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Not crazy at ALL... I've been where you are (and searching) for several years. I can honestly say that getting into dual-sport was the Most fun I'd had since getting onto a closed track with a sportbike. *EVERYTHING* was a challenge again, and the community (I was on ADV and living in Denver, CO) was amazing. But that joy was nothing but fizzle with a move to Georgia... hours of slab to get to the closest trails (for me), else there were just dirt roads that Any bike can handle. I even did 2 "big pigs" that are generally considered better for road work, a BMW GS (ugh, I will never own a BMW again, maintenance nightmare and I'm a factory trained/certified motorcycle mechanic ~ most unreliable POS I've dealt with in 20 years) and a Kawi KLR650. I have Not lived with a motard, though they are a ton of fun to play hooligan on for a day or two (customer bikes).
My personal all-time favorite street bike is the 1988~2007 Ninja 250. 28hp, super light and flickable, you can do redline shifting through several gears and still be close enough to the speed limit that a cop won't bother you, etc... Even as a bigger guy at 6'4" and 225 (current) to 280 (heaviest) pounds, the bike did everything I needed and in comfort. My only real complaint is that it's not a bike for 2-up riding when you're my size. I went bigger with a Kawi Concours to handle 2-up, only that thing bored me to tears.
To hit my personal itch (which seems similar to yours, I4 motors are boring, I put V4's at the top with triples a close second and twins in 3rd) of an engine I like in a do-it-all bike package for under $4k I've narrowed it down to the Ducati Monster. With a wet weight of around 400lbs it's just about as light as a bike can get. It's got that "sit up and beg" riding position of the dual-sport bikes which lends itself nicely to all riding situations. Put the right tires on it and it's a fine bike for dirt-roads, swap them and hit the racetrack. I think I'm still going to run into an issue with 2-up, but my wife has been ridding less and less with me... it's been a long time since we did a multi-day trip. I've also been looking at the Triumph Speed Triples, but those are a bit more "sport" as well as heavier. Oh, most of my use is in-town commuting... I'm an easy 4 hour, one way, trek from the Start of any good sportbike roads with one track being about half that drive. So something that's fun at slower speeds and is tolerable on 55mph highways is all I really need. I may actually just pick up a 5th Ninja 250... I had a Suzuki Bandit 400 that was the most entertaining I4 powered bike I've ridden, and the Honda CB-1 400cc would also fit the bill for me... but they are 2 production year, ~25 year old, carbed bikes and probably not right for you.
Anyway, I've missed a couple of "needs work" Monsters for under $2k, haven't bothered calling on the running examples that are in the $3500 range just yet (waiting to see what other deals pop up over the next 2 months). Same goes for the Triumph S3... Something else you may want to watch for if you're still thinking 80/20 street/dual sport is the Buell Ulysses xb12x. They're dropping under the $4k mark now and no worries about finding a dealer for parts there.
Fantastic post Brian -so rare to see an accomplished rider, especially a man, be so openly cool with a small, fun bike.
Breaking nearly every speed limit in first gear on anysupersport just about kills any excitement for me. I'm thinking back to the best times I've had on bikes on city streets being on small bikes where i felt like i could actually challenge the bikes limits.
Regarding the cb-1, talk about memories. I grew up wanting a little yamaha 400cc inline 4 and the cb was a super cool blue bike as i remember it.
Carbs though, yeah, i can't wrench so it might be FI for me.
Ducati? Ah i could dream! I remember the first 851, the 888, the 900ss. And of course the first 916. I test rode a monster 696 several years ago and loved the sound of it with some termi cans.
You tell people you ride motorbikes and they're like oh what kind? Then you say... oh I've got a kawasaki and they're like. .. huh? What's a cow-a-sock-ie?
tell them you've got a ducati and everyone knows that bike! Guess i can't say a monster is Better than a clean naked SV, but you get tons more attention from the masses.
I can see a little ninja 250 bike being a hoot, just revving the heck out of it from stoplight to stoplight.
Having had sportbikes, and i know the little ninja is a standard hiding behind sporty bodywork, i think I'll go for a supermoto or dual sport. I like the idea of a rugged, hooligan dirt bike.
I'm looking around for a wr250x or wr250r, maybe a crf230m, klx250sf, or drz400/650. All except the yamaha are carb bikes so that's a negative.
if any of you have experience with these bikes them is love to hear about it. I don't plan to do lots of highway or slab, more urban exploration, little 100-150 weekend trips, maybe a track day, and plenty of intown hooliganism.
