DR650 versus KLR rabbit hole - an academic exercise

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Because it's less than 50/50 I will actually buy either right now, but we ran down this rabbit hole maybe two years ago and I will probably eventually do this. So humor me, for those who know these bikes.

I’m 6’3” 220 and several years past the age of Medicare eligibility, so I won’t be standing on pegs much, mainly because I don’t want to.

Think, *green lanes, fire/forest/gravel/dirt two-lane roads*

A primary consideration will be my ability to single handedly load/un-load any two wheeled conveyance on a hitch receiver mounted rack on an F150 FX4 4x4 whose tailgate is pretty high in the air (relatively speaking) in its stock configuration. It may be unreasonable to even think I could load either bike this way, but I am fairly sturdy. The Suzuki is about 370 lbs, and the Kawasaki is about 450lbs.

I am sure I will need to consider handlebar height from the ground in terms of being able to manhandle either bike once it’s up on the rack to secure it. This might even be the bigger issue.

Discuss.

Oh, and my wife is riding with me (in the truck) today to look at these bikes, just for her sheer entertainment as the “Killer of dreams”, so there will be fodder for the “Venus...Mars” thread later, I‘m sure. ;)
 
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I have a preference for the DR650 because it was the second bike I bought in 2013. 6'2" if I stand at attention, and 180lb when I owned it, it was the perfect for me.

This is how I hauled it to Wilmington when I moved down there in 2016, and back out of town a couple times, then ultimately how i hauled it to sell it 2020.1000013412.jpgnever any problems or stuggles loading and unloading by myself on hitch rack.

Not enough seat time on KLR to give any opinion, but the guys i know with them, love them. If it's worth anything at all - the next bike I'll buy will be a Kawasaki Z900.
 
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1911gobang said:
Haul it to the ride- Kawasaki KLX300R
(My gorilla ass can actually ride this guy comfortably)
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Knowing your gorilla ass personally, this says a lot.

Gotta love just 282 lbs to load/unload- but I think I will want to tag it, which I'm assuming you can’t do on the KLX 300R.

It does remind me of this one. My first street-legal motorized two-wheel conveyance from long ago. About the same weight.
PICT0009.jpeg
 
1911gobang said:
Ride to the ride- KLR650 alllll day….strip off all the racks and stuff. Carry a backpack for your ride snacks and first aid kit
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Do This !
I rode a 2004 everywhere, even loaded for multiday rides in the deserts, mountians, IronButt 1000, to the coasts.

EagleMike makes raising links for us taller guys. ( im 6'4" @ 250lbs.)
and you can get his Doohickey kit to make it dang near bulletproof.
 
The KLR was pretty comfy to me. They had the 650, 650 ABS, 650 S (short) and KLR 650 Adventure ABS that comes with bags, power outlets, and auxiliary lights. All of them new, so no demo rides unless you are buying that day, basically, but there’s a used late model Adventure at another dealer close by if I decide I need to ride one.
 
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Another thing to think about is when you are going to drop it . Dirt bikes being very thin, fall all the way down, handle bar in the dirt type of down. Weight all of a sudden becomes a big priority. Concerning transpo ,trailer maybe, something light and cheap ? Easier to load then a hitch mounted rack and more versatile or useful for other things. Ive been toying with the idea of a dual sport for some time now because Ive got lots of spaces for me ride pretty close to me. Its all private property and recently cleared or logged, but the owners arent close and no one really cares. I will keep it quiet and no one will know I am there. I'm liking the Honda CRF 300, street legal and only 300 lbs and costs just over $6K. Used dual sports really hold their resale value because the highly sought after new ones are hard to find.
honda-crf300l-21-01.jpg
 
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Dan0311 said:
I have a KLR. Love to ride it, but I wouldn't consider it very easy to move around. It ain't light and it's top heavy - kinda awkward.
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That’s the conundrum, and my assessment as well.

Based on the height of my truck’s hitch receiver for a carrying rack, and the height of the handlebars to the ground, once the 450 lb bike is rolled up the ramp and on the rack, the handle bars will be at my eye level. Not a comfortable height for my old hands/arms/shoulders to be managing any weight at all.

This is pretty much the same conclusion I reached regarding the Triumph 1200 scramblers two years ago which weigh the same. Loading either bike on a hitch receiver mounted rack, or bed of the truck has got to be a two man job.
 
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Lager said:
Another thing to think about is when you are going to drop it . Dirt bikes being very thin, fall all the way down, handle bar in the dirt type of down. Weight all of a sudden becomes a big priority. Concerning transpo ,trailer maybe, something light and cheap ? Easier to load then a hitch mounted rack and more versatile or useful for other things.
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I just don’t have a satisfactory place to store a trailer on site, and honestly don’t want to pull one and deal with it at the destination even if I did.

If I had room for a trailer and didn’t mind using it I’d be hauling Harleys all over creation instead.

I’ve basically got room for one more bike, nothing else, so I’m just limited with my options.
 
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Don’t take this wrong, Ash, I think you would drive yourself crazy keeping an off road bike clean.
 
I never rode a KLR in the Dirt and I wouldn't want to because I know me and I'm going to drop it.. I've rode some on the street and its pretty darn top heavy and I know Im going to see a trail and think,, I can do that. I saw a vid of a guy trying to off road his KLR and its was thru some rough stuff. After about 5 times of him dropping it, he was in tears from being so tired of picking up that bike up. Just think tho? All the fun you will have buying all sorts of off road riding equipment, like boots, helmet, padded pants ??
 
