Dirt Planet and the Family

[pistolclass]

My wife expressed an interest to learn to ride, specifically on the dirt. Knowing this needs to go well, I took no chances by trying to teach the Mrs on my tall Hawk. We signed up for a private class at Planet Dirt (www.planetdirt.com) in Plympton MA. They claim if you can ride a bicycle you can ride a dirtbike. I will let you know how it goes. If this motorcycle thing gets serious I'm thinking a Yamaha XT250 for Mrs pistolclass and a Tenere 700 for me.

[Ina Ditch]

Originally Posted by pistolclass

My wife expressed an interest to learn to ride, specifically on the dirt. Knowing this needs to go well, I took no chances by trying to teach the Mrs on my tall Hawk. We signed up for a private class at Planet Dirt (www.planetdirt.com) in Plympton MA. They claim if you can ride a bicycle you can ride a dirtbike. I will let you know how it goes. If this motorcycle thing gets serious I'm thinking a Yamaha XT250 for Mrs pistolclass and a Tenere 700 for me.

subscribed

[pistolclass]

Report: Planet Dirt was a blast!!

Wife wants new bikes ASAP. There is not a Honda dealership in New England with a CRF125FB in stock because of COVID.

Here is my boy on a CRF50.

[franque]

If you want a big dirt bike, I don't think that I'd be looking at a Ténéré 700, that's a sports touring bike with dirt pretensions, it weighs too much to be treated like a dirt bike, without a lot of experience (something that I lack myself, riding off road, that is), it'd just be a big, top-heavy bike that's hard to pick up after dumping it. If you want a big dirt bike, look at either a 450 (after you have some experience), or a big 4/KTM/Husqvarna 250, or perhaps a DRZ400/XR400/XR250/XR600. If you want to go really big, get an XR650R, and go win a couple of Baja races.

[krat]

I have to agree here. The 700 is an excellent bike for what it is, which is an adventure bike for lugging long paved road miles and occasional jaunts down a fire road.

It is not a beginners bike and it is not one step up from a 250.

I know that here in the States people consider a 650 a beginners bike but they are not riding in the dirt, they are on the street where ambulances are nearby.

The Tenere 700 has gotten a lot of press recently, mostly because it has been supplied to a lot of press people for free. Lots of experienced riders are considering or buying it but most are not flocking to the dealership because it has made everything on the dirt obsolete. Their appearance has not reduced the prices of good used mid weight dual sports at all.

Riding in the dirt is a different hobby. I know people that have ridden for years and never dropped their bike, on the street. On the dirt it is a normal and natural thing to dump your bike several times daily. That is one of the reasons you hear experienced street riders say they are crap on the dirt! They think that because their bike washed out the front wheel in the gravel that they are crap. No, they are just riding in the gravel.

Now on a 250 you have a sub 300 pound bike to stand back up 15 dimes a day. On the 700 you are picking up a 600 pound bike with full fuel load. Do that a half dozen times real fast!!!!

It is really exciting to watch the You-tube videos where they run wide open in the dirt like they were running the Dakar Rally, but they never mention that Dakar has a 450cc size limit on the bikes.

[pistolclass]

I have my Hawk for the dirty stuff, but I really want something to cover some miles with some dirt in between. I would like to do the NE BDR. I've been riding for years. I took a few decade break, then got back into it with my Hawk. I really wish they made a Tenere 400. But they don't and I want something that I can strap stuff to and go off-road.

I live in CT and have property in NH. Buzzing up I-91 for 230 miles on a mainly dirt bike doesn't seem that appealing. I'm open to suggestions on finding my unicorn bike.

The NE BDR doesn't look that difficult. I hear folks do it on BMW 1200's.

[franque]

I'd get a DRZ400/DR650/XR650L then. The DR would be the heaviest of the three, but the best in the highway, and lighter and much better than a KLR650 in every way. The only thing that would give me pause about the XR650L would be the fact that they tend to go through oil if you're doing 'fast highway' (75-80mph+) speeds for hours on end. It's a bit better than the DR offroad though. I'd try to sit on all three and see what you think. They're a bit taller, but in my opinion, lowering the bikes excessively ruins the dual purpose nature of them.

[krat]

Are you still all about the family on this one, because if you are it does not matter what you are riding down the interstate you are limited to the speed of the slowest bike in the family, not how fast over the limit you want to go, how deep your wallet is and how many points are on your license.

Even if everyone else is riding a GS there is still a 70 MPH speed limit sign in the highway, and on the dirt you still have the laws of physics to contend with. And there is that old situation where the guy with the best bike in the group is also the worst rider.

It's all relative.

People have gone around the world on the Honda CRF250, and carried everything they needed. They have also done it on Honda postie bikes and someone ran the Mongolian Rally last year on a pair of Sinnis 125cc models.

I'm sure someone has done the NE BDR on a Harley Fat Boy so what you NEED for that one jaunt is a matter of opinion also.

It's OK if you want a Tenere 700, even if I would buy a dozen other bikes ahead of it. It is not a bike I could handle at this point in my life. Unless I had two or three buddies with me to pick it up I doubt that I would ever have been able to handle it.

Are you trying to get us to talk you out of it or into it?

As for your unicorn bike??? That would be a Honda NC750X.

[pistolclass]

All awesome advice. What does the crowd think about CRF450L? Plausible to ride from CT to NH (250 miles) with some camping gear for a weekend? Set up camp then hit the dirt?

I just picked up my wife a CRF125F and she has been practicing around the yard. We have 13 acres but she is staying on the gravel driveway and the lawn. She is not ready for the woods yet.

[duck9191]

Originally Posted by pistolclass

All awesome advice. What does the crowd think about CRF450L? Plausible to ride from CT to NH (250 miles) with some camping gear for a weekend? Set up camp then hit the dirt?

I just picked up my wife a CRF125F and she has been practicing around the yard. We have 13 acres but she is staying on the gravel driveway and the lawn. She is not ready for the woods yet.

Awesome bikes, just not worth the price tag to most. They have a bit steeper maintenance interval too.

[franque]

I'd get a Yamaha WR450F if you can plate it if you're spending CRF450L money, as it costs less and has a proven track record for reliability. The 450L is too new to say. You wouldn't really want to do many highway miles on a race-oriented Enduro like any of the 450 class.

Honestly though, start with something less powerful. If you've only ridden a bit on Chinese bikes and some air-cooled Japanese 250s, it'll be a whole new world in terms of power to weight ratio.

It's better to get something cheap, get some riding experience, and then move up after some time. The class you took is a start, but that doesn't mean you're ready for a powerful bike, particularly in the woods. Heck, if you want new, get one of the CRF250Fs. Any 450 will be too powerful, the DRZ-400 is quite a bit different, it would be more approachable, and would probably be the best balance between okay on the highway, and good in the woods, though you might have to change your gearing when you set up camp.

Getting something less powerful, while you develop skills, will save you money on the front end (less expensive initial purchase price), and on the back end, as you're less likely to get injured.

Just trying to save you some heartache and money.

[krat]

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.