So,  for someone 6'4, 290lb, would this be a good starter bike for someone my size?

Any other suggestions?

The DL650 might be a better option.  You would have more power and be better on the road.

ride red

XR650L


I absolutely love mine

This.

Unless you really expect to do lots of off road he's right.

On the other hand, Stroms aren't great off road.

Most guys fantasize about riding off road with their dual sport/ADV bikes but the reality is that they spend 87% of their time on pavement.

For the money the DL650 (or 1,000) are amazing bikes.

To do what? Road ride? Dirt ride? Mix of both (and if so what's the split)? Any prior experience?

Tall, yes.  Powerful?  No.

A buddy had one.  He was 6'1", 210 lbs.  He always wanted one, so he finally bought it.  Just fine for in town, or cruising at 55 on two lanes.  Any four lane highway?  If so, he hated it.  Too much vibration, too damned slow.  And pretty much forget passing anybody.  really  underpowered for highway driving, but a lumbering heavy pig for off road.

If you want a decent bike,with an upright riding position, at a modest cost, look closely at a new (2012 or newer) suzuki V strom.  Similar riding position, but roughly DOUBLE the engine power of the KLR.  MUCH better for highway...

If you want to ride dirt, forget it.  The V strom  isn't set up for it.  Go get an actual dirt bike...

No prior experience, 70/30 paved to dirt roads.  Thousands of miles of dirt roads around, trails to ride.

I've had my 2006 KLR for 8 years, along with other more street oriented bikes.
I love the KLR for what it is. Will sell it in November for a GenII.
It does everything...but nothing very well

As it's been stated, when the apocalypses hits; cockroaches and KLR's will be the only things left.

ETA: yes, for your size and experience, good starter bike. Tons of websites dedicated to the machine (KLR650.net)

I rode my KLR for 10 years and am just now getting a different bike. For two lane paved and dirt roads it was fine and lots of fun.

My KLR has no problem staying ahead of traffic, even two up. Power is not an issue, and this is coming from a guy with two 1000cc literbikes in his garage.

Just don't buy it thinking it will be a performance bike. A KLR is a bike that will get you there when you Abolsutely, Positively Have To Be There Overnight.

I had a klr, I loved it an 02

I put around 90000km on it, spent a lot of time off road and buried it in Muskegon alot.

It is a heavy beast in mud, especially to pull out it is also very top heavy but it was a lot of fun.

I also rode it on street about 50-60%   including a few 1000km single day runs.

It is a good do everything bike but not a great bike for specifics like just dirt or just street.

If I go dual purpose again it will be a KTM or older husaberg or maybe Husqvarna

I have one an it is a fun bike to ride, simple maintenance.
but the new KTM1090 is calling my name and the KLR is going to be for sale soon

OP, what part of GA are you in?

I have a 10 KLX250S, fun bike but majorly underpowered. My buddy has a KLR650, great bike. He rode it around the outside of the entire continental United States a few years back. But as stated it's underpowered, my buddy bike is modded up pretty good too. Cams, full exhaust, various engine work,...it's still a pig. It is what it is. 

I just don't ride like I use to. If I were to stick some money into a bigger, newer bike i'd open up the check book and spring for a KTM 525

What kind of riding are you looking to do with it?

I have a 2009 KLR 650, really happy with it, on the heavy side for serious off road work, it's capable but if you're looking at doing lots of single tracks there's better options. It's more comfortable on the road than a more dirt orientated dual sport.
The nice thing about the KLR650 is there's a ton of them in the used market, shop around and you can find a well cared for used bike for half the price of a new one, ride it for a while and if you don't like it you can sell it and pretty much break even.

2008 is when the Gen IIs came out, beefed up the suspension, better lighting, better brakes and a bunch of other little changes but the bike gained some weight, many consider the 2007 and older bikes better off road bikes and the 2008 and newer better road bikes.

Statesboro area

Surf over to advrider.com for some good material re. the klr.

Buddy if mine has go through two or three of them and just this week got off his wallet and moved up to BMW F800GS.

KLR isn't the most refined machine,  but they're tough.

for a bigger ridera single cylinder 650 is a fine choice for a first bike. that being said if you don't plan on spending much time offroad then there are other 650's that wpuld be better choices. the suzuki V-strom 650 and kawasaki versys 650 come to mind. the versys 650 is a lot of bike for the money and they fit taller riders well. I love mine.

I would imagine a KLR650 would be a decent first bike. Although I have never ridden one, so I can't speak with 100% certainty. But, I do have a Suzuki DR650 which I picked up a month ago. So I am comparing the KLR to my DR. The KLR is more street oriented, where as the DR is more dirt oriented.  But both are similar bikes which get compared to each other all the time.  So consider a DR when looking.  I was open to a KLR, DR or Honda XR650L when I was looking.  I worked out a trade deal on a DR, so it is in my garage.

It will be a taller bike than a dedicated street bike, but that shouldn't be a problem for you. In fact, it will give you more leg room for more comfortable long distance riding.  It will have enough power to keep you interested for a year or more, unlike a small 250. I have ridden liter bikes (Suzuki Bandit 1200S, Yamaha FZ-1, Honda CBR1100XX) for the past 15 years and the DR has just enough go to keep me interested in it. If you like riding, you will be interested in getting a larger street bike eventually like everybody else does. But a 650 single is just enough to be a road bike that you can take on the highway. So it is a bike you can do a bunch of riding with on different roads (highway, secondary back road, dirt roads, etc.). If you are exclusively going to ride secondary roads, you may also consider a DRZ400.  I live in Phoenix and all the good riding is 45 minutes to an hour away via highway, so I went with the DR650 over a DRZ400.

As mentioned, if you buy a cheap KLR, you can ride it for a year and not loose much when you sell it.  So as long as you don't destroy it by crashing or lack of maintenance, it is a great way to get into biking to see if you like it.  I definitely recommend getting a used bike as they are cheap and you will most likely crash it in the first year.  So no need to dump a new bike when you can do it to a cheap used one.  In fact, don't pass up a previously crashed bike, they can be had cheaper than a non-crashed bike.  And you won't feel horrible when you crash it again.

I also can't stress enough how important good gear is.  So take the cost of gear into consideration as an up front cost.  Helmet, jacket, pants, gloves and boots will help protect you in a crash.  And as a new rider, your chances of crashing are much higher than an experienced rider.  Gear can make a low speed tumble into something you can walk away from instead of getting hurt.  It can turn a medium grade crash into something you limp away from rather than taking an ambulance ride.  And it make a lethal crash into something you can survive.

Also consider a new rider's course.  I didn't take one and regret not doing so.  I do think it could have taught me in a few days what took months or years to learn on my own.  Plus it satisfies you motorcycle license requirement and gives you an insurance discount.

KLR is a fine first bike for a big guy. Cheap, reliable, easy to work on, cheap, won't care if you fall over a lot, fun, cheap, and cheap.

I heartily recommend dual sports for first bikes. Good seating position, agile, cheap to insure and repair, no worries if you make your mistakes on them, and they're usually very linear/mild on power.

Do it.

ETA: It's a bit of a pig offroad, if you really want to learn offroad (which I also heartily endorse), a smaller lighter bike will make you a better rider much faster in the dirt, but you can still get there on the KLR....just realize it's a terrible "true" offroad bike, but it can do it. But, dirt is a great way to learn motorcycles without the dire consequences of asphalt.

I sent you an IM message.

Yes.
KLR650 is a good first (or only)
Bike.