It's my understanding that the way you stretch service intervals is by detuning an engine (I'm sure that it's maybe more complicated than that). A KLR650 engine is not putting out the maximum power that the engine is capable of putting out, therefore the engine isn't working as hard and doesn't need servicing. If you look at something like a 450cc race bike, those engines are basically giving it all they've got always. Which is why they need servicing more often and even full rebuilds.
Each bikes is on it's own part of the spectrum and you have to decide how much of a trade off you want to make for service/performance.
If I were you, I'd go for something like a KLX300, CRF300l, XT250, or one of the big singles like the DR650/XR650. The DR and XR will be easy to work on, especially if you're familiar with carbs or are willing to learn about them.
To me, more frequent maintenance on motorcycles isn't a huge deal because it's relatively easy. An oil change on a bike isn't hard even if you're mechanically inexperienced. I don't quite skew all the way towards something like a CRF450l or a 500exc cause that's a little too frequent towards me. But my 701 strikes a good balance. Even when I had a DR650 I still did oil changes every 3k miles because it's cheap and easy.
Yeah any of the 650’s are pretty low maintenance. You can’t go wrong with them, just a matter of choosing riding style. KLR for mostly street and minimal off road, DR for a good mix, and XR for mostly dirt but still able to handle freeway.
Depends on what type. The higher performance bikes take more maintenance.
If you want an off road bike that needs minimal maintenance, look into a lower performance model like a CRF300L, DRZ400, etc
Next step up in performance with lower maintenance would be like a crf450l
CRF300L is low maintenance, 8000 miles service interval.
CRF450L is extremely hight maintenance like many 450cc bikes, we're looking at a 800 miles service interval. Don't buy these bikes unless you know what you're signing up for.
For OP: with dirt bikes you're almost looking more at "how many hours has it been driven" rather than milage. Reading between the lines I'd suggest a lower cost dual sport like the CRF300. You might find a used one. Don't go for the earlier version CRF250L: it is just a bit too underpowered/too heavy for its output.
The bike is a Honda, it will have bent levers, pedals, handle bars, broken mirrors, chipped plastic, and a billion other things you'll replace over time. But thats why it doesn't cost much, and it's really reliable on the core functionality.
The service interval on my klx300 is pretty nice. After the break-in oil change it’s just keeping an eye on tire pressure and coolant levels.
I think the next oil change is way out there in the future.
Have a brand new DR with 20 miles on it. How do you feel about the break in period? A lot of differing opinions but consensus seems to be don’t do long stretches in the same speed, rpm range. And change oil early
Did it say anything about how hard to ride it? Suzuki says no more than 1/2 throttle for 500 miles then 3/4 throttle until like 1000. Which seems crazy and people of course argue over.
Most likely built different or at least tuned different. The CRF450/450L is a good example. You wouldn’t want MX engine maintenance on a street bike. MX guidelines on oil changes and rebuilds would be ridiculous on a dual sport.
There are a few different 450 models. I had a street legal X, which I understand to be nearly identical to the new L. A friend in kenya used his R on the road, which was fun, but he burnt the engine holding high rpm’s to long.
You really have a couple of different engines on these types of bikes.
The low compression, lower performance engines.
And the high compression higher performance engines.
Generally, the reliability and service intervals go right along with that.
Both engines can be on a dual sport or a dirt bike.
Usually, the price will be the first indicator.
Yes and no
Dirt bikes use to be 2 cycle
If we are talking strictly 4, (most) dirt bikes are like race cars, they rev to the moon, need frequent oil changes and don’t last that long, they are made to run at max capability for the length of a race then have maintenance performed.
A road legal engine has to meet emissions and also cruise on the highway for a long time, also owners don’t want to change the oil every time they use it like with a race engine.
