Oh dirt.. why do you look like so much fun?

[Survivalism]

I watch videos of people riding dirt and just get so jealous, i have always wanted a dirt bike but decided to get a street bike as my first bike and just wound up buying the f4i when a found a decent deal. Im really getting the itch to sell/trade the f4i away for a drz400 enduro hopefully with a set of sumo wheels, can tear up the dirt or the street.

One of the reasons i got the f4i was the highway stability and i had planned on doing some decently long trips but have never gotten around to doing anything i couldnt have done on a drz i think.


Will the drz be compareable to the f4i in any way at all? I know the drz gets great gas mileage, has a small stock tank, but im assuming it also has really cheap insurance.

Also what kind of gear do you guys wear when riding on the street to dirt, textile / leather / hybrid or what? I am clueless lol.

Any info about dirtbikes, gear, riding dirt or riding sumo would be appreciated.

[tecknojoe]

That DRZ will feel a lot different. It'll be a lot less stable at highway speeds. The cornering/handling will feel different. My WR costs $20 a month for full coverage, and I'm a 24 year old single male. I wear regular bike gear on the WR since I don't have any sumo gear, but I DO want a sumo helmet since I don't want to trash my arai if I fack up in the dirt. A lot of guys also wear full MX gear if they do sumo track days (I'm assuming they have them in CO just like they do here in WV). You will definitely feel a lack of power switching to a sumo though. Unless you get something with a beefy engine. Going from my R6 to the WR250 is obviously a huge stretch. But it's refreshing to ride the R6 for a few weeks, then jump no the WR for a completely different type of ride

[Aracheon]

Insurance on the DR-Z is SUPER cheap. I pay less than $10/mo for full coverage for my '09 S.

[Devaclis]

The DRZ is nothing like the F4i in any way other than they are both motorcycles.

The DRZ, with road tires is stable at highway speeds, but it is not fast.

The DRZ it tall and top heavy and I hate crashing ONLY because I hate picking the damned thing back up.

The DRZ is cheaper to buy and insure

The DRZ is not a canyon carver (by design)

The DRZ can take you anywhere on and off road you want to go and carry all of your gear with it.

The DRZ is a more forgiving bike. It handles gravel on the streets better. It will take bumps, holes, ditches, stairs, old ladies MUCH better than a sportbike.

The DRZ has a shorter range. I get about 80 miles out of a tank.

The DRZ is more fun

THe DRZ is more versatile

The DRZ is more likely to get you ticketed for trespassing, riding on sidewalks, riding in school yards, going up and down stairs, wheelies, stopies, roosting, and general hooliganism.

The DRZ will also score you TONS of chics.

But it. I dare ya.

[Aracheon]

The DRZ is nothing like the F4i in any way other than they are both motorcycles.

The DRZ, with road tires is stable at highway speeds, but it is not fast.

The DRZ it tall and top heavy and I hate crashing ONLY because I hate picking the damned thing back up.

The DRZ is cheaper to buy and insure

The DRZ is not a canyon carver (by design)

The DRZ can take you anywhere on and off road you want to go and carry all of your gear with it.

The DRZ is a more forgiving bike. It handles gravel on the streets better. It will take bumps, holes, ditches, stairs, old ladies MUCH better than a sportbike.

The DRZ has a shorter range. I get about 80 miles out of a tank.

The DRZ is more fun

THe DRZ is more versatile

The DRZ is more likely to get you ticketed for trespassing, riding on sidewalks, riding in school yards, going up and down stairs, wheelies, stopies, roosting, and general hooliganism.

The DRZ will also score you TONS of chics.

But it. I dare ya.

[MetaLord 9]

You might score a one ton chick, but I dunno about smaller denominations...

[DorJammer]

I ride both

for the street an Aprilia RST1000
Huge power, tons of passing torque, top end some where above 135 (I have never found it), Shiny, Loud, Awesome.. I own the rode when I am on it

For the Dirt, a KDX200
Nimble, light, "flickable", with the FMF Gnarly pipe and the Boysen reeds, tons of low end umph, it's GREEN, dirty, blows oil out its a$$ and I get a huge rush riding up the hills at rampart with it

but riding dirt is a MUCH more intimate experiance then riding the road. On the road its cagers and defensive driving, and apex placement.

In dirt, well I remmeber once my inner child screaming TREE TREE look out for the TREE, and my other voice going FU@K it its a small tree!

I love both, but dirt gives ya stories, and scabs, and the occasional bruise. You will experiance more adrenilin in 10 miles of dirt then a whole day of roads

[Bueller]

You will experiance more adrenilin in 10 miles of dirt then a whole day of roads

No shit!

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

No shit!

Ummmm, I'll have to disagree with that. I've had some great dirt rides, but nothing like the street rides I've done, especially this summer.

[Bueller]

Ummmm, I'll have to disagree with that. I've had some great dirt rides, but nothing like the street rides I've done, especially this summer.

That only means you ride crap trails. If I had to choose between trails and street, there would be no hesitation. Any monkey can ride a street bike.

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

That only means you ride crap trails. If I had to choose between trails and street, there would be no hesitation. Any monkey can ride a street bike.

