What crosser for mainly road use?

[Durbs]

I'm after a crosser as a toy to mess around on and also to commute on occasionally as an alternative to my GSX-R 750 when i fancy a comfy, mellow commute instead of feeling obliged to wring the Gixxers neck :D

I used to have a Yamaha DT so am after something similar but bigger and needs to have:

- Good road manners, will be ridden mainly on road but would like to do some occasional green laning, nothing too strenuous though that would warrant a full-on crosser.
- Comfy
- Reliable and hardy (it'll be stored outside as have run out of shed space despite having 3 sheds!)
- Nice looker
- Doesn't need to be a speed machine but lot more power than a 125

Can anyone thing of a model that fits that bill?

Ta.

[rictus01]

DRZ

[Durbs]

Is the 400 SM comfy though? Sure i'd heard someone say it was a bit uncomfortable?

[rictus01]

Compared to what ?, it's more comfy than the ccm 404 ds I have and that's good for about 100 miles before it'll get to bad, but not a patch on my old thunderbird sport, but then that has no off road pretensions :smt102

[Specialone]

DRZ

+1, awesome bikes IMO.

No bike of that type is gonna be a long distance cruiser

[Luckypants]

when i fancy a comfy, mellow commute You sure you want a crosser / super moto? not comfy or mellow IME but bags of fun. :D I did a 250 mile day on a DRZ and it was bearable, but not comfortable.

How about one of these for a 'comfy, mellow commute'?

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQeE3LqeVnQd1sk_R9Gq5T4UsYtnxnFJ j3z4v2-Wfp5C4g-AZbE:smt096:smt096

[Bedhead]

+1, awesome bikes IMO.

No bike of that type is gonna be a long distance cruiser

+2

Awesome little bikes.

You could always get a Transalp or Africa Twin if you wanted a comfy commute, but they are pretty awful off road compared to a DRZ. In anything remotely slippy you'll spend half your time picking the thing up off the deck .

[Durbs]

Ta, will get a ride on a DRZ then.

Just gotta be comfier than a GSX-R, but I guess it'd fit that bill (cant be worse anyway, my GSX-R is a relatively comfy bike as far as sportsbikes go but thats like saying being HIV positive is comfier than having full blown AIDS - true, but neither are particularly good).

[hindle8907]

Would a drz be ok for a 30 mile commute 5 days a week ?
What are the service schedules like compared to the sv ?

[Specialone]

Would a drz be ok for a 30 mile commute 5 days a week ?
What are the service schedules like compared to the sv ?

It would lap that up without breaking a sweat and put a huge smile on your face while doing it.

Service schedules according to manual say 4k, but for some reason owners do mini services about 1-1.5k, but air filter is washable sponge which I do about every 500 miles which takes 5 mins.

You would not have a problem if you stuck to 4k IMO, parts are stupid cheap from wemoto or the like.

[yorkie_chris]

You want a motard for mellow and comfy :smt082

Ok go ride one, then go back to your GSXR for mellowness and comfort!

[speedplay]

My 520 in supermoto guise is by no means a comfy commuter and guess that and enduro/ supermoto will have you wringing the neck out of it really soon.
Offroad bikes on the road and just fun bikes that beg you to thrash them harder but the narrow seats (cause your supposed to be standing on a dirt bike) will mean that they will never be comfy bikes to do any real distance on.
My road bike is by far comfier than my dirt bike.

[kaivalagi]

Get a KTM Adventure :)

[BBadger]

what about a super tenere? older 750 or newer 660? bit of protection but still small and light.
Only going off the dr....comfy in position and light but by god the seat is solid!!!

[Skip]

DRZ is great - the SM has a softer seat than the S too - I did 100 miles in one go on it last Saturday and am about to embark on a 200 mile day on it Sunday and I have no comfort issues at all :)

Get one - I love mine :love:

[Vergey]

DRZ are great, or if you want something cheap that you really dont have to do any maintanance get a honda dominator (NX650), road manners are pretty good, they have a bit more power than a DRZ, but not quite as easy to throw about off road, tho in capable hands they will cope more than well enough, I have put about 3000 miles on mine in 6 months (when i could find the time around uni finals), and probably done 4 or 5 days of greenlaning. If you can only have one bike that needs to do road and off road the dommie is hreat, but if you are looking for a laning weapon specifically the DRZ is fantastic, or even the earlier DR350, though these see to hold their value better due to being exactly 33bhp.

[Bedhead]

what about a super tenere? older 750 or newer 660? bit of protection but still small and light.
Only going off the dr....comfy in position and light but by god the seat is solid!!!

Super Ten is NOT a light bike, probably weighs a great deal more than your GSXR.

660 is extremely slow and is not the most reliable bike ever built.

Both have planks for seats and are getting old so good ones are scarce.

[-Ralph-]

I have an XT600E which I am riding to Portugal in August, then doing a weeks mountainous off-roading when I get there. I green lane on it here and have yet to find somewhere it can't go. It is perfectly capable off-road once you get used to handling the weight, much more capable than a Transalp / Africa Twin type bike. You can sit in the wide, deep saddle all day long and I happily rode 140 miles before stopping for fuel the first day I collected it from North Wales, I couldn't do the same on my SV. Top speed is about 95-100 mph, but realistically 80mph is comfortable. The engine is more vibey than a Transalp / Africa Twin, so it's more tractor than refined mileage muncher. It's no faster than a DRZ, but it has a lot more torque (pulling power).

The whole bike is a 'do anything, go anywhere' compromise, but if that's what you need then IMO you can't beat it. There is a reason why they are one of the most respected bikes for continental over-land or round the world type trips.

I did a lot of research and had a difficult list of pre-requisites, before I decided that was the bike I wanted.

The reasons I didn't go for an XT660R were the cost of something that I'm going to drop off-road, water cooling which could be a right pain if I holed a radiator or ripped a hose at the top of a Portuguese mountain 20 miles from the nearest village, and a general concencus of opinion amongst XT660 owners, who had previously owned XT600's, that the 600 was the better off-roader.

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd82/colinbal4/SNC00026.jpg

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd82/colinbal4/SNC00024.jpg

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd82/colinbal4/SNC00025.jpg

[-Ralph-]

PS: Yes, I do have a little teddy tie wrapped to the mirror, it's holding a heart which says "I love you Daddy", it was given to me by my son, and is there to remind me to ride carefully, and plan well ahead because the brakes are really rubbish! He's a rather dirty little teddy that gets jet washed from time to time :)

[KeithCRM]

What about the Honda XR250 or 400? Nice and light at just over 100Kg and a wide comfy seat that won't give you a wedgie.

Perfect for the green lanes, love mine.