Been looking at a few. Suzuki DR-650 Seems to be the best mix of road vs off-road.  Kawasaki KLR-650 seems to be better on the highway, but much slower on rough trails.  Honda CRF gets quite a few neg reviews. Quick roadblock dodge into a rocky creek bed escape being the test, which fares better, for a street legal bike. DR-650S, KLR-650, DR-Z400S or CRF250L?

I realize there are more, but this is what is available in my area.

After a lot of research I am going to buy a Kawasaki KLX 300. The CRF300L is a close second. Not much availability here locally but they can be found.

I rode a KLR for many many miles. Loved that thing. If I was to get back into the ADV game it would be with another KLR for sure.

What is your intended purpose for the bike?

I’ve never heard great things about the KLR off-road.
DR-650 is a good bike.
Preferably I’d say a KTM 500 with the 4 gallon fuel tank. 240lbs and there are endless parts and accessories made by everyone.

But extreme bug out bike which I really want if I ever find one is a Hayes M1030- super rare military diesel on a KLR platform.

Trail riding, off road exploring, commuting to work (only 5 miles away), potential bug out bike. Emphasis on off road.

Yeah the Hayes and KLM are cool. But budget is under $7k

The only KLX they have in my area is the SM supermoto..total street tires. Otherwise Id sure consider it.

Seem like a very solid bike for a long haul...but seemed massive next to the DR,  KLX and  CRF.

I’d go with a DR650 they can not be killed and hold their value pretty well. My first dual sport was a DR650, wish I still had it.

Not easy to find but a Husaberg FE570 would fit your budget and murders new bikes. The Husaberg is technically a KTM just made the 570 from 2009-2011.

DR, KLR and the DRZ are all solid choices and have excellent support. Go ride each one and the. Make your decision. They are all great bikes, but ride very different.

You might consider the Honda XR650L.
I've been happy with mine.

KLX 300 SM has the street tires...... but it has significantly improved brakes. Look at it.  Also very high on my list, is Honda CRF 300L, both of these bikes are fuel injected thats a good thing.  Many of the other bikes are 20+ yr old technology some use a carb.
If you have never ridden a dual sport with trials tires (the crap that comes on them)  you need to realize the DOT approved trials tires suck at almost everything they look like knobby tires but will slide out from under you on grass etc. and are horrible on wet pavement. The DRZ400 is also a valid choice and I looked at a used one where the guy had two sets of wheels one with street tires one with knobby tires, naturally you would never have the correct ones on the bike.  I've had KLR 650 and the brakes absolutely were not adequate which makes the KLX 300 SM highly improved brakes look like a real winner.  I have had Honda 250 both dual sport and XR the dual sport was a very fun light bike but limited by the trials tires and would have been much more off road capable with better tires. The CRF 300L has a 6 speed transmission and is a pretty capable street machine if a guy put better tires on it that is definitely a winner.  The KLX 300 SM also a 6 speed but with street tires would be an incredible advantage on the road particularly if its wet and probably not much worse than trials tires off road, certainly it would be the most capable of aggressive cornering and turns on road and highly desirable if the road was wet.  I don't think you can go wrong with either of these, the tire choice is significant and you need to pick based on what you will actually do with it.  XR 650 is a carb but it's air cooled so less parts to go wrong. Finding any of these is hit and miss right now due to shipping issues.

Def stay away from the klr650 then. If you haven't sat on one yet go do it, you'll find its a pig. Would suck for single track or smaller. Look up some youtube vids of guys trying to do single track on an incline with a KLR Doable but not ideal!

ETA: here ya go


A lot of trail/offroaders like the small bikes like the KLX, the WR250R and finally the 400drz being the biggest.

Ive been through the exact same questions and debate. Thought I wanted a KLR till I did some reading around here and thumpertalk.com <<--- that is a YUGE info resource BTW.

Dr650s is where I settled after doing the exact same search as you. It's more of an on road bike with stock tires and the 650 is good enough to do some lengthy rides. With off road tires, it will do logging trails etc but it's heavy and will not be as nimble as some of the 300s.

DR works


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Been thinking about the same thing.  I'm 65 and have been riding most of my life.
Ran bikes on the track and trail in my teens and on the road in later years.
About 12 years ago I took a buddy's dual sport out in the Ohio old strip mining country, they were riding 4 wheelers.
It was a kawasaki 175 4 stroke think they called it the barbie bike lol.
It was a rainy muddy day and this bike had worn out no tread tires.
Everything from mud & stones & deep water holes.
I made it back to the cabin completely worn-out with comments like I can't believe you didn't go down.
Now I've used that same bike riding on the road and kept up no problem with big road bikes.

My thinking now is its not the power as so much the weight that matters to me and the seat height.
If I'm tired and need to stop or get stuck my feet need to reach the ground  lol.
So my preference would be #1 weight #2 seat height  and ground clearance.

These seem to be a popular option
https://www.yamahamotorsports.com/dual-sport/models/tw200

The Rokon beats every bike listed in the above categories
The exception is commuting as it only tops out around 37

Had a WR250R. Pretty gutless. Had to feather the clutch on big hill climbs. Did everything I asked though. I just wanted more power. Got a WR450F. It's great in the dirt. Street manners aren't fantastic, but it's rideable and I don't do much pavement. Easy to get plated. Gas mileage isn't great, but I don't do long adventure rides. Probably not the ideal bugout bike.

Everything is a tradeoff. Bikes good on the street, suck on dirt. Bikes good in the dirt, suck on the street. Bikes that split the difference kinda suck all around. For a legit "bug out bike", I'd probably go old and simple.