I've ridden (extensivly) the Suzuki 400 n both SM and dirt modes. It's a great bike, tons of fun and would Absolutely fit the bill for you. But my one ride on a WR250x sold me on that bike. I had the poor thing up to 70mph, put about 5 miles of pure city riding in and reluctantly gave it back to the owner. If you can get time on the bike I have a feeling you'd love it (seems to be love it or meh ~ with the meh people wanting power and going for things like the big KTMs). Just happens to hit all your points too.
Depending on your state of residence, you could Also put dual-sport kit on an otherwise off-highway only model, which would open the door for a few more models. But given your status as a mechanic, you Really need to stick with what you can have serviced locally. Hopefully you have a good mechanic and aren't just relying on the monkeys working at whatever dealership. This is probably the factor you should consider the most, even if it means going with a carbbed bike. If you end up with a carb (and a single cylinder bike), then spend the little bit of money and time to buy the tools needed to drain the carb of fuel, and learn how to do it. If the bike sits for more than a week, drain the carb. It's a fool-proof way of never having the carbs varnish up on you and takes just a couple of minutes when you're familiar with the process. I happen to be pro-carburetor because I like reliability based off simplicity, K.I.S.S. is an Excellent design principal.
TL;DR ~ the Yamaha WR250's are Amazing bikes, but you should Really buy based on the qualified mechanic(s) you have available.
Like you, I've done the sport bike thing, having had a Yamaha FZ-1 and a Ninja ZX6R. I ALSO have 2 small dual sports- a Suzuki DR200 and a Kawasaki Super Sherpa. And you know what? I had WAY more fun on the "little" bikes. But being a sport bike rider at heart, after riding for 15 years, I sold the Ninja ZX6R and got a new Ninja 300. After riding mostly carbureted bikes, the fuel injection really is a treat. Despite riding for several years, I find the little Ninja to be an absolute hoot. It's light, flingable, fun to rev, and it has plenty of power for any type of riding I do now. The Super Sherpa (if you can find one) is bomb-proof and fun, and I've done long weekend trips with it. Good luck in your search!
I'm a +1 for the Suzuki V-Strom. I've had probably 18-20'ish bikes over the past 30 years. A bunch of sportbikes (mostly Honda, Aprilia, Ducati, and Triumph), a VFR800, and several XR Hondas. My Ducs included an early 90's Superlight and an 888SPO. Sold my last Duc sportbike a few years back, and now my sole bike is a DL1000 V-Strom (they are fuel injected). While compared to some ADV bikes the V-Strom is more road-oriented, it can go pretty much anywhere with the right tire choices, even if it is a bit heavier than smaller ADV bikes. But getting the V-Strom was the best choice for me since it can "do it all"...to me it's the VFR of the street-ADV mixture...just my $.02.
Anecdotes of others with plenty of riding experience and then downsizing to small bikes are great to hear.
I'm in Europe atm, and its fantastic to see so many smaller bikes as well as motards and supermotos dicing through the busy streets.
With what i have read here, my past experiences, and being honest about how i want to ride. ... I'm sold on a less is more for my next bike purchase. I'll definetly write in again once i find my new steed.
Meanwhile I'm filling my bike lust rather vicariously through checking out the variety of bikes on the continent (Europe) while i travel. Here's a sample:
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
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Originally Posted by odessa3
Like you, I've done the sport bike thing, having had a Yamaha FZ-1 and a Ninja ZX6R. I ALSO have 2 small dual sports- a Suzuki DR200 and a Kawasaki Super Sherpa. And you know what? I had WAY more fun on the "little" bikes. But being a sport bike rider at heart, after riding for 15 years, I sold the Ninja ZX6R and got a new Ninja 300. After riding mostly carbureted bikes, the fuel injection really is a treat. Despite riding for several years, I find the little Ninja to be an absolute hoot. It's light, flingable, fun to rev, and it has plenty of power for any type of riding I do now. The Super Sherpa (if you can find one) is bomb-proof and fun, and I've done long weekend trips with it. Good luck in your search!
Dick Mann nailed it when he said "It's more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow". The problem I always felt with modern sport bikes was that they're so amazingly capable that at any speed that might let you avoid handcuffs and jail they can be awfully boring.
My rninet has 110hp and 90 ft/lbs and weighs ~475 pounds wet, I think its the perfect amount of power for the street. These 160-200hp sport bikes are insane overkill for anything other then a track.
One of my favorite bikes for canyon bombing was an Aprilia RS250. 63rwhp in a magnesium-framed 275lb machine. Would out-corner anything else street legal. So it was all about corner speed, and not worrying about having to whack the throttle wide open between corners to have fun. But I totally get the draw of motards and other light weight fling-able street machines.
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