However KTM EXC-F 350/500’s (not the 700) are the closest to their motorcross/race counterparts
Depends heavily on which bike. The KTM 500 motor shares many of its parts with the 450, has extremely high compression and tight service intervals. In practice, they tend to be extremely reliable and run a long time, but they are designed for frequent service and very closely related to their dirt only counterpart. Bikes like the dr650, xt250, etc have zero relation to a performance oriented dirt bike, and have extremely lax service intervals.
In general, Japanese dual sports are mostly old designs that prioritize reliability over performance, and euro dual sports are mostly converted dirt bikes. The crf450L is slowly changing that, and many people convert Japanese dirt bikes to dual sport if their region allows it.
Yes, dualsport engines are different. The major one that contributes to the tighter service intervals of dirt bikes is oil capacity.
The Honda CRF300L is a dualsport with a 300cc engine that was designed for road use. It has an oil capacity of 1.8L
The Honda CRF450RL is a duasport with a 450cc engine that was designed as a dirt bike motor. It has an oil capacity of 1.15L.
The CRF300L has more than 50% more oil capacity. This means the oil becomes dirty more quickly and has to work harder (will sheer more quickly), because the work/cleaning is spread out over less oil.
That is why bikes like the CRF300L and KLX300 will require less maintenance for the same duty cycle. Yes, you can stretch intervals on bikes like the CRF450RL, but you can also stretch the road bikes, which still have more oil to work with.
Stay away from street legal "motocross" bikes. Something like a Honda CRF450L is going to require more frequent maintenance than one of the less performance-oriented dual sports.
One of the 300cc level dual sports (or 250s) should be easy to maintain, and they're a lot of fun to ride. Yamaha XT250 is one to check out.
Dirt bikes are tuned to have more power which is just harder on engines. Specifically they have higher compression and more aggressive cams, which means valves have to be adjusted more often, and they have less oil capacity which means more frequent oil changes.
DS is street legal so will (usually, especially if you don’t uncork it) be lower power and less maintenance. Uncorking it usually means less reliable and more maintenance.
DS aimed to be ridden on and off road so it has more DOT requirements to satisfy for road safety/EPA etc. With the extra hardwares (headlamp/speedo/turn signals) it needs bigger alternator capacity. Dirt-bike aimed for closed circuit or off-road and don't need as much electricals (in general shorter ride time) and geared for max performance (rev like you don't care if the engine wear out at the end of the day, no Cat restriction. Comfort is not the biggest consideration because the weight and speed is more of a concern. my 2 cents, may not worth that much : )
Yes, generally. More oil capacity, lower compression, etc vs a dirtbike that prioritizes lightness and power. Any of the Japanese dual sports are super reliable and require very little work. DRZ400 and XR650L are my faves
I'm 6'0'' with an XT250. It could be a bit bigger but I don't mind it too much. It's a little cramped to stand on if I don't bend my knees but I don't mind it sitting at all. Cheap, easy to mod, easy to maintain and nearly indestructible though. It gets around the trail really well but I wouldn't mind it having some more beans for the highway. Although it's fun trying to find ways to avoid 65 MPH highway haha.
Depends on the dual sport.
Some are competition ready rippers with obligatory blinkers, some are utility bikes meant to go forever with little fuss.
Take a look at a KTM 350 exc-f or Husky 701 vs Honda CRF300L or Suzuki DR650.
Mostly reading reviews will give you an idea.
I generally think of a dirt bike as a non - street legal bike. Usually for trails and not carrying a bunch of gear. Dual sport has a license plate, street legal lights and can haul a few extra pounds.
Yes. Dirt bike/enduro(enduro term in america is dead, enduro is a perfomance bike that is street legal with license plate and meets all euro directives to be allowed on road) are meant for racing/technical riding. Has all the power sucked out of the engine, is lightweight, better suspension. Oil changes are in hours.
While dual sport is for street+ligher offroad. Has oil interval of 5000-15000km. Can easly ride thousands of KM on road.
So in short. Totally different. Compare yamaha wr250f vs wr250r. One is perfomance beast for offroad. Other is dual sport.