Mmmm, I did some really technical trails a few years agi near Buena Vista (I can find out where if interested). My buddies thought they were awesome, but I really don't like the really tight stuff like that. I have a '91 KX500 set up for running desert (lived in the SoCal desert not too far from Barstow), and that bike was NOT the thing to have riding those trails......in the cold rain....almost at treeline....jetted for Cleveland at 200ft above sea level. I got so tired of keeping the thing running and kick-starting the beast. We went up and down really steep, scary, rutted, boulder-lined trails, and, honestly, I'm surprised I didn't biff it except when I just stepped off it once when I was just too damn tired to save it again when I hit a big wet tree root. We did some stream crossings of probably 2' deep as well. I had much more fun the next day running flat out on the fire roads and up some steep double track at speed. THAT'S what that bike was meant for. I LOVED riding it in the desert when I lived out there. Trails in almost every direction as far as you could see. I think Moab would be a great place for it once I rejet it. Got the 5-gal tank and skidplates already.

Any monkey can ride a dirtbike as well. I prefer the streetbike because there's no way you could do 1,800 miles in 4 days on a dirtbike, thru the scenery and twisties I went thru. And if you don't think the roads I found weren't a total adrenalin rush.....well.......you didn't look at the pictures hard enough......

[Zach929rr]

Sumo is the best of everything. I can highway to the canyons, keep up with bigger bikes anywhere besides the long sweepers and straights, go ride Rampart, go downtown and do some urban/hooligan shit, and ride it back home on 1 tank of gas, all in the same day.

[Sean]

You need a 09 KLR650. I'll sell one to you.

[Sarge]

You need a 09 KLR650. I'll sell one to you.

How much?

[tecknojoe]

Thanks a ton man!

So the only difference in a sumo and enduro setup is tire grip and breaking ability right? 50/50 dirt / street tires on an enduro would still be good for riding the street / canyons / maybe some hooligan stuff but still get enough grip in the dirt?

I've got a WR250x. If you want to check it out, I'd be happy to meet up so you can ride it around sometime. I'll be living in highlands ranch starting October 20th (and I commute to Aurora so I could meetup on the way home from work, if I ride in). Sumo is definitely one of the coolest things I've gotten into lately. I don't get much of a chance to go offroad with the WR, but when I do I have a blast. and I'm still on the battleaxe street tires that came with it.

If you really fall in love with it, I'd be willing to sell it too. I could use the money since moving across the country is expensive as shit

Check out the WR250R or X model. Not as quick off the line as the DRZ. But can still hang. At IMI I was quicker in the turns on my WRR than the DRZ but lacked the exit speed. However, in the dirt it's a much more capable bike than the DRZ.

I have the R model which is the dirt setup but I bought a 17s for more street riding. Which makes the bike 2 in one.

I carve my WR in the twistys here in VA with all the other guys. have an absolute blast and I don't really get left behind too much. but man it's a blast when u pwn some newb on a 600 through a corner on ur "little dirtbike"

[Survivalism]

Lol thanks for all the input guys, a drz with a good sumo setup replaces the tires, rims, front disk and master cylinder right?

When riding dirt alone how do you make sure you dont run out of gas lol? I know you can buy bigger tanks for the drz but i wouldnt know where any of the dirt roads go or where any gas stations would be. Are their websites that have info for this or anything?


EDIT: Lol shiny, the infamous klr can stay with its loving owner

[dirkterrell]

When riding dirt alone how do you make sure you dont run out of gas lol?

I have one of these:



mounted thusly on the XR:



(That's Sean looking up the answer to "Should Pennsylvania Gulch be attempted with heavy dual sport bikes?" and the answer was "Only if you're insane.")

Dirk

[Zach929rr]

There's .5gal container kits and small cans you can mount on a rack. Drz sumo has all the street goodies on it. Probably wouldn't hurt to get some case savers and a SS front brake line.

[Survivalism]

There's .5gal container kits and small cans you can mount on a rack. Drz sumo has all the street goodies on it. Probably wouldn't hurt to get some case savers and a SS front brake line.

Would you recommend buying the drz sumo or buying a plated drz dirt / enduro and putting a sumo setup on it? Would it make any noticeable difference?

Can you put street/dirt tires on sumo rims and ride that in the dirt? I know some of you crazy people ride your pure street tires on dirt but i would like some traction at the beginning lol

[TFOGGuys]

Would you recommend buying the drz sumo or buying a plated drz dirt / enduro and putting a sumo setup on it? Would it make any noticeable difference?

Can you put street/dirt tires on sumo rims and ride that in the dirt? I know some of you crazy people ride your pure street tires on dirt but i would like some traction at the beginning lol

The ideal setup would be a DRZ-E model that someone else has gone through the process of plating, then add sumo wheel and front brake setup. The off road bikes have a different carb that offers vastly better throttle response and power than the street bikes. I can get some pretty attractive deals on sumo wheels and brake setups, PM me if you're interested.

[FZRguy]

The ideal setup would be a DRZ-E model that someone else has gone through the process of plating, then add sumo wheel and front brake setup. The off road bikes have a different carb that offers vastly better throttle response and power than the street bikes. I can get some pretty attractive deals on sumo wheels and brake setups, PM me if you're interested.

You mean like this.... Nine months and $5K later.

[Aracheon]

^^^

[Sean]

(That's Sean looking up the answer to "Should Pennsylvania Gulch be attempted with heavy dual sport bikes?" and the answer was "Hold mah beer and watch this!")

Fixed

^^^

I wouldn't laugh to hard. We almost took you up something harder

[Aracheon]

Fixed

I wouldn't laugh to hard. We almost took you up something harder

And I learned quickly that gravity is a law that must be obeyed.