View Single Post
Old 06-27-2020, 01:31 PM   #12
krat   krat is offline
 
Join Date: Nov 2019
Location: KY
Posts: 277
It seems that you have put your wife on a dirt bike that can not be ridden on the road, so family is out of the equation now.

That is unless you are towing bikes to the trail head to eliminate the highway time and arrive at camp fresh. Then what you buy does not matter.

As for the on road/off road capabilities, that is totally subjective and advice is irrelevant. I was talking to a guy at the Honda dealership the other day and he was trying to trade up on his Africa Twin because it would not "keep up on the interstate". I don't know what he was trying to keep up with but those were his words. He was pushing 100 hp, and capable of 120 mph and it was not enough!

I also just watched a review on Rivzilla of a guy talking about his KTM 940 Supermoto. He had owned this 940cc beast for ten years and his opinion was that it was buzzy at highway speeds and very uncomfortable on long runs.

The interstate is a b!t#h to ride on any motorbike! Even a touring bike is no match for the wind blast of a piggy-back rig at 80 mph. And eventually, no matter how fast/slow a bike is, you are going to run through a radar trap and at that point they start charging a secondary fee for the speed you insisted was necessary.

All dual sports and adventure bikes are a compromise. You give up trail ability or you give up highway ability.

Personally I would say forget the interstate and start planning the journey around secondary roads where you are enjoying the journey as well as the destination.

I agree with Franque, the DRZ 400 has held my attention for a long time and I would be happy on one if I could find one at a decent price locally.

400cc is a good spot once you decide to stay off the interstate unless absolutely necessary, and most 400 cc bikes will get you a ticket if you push them. Plenty of power for the back roads, not overwhelmingly heavy, off road capable and able to pack a load of camping gear.

Plus they are small enough to share space in the trailer with the wife's bike when you take her along.
__________________
%90 of the Chinese motorbikes ever made are still on the road. The other %10 made it back home.


 
Reply With Quote