Looking for a lightweight bike that can handle occasional, but serious, off road use and highway speeds. I currently have a '78 cx 500 that I like but is getting to be unreliable.
It is the largest bike I have ever ridden consistently and am wary of taking anything larger offoad.
The cb500x looks most appealing to me but I am also interested in anything else that I can handle well at low speeds.
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Don't get another 500
Do you want an adv bike or just any motorcycle? But I do miss my old cx500, was a shitheap, but it was mine
> (OP)
> But I do miss my old cx500, was a shitheap, but it was mine
Yep, I can't sell it.
I guess an adv bike? Mostly highway use with a bit of drunk-hour-in-town use. But I would also really like to be able to drive it somewhere like colorado if i get bored. Maybe I just need to buy a dedicated offload bike?
My closest calls have happened at low speeds so i want something I can really swing around at 15 mph.
6' 160 lbs
...
>Serious off road use
>Highway speeds
It's either one or the other. Also most dedicated dirt bikes require lots of maintenance. I'd recommend a drz400 or dr650 with adjusted gearing if you're lazy like me.
wait did you just list yours on craigslist in denver?
what's wrong with it? also what is your budget?
Yeah. That's what I am learning.
I can handle maintenance easily. I am just lazy.
Nope, Houston, Texas..
Nothing right now. It has a short that I think I found. Needed an ignitech unit a year ago that solved most of it's issues. Needed a new exhaust and wiring harness. It is honestly very strong mechanically, just a couple of electrical gremlins that may or may not still exist. I posted it for sale on craigslist a few months ago for 1800 to prevent lowballing. Went down to 1400 with everyone that expressed interest, but nothing happened. I figure I'll keep it at this point. I just want to be able to drive to Colorado and go camping for a couple weeks without getting stranded,
I have the money to buy whatever I want, but would like to spend 3 grand. Slowly learning that being a cheap fuck is expensive. So maybe 5 or 6?
>Light weight dual sport
>CB500X
>any of these things
WR250R, DR-Z 400E.
Yeah, I can't in my right mind buy a 250. I just need more power on the highway. I had a tw 200 for a while that was horrifying in the right lane. Great off road. Really enjoyed how tame and forgiving it was.
So what should I buy? The KLR 650 feels to big for the power it doesnt have. I don't think I am strong enough to keep it up when things get hairy.
I want a dedicated street bike that has an upright position, modest power and low speed handling that beats my above cx 500.
I'm also wondering where this handling is derived from. Is it a low seat height? I had a girl that had a 250 cc suzuki cruiser looking thing that felt horrible. Maybe I just didn't like how far forward my feet were.
Just make a new harness and streamline that by ditching any connectors etc you don't need. Old Honda wiring ages poorly but CX are simple and easy to work on.
Keep as backup then get a specialty beast. No reason it should strand you if you do the electrics tidily. Bare crimp connectors, heat shrink (polyurethane with internal adhesive) etc are cheap on Ebay.
just get a grom
I did replace the wiring harness. Issue is the previous owner destroyed the bike turning into a cafe racer. He replaced the headlight / instrument panel cluster thing with something that didn't belong. The 'brain' of the bike sits underneath the head light and is exposed to wind. Really stupid. I tightened everything up with tape and should be fine for a while now.
>Keep as backup then get a specialty beast.
Yeah, y'all convinced me to have something more specialized as inconvenient as it is. What would you recommend? I'm a somewhat experienced rider I just haven't driven many things. For some reason I keep falling back to the cb500x.
I'll probably also pick up a little dirt bike by next summer.
Do you want a dedicated street bike or a good off-road bike?
You can't really have both in the same vehicle, because all good off-road bikes suck on the highway and all road bikes suck on anything more than gravel.
Dualsports are a compromise of both but you sacrifice on road or off-road ability depending on which one you get.
desu I'd get a CB650F and a TW200 or something to potter around off-road on.
I feel it. If I were in your position, which I will be in a few months, I will be getting a buell. The best bike for you it seems is a Full size Suzuki DL1000 V strom
also I saw this on craigslist and I was confused.
Yeah, I think you're right. Street bike, that can handle a 1/4 mile decrepit driveway 2x a day. Looking into the cb650 f right now. How do you feel about the nc 700?
Sure liked that little tw. Wish it had 10 more HP.
NC700's are bland as fuck imo.
Great fuel economy, and dat frunk, but bland as hell.
Trippy. His looks nicer than mine.
I'm scared of a 1000cc bike. I know it is about as heavy as my current bike, but I don't think I could thrash it around like my 500 with that high seat. Am I wrong? Houston drivers are not great and I would be mangled if I wasn't able to reach aggressively at low speed.
I'm bland as a good fuck so that could work.
you will be fine. It is still a Vtwin, it's super reliable, and it weighs about the same, but with much better brakes and suspension. It is your size.
Because you'd know what a V-strom 1000 is like, having ridden one before.
>hint: don't give advice on bikes you've never ridden before, shit kat
I suggest taking one for a test ride sometime then, see if it's for you.
If you can, do one of those demo days where you can ride all kinds of bikes imo, try all kinds of shit out and see what's for you.
well considering the CX has shit brakes, shit suspension and no power, I think he'll be fine.
Your logic is flawed. You could say the same thing of someone going from a Ninja 250 to a Hayabusa, it wouldn't make it any less retarded.
Here's your (You).
The brakes are pretty lacking, my half broken suspension sucks, and I can imagine riding a bike that has more power. However I feel pretty comfortable on it. Will that be true with other more modern bikes?
Is my fear irrational? Thanks for putting up with my ignorance. If this thread were on /k/ it'd be much more of a shit show.
Sounds good. What's a demo day? I really want to show up to a dealer that carries most brands with 7 grand cash to goad them into letting my ride a dozen bikes. Does it work like that or can I just expect a test ride?
A demo day is a day where a bike dealer sets out a bunch of bikes that you can sign up and test ride.
Usually you go out in a group and follow a preset route with a dealer person.
It's a good way of bringing in customers desu.
I reckon it'd pay to do your homework and find out if it's a thing in your area.
Generally you have to put down a deposit to test ride bikes so keep that in mind. It's generally at the discretion on the dealer as to whether you're allowed a test ride or not.