How is it superior on dirt to any plated dirtbike? I think they're good for people who aren't incredibly skilled on motorcycles. I don't mean that in an insulting way. I'm no pro, but I could do more on any number of plated dirtbikes than I could a rokon. I test drove one, but don't own one. I have owned a TW200. Similar concept. Gas powered mule. Fat tires have some good points, but it's outweighed by larger wheels, more power, and longer suspension for someone who is experienced. Snow would probably be the one exception. Maybe really soupy mud.

Just picked up a KLX300 Dual Sport. Only put a few miles on it so can’t really give a review but it gets good reviews from almost every source.

Been riding for 52 years started out on a Honda 50 at 4 years old. Currently own a XR650L for dirt and 2022 KLR 650.

Have owned a few DR's, both 650 and DRZ400's. All quickly got sold off after a few miles. Just don't like the power, handling or reliability. IMHO they are the most over hyped bikes on the market. All have been a major disappointment and will never make another DR mistake again.

The XR650L are some of the most reliable bikes I've owned. Have beaten the snot out of those bikes throughout the years and NEVER have been stranded. Sure you have to replace the tank and rejet but that's SOP for most bikes. Good suspension factory and great power. From the early XL500's, 600's and into the 650l's all have been drop dead, reliable great bikes. More of a street legal dirt bike.

The KLR650's have been good bikes over the years as well. But I would put them more in the road or single track category only. They are heavier and just don't have the suspension for hard off road use. Reliable as a rock after you fix the couple known issues. Was a budget buy at $6500 new vs 10-12k plus for a Tenere.

Also have owned and ridden multiple 250 and 300 KLX, XR and CRF's. Just can never get past the lack of power. Sure they are good for poking around in the woods. However take them on the road and you become a 55mph traffic hazard. There is no replacement for displacement and a 300 just won't compare to a 650.

KTM has started to produce some very interesting bikes. Would seriously look into those as well, if you can afford it. Before you make a DR mistake.

Aside from speed and air, what can you do "more" of on a dirt bike?
(I'm an experienced 2s and DS rider)

I guarantee I can go places on a Rokon that a dirt bike couldn't touch easily if at all, they are like a mountain goat
They climb so well that they can actually be dangerous as a rider can get in way over their head and have a long fall
We go out on ours with friends on their DB's, quads, SxS, and leave them behind as soon as we go off trail

You want to bomb along a road or trail at high speed or get some air sure a dirt bike will smoke the Rokon
You want to get truly off road and into some seriously rugged terrain, the Rokon shines

The best comparison I can think of is a Sherp versus some modded out trick 4x4
It may be slow and lacking all the noise and drama... but it will get you there

I had a CRF250L and really liked with with one exception. It struggled to maintain 60mph uphill on the road. I like to do some longer road rides, so I traded it in a DR 650. I really like it so far. Much better power and only a little more weight.

I added a new 4.9 gallon tank… don’t have pics with it yet.
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I have a 2013 KLX 250S, which has been a great all around bike. It’s seen a fair amount of road miles, even rode across the Mackinac bridge a couple times. It’s seen a lot of off road use, sand, deep mud, rocks, etc. I’ve taken it places where some people would’ve said a dual sport had no business being but it always got through, maybe with an exhausted rider at the end of the day.

I’ll be upgrading to a KLX 300 for the extra displacement and fuel injection.

The DR 650 in stock form is garbage.  There is no power, the pegs are mushy, the throttle is sluggish, the bars are too low, the fuel tank is too small…I could go on and on.  But the aftermarket support amazing.  Those bikes can be built to be fantastic all around bikes!  They are the AR-15 of the dual sport world!  The can be accessorized, souped up and prettied up as much or more as our namesake gun.

For the guy saying the DRs are not reliable, get a XR650…ridiculous!  Sorry if you bought bad ones. But the DRs have been driven all over the world, in the shittiest conditions and have come out smelling like roses.  Comparing the reliability of the XR650 to the DR650 is like comparing the reliability or a ‘96 Honda Civic to a ‘97 Toyota Corolla.  Is one more reliable than the other?  Maybe, but who the hell knows! They’re both damned reliable!

Guess i could "bug out" on this -- its tagged.   Top speed on pavement is only about 70 though with stock moto oriented gearing  ,   but would like to figure out a rack / bag system for it for light camping/overland duty

Hard debate between the drz400 and the dr650.

Im leaning towards the DR because of the seat height. Sat on one at it was perfect, almost completely flat footed. However I'd hate to get into some knarly single track and wish I had a smaller bike.

Im no novice, but Im no expert. Pretty sure I can handle the DR in tight stuff. No way I'd go KLR though.

You aren’t talking about the xr650L right? Have to be talking about the 650R which seems like a bad comparison. The 650L was always known to be rock solid reliable as far as I know.

For the intended purpose, DR650.

For this fictional scenario, with these choices -- the DRZ 400

But the real answer is either 1980 Yamaha XT 250,  Or 1960 Triumph TR Trophy

I have a 22 CRF300L and I’m happy with it. 95% on dirt, gravel and sand. I would not want a bulkier bike for the riding I do around here.

This.   But good luck finding one, not to mention big $$$$$$$.

You'll never find one on the open market and the Military is not selling what they have.

I saw two of them on eBay for 10k recently. Low low miles too


Edit-  thought I quoted the poster above me.

Both bikes were the diesel version “KLR’s”.

I could be wrong but I think a member here had one. He bought several military bikes and I thought one was a diesel.

I’ve been happy with my old KLR650.  It’s a big bitch on the trails but has never left me stranded.


Dohickey mod and upgraded radiator.

Been debating buying a new one because I can snag a new old stock for 5gs.

If you want it for shtf bug out bike, get a carbureted Honda of some sort like a xr650 and have a bike that will be used in the wastelands by your grandchildren.

I rode a KLR off road once and I thought it was awful.  They are huge.

I've got a WR400 that is heavy as well but way more nimble than the KLR.