KLX351 vs. DRZ400
#11
I owned a '93 650L and it was just ok. Now that's a topheavy tallish bike. I used it to commute to work a couple times and with stock gearing it could cruise at 65 pretty well. Being around 320# wet, it was less affected by crosswinds and it was very reliable. Having the same frame\suspension as the xr600, it was more dirt oriented; my brother raced it in a few enduros and could place it in the top 5 in A open back then. A dr650 has a great motor, lower seat height and can cruise also at 65 ish but is a few pounds heavier than the xr....more street oriented.
#12
The DRZ might be a good choice if you're a 6 footer, or if you come from a background of dirt riding and you're use to tall bikes.
When I was trying to decide between DRZ or KLX I went to a local Suzuki dealer and tried to mount a DRZ. I kicked my right leg over and my foot hit the toolbag and stopped. Had to grab my pant leg and hoist my foot over the seat. Then I used a series of hopping motions to try to get closer to the bike. The dealer saw what was happening and helpfully grabbed the rear end of the bike and uprighted it. I sat there with my legs dangling and the tips of both toes about two inches above the ground. Bought the KLX.
When I was trying to decide between DRZ or KLX I went to a local Suzuki dealer and tried to mount a DRZ. I kicked my right leg over and my foot hit the toolbag and stopped. Had to grab my pant leg and hoist my foot over the seat. Then I used a series of hopping motions to try to get closer to the bike. The dealer saw what was happening and helpfully grabbed the rear end of the bike and uprighted it. I sat there with my legs dangling and the tips of both toes about two inches above the ground. Bought the KLX.
So I simply grab the front brake and step up on the left peg then swing my leg easily over the seat and park my butt.
I'm thinking for even up money I'd do the DRz most likely. As far as the suspension, it is simply just not an inverted fork. I'm not so sure the KLX fork is any big thing since it's pretty much a standard non-cartridge fork. Fact is if the DRz has adjustability on the fork and the KLX doesn't the DRz is probably a better quality suspender. I don't know if the shock is adjustable on the KLX, but most DRzs have adjustable damping on the shocks too.
The main riding you do should rule your choice. A lot of woods and trails do the big inch KLX. If you run a lot of roads do the DRz and maybe step up the countershaft sprocket tooth count or decrease the rear sprocket tooth count. I ride regularly with a friend on his DRz, no problem on any roads we run. On his first one where he did the 17" rims he was constantly doing like 85 mph everywhere on the back roads when we went out playing "joe supermoto"... until he got one of the DRz SM speedo gear drives. Then he realized how fast he was going and backed off. Those engines can take it.
The DRzs are still considered a pretty darn good dual sport by the media - people who pretty much get to ride everything in sight.
Last edited by klx678; 02-20-2011 at 06:17 PM.
#13
I owned a '93 650L and it was just ok. Now that's a topheavy tallish bike. I used it to commute to work a couple times and with stock gearing it could cruise at 65 pretty well. Being around 320# wet, it was less affected by crosswinds and it was very reliable. Having the same frame\suspension as the xr600, it was more dirt oriented; my brother raced it in a few enduros and could place it in the top 5 in A open back then. A dr650 has a great motor, lower seat height and can cruise also at 65 ish but is a few pounds heavier than the xr....more street oriented.
#14
Why not both????
I have a CRF250X that is my lightweight bike, pleny of power but, high strung and high maintenance.
I have the KLX351 which is a great middle weight bike with plenty of grunt and virtually no maintenance needed.
Next year i plan on springing for a used DR650, putting her on a diet, and adding the 780 big bore kit. Then i will have a heavy weight dual sport that weighs in at a smidge over 300lbs. again no maintenance.
If you dont care about frequesnt maintenance and have some cash to throw around, get the KTM 690 enduro. I think it's right at 300 lbs. fuel injected, and real fast.
I have a CRF250X that is my lightweight bike, pleny of power but, high strung and high maintenance.
I have the KLX351 which is a great middle weight bike with plenty of grunt and virtually no maintenance needed.
Next year i plan on springing for a used DR650, putting her on a diet, and adding the 780 big bore kit. Then i will have a heavy weight dual sport that weighs in at a smidge over 300lbs. again no maintenance.
If you dont care about frequesnt maintenance and have some cash to throw around, get the KTM 690 enduro. I think it's right at 300 lbs. fuel injected, and real fast.
