Are Dual Sports Good for Occasional Highway Riding?

[NitroguN]

Hi,

I plan on getting a Honda CRF 230L. I'll be taking it on off-road trails, but will also be using it for errands. How useful are dual sports on the road? Are they suitable for the occasional highway use? Can they take the constant high speed well?

Say, for example, I'm having car trouble and need to get to my job 20miles away by highway. Would this bike be suitable for highway 65pmh speed limit use? Thank You.

 

[stumanarama]

Well here in CA, I think the minimum motor size for highway use is 250cc. But the laws may be different where you live.

 

[Krabill]

Some do, some don't. The KLX250S, WR250R, DRZ400S type seem to do okay while the more dirt oriented EXC type are a bit rougher on the highway. Of course my KLR will do 85 mph down the superslab loaded down with a weeks worth of camping gear all day long.

I don't have any experience with the little Honda, though.

 

[CousinLarry]

I have an 07 KLX250S and it does well on highways. It'll hold 70 pretty good. I wouldn't want to go a real long distance.. An hour or maybe a little more at the most. It seems to be dirt #1, and street #2 with that bike.

I use it mostly for work commute - about 14 miles on a back road, and trail riding. It's a great all around bike. I did have to put an exhaust system and rejet it though to really wake it up :)

I love it. :)

 

[dirt bike dave]

Well here in CA, I think the minimum motor size for highway use is 250cc.

Never heard that one before. Got a source?

I was in driver training decades ago, and from what I remember, in California it was 17 horsepower minimum on a chain driven vehicle for freeway use. Coincidentally, most 250+ cc bikes have that kind of power. IMO, that's a reasonable minimum power level for a bike to get on the freeway (65 mph limits, lots of traffic). You need to have a little performance reserve to safely cope with wind and traffic conditions.

A 230 Honda is going to be borderline or below the safe limit for freeways, IMO, but should handle 55 mph and less roads.

 

[stumanarama]

I believe I heard it from a friend of mine who is into the new vespa's. He had a new 150cc and was talking about how he wasn't allowed to take it on the freeway, but that he had a 250cc on the way that was legal for highway use. I'll look into it more, but the 250cc law made sense to me.

 

[NitroguN]

Thanks for the responses.

Honestly, I'm not an experienced rider. I've been practicing on a Yamaha XS400 and am doing fine so far.

I'm thinking about a 1997+ Honda XR400 coverted street legal. Would those be more suitable for highway use? I was told that a 400 would be too much power for me on a dirtbike, but the truth is I won't be doing trails or offroad for the time being. When I get the feeling of it and become more experienced then yes definitely, but for now, no. I'm going to have 2 bikes on the side for practice meanwhile.

Is a 400 better for commuting?

Your bikes may be worth a lot of money soon. Chances are we might start war with Iran. If that happens oil will skyrocket ... big time ... like never seen in history.

lol anyway. How are 400's for commuting? Would that be a more realistic choice for "occasional" highway use? Not frequent. Frequent use will be local. Thanks ppl

 

[kschilk]

First off, I don't know the cruising speed of the 230 but at any rate...I don't think I'd wanna' be on something that light, with semis blowin' by at 70 or 80 mph. As for the horsepower thing, there's no such thing as too much...especially if you're talkin' 4-stroke, it's all in the wrist. The XR400 is a nice and potent enough mid-range thumper but you might need to gear it up for road work and you're still dealin' with the lighter weight. If I were you, I'd lean more towards the dirt and stick to the secondary roads....might take a few minutes longer but it's a heckuva' lot more fun!

 

[fatcat216]

I drive 45 miles one way to work on a 200 dual sport.
I manage 55-70 (when I'm not scared, and with a tailwind), but would prefer much more power. I put road tires on. I think 80 road/20 dirt- being limited by the rims. If you went with a bigger dual sport you could get new rims and do a supermoto set-up.

If you have dirt bikes to practice on, and are buying the dualsport strictly for the road, have you considered other types of road bikes?

I say that because there are some inherent issues with the lighter bikes at sustained high speeds. These get compounded with wind, cager traffic, road angles, pavement imperfections, etc. Remember- everyone around you is a "really good driver". You get the added bonus of being totally invisible to those good drivers as soon as you sit on your bike. Really cool magic.

I've experienced a lot of the light bike issues first hand. Curious whether it was strictly my inexperience I then backed into the physical explanation through research. You can get by on lots of things (as I do, but I'm broke and a little crazy). If you are going to insist on doing the 65 interstate type driving with lots of traffic, I'd strongly urge you to something 400cc up.

I take secondary roads to stay out of the crosswind, and avoid being forced to do 70. It's no fun fighting the front end shake with cars & semis dancing around. This way they just push me from behind or cross into my lane. ;) So much safer.

One caution: Even with more power head shake and wobble are created easily on these light bikes at high speeds. If you aren't experienced enough to deal with that and the other risks simultaneously, power isn't going to save your fanny. Keep that in mind.

 

[fatcat216]

A 400 for local and occasional highway would be awesome, I would think. Plenty of power, yet light enough to be fun. Some the the wr250x guys claim it has plenty of high end power. Certainly much much more than my teeny bike.

Do some test rides and answer the question yourself, under different conditions. That's the best way to know for sure.

 

[friar tuck]

A local guy has a XR600 (or is it 650?)...a '98. I was thinking about getting it to ride to work...just can't get past that awful white plastic. :)

 

[tx246]

I have a Suzuki drz400s and with stock gearing, its ok for cruising at 60-65 but for all of the above reasons, I would not consider it on 4+ lane traffic. I also own a 600cc XT Yamaha d/s and it does a better job. I have a friend that commutes on a KLR650 and it does fine on the freeway. A Honda xl650/dr650would be a good choices too. Keep in mind that the smaller bikes will be more proficient in the dirt. I just bought a Vstrom 650 and Im getting 57mpg. The Vstrom is way more streetable and it will do gravel two track stuff. My DRZ/XT both are 50+mpg.

 

[cujet]

I used to commute with a motorcycle (most of the time a converted dirt bike) from Jax FL to Daytona FL (100 miles each way). I know this much. I do not like small engines on the highway. The only bike I was actually comfortable on the highway with was a KLR.

I see it this way, a 250cc bike will be screaming at 65MPH. Sure, it'l go 80 if you duck down. But that is beyond uncomfortable and likely unsafe. A 250 will easily go 55, BUT, you will be the slowest one out there, and the most unsafe.

Chris

 

[Renthorin]

Supposedly the 08 Yamaha wr250r was tested at 90 on the freeway and it did ok.

 

[fatcat216]

Hearsay- but, I've read quite a few comments from wr riders on SMJ saying that is a real life true statement.- Not sure about the freeway part. The 90mph part though. ;-)

I almost added that.

My words of caution still apply, despite it being a really fun bike.

 

[Renthorin]

Well I read that the editors ran 90 on the freeway in Dirt Rider and a magazine would never mislead its readers... ;-)

 

[tx246]

If you ran that WR at 90mph on the highway, it wouldnt make its first oil change. Now Im not saying that it wouldnt hit 90, but in no way could it live there.

 

[Renthorin]

I think it is safer to say if you routinely ride a 250 at 90 on the freeway.....you won't be alive much longer than your bike :-)