Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Am leaning twords the KLR now only because the Honda dealership I went to didn't seem motivated to sell anything. The Kawasaki shop was better, the salesmen wasn't pushy, went over the bike with me and answered my noob DS questions...
The 'zuki dealership had a open house and the staff were running around like crazy, will go in Thurs...

Kawasaki KLR650, better street bike, worst off road bike, too heavy for off road, past engine issues with using 1 qt of oil every 600 miles

Suzuki DR650, better street bike, slower than the Kawasaki, too heavy for off road, engine not smooth and refined, cheap engine, vibration

Honda XR650L, better off road bike, worst street bike, geared low, torque monster, higher seat height, super reliable, more expensive

my suggestion is the Suzuki DRZ400S is a much better bike that can do anything better than all of the 650 dual sports

Something tells me he probably bought one in the last two years if he was going to buy one.

While true that the original post is (very) old, I think it's a common question and pretty goof one to answer... i've been thinking about digging up older posts that have been left in the dust here in various forums.

My 2-cents would be similar to his, although I would clarifying the oil issue I've heard about with the KLR was when they revamped the bike in 2008, they changed something or shifted factories or something... I've never looked into it to much, but there were lots of people with abnormally high in oil-consumption.

Having only ridden an earlier KLR and the DRz400S I would have to say that the XR650 has a pretty good reputation too, and air-cooled can have advantages. Lots of good upgrades available for hardcore adventure touring.

I love the DRz400 series, and the S is a serious off-road capable bike, I think it's 2002 or 2003 when they upgraded the suspension. Also 18-inch rear wheel is nice for more tire options (while the Kawi has a 17-inch).

The DRz400S is great for shorter distances (say <200km day) and *untouchable* when off-road compared with the others -- it'll do ~ 100MPH (saw 160km/h on the speedo, bars waggling a bit), *but* the extra torque of the 650s is a huge advantage for long distance and doing adventure touring, or if you want to haul a passenger around. Those older motors are under less stress and revving lower should last longer for those riding longer distances. Also the added weight makes them somewhat more stable on the highway.

Hey, look -- some totalmo info:

http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/2 ... R-Z400.htm
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/2 ... R650SE.htm
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/2 ... KLR650.htm
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/2 ... KLR650.htm
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/2 ... XR650L.htm

I see the XR650 also has "18-inch rear wheel for greater tire selection. "