure stuff. On my TW200, I have a cheap plastic locking box on my tail rack, and that's it.

#4 For cell phone, I use this on three of my bikes: https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Why? Because my phone mounts fast and EASY with "one" hand, it's been secure even having dropped my bike multiple times No it's not RAM mount tough, it probably wont survive a 50mph off road crash, but then again, I don't do 50mph off road riding, I do "old man" off road riding and it's been plenty tough enough and works far better in daily usage. It charges the phone WIRELESSLY, or through a USB port (or some other device), can be turned off, and lastly, it's relatively inexpensive.


As for tools. Tire patch kit and levers to get tire off (yes there are creative ways to break the tire bead with the kickstand and such, but like starting a fire, I'd rather carry a lighter than rub two sticks together). Extra front tube (because it's easier to simply swap a tube, then patch a tube on the side of the road/trail and the larger front tube will work in the back tire too for short term), mini electric air pump (because you can use a tiny bicycle pump to pump it back up, but it really sucks!), and the tool kit that should have come with the bike should be enough for tools. Throw in a Leatherman for everything else.