Hello everyone.My names Ryan.From New Jersey, and im looking into getting a dual purpose bike reallly soon. Ive been doing aloooot of research these past couple of weeks, and ive narrowed it down to the suzuki drz-400s or the sexy lookin kawi klx250s. Before my questions id like to share my story.

- im 25 yrs old and have been riding "street" bikes since i was 19. i started out with ninja 250, then a suzuki sv650s, then my most recent honda cbr600rr.


ok so now your asking what the heck is he doing on this forum...well just recently ive been hanging out alot over my buddies house,which is entirely covered in farms, loads of property, and the farm owners are really nice.allowing us to roam and do whatever we want as long as we do not ride wherever there harvesting. on top of this my friend who we are talking about is an older man of 45 that owns this house with quads,and dirtbikes,and loads of equipment.He has dug out a whole racetrack/woods/trail area loaded with drops in the woods and dug out single tire tracks in every turn from his 2 stroke dirt bikes. bottom line ive been having a blast there! healso told me if i purchase a dirtbike hed get me a copy of a key to his shed so i can just come there whenever i want and ride.i know your all probably already thinking the klx 250s is probably a lil to underpowered for me, and maybe it is. but ive only been riding his sons suzuki 85 2 stroke this whole time and that thing i thought had plenty of power. could the klx250s keep up with an 85 2 stroke you think?would a Ninja 250 walk away from the klx250s?just so i could geta better idea of the powerband here.

so basically im getting rid of my cbr600r because i never ride it, ever. it has 1700 miles and its an 05! i want something off road, but can handle the street when i wanna cruise across towns to hit up a buddies house, or just go out for a nice summer nite cruise. im not looking for crazy power, i wanna have fun, but i want some decent power for off road use atleast to be able to hit some nice jumps and maybe some wheelies?


would the drz400 be better suited for me,i knowim on a kawi forum,but i figured people on here know alot about both,andi know all the issues about weight, no 5th gear,just give it to me straight,haha.


thanx in advance for any repliers,
ooh,and one last thing, can you please leave your ages, id like to know the ages of those riding the 250s
ry

 

Heh IG, this ones for you.

 

If you are just going to do off road and keep your street bike, then get a kick A$$ Dirt bike for all those fun tracks. The Klx is a Great Dual purpose bike but Dual purpose = Sacrifice on both ends of the spectrum. a Yz125 will eat a KLX for lunch on dirt/trails. The KLX is great for me because I ride 50/50. Plus My skills(lack of) off road keep me from needing anything more than the KLX. It's fast enough to be a poopload of fun anywhere. The DRZ will be a bit less nimble off road.

 

If you aren't going to ride on the street, avoid the dual purpose bikes. You don't want the weight if it's not really needed. Personally, I would look for a good used KLX-300 or a newer generation 250 Enduro. You will have a lot more power and a lot less weight to shove around.

I own a KLX-250S because I ride it on the street to the off road places. If you are storing it in your buddies barn or trailering it, a true off road ride is probably best.

If you aren't riding on the road, you don't need the tall gearing. Get a KLX-250s or KLX-300 and put a larger rear sprocket on and use 6th gear some.

 

The KLX is a versatile little bike that can take you from the street to dirt and back to the barn without a truck or a trailer. From $2500 for a used one to just under $5000 for a new one you can't beat the price. I have the 09 and it's blast to put around on being legal on the street every trail you spy'd and wondered where it went you can just turn off the street and explore it.

Good luck,


WD

 

+1 on WD's comments. You'll find a wide range of ages on this forum, from teenagers to the AARP crowd (no offense, hell I just got my app in the mail). I'm 50, and like a lot of our members I rode dirt bikes as a kid and through college, then no bikefor a long time....The KLX is my first bike in 25yrs and it does everything I want it to.

It's not a moto bike by any stretch - for which I am thankful. Takes a lot of effort to keep a YZ on full boil, and forget about a peaceful ride down a trail. With the proper mods you can get more HP but still not lose that 4-stroke thumper reliability or low key demeanor. Bottom line is that the KLX is just a lot of fun to ride IMHO.

Hope this helps

 

well thats the thing, i will need a bike to do street riding still, remeber ive been riding street ever since i started, i still want some street riding. but i will be doing a good amount of off road too. which i would love a bike that can ride the street to my friends house to ride trails and go exploring those pine barrens which im only about 35mins from. my biggest problem/concern is not knowing if the klx250 will have the power im looking for. will the klx250 have the same amount of power as the drz 400 if i big bore and put full exhaust on?i reeeeally want to just buy the klx250,i reallly like the look of it.tommorow ill have enough money to just flat out buy a brand new one,im gonna see if theyll take 5,000 out the door.think i could get it for that?as much as i like the klx,i like the black drz just as much,and i know the power is there stock.but no 6th gear. does anyone know how fast the drz can go, with only there being a 5th gear i dont wanna have the bike close to the redline if i wanna cruise at 80+

cant make up my mind[:@]

 

If you can, see if you can find both to take a test ride on...... even with the extra power the drz has, id still buy the klx, it handles wayyyyyy better... IMO. Everyone i ride with has 350+ cc bikes... and last ride everyone couldnt keep up with me and another guy on a klx.... i just dont like the drz personally.

 

the big issue with the drz is how it carries it's weight.it's top heavy and feels that way. with stock gearing it'll go about 100mph. on those open sand roads the drz will roast a stock klx. if that's where you plan on doing your riding then go for the suzuki. you'll want the klx if your going into the woods(single track)more often.i've owned both bikes. the extra power is not worth the extra weight. the klx is easier to ride fast.
wouldi like more torque?.......yes. can i live without it?........yes.

 

Crap! I just realized that I didn't welcome you, at least not here. Sorry about that. So.......welcome!