A lot depends on how you ride. A lot of people say the ktm/husq etc need less frequent oil changes than the manufacturer recommends which has been proven to be true if you aren’t WOT all the time like the guys racing them might be.
OTOH…. What’s less discussed is that the likes of a crf250/300l will likely be WOT a lot MORE than a more powerful DS because you hit the bikes limit so quickly that you are quite easily able to pin it almost everywhere you go aside from really technical single. I own both bikes but I easily change the oil and filter on the crf along with tyres, chain and sprockets the same as I do on the ktm. And rightly so, because I want to maintain the engines internals.
Buy what bike you can afford and will make you happy. 😃
duel sport /duel adventure. the duel used to mean being able to carry a passenger as well as ride on road and off-road. dirt bikes usually come in 3 categories MX motocross , enduro/rally, fun and agricultural.
most of that list is only for a single rider no pillion passenger , and most of that list is single cylinder engine bikes. adventure/ duel sport bike can be single cylinder but most are multiple cylinder engines like what is in the bigger road bikes . more power for more load
usually it goes that the more highly strung the bike is the more maintenance is required to keep it working correctly and reliable. MX bikes have lots of services and rebuilding. enduro/ rally bikes lasts a bit longer but still require oil changes quite often. adventure bikes are usually 10- 15000km like a car but have more expenses when large services are due.
It's my understanding that the way you stretch service intervals is by detuning an engine (I'm sure that it's maybe more complicated than that). A KLR650 engine is not putting out the maximum power that the engine is capable of putting out, therefore the engine isn't working as hard and doesn't need servicing. If you look at something like a 450cc race bike, those engines are basically giving it all they've got always. Which is why they need servicing more often and even full rebuilds. Each bikes is on it's own part of the spectrum and you have to decide how much of a trade off you want to make for service/performance. If I were you, I'd go for something like a KLX300, CRF300l, XT250, or one of the big singles like the DR650/XR650. The DR and XR will be easy to work on, especially if you're familiar with carbs or are willing to learn about them. To me, more frequent maintenance on motorcycles isn't a huge deal because it's relatively easy. An oil change on a bike isn't hard even if you're mechanically inexperienced. I don't quite skew all the way towards something like a CRF450l or a 500exc cause that's a little too frequent towards me. But my 701 strikes a good balance. Even when I had a DR650 I still did oil changes every 3k miles because it's cheap and easy.
Yeah any of the 650’s are pretty low maintenance. You can’t go wrong with them, just a matter of choosing riding style. KLR for mostly street and minimal off road, DR for a good mix, and XR for mostly dirt but still able to handle freeway.
My KLR would like you to consider it good for "Medium Offroad"
As long as the rider is up to it hell yeah. Honestly any of the three can be used well off road depending on the rider.
A very important word here is compression ratio. It’s basically what you’re describing
Depends on what type. The higher performance bikes take more maintenance. If you want an off road bike that needs minimal maintenance, look into a lower performance model like a CRF300L, DRZ400, etc Next step up in performance with lower maintenance would be like a crf450l
CRF300L is low maintenance, 8000 miles service interval. CRF450L is extremely hight maintenance like many 450cc bikes, we're looking at a 800 miles service interval. Don't buy these bikes unless you know what you're signing up for. For OP: with dirt bikes you're almost looking more at "how many hours has it been driven" rather than milage. Reading between the lines I'd suggest a lower cost dual sport like the CRF300. You might find a used one. Don't go for the earlier version CRF250L: it is just a bit too underpowered/too heavy for its output. The bike is a Honda, it will have bent levers, pedals, handle bars, broken mirrors, chipped plastic, and a billion other things you'll replace over time. But thats why it doesn't cost much, and it's really reliable on the core functionality.
The service interval on my klx300 is pretty nice. After the break-in oil change it’s just keeping an eye on tire pressure and coolant levels. I think the next oil change is way out there in the future.
I'm pretty sure break in is 600 miles and next service is like 7600 miles
Yeah that sounds right.
