Interested in a bike for the street

[GBud]

Mods- If this is posted in the wrong place feel free to move it. With gas prices soaring, and dirt riding opportunities drying up fast, I'm thinking of getting a street bike. I'm looking for something in the 500-650 cc range, and I don't want a crotch rocket or a cruiser. Here's what I found so far:

Kawi KLR 650

Buell Blast

Suzuki V-Strom 650

I'm open to any and all suggestions, opinions etc., as I have limited street experience and 20 years of dirt riding and am lost here.

[justicedone]

Get a clean stock Honda XR650L and mod the crap out of it..worked for me. See My Garage for pics and info.

[DarinBell]

I'd lead you toward the Suzuki V-Strom 650 since you want it for the street. I've had one for a year now and I don't regret buying it. It's a great bike and a great value. Go pick up the latest issue of Cycle News and read what they say about it. It is comfortable, has good power, handles well, and is good on fuel.

Mods- If this is posted in the wrong place feel free to move it. With gas prices soaring, and dirt riding opportunities drying up fast, I'm thinking of getting a street bike. I'm looking for something in the 500-650 cc range, and I don't want a crotch rocket or a cruiser. Here's what I found so far:

Kawi KLR 650

Buell Blast

Suzuki V-Strom 650

I'm open to any and all suggestions, opinions etc., as I have limited street experience and 20 years of dirt riding and am lost here.

[odonnks]

If your looking to dual sport go for the KLR or XR. If your talking about 75% onroad a few forest roads or light off road on occasion go for the strom.

Check out this thread that shows the various Strom off road / adventure packages.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64304

I'm partial to the 3rd pick down. As I see it these are capable of serious road riding and light OR. A great alternative to a BMW Dakar or KTM adventure bike. You can have two for the price of one.

The Strom won't put your hands to sleep like a single cylinder big bore will either. In 02 I bought a 01 KTM LC4 640 dual sport that was a blast. A real animal when fitted with exhaust and aggressive DOT knobbies but the big bore single bars would ring pretty bad when on the road a street RPM's for long periods. I tried all the vibe dampeners for the bars but still a problem. That and that alone turned me away form the big bore DS bikes.

Strom-it.

[ETP]

I agree with odonnks about vibration. I really enjoy having a lightwieght WR450 that is street legal. I can go anywhere on it. However, because it is only 260lbs, the vibration on long stretches of pavement can cause fatigue.

Since my riding ratio is about 80/20 dirt/street, I can live with it. If I rode more on street than dirt I would get a heavier bike.

[wildebube]

It's pretty pricey if you buy new, but the BMW F650GS or Dakar is worth a look. Either one is a great street bike with at least SOME off-road capability. I think they're too heavy for anything even approaching serious, but people do some pretty spectacular things with them.

In any case, the Rotax is stone reliable. It's counterbalanced so vibration really isn't an issue. There's all kinds of aftermarket support to make them anything from a serious Dakar contender to a serious Iron Butt contender. And I'm averaging a little over 68mpg on the street.

[RiverRat]

I just picked up a 650 vstrom. Great bike for pavement and graded dirt roads.

Fits in nice in my growing bike collection.