To buy now or to buy later? That is the question
 

After a long drought, I think I have finally decided on what bike I am getting, now it is a matter of do I buy now and watch it sit in my garage all winter or wait until spring...

At the moment it looks like it is not going to be another green machine, orange is way to expensive... So that leaves my with either the yami or the suzuki, at the moment I leaning toward the suzuki, just because of bigger displacement.

I liked my klx, it just seemed like alot of money for a bike that needs a 1000.00 in mods to make it go. At 240lbs, I need something with a little more go from the factory.

There is a black Dr-z400s at the dealer up the street for 5100. It is in black though. I rode my klx every where, and frequently at night. A black bike on the road at night is a good way to get ran over... So am looking for either yellow, white or blue.

I'd be working out a deal now, you have time to shop around and you may find a gently used bike with some $$$ mods that you like for less money than new. The good thing is you don't have to be in a hurry. The prices on new or used will be a little less negotiable in the spring. If I was able to find a good deal now I'd take it even though you won't get much good out of it until spring.

Black with appropriate reflective tape would be more visible at night than any other color without reflective tape.

Personally what i spent on my KLX plus all the mods i'm looking at doing i would still come in under the $5200 price point you are looking at, and probably end up with more power off the floor.

Don't know about your particular situation though. so FWIW.

Reflective tape
 

Agree with above. If you look around, you can find great selections of very reflective tape such as SOLAS in virtually any color, and you can even cut it pinstripe thin to avoid seeing it in the daytime. Would be awesome at night.

Check out:

http://www.identi-tape.com/eng-sr1.html

In scotchlite black... They also sell a cutter to make it 1/8 inch. The tape is $12 and the cutter is $29 or something. $41 well spent if you are concerned. Would look awesome too.

DRZ = no sixth cog, I think the yam would be a fun change from the KLX or a 351 kit would be better than a DRZ for the obvious reasons.
Although, personally I would still rather have a Husaberg than any of them.

I think the drz is just like the klx but with more weight. It starts with a bigger motor- but big bore kits for a klx are very reasonable. With either bike- you will quickly go past the cost of a ktm or husky if you start adding mods to it.

I must have sank over $4000 in to my klx- in the end it cost more then the ktm I now have, but was not a good.

But I did have a blast with all the mods I did to it.

$4000???...are you doing your own mods or having the Formula 1 Ferrari team working on your KLX?:D

I don't know, dave...I've done a bore kit and full suspension valving/springs, and I'm into that for about $1000. I'm sure I could sit down with some e-catalogs and spend $4000, but that can't be a requirement to do substantive improvements to the KLX.

But really the main issue here is probably this...why are people trying to turn a KLX into a KTM?...or a Husaberg?...or a Husky?...or whatever other race bike with a license plate? This is apples and oranges. IMO there are really only two serious dual sport 250's...the KLX and the WR250R. KTM's, Husky's, etc. are outstanding bikes. I've ridden some of these bikes, but they are race bikes. You can put a license plate on one, but it will still have service frequency issues, less durability, higher fuel consumption, and lack of pavement comfort. There's nothing wrong with that if that's what you need and want for your type of riding, but then a KLX shouldn't even be on your radar. Trying to make a KLX perform and compete against these other bikes is an exercise in futitlity. Trying to make these plated race bikes perform the functions that the KLX and WR250R can fill can also be very disappointing.

So face it...we either want a race bike with a plate to ride off road and do the absolute minimum in pavement, or we want a true dual sport that delivers real all-around use...or we want two bikes in the garage to have our pick for the given occasion. You know we all want a bike that performs like a Goldwing for its ability to carry stuff and cruise down the highway in comfort. We want a KTM300 2-stroke electric start for its off road performance, light weight, and user-friendliness. We want a Ninja 1400 for pavement sport riding. But alas, no such "one bike" exists. Everything's a compromise.

I've seen brand new 09 KLX 250 left overs going for less than 4k, you could add the big bore and have someone do the work for you for less than a 5k investment and have a better bike IMHO. I say that as I'm over 220lbs. and have ridden the Suzuki DR400 awhile back, Ill admit I haven't been on a new one but other than the power I wasn't all that impressed. The bike I've got now is a much better fit for me. The suspension on the Suzuki seemed very stiff to me, it wasn't my bike so I didn't adjust it at all but it rode like a supercross bike, maybe great for real big hits but not so good at half pace. My KLX is plush and rides well at my more relaxed speeds.