#15
You'll end up either doing some work on the forks of the DR or I'd just do a fork swap. The front end doesn't even feel like it tracks right on pavement. The forks on my KLR feel MUCH better even though they're smaller diameter.
#17
I just bought a KLX250S and haven't decided on the 351 kit yet, but I can tell you as a former DRZ400 owner that the 6th gear of the KLX is really nice. The DRZ had the power to cruise the highway with a headwind or hill, but with only 5 gears it sounded like it was ready to grenade and had a lot of vibration. As an experience street/racetrack rider but fairly inexperienced offroad rider I didn't care for the weight or height of the DRZ.
#19
Why not both????
I have a CRF250X that is my lightweight bike, pleny of power but, high strung and high maintenance.
I have the KLX351 which is a great middle weight bike with plenty of grunt and virtually no maintenance needed.
Next year i plan on springing for a used DR650, putting her on a diet, and adding the 780 big bore kit. Then i will have a heavy weight dual sport that weighs in at a smidge over 300lbs. again no maintenance.
If you dont care about frequesnt maintenance and have some cash to throw around, get the KTM 690 enduro. I think it's right at 300 lbs. fuel injected, and real fast.
I have a CRF250X that is my lightweight bike, pleny of power but, high strung and high maintenance.
I have the KLX351 which is a great middle weight bike with plenty of grunt and virtually no maintenance needed.
Next year i plan on springing for a used DR650, putting her on a diet, and adding the 780 big bore kit. Then i will have a heavy weight dual sport that weighs in at a smidge over 300lbs. again no maintenance.
If you dont care about frequesnt maintenance and have some cash to throw around, get the KTM 690 enduro. I think it's right at 300 lbs. fuel injected, and real fast.
Dennis
#20
I too like the idea of the DR650 as more of a long hauler, road oriented bike. It reminds me of the more stripped down, pre-2008 KLR's. Low cost, sturdy motor, and tons of aftermarket to make it the bike you want. It's on my short list for next bike, along with Versys and KLR.
This is a blatant hijack but it's raining out and the reference to the XR650 reminded me of something I saw on a day trip to Columbia in late January that the enduro guys here will recognize.
I saw an enduro looking bike that was a Honda, but the model name was covered. It was older looking and for the life of me I couldn't identify it from 50 feet away which was as close as I could get. I looked at the Honda wiki entry, and the closest I could figure was it was a transalp, but I could have sworn it was either a single or paralell twin, and the transalp is a V. Long story short, I discovered it was a NX650 Dominator, which were only sold stateside for two years in the late 80's.
The XR connection is that I always thought the XR 650 was jist a re-tooled XR 600, with a big bore, but it apparently is the XR 600 chassis with the dominator engine. Reason I thought it was a twin was it had the Honda exhaust with a header for each of the two valves, but instead of merging, there were two cans, one on each side and not stacked on the same side like the Transalp.
I still see some XR 600's on the road, they must really hold up to still be running after all these years, especially as they were often used as a hooligan bike. The Dominator was really cool looking, almost kind of KLR-ish, too bad it didn't sell.
This is a blatant hijack but it's raining out and the reference to the XR650 reminded me of something I saw on a day trip to Columbia in late January that the enduro guys here will recognize.
I saw an enduro looking bike that was a Honda, but the model name was covered. It was older looking and for the life of me I couldn't identify it from 50 feet away which was as close as I could get. I looked at the Honda wiki entry, and the closest I could figure was it was a transalp, but I could have sworn it was either a single or paralell twin, and the transalp is a V. Long story short, I discovered it was a NX650 Dominator, which were only sold stateside for two years in the late 80's.
The XR connection is that I always thought the XR 650 was jist a re-tooled XR 600, with a big bore, but it apparently is the XR 600 chassis with the dominator engine. Reason I thought it was a twin was it had the Honda exhaust with a header for each of the two valves, but instead of merging, there were two cans, one on each side and not stacked on the same side like the Transalp.
I still see some XR 600's on the road, they must really hold up to still be running after all these years, especially as they were often used as a hooligan bike. The Dominator was really cool looking, almost kind of KLR-ish, too bad it didn't sell.
Last edited by sanpedro; 02-25-2011 at 06:53 PM.
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