# motorcycle Q



## CrackbottomLouis

So, I have an old '93 1200 harley sportster all chopped up. Its a nice bike but Like all harleys it does require regular maintanence and as I am not the most mechanically inclined my mistakes are getting expensive. I would like to trade for a dual purpose but dont know anything about them. Any thoughts or advice? Looking in the 4k range.


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## NaeKid

I personally have an '05 Kawasaki KLR650 as my dual-sport bike. There are several others here on the board with KLR's like myself and some with the Suzuki-equivalent (the DR-series) to the KLR. I don't have first-hand knowledge of the DR-series beyond the fact that I have several good friends with the bikes and they love my KLR (from a distance) and I love their DRs (from a distance).

Yamaha makes a great dual-sport in their TW-line as well, I have put my butt on the seat in dealerships, like the size/weight of them but I haven't put coin on one yet. A friend of mine is a dealer in the Konker-line of bikes which are a Suzuki DR-based motorbike re-branded to Konker and sold at a lower price (about two-grand around here).

With your price-range of about four-grand, I wouldn't suggest the KTM or BMW based dual-sports unless you can find a smokin' deal. Those bikes are generally around the ten-grand mark and above, but, they are great bikes all around!

As far as what would do you best - you have to sit on several to figure out which bike fits you well enough, how the seat feels, how your feet reach ground, weight of the bike (DR's are nice-n-light compared to the KLRs) and such. If you have a friend with a dual-sport, maybe take it for a quick-spin - that is if they trust you with their bike.


:beercheer:


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## CrackbottomLouis

Thx for the advice. I looked up the krl's and it seems to be what i had in mind. Now I just have to find someone who wants a trade


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## NaeKid

CrackbottomLouis said:


> Thx for the advice. I looked up the krl's and it seems to be what i had in mind. Now I just have to find someone who wants a trade


Chances are slim that a KLR-rider will trade for a Harley, but, you will find KLR-owners who also have Harley's in their stable-of-rides. I do know of one Harley-rider who bought a KLR and he decided that after a ride to Prudehoe-Bay that he wanted to sell his KLR, but, he isn't trying too hard as he rides it more than his Harley ... :sssh:


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## LincTex

I had a 1993 883cc Sportster that I put a Wiseco 1200 kit in after 3000 miles. I rode it for 50,000 miles and the only part that failed was an oil pressure sensor switch. Other than tires wearing out, that was it. I think it would make a great post-shtf vehicle. It always got 60 mpg.


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## Ration-AL

NaeKid said:


> I A friend of mine is a dealer in the Konker-line of bikes which are a Suzuki DR-based motorbike re-branded to Konker and sold at a lower price (about two-grand around here).


hey you got a link or any more info on these, sounds like a good deal, i haven;t bought a bike since the second inception of the xr-400 back in '96 and have been keeping an eye recently for a good deal, i really like my XR has been going tough ever since i bought it new and i have done some pretty atrocious things to that bike over the years like taking it off of jumps and dropping it 10 ft up among crashing it into trees and drowning it in rivers it still keeps on kicking, how do the new bikes stack up? are they just as tough or like everything else in life has the quality only gone down?


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## JustCliff

http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2009/10/09/harley-davidson-sportster-off-road-conversions/

Im thinking a dual sport Harley.. 
Too bad you are not closer. That would be a fun one to create.


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## NaeKid

Ration-AL said:


> hey you got a link or any more info on these, sounds like a good deal, i haven;t bought a bike since the second inception of the xr-400 back in '96 and have been keeping an eye recently for a good deal, i really like my XR has been going tough ever since i bought it new and i have done some pretty atrocious things to that bike over the years like taking it off of jumps and dropping it 10 ft up among crashing it into trees and drowning it in rivers it still keeps on kicking, how do the new bikes stack up? are they just as tough or like everything else in life has the quality only gone down?


Just do a GoogleSearch for Konker dealers near your place - but - to get you started on what they can do ..


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## CrackbottomLouis

JustCliff said:


> http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2009/10/09/harley-davidson-sportster-off-road-conversions/
> 
> Im thinking a dual sport Harley..
> Too bad you are not closer. That would be a fun one to create.


Those do look like fun. Wish I was closer. I have my doubts though. My bike seems awfully heavy to be an comfortable off road even with adjustments. Ive almost pitched many times on a dirt road when I hit a patch of sand and sunk in. I like the look of those krl 650's i just wish the new ones still came in od green. Im kind of a mechanical idiot but Im learning slowly.


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## Tribal Warlord Thug

just git one of these if ya want to stick with HD......


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## NaeKid

CrackbottomLouis said:


> Those do look like fun. Wish I was closer. I have my doubts though. My bike seems awfully heavy to be an comfortable off road even with adjustments. Ive almost pitched many times on a dirt road when I hit a patch of sand and sunk in. I like the look of those krl 650's i just wish the new ones still came in od green. Im kind of a mechanical idiot but Im learning slowly.


Would this do right for you in the color department?


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## oldwindrow

redacted no need to post at where illegal activities are promoted


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## LincTex

oldwindrow said:


> My only complaint is you got to adjust the valves every 24k miles.


Every single Yamaha manual in existence uses that same arbitrary number, and have been for 20+ years. Suzuki does the same thing. It doesn't matter if it's a sportbike, dirt bike, whatever.... all four-stroke owner's manuals use the same interval for valve adjustment.


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## oldwindrow

redacted no need to post where illegal activities are promoted


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## LincTex

oldwindrow said:


> many of the older honda's state this


Many old Honda cycles have 100000 miles and have never been adjusted. Sure, they are noisy because they have .030 thou of valve lash, but they are still running!!

My 1999 VZ800 Marauder was supposed to have the valve lash checked at 25K. I never did. Almost 80K miles on it now, still have never had the top covers off. Yeah, it's a little noisy....


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## Redtail

Valves? Psh! Screw that, go two-stroke. I accidentally ran my DT250 for about 20 minutes with no oil in it, then when it seized up, I just waited for it to cool down again (actually fidgeted with it and "troubleshot" it until it happened to be cooled off) and then rode back home.


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## oldwindrow

redacted, no need to post where illegal activities are promoted


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## CrackbottomLouis

NaeKid said:


> Would this do right for you in the color department?


Wanna trade for an old harley?


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## NaeKid

CrackbottomLouis said:


> Wanna trade for an old harley?


That picture is of a KLR, but, not mine.

Sorry - but I have an old Harley in-waiting already when my dad decides that his days of riding are done. My dad currently has a nice collection of Harley's in his garage.

Here is a fairly current picture of my KLR (picture taken at Easter-time) .. things have changed slightly since that picture was taken, I have replaced the front turn-signals with very low-profile LED signals and repainted the hand-guards to closer match the bike. I have some minor wiring to do on the bike in order to get the rear low-profile LEDs to work properly and then I can start designing my saddle-bag mounts ...


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## DKRinAK

CrackbottomLouis said:


> So, I have an old '93 1200 harley sportster all chopped up. Its a nice bike but Like all harleys it does require regular maintanence and as I am not the most mechanically inclined my mistakes are getting expensive. I would like to trade for a dual purpose but dont know anything about them. Any thoughts or advice? Looking in the 4k range.


Haven't been on a MC for years, but these folks

http://advrider.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=2

post stories of long distance travel and should give you a good idea of what you might expect from any number of MC - fun reads as well.


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