MOTORCYCLISTONLINE.COM | 103Moving in a more dual-sport direc-
tion, no discussion of this genre
would be complete without a mention
of Kawasaki’s venerable KLR650.
Introduced in 1987, the KLR quickly
became the adventure-tourer of the
single-cylinder set, offering perfor-
mance, range, durability, and value for
both on- and off-road treks. The KLR
continued with only minor tweaks
until 2007, when it was replaced
by a full-model-change ’08 model,
which continues to this day. Prices
are ridiculously low, from as little as
$999 for a late ’80s runner to $2,100
for a clean mid-’90s example with 22K
on the clock, to just over $3,000 for a
very nice 2004 model with 18K miles
showing. You won’t find more bang for
the buck than that.
If your vision of used dual-sport fun
is clouded by a bit more dust and mud,
Honda’s XR650L must be considered.
After all, it’s been an open-class dual-
sport staple for two and a half decades.
While the XR-L is no longer the best
off -roader in the street-legal category,
it’s still pretty close, and because the
bike has been in Honda’s lineup since
its introduction in 1992, you know it’s
reliable—a good thing when you’re
considering buying used. Again, prices
are generally low, with rough runners
going for a grand, mid-level condition
bikes priced at $2,000 to $2,500 and
clean examples from the last 10 years
going for $3,500 to $4,000, depending on
mileage and accessories. It’s not a tourer
like the KLR, but it will run down the
freeway drama free and deliver you to
jeep trails and single-tracks in fi ne shape
for off -road grins.
A little lighter than the XR650L
(but just as tall), Suzuki’s DR-Z400S is
basically a street-legal version of the
DR-Z400E off -roader. The result is very
close to a true dirt bike with lights. While
that concept has been realized today by
KTM and others, those bikes cost nearly
twice as much as a new DR-Z and three
times more than a used model. Built
since 2000, the DR-Z400S is hammer
reliable, and there is a ton of hop-up
and maintenance info on the internet.
Expect to pay anywhere from a grand for
a well-used example to $4,000 for a low-
mileage later model. Even on the higher
end of the pricing scale, you still get a lot
of off -road, street-legal, trekking perfor-
mance for your money. And that’s the
point of all this, right? —Mitch BoehmThe poor man’s GS? You betcha. And
nothing at all wrong with that idea.Three decades of do-it-all on- and off-road-
performance and the KLR still hangs tough.From Baja to Boston, Honda’s legendary
XR650L dual-sport is ready to go.MCY1017_SMART.indd 103 7/20/17 9:37 AM