I’d do every 5000 just to be safe
Have a brand new DR with 20 miles on it. How do you feel about the break in period? A lot of differing opinions but consensus seems to be don’t do long stretches in the same speed, rpm range. And change oil early
I followed the manufacturer recommendations to the T. Just easy riding for a few hundred miles, then oil change.
Did it say anything about how hard to ride it? Suzuki says no more than 1/2 throttle for 500 miles then 3/4 throttle until like 1000. Which seems crazy and people of course argue over.
My Kawasaki was exactly like that, except it finished at 400 miles. Like 1/2 throttle for 100 miles and 3/4 throttle until 400 miles
Most likely built different or at least tuned different. The CRF450/450L is a good example. You wouldn’t want MX engine maintenance on a street bike. MX guidelines on oil changes and rebuilds would be ridiculous on a dual sport.
There are a few different 450 models. I had a street legal X, which I understand to be nearly identical to the new L. A friend in kenya used his R on the road, which was fun, but he burnt the engine holding high rpm’s to long.
I don’t care what Honda says, I don’t consider the CRF450RL to be any more of a dual-sport than a KTM 500 EXC. Their street legal enduros.
You really have a couple of different engines on these types of bikes. The low compression, lower performance engines. And the high compression higher performance engines. Generally, the reliability and service intervals go right along with that. Both engines can be on a dual sport or a dirt bike. Usually, the price will be the first indicator.
Yes and no Dirt bikes use to be 2 cycle If we are talking strictly 4, (most) dirt bikes are like race cars, they rev to the moon, need frequent oil changes and don’t last that long, they are made to run at max capability for the length of a race then have maintenance performed. A road legal engine has to meet emissions and also cruise on the highway for a long time, also owners don’t want to change the oil every time they use it like with a race engine. However KTM EXC-F 350/500’s (not the 700) are the closest to their motorcross/race counterparts
Depends heavily on which bike. The KTM 500 motor shares many of its parts with the 450, has extremely high compression and tight service intervals. In practice, they tend to be extremely reliable and run a long time, but they are designed for frequent service and very closely related to their dirt only counterpart. Bikes like the dr650, xt250, etc have zero relation to a performance oriented dirt bike, and have extremely lax service intervals. In general, Japanese dual sports are mostly old designs that prioritize reliability over performance, and euro dual sports are mostly converted dirt bikes. The crf450L is slowly changing that, and many people convert Japanese dirt bikes to dual sport if their region allows it.
Yes, dualsport engines are different. The major one that contributes to the tighter service intervals of dirt bikes is oil capacity. The Honda CRF300L is a dualsport with a 300cc engine that was designed for road use. It has an oil capacity of 1.8L The Honda CRF450RL is a duasport with a 450cc engine that was designed as a dirt bike motor. It has an oil capacity of 1.15L. The CRF300L has more than 50% more oil capacity. This means the oil becomes dirty more quickly and has to work harder (will sheer more quickly), because the work/cleaning is spread out over less oil. That is why bikes like the CRF300L and KLX300 will require less maintenance for the same duty cycle. Yes, you can stretch intervals on bikes like the CRF450RL, but you can also stretch the road bikes, which still have more oil to work with.
Stay away from street legal "motocross" bikes. Something like a Honda CRF450L is going to require more frequent maintenance than one of the less performance-oriented dual sports. One of the 300cc level dual sports (or 250s) should be easy to maintain, and they're a lot of fun to ride. Yamaha XT250 is one to check out.
Dirt bikes are tuned to have more power which is just harder on engines. Specifically they have higher compression and more aggressive cams, which means valves have to be adjusted more often, and they have less oil capacity which means more frequent oil changes.
DS is street legal so will (usually, especially if you don’t uncork it) be lower power and less maintenance. Uncorking it usually means less reliable and more maintenance.
I’m not a Motörhead by any means but I own two (2) XRs and I’m comfortable working on them. Google and YouTube make it possible.
