![]() The lone mid-sized offering out of Austrian powerhouse KTM, the serious EXC-F is completely street legal, though it barely looks it with that runway trim frame. Purchase: $ 10,000 KTM 500 EXC-F View in gallery via While they’re still a little too hard-core into the off-road scene, the six-speed fuel-injection system here shows real road workability, and a genuine option for both extreme trips and more sedate ones. Quietly making some of the best off-road machines around, they’re slinking into a greater dual sport offering by creating lines like the 500RR. ![]() Purchase: $6,700+ Beta 500RR-S View in gallery via īeta is the brand to watch if you want an up-and-coming brand who is looking to break through into the big time. Though getting that big 650 engine to torque is a thing of beauty. It certainly handles pavement and dirt with equal efficacy, though the bigger engine and greater heft make it much more effective on road than off. It’s loaded up with a large windshield, 6.1 gallon fuel tank, and has a rear cargo rack. It’s rare that a dual sport bike aspires to be a touring cycle, but the KLR650 certainly longs for trips down that lonesome highway. Tiny, pero feroz! Purchase: $6,700+ Kawasaki KLR650 View in gallery via ![]() It makes this list because it handles in dirt like a dream, goes after hideous backwoods trails like a fiend, and is easy to get into and out of trouble. Worse than being slow, this isn’t a comfortable ride out on paved roads either, at least if you’re expecting to go for more than a few miles. Keeping weight to the barest minimum, you might see 70 with the wind at your back, a song in your heart, and a downward slope in front of you, but best not to test it. ![]() Responsive in the extreme, which makes the 650cc engine feel like a reined stallion, there’s far more behind that modest look than you’d expect. Take it out of the woods and you’ll find that it cleans up nicely, making the most of the semi-double cradle frame chassis when dodging traffic or trees. We’d prefer to start the story at the cartridge fork up front and the link rear suspension which are constructed with the sole purpose of handling rises and gullies that have never known the touch of concrete. Purchase: $5,200+ Suzuki DR650S View in gallery via This is a true dirt dog that can handle your town roads, city streets, and some lesser highways, but it’s not going to shine tackling Route 66. Notable for a dual sport, since most modern models assume everyone in the world is over 5’9″ and bowlegged. It sits low, offering a respectable ground clearance of 11″+ with the seat being a hair below 31″ off the ground. Purchase: $5,150+ Yamaha XT250 View in gallery via Īs familiar as your high school parking lot, there’s been very little alteration made to the XT250 since it first debuted in 1980. Old hands can get the standard CRF250L, with the Rally being good for everyone. At 24 hp, it doesn’t truly have the throw power to hurt you, even if you whiskey throttle it. It’s melded with a 250cc powerhouse that is good about knowing when to kick and when to stick. It has a six-speed transmission that can move up or down with ease, accommodating riders of all types. Going with the Rally version of the CRF250L will help out anyone in the early stages of their riding career. Give it time and effort to avoid injury, wrecks, and being burned on off-road riding. Strength and finesse are necessary, and learning to read a path takes experience. If you’re considering a dual sport to add to your street savvy, make sure you introduce trail riding slowly. If you’ve only ever operated a motorcycle on pavement, going onto a trail is an entirely different experience. These off-road newbies think that they can grab a dirt devil and be fine. There’s a common mistake that many street riders make when they transition into the dual sport field. View in gallery Riding Notes View in gallery via
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