Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Little background: I live south of Pheonix, looking to sell my Jeep and purchace a Bike. I am extremely new to bikes; just stepped out of the womb. I had discussion with a coworker about the type of bike i should get. He said enduro (same thing as DuelSport im guessing) so i looked it up. Here are just a few models that drew my attention thus far:

Yamaha XT 350/600
Kawasaki KLR 250/600
Honda XL 600
Susuki DR 650

Im looking for a safe but fun, cheap bike. From what i read the gas/milage ratio on Bikes is great.

If anyone could answer a few questions, and give some imput/advice it would be very helpful :
- Would you recommend a Duel Sport for ME?
- Which model would you see fitting, any particual years?
- Engine power, could i handle the 600's? (im by no means small ~270lbs.)

I appriciate your time and suggestions
Thanks!

Well first of all, to the forums! And yeah, Enduro = Dual-Sport. As for the selling your jeep and purchasing a Dual-Sport. Do you have another vehicle for transportation? Also, have you ever ridden a bike before at all? If not, most of us around here will recommend the MSF safety course. It lets you learn on someone else's bike how to use the clutch, throttle, brakes, etc.

Also, if you want, I'm up in Northern Phoenix, at MMI (but I live at Glendale/I-17) and I'm more than willing to check out prospective bikes and help you learn how to ride. Anyway, welcome to the forums again, let me know if I can be of any service!
Wrider

EDIT: Your questions!

1. Yes, gas mileage is usually pretty good for bikes.
2. Depends on what kind of riding you're gonna do, if you're gonna do some off road, some on road, then yeah, they're great. If it's mostly gonna be onroad with some offroad you may want to consider an adventure bike.
3. 650 is a questionable beginner's bike in the dual-sport category, even for big guys like us (I'm 6'2" and 280 lbs) Personally I'd probably recommend a 450 first bike. (Keep in mind most dual-sports are very tall in the saddle to keep suspension from bottoming out).

Hard to say whether or not a dual-sport would work for you. Do you plan to do a lot of dirt riding as well as street riding?

No matter what you get, I also recommend taking the MSF course. It's a much less painful way of learning that trying to figure it out on your own.

To Wrider:

I do not have another vehicle once i sell my Jeep, i do live with my brother and another roommate whom both have a car. I also have never touched a bike so i guess from your recommendation and others i should find a MSF class somewhere in town.

Flynrider:

Right now im looking for a bike which will be used maily for commuting to work (about 6 miles away). But i would love to be able to go off road with it. I live in Maricopa city, which is still far from developed so i figure a duelsport would suite me well. I heard about a bike show down at firebird on the 12th, I might wait to check that one out to get some advice.

Thanks to both of your responces

First off-
I hope you mean the KLR650 not the KLR600
And the XR650- not the XR600
The XR600 was a beast of a bike, would be a little much for a new rider.

I would try the new Yamaha WR250R
Fuel injected, 30HP.

EDIT-
Heres the TMW link to the WR250R
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/2 ... WR250R.htm

Hey, if you go to http://www.teamarizona.com they have your list of local classes. A friend of mine just signed up for one, the first available was for May 3rd and 4th up in Glendale, and it was filling up, so make sure to visit! And if you don't have another vehicle, keep in mind it's gonna be a WARM summer, so make sure to do research on gear (buy the right gear and it's cooler than riding naked). Otherwise, feel free to PM me if you want my number or want me to help you out looking for a bike!
Wrider