DRZSM... or something else?

[gixxerjasen]

Bah, it's the second one that's hard. Once you have multiple bikes the rest is easy.

[BikePilot]

Probably not 3, but 4 should be no problem provided the 3rd is hers

But seriously, total cost isn't much different. You can get a whole dirt bike for the price of a good set of SM wheels and brake.

[pmmonster]

Any chance you could get your wife into bikes by picking up a small dirt bike?

[BikePilot]

Nothing like a good dirt ride with your wife

[coyo]

I've tried for years to get the wife riding, REALLY wanted to keep the SVS for her when I got the TL... but no.

That said, she said she'd be interested in coming to Trailtours with us next year after hearing they do some basic instruction on dirtbikes for new riders while the rest of us would be thrashing it in the woods.

[pmmonster]

A small quad for her perhaps? TTR125, CRF230, XT225/250 or best of all, a TW200 for small dirt bikes I picked up a street legal dirt bike last year and have only begun to explore. No serious riding yet due to a lack of surrounding trails... but I fully understand where you're coming from in moving that direction.

[Duken4evr]

You could search on Thumpertalk and find some dirt wheels for the SM. IIRC, the RM wheels bolt right on too, but no speedo drive on the front one of course. Lots of guys on TT off road with their SM's. The DRZ is no KTM, but it will suffice for spirited trail riding. I ride the living crap out of mine off road. You have seen the pics You are left with an oversized front brake with the wheel swap. One finger it off road, treat it like a barrel of excitable monkeys and you will be fine.

The irony is, I would like to get some SM wheels for my S model so I could really use it on the street - the idea being the casual ability to go down a dirt road and trails when I happen to see them, along with a fantasy about the local kart track finally allowing 'tards on it. The SM wheels are more expensive to come by though. Maybe someday I will pick up a 2nd set of 21/18 wheels and put streetish tires on them. That would take me back full circle to the XL600 days. Used to ride that thing 90 miles up the freeway to Big Bear, off road it, and ride home.

[pmmonster]

Originally Posted by Duken4evr

... Maybe someday I will pick up a 2nd set of 21/18 wheels and put streetish tires on them. That would take me back full circle to the XL600 days. Used to ride that thing 90 miles up the freeway to Big Bear, off road it, and ride home.

I distinctly remember following a big XR just below Newcomb's Ranch back in '97 and being amazed at the lean angle and corner speed. (I remember the year because I was just getting acquainted with the TL.) He was running street oriented dual sport tires and commented how he could go much faster with street rubber mounted up. Rider skills and a well set up bike can get you a long way. So maybe an extra set of wheels is your best bet for a year. At least until you get tired of swapping them back and forth (actually speaking to Coyo there at the end.)

[Duken4evr]

I used to ride the hell out of my XL600 in the twisties on trials tires. A little sliding is no big deal on a dual sport. Every 90 degree right hand turn at an intersection was an opportunity to hang the back end out a bit on the exit with a nice wheelie to cap it off. Old school big bore thumpers don't have a lot of hp, but they have stout torque and are so predictible. This makes hucking them around and riding wheelies stone simple. It goes beyond dyno charts and such. There is a friendly ride the hell of it dynamic there.

The Husky 610 SM is a nice update to the stone age air cooled XRs and DRs. It is probably the most fun bike I have never ridden. I may have to rectify that someday. Of course, riding the crap out of that XL600 on the street got me into more scrapes with the law than any superbike I have ever owned with 4X the power

A DRZ inspired evolution of man graphic that I found amusing. Yep - this explains a lot

[coyo]

My intention upon buying the DRZ was to get a dirt setup for it to have the ability to switch it up, but as mentioned; ultimately I think of the DRZ as a street bike and don't wanna bang it up too bad. There's the desire for a lighter, proper dirt bike but then some here have said even the YZ426 would be too heavy.

I wish I could know that I wouldn't want to ride whatever I end up with on the road, then it'd be easy to get a newer 250 for less money!