Motorcycle for cheap transportation?

[Seppia]

lol

I had this thing:


So not a "fast" bike by any means, and if pushed could get to around 60mph in FIRST gear

I can only imagine what a race bike such and R1/GSXR1000 can do in third

[Sclass]

I can only imagine what a race bike such and R1/GSXR1000 can do in third

I think I can answer this. I had the chance to ride an 04 model without traction control. When I flicked the throttle in third too much it spun the back wheel. Didn’t even stand up. I was just cruising along and I watched my tach spin up like I’d lost my clutch. I did it a couple of more times to convince myself it had happened. When I got back my buddy was very upset to find particles of his expensive tire all over the license plate. He accused me of doing burnouts.

I thought is was funny till I realized I could have gone down if I’d tried that in a turn.

Nice R bike. Someday I’d like to pick up an older R rally bike. They seem to be very durable.

[SavingWithBabies]

So I think using a scooter is probably out of the question for using one bike to do all those(?)

I think you're right. There are scooters that do on road and highway (see Honda Silverwing and similar) and some that do off road and town (Honda Rukus, etc). But I don't think there is one that does all three (highway, city and off road).

I personally have lusted after a Kawasaki KLR 650 for quite a while. It's not really good at anything but it can do all of those things, has a big group of loyal owners who have documented the shortcomings with fixes, is readily available and not particularly expensive. There are nicer bikes like it -- the Honda Transalp is highly regarded (but it's also rare and maybe held in too high a position due to rarity). BMW has some nice bikes like the KLR but they can be heavy and expensive. Reading something like this might be a good idea to kind of see what style and bias you prefer:

https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/five ... les#page-5

[Seppia]

I'm envisioning this kind of use:
- Putzing around town: 50%
- On a highway or something similar: 25%
- On dirt/gravel/fire/forest service/BLM roads: 25% (some of which have some decent sized rocks and ruts, but mostly pretty smooth or with pretty smooth lines available for a 2-wheeler... a fair amount will have washboarding)
- Totally off road / on trails: ~0%

So I think using a scooter is probably out of the question for using one bike to do all those(?)

The correct answer to this is called Suzuki Vstorm 650.
Look for an older model like a 2010



Twin cylinder with plenty of torque
Excels at nothing
Above average at everything

This is, assuming you don't want to compromise.

Otherwise I'd go for a cheap scooter like the one I just bought (Nmax 155cc)


It will be slower, have less power, and be worse at about everything other than being invincible as a cheap city commuter, and Be so fuel efficient you'll start to think it runs on thin air

[SavingWithBabies]

@Seppia Good point -- I forgot about the Vstrom. Last time I was looking at this, it was brand new so couldn't get an inexpensive used one. But now there are multitudes (just checked my local Craigslist). It seems like a strong contender with more modern design than the KLR (and likely it is way better on road -- I wonder how they compare off road).

[Seppia]

KLR is for sure better as an off-road bike, the Vstorm is an all rounder made mostly for paved roads.

[enigmaT120]

KLRs are very tall. You may want to have long legs. True of a lot of dual sport bikes I guess, but I rode a KTM Adventure one time (closest I've come to a sport bike, sadly) and I don't remember it being too tall for me.