An unexpected trade

[Big T]

I'd venture to say that a well set up KLR650 can get one much further off road over various terrain than the VStrom.

Depends on who's riding it

[GS1150Pilot]

Depends on who's riding it

Riders being equal, we know the answer, but sure-in which case, the comments made by other posters underscore that a GS450 can be the equal of the VStrom.

[bwringer]

And then there are guys like me............

Mudbath by Scott Marvin, on Flickr

Amateur...

[LAB3]

As mentioned, it's a matter of how you plan to actually USE the bike. If not for the fact my current bike eats tires like popcorn I could put dual sports on it and do the same thing most ADV riders do on theirs.

Someone living a typical American life the Eastern US will be quite happy on marked forest service roads since to them they're "Out in the boonies" By the same token someone living in a rural area that has been cruising those same sort of roads their entire life and truly wants to "Get out in the boonies" which is defined quite differently.

If you need to ride 150 miles before you reach said "Boonies" then a bike more suited to road riding is your better option. If on the other hand the "Boonies" are 20 miles away then your needs are quite different.

To me having a KLR would make sense for a weekend. I could go out and climb some hills, Ford a creek or two and run around some sand dunes. I'd more than likely have it out of my system in pretty short order and return to my road bike, something to consider while pondering your next purchase!

[GS1150Pilot]

As mentioned, it's a matter of how you plan to actually USE the bike. If not for the fact my current bike eats tires like popcorn I could put dual sports on it and do the same thing most ADV riders do on theirs.

Someone living a typical American life the Eastern US will be quite happy on marked forest service roads since to them they're "Out in the boonies" By the same token someone living in a rural area that has been cruising those same sort of roads their entire life and truly wants to "Get out in the boonies" which is defined quite differently.

If you need to ride 150 miles before you reach said "Boonies" then a bike more suited to road riding is your better option. If on the other hand the "Boonies" are 20 miles away then your needs are quite different.

To me having a KLR would make sense for a weekend. I could go out and climb some hills, Ford a creek or two and run around some sand dunes. I'd more than likely have it out of my system in pretty short order and return to my road bike, something to consider while pondering your next purchase!

Nope. I've wanted a dual-sport for a number of years. I grew up riding in the dirt, so that has a major appeal. I still have two street bikes. This is simply replacing a redundancy with a bike that I can ride absolutely anywhere.

[LAB3]

Last year I was at a campground WAY back in the Smokies about five miles past where the pavement ends. There where two guys on BMW ADV bikes riding by rubbernecking my camp, apparently one of them thought my open trailer lid with a rack mounted to it was a solar panel. "How did he pack a solar panel that big on a bike?" was heard just before he wandered over into a leaf filled ditch. His rear tire was flat out bald and he was unable to get out until a pickup truck with a tow strap came along to give him a yank. Guy was riding a $25k dirt bike with bald tires!

[GS1150Pilot]

I think a lot of the "adventure bike" crowd are pretty much Goldwing style tourers who watched too much Ewan and Charlie.

Dual-sporting is a different endeavor, and I have access to tons of trails of different levels of difficulty within 50 miles of where I live.

[salty_monk]

I "sort of" miss my KLR. It was very well sorted and took me everywhere with zero fuss. It was a pig to pick up off-road though. My Husqvarna is a much better bike in the dirt & MUCH lighter (probably 150lb+ with all the extra sh*t I had on the KLR). Not bad on the street, not quite as good as the KLR but does have 6 gears and an extra 10 or so ponies.

I think my next bike might be a DR650 maybe although I have been looking at a Husky 701 forever (my friend has one, it's a bigger, slightly heaver bike than my TE610 but a lot more powerful).

The other bike I've been looking at recently is a Rally Raid kitted Honda CX500. That looks like it could be a very capable "do everything" and lighter than the KLR without the hassle of the Husky maintenance etc...

[salty_monk]

Realised how useless my comments are without pics...

2009 KLR Round the World by salty_monk, on Flickr

Skunk made it down Baja dressed like this:

IMG_1088 by salty_monk, on Flickr

Another big heavy option... As capable as the KLR and a lot nicer on the street. Not as much fuel capacity, you can get about 200 miles though.

Death Valley F800GS by salty_monk, on Flickr

Not as much fun as this though

Rich Oliver 3 by salty_monk, on Flickr

[salty_monk]

IMG_3087 by salty_monk, on Flickr

The Husky

IMG_5897 by salty_monk, on Flickr

Te610 by salty_monk, on Flickr

I once did some miles on some "Old Guys" BMW 1250 too... (and his Triumph...)

IMG_5056 by salty_monk, on Flickr

[GS1150Pilot]

LoL. Well, gang, it's a KLR for me, and that's what it's going to be. I have no need to buy anything better or suffer anything worse, and I'm absolutely certain I'll have a blast on it.

[salty_monk]

Converting the Gen 1 to a twinpot caliper on the front is definitely worth it... (Gen 2 forks give you that & a beefier fork leg but you can also get a conversion bracket).

Also the Wheat whacker mod to the fairing is well thought of. Top Gun spring on a stock shock or Cogent's suspension is a worthwhile mod if you have $$ to spend. I Had Ricor suspension... Also pretty nice.

Eaglemike has a lot of bits and bobs as well as Doohickey...

https://eaglemike.com/