Switching from Quad, Honda 400ex to Dual Sport.

[danyeo]

I have a Honda 400ex and in NJ i have just about given up, there is nowhere to ride and the places left are patrolled by the DEP or local police and the good places are all illegal. To me a Dual Sport makes a lot of sense out here. There are plenty of fire roads in SOuth Jersey in the Pine Barrens which are ok to ride on if you are street legal. I got busted on Saturday in Forked River and the DEP said i would have been ok if i was on a Dual SPort. ANyway i am looking for ideas as to which model to get. My brother has a Honda 650l and i think it's just a little too high for me, i am 5ft 11in. Right now the Suzuki DRZ400 looks pretty good. Does anyone have any info on that model, hp, top speed, how does it do in the woods? on hillclimbs? I know that quads are better in the deeper sand as my brother went riding with me one day and he fell behind in the deep sand but on the harder dirt roads he did fine. I'm really comfortable on a quad but i would hope that given some time i would do ok on a Dual SPort. I like the idea of riding in and riding out and not having to worry about the cops waiting for me at my pickup.

 

[Milquetoast]

A DRZ would be a great choice, or maybe a KTM 4 stroke. Just think, you could get into doing the dual-sport rides (sounds lame but they are a blast!), and then enduros maybe? A dualsport bike is the way to go in my opinion, riding around in a circle on a track is fun for about 30 minutes, and riding illegal spots is getting more difficult every day. There is an event just about every weekend around here, (NJ, or within 2 or so hours drive). You can find kdx's and many other 2 strokes on the classifieds that are already street titled if you want a used bike. Good luck!

P.S.- If you need someone to hit the DS rides and enduros with, I'm in NJ and could always use another riding buddy!

 

[new kidd]

I think the DRZ is the best choise. I'm just a little too short for the DRZ 400, so I got the DR650. My friend has the DRZ 400 and we ride in south jersey. They have about the same power. I have taken my DR650 to 100 MPH on the street, give or take the accuracy of the bikes speedo. The DRZ400 is the most dirt oriented of the new factory street legal bikes. With how bad they have been cracking down around here I don't know how guys are getting away with tagging dirt only non-titled bikes, But more power to you.

 

[Cisco43]

I own the Suzuki DRZ 400S. It is the state of the art duel sport bike. We have the same problem out here on Long Island and the best thing is to link roads with trails. I absolutly love the bike, plenty of power and with a few cheap mods you can really hop up the bike. If you need some real convincing on the bike check out www.thumpertalk.com (I'm not just promoting TT).
Good luck shopping