Geezer said:
Don’t take this wrong, Ash, I think you would drive yourself crazy keeping an off road bike clean.
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It would be treated like the truck.
Hosed off once a month...maybe. Washed once a season.




Who am I kidding.
 
You can borrow my trailer if you decide to explore that avenue.


A bike that light, you could get a fold up trailer and park it along your garage wall.
 
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Sp00ks said:
You can borrow my trailer if you decide to explore that avenue.


A bike that light, you could get a fold up trailer and park it along your garage wall.
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Thanks.

I’ve researched the Kendon fold up, stand up trailers pretty extensively. I can put one of those in the garage, or another bike, but not both.

And even if it would fit, I just don’t want to go the trailer route.
 
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If I were hitch hauling, I would consider the DR400. DR and KLR haven't changed in roughly 15years. Both sought after in the used market.
 
The DR 400 is so skinny that it would just give me a wedgy. I’d have to pull it out of my butt every few miles.

And this is the definition of insanity.

Doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different outcome.

I went down this rabbit hole two years ago after selling a Street Glide and a Road King, and arrived at exactly the same place.

A 450 lb bike is simply too much to do what I want to do with it, as far as transportation goes.
 
Lager said:
Ok,, So now your backing out..But, better now after some thought then later. BUT, now you got me back into thinking about a Dual Sport. Just when I resigned myself into no more motorcycles. Thanks a lot Bro.
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I have to do this reality check thing every so often, and so should you.

This doesn’t even address the issues of me not liking riding nekkid bikes in general,

I have to go through this exercise every few years to remind myself of all these things.
 
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The only answer is "one of each". I'm pretty sure the reason I go through bikes so often is I tell myself I wish the current one would do "x" better so I sell and get one that does. Then I find the next thing I wish that one did better. Maybe when the kids move out I can move garage stuff to their rooms and have more space for bikes 🤣
 
AppFan said:
The only answer is "one of each".
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This is pretty much where I am, if I could figure it out.

My wife asked if I was going to sell the bike I just bought.

NO!!!!!!!
 
I tried the receiver hauler on a lower truck with a much lighter bike. One day and decided I would use the trailer. It was a SOB to get up and strap down. No good way to lift it. No problem with two people. And I was 40 then.
 
You guys ain’t doing it right. I’ll be 75 this year and I’m not a big guy, but I can roll my Yamaha 250 up the ramp to my receiver hitch carrier by myself without breaking a sweat and tie it down in less time than it takes or do it with a trailer. You need a long-ish ramp, position the truck favorably with the available topography, and a thought-out-in-advance plan for how you’re gonna tie it down. Comes from decades of hauling race bikes in vans, trailers, pickups and bumper racks. But I wouldn’t do it with a big-ass bike and a lifted truck.
 
Red Marley said:
But I wouldn’t do it with a big-ass bike and a lifted truck.
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And there’s the rub.

You remember the first time you told me about Big Walker? and all my bitching and moaning about no website, they don’t answer the phone, no decent restaurants close by, blah, blah, blah, and yet I’ve been back, and planning a third trip.

All that stuff still annoys me, but after I rode those roads, I determined the trade-off was worth it.

I’m just not there yet on the dual sports, if only because the bikes that fit me are just a little on the large-ish, heavy-ish side.

And I’m still digging my road bikes.
 
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the KLR is hard to beat in my opinion. The wider seat provides a more comfortable saddle, the fairing and windscreen work well for an adventure bike - both of which will provide comfort on more extended rides. A huge aftermarket of parts and upgrades.
I don’t see an area where the DR is better unless you plan to do more serious off reading
 
Speaking of the seat, Corbin has a few molds it make you a custom one. Least he did a bunch of years back.
 
Gen 2 KLR owner here, the bike sucks, there I said it. You can do all sorts of riding on one but it isn't exceptional at any of it, its just passable.

It's underpowered, heavy AF, PITA to work on due to all the plastic & radiator, valve adjustment is a PITA, suspension is mediocre as are the brakes and the turn signal stalks will rot away. The side stand safety switch will fail or worse fail intermittently and drive you crazy, bypass that bitch pronto.

On the positive side - it is durable, wind protection is decent, you can ride it like you stole it without getting a ticket and cruising dirt roads in the forest is fun. I've packed up guns & ammo and made a trip out to the range, that makes an impression! Aftermarket support is robust but the DR650 can also claim that.

I've never ridden a DR650 but if I stubble across a deal on one I'd probably ditch the KLR in a heartbeat. Maintenance on the DR seems easier and it is lighter so the DR wins in the power to weight ratio department.

I imagine vibration is nearly equal since both are big singles. The KLR does tend to fatigue my hands after a while, I would expect the same from a DR. It'll never happen but a 6 speed gearbox would improve the highway manners for both bikes.
 
DR owner here. It’s fun but I miss my big cruiser. Especially for anything over about an hour ride on hardtop.
 
DRFury said:
DR owner here. It’s fun but I miss my big cruiser. Especially for anything over about an hour ride on hardtop.
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A buddy has a KTM Enduro at around 300lbs that is crazy fun for an hour or so back roads but on longer blacktop cruises does start to rattle the old bones and kidneys.
 
NCFubar said:
A buddy has a KTM Enduro at around 300lbs that is crazy fun for an hour or so back roads but on longer blacktop cruises does start to rattle the old bones and kidneys.
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My old KTM 640E definitely earned it's nickname of paint shaker.
 
I will be selling a klx300sm very soon. Let me know if it's something your interested in. I should have all the details in about a week or so. The sm model is titled as a street legal bike from the factory.

I'm just north of Pittsboro so it shouldn't be a terrible commute if you want to check it out.
 
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