Thoughts on a cheap dual sport as a first bike...

Thoughts on a cheap dual sport as a first bike? My neighbor's son gave me an old (2008 I think) dual sport suzuki to ride until I get my own bike, said if I like it he'll let me have it for $500. Haven't tried it out yet, plan on riding it tomorrow.

Absolutely fresh out of riding class beginner here, ideally I just want something street legal for short commutes and to-from work to keep miles and gas consumption on my car low. I don't need anything spectacular, but I would be happy if it were freeway-safe, even if I have to ride in the slow lane.

Pic semi-related, couldn't find his exact model but didn't look too hard.

For $500 is a decent price for a first bike, Know what engine size it is?

$500 is damn good if the thing runs well. Even if it's only a little 125cc (Grom-tier). Unless you're a fatass, then you'll probably want a 250 minimum.

Of course for $500 the owner either neglected the shit out of it and you'll be fixing it all the time (not exactly a bad thing if you like to tinker) or the owner is an idiot and you're getting a pretty good deal.

Suzuki DR650SE if you can handle the weight. Yam/Honda 250 enduro from The last decade of you're small.

I'm not a bike guy but the idea of driving one machine to trails, brappin around, and driving the same vehicle back home and carefully cleaning and maintaining that machine sounds comfy af.

My neighbor's son gave me an old ZX600R....
What's with neighbor's sons and giving away motorcycles?

Why didn't you post in /dbt/?

I was told that you constantly have to fix them

Dual-sport thumpers (DR650, XR650, DRZ400, WR250R etc) require only a small amount of maintenance and will run forever. Pictured is my dad's old 1989 KLR250, which sat in a shed for 15+ years unused. I got it out, did an oil and filter change and it ran fine. Later I check the valve clearances, and only the exhaust was slightly tight.
They're designed to be low maintenance, high reliability.

But bikes like the WR450F require an oil change ever 500km, those sort of race bikes need maintaining after every ride.

If you want to go on the highway, a dual sport isn't the best choice, most of them (including the 650s) have way too short gearing and not enough power, unless you want to sit like 20 below the speed limit. Aside from that, a dual sport makes a great first bike (if you aren't a manlet), it's way more fun and practical than a Ninja 250

The bike is probably either a drz400 or a dr650 if it's the same style as your pic. Both are excellent bikes, easy to fix and they've got big communities around them. You'll be able to cruise at 65-70mph no problem and hit 80 when you need to. Should be fine for the freeway although you'll find it's more fun on side roads. $500 is really cheap too, as long as it fires up okay, idles well and isn't leaky anywhere I'd go for it.

retard
xr and dr650s can hold 80 mph easy, top out at 100

You're retarded

Top speed of xr650s is about 95-100, I know for a fact the dr650 with a lightweight rider will max out at 95, and realistically you're not getting it much passed 90 under most conditions.

Both are fine for the freeway, but those speeds on thin offroad tires feels really, really unsettling. I wouldn't take a dr650 on the freeway unless I absolutely had to, with very low traffic.

Either way, I'd personally suggest a 250cc Honda or Yamaha. They'll top out at 80, and I really wouldn't suggest more than an exit-worth of freeway driving at a time with them, but they're lighter, nimble, easy to ride, and total fun to rev high and ride into trails and into the mountains.

Sure, but can they sit at 80 mph comfortably? My XTZ 660 seriously struggles at 80 mph, the engine vibrates like crazy, the bike doesn't feel stable, the wind buffets right into my helmet, making the noise extremely loud, etc... Just because it's capable of 80 mph, doesn't mean that you'll want to do it

>windscreen
>proper sprockets
>quit being gay

>proper sprockets

Obviously. Everything is better with proper sprockets. It's like the lesser known modifications that solves so many problems with bikes.

cant tell if ur being srs but it is true

I'm not being sarcastic. So many "low horsepower" "low performance" complaints could be avoided if they knew that it was mostly fixable by getting optimized sprockets.

Used to own a v star 250 for beginner bike, and once I changed sprockets I could comfortably cruise the highways with no buzz (reminder that this is a goddamn 249cc bike).

So if I get my own bike and don't take his, I should get a 250cc because it's cheaper right? Ideally if I buy used I'd like not to spend over 2.5-3k on it.

wow a non retard on Veeky Forums

Its a $500 2008 Suzuki Dual Sport

that's normally a $2500-3500 bike

Fair enough. Only has 88k miles on it, and Suzukis are pretty damn well made from what I hear.

>only

shit, here i was thinking that 40k was a shit load of miles on my bike.

And yours is a 2008?

rip

Been riding 12 years, ridden a lot of different bikes and a DR650 (or XR) is still one of my favorites. Run forever with a massive pool of used and new parts. Good to learn to wrench on too. Runs super lean from the factory, but a simple dynajet and an exhaust system will wake it right up. The guys bitching about highway speeds are pussies. I've done 3k miles on the back of a DR650 (with the proper gearing and a larger fuel tank) a lot of dirt and back road but a ton of highway too. Tons of fun in town too. You won't be winning any races or screaming through yellow lights, but you can hop sidewalks, do down stairs, rip through alleys and city parks no problem. Fuck if it wasn't snowing I'd go ride mine right now.

it's not hard to do a full rebuild on these bikes, and they will go a long way without one if you keep up with general maintenance

88k miles on japanese cars is basically the break-in period, is it not the same on bikes?

>Thoughts on a cheap dual sport as a first bike
Perfect first bike. Even a perfect last bike depending on what you want out of it.

Who stops at dual sports? Isn't end-game for most people a liter bike?

People who want to ride trails. People who do serious adventure touring.

This is what no-bike-cucks belive

...dual sports also reign supreme for all types of hooligan riding: aggressive third-world style lane splitting, cutting over curbs and across medians/dividers, going up/down stairs, etc.

Probably the fastest way between A and B in most cases if you don't care about the law.

What are some dual sports I should look out for at like $1500 or less, preferably near $1000 in the NE US

t,someone that has never rode a bike

For that price you're looking at something from the 90s (if not 80s).

Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki have made too many to list. Depends on what exactly you're looking for (650 v. 400/350 v. 250, electric v. kick, off v. on-road %)

My 94 DR650 took me from Houston to college station every weekend for a year or so. Sat at 75-85mph (indicated) very happily and didn’t vibrate much. The only issue was it doesn’t have much for wind protection so the first few times my neck was a bit stiff after riding.

However, I have street tires on it and it’s a pre-96 model DR650, and they were built far differently. Heavier, different gearing, stuff like that. That being said, I think a modern DR would be fine on the highway. People cross the world on these bikes all the time. I think if you got a small windscreen, changed your sprockets, and got different tires (which is a must for any new DR anyway because they ain’t called deathwing tires for nothing) you’d be perfectly fine.

A cheap dual sport is literally the best possible first bike.

I started riding on dirtbikes, but my first street legal motorcycle was an 80's Honda XL200R

I rode this '05 XR650L over 5,000 miles on a tour around the SW US.

Put good tires, good sprockets, and a nice chain on your bike and you'll be cruising around at a comfortable sustained 75-80mph without issue.