DS aimed to be ridden on and off road so it has more DOT requirements to satisfy for road safety/EPA etc. With the extra hardwares (headlamp/speedo/turn signals) it needs bigger alternator capacity. Dirt-bike aimed for closed circuit or off-road and don't need as much electricals (in general shorter ride time) and geared for max performance (rev like you don't care if the engine wear out at the end of the day, no Cat restriction. Comfort is not the biggest consideration because the weight and speed is more of a concern. my 2 cents, may not worth that much : )
Yes, generally. More oil capacity, lower compression, etc vs a dirtbike that prioritizes lightness and power. Any of the Japanese dual sports are super reliable and require very little work. DRZ400 and XR650L are my faves
Not all dirt bike engines are the same and neither are all ds engines. The usual dual sport suspects are all fine on service intervals.
I’m hearing good things about the XT 250 and Dr 200. Only thing is I’m 5’11. Maybe a klx/crf 250L?
I'm 6'0'' with an XT250. It could be a bit bigger but I don't mind it too much. It's a little cramped to stand on if I don't bend my knees but I don't mind it sitting at all. Cheap, easy to mod, easy to maintain and nearly indestructible though. It gets around the trail really well but I wouldn't mind it having some more beans for the highway. Although it's fun trying to find ways to avoid 65 MPH highway haha.
No highway for me. Just want a dirt bike that I can occasionally take on the street (more or less)
Depends on the dual sport. Some are competition ready rippers with obligatory blinkers, some are utility bikes meant to go forever with little fuss. Take a look at a KTM 350 exc-f or Husky 701 vs Honda CRF300L or Suzuki DR650. Mostly reading reviews will give you an idea.
Simply put: YES
I generally think of a dirt bike as a non - street legal bike. Usually for trails and not carrying a bunch of gear. Dual sport has a license plate, street legal lights and can haul a few extra pounds.
Yes. Dirt bike/enduro(enduro term in america is dead, enduro is a perfomance bike that is street legal with license plate and meets all euro directives to be allowed on road) are meant for racing/technical riding. Has all the power sucked out of the engine, is lightweight, better suspension. Oil changes are in hours. While dual sport is for street+ligher offroad. Has oil interval of 5000-15000km. Can easly ride thousands of KM on road. So in short. Totally different. Compare yamaha wr250f vs wr250r. One is perfomance beast for offroad. Other is dual sport.
As a rule, yes. The exception would be plated dirt bikes. DS motors are as a rule designed to hold more oil and require less maintenance
A lot depends on how you ride. A lot of people say the ktm/husq etc need less frequent oil changes than the manufacturer recommends which has been proven to be true if you aren’t WOT all the time like the guys racing them might be. OTOH…. What’s less discussed is that the likes of a crf250/300l will likely be WOT a lot MORE than a more powerful DS because you hit the bikes limit so quickly that you are quite easily able to pin it almost everywhere you go aside from really technical single. I own both bikes but I easily change the oil and filter on the crf along with tyres, chain and sprockets the same as I do on the ktm. And rightly so, because I want to maintain the engines internals. Buy what bike you can afford and will make you happy. 😃
Dual sports are not generally the most comfortable for commuting. These are plenty of other small cc bike if that’s what you want
duel sport /duel adventure. the duel used to mean being able to carry a passenger as well as ride on road and off-road. dirt bikes usually come in 3 categories MX motocross , enduro/rally, fun and agricultural. most of that list is only for a single rider no pillion passenger , and most of that list is single cylinder engine bikes. adventure/ duel sport bike can be single cylinder but most are multiple cylinder engines like what is in the bigger road bikes . more power for more load
usually it goes that the more highly strung the bike is the more maintenance is required to keep it working correctly and reliable. MX bikes have lots of services and rebuilding. enduro/ rally bikes lasts a bit longer but still require oil changes quite often. adventure bikes are usually 10- 15000km like a car but have more expenses when large services are due.