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I bought a Suzuki DR-Z400. It's listed wet weight is 317 lbs. I didn't want a bike any heavier because I was worried I couldn't pick it up if I dropped it. The Suzuki is heavy and it's center of gravity seems high too. I looked at Honda XR650Ls and Yamaha WR250Rs too. I thought their seat height was too high for me. It's amusing I bought the Suzuki since it's seat height is about the same as the XR and WR. A 35 inch seat height is probably the maximum height I can handle well off road, instead of the 36.8 inch seat height of the Suzuki.
On one of my first rides on the DRZ, I went through a 8000 ft. elevation mountain pass. I went through a good bit of mud and as I got near the top of the pass I ran into snow and ice. I had thought about turning around because the mud was getting worse but I was so close to the top I thought I could make it. I hit some hard packed snow (ice). I started fishtailing and went down. After the third time I had to pick up the bike, I got worried I might not get out of the forest before the sun set. I had the pannier boxes on the bike with some gear in them. The bike weighed more than 360 lbs. that day. It was hell getting the bike off the ground 3 times especially when twice I was standing in 1 foot of snow when I had to pick it up. No more ice riding for me and I probably shouldn't get in any snow more than several inches deep.
Thanks JSH for posting some of the weights of various motorcycles.
Here's some of the wet weights of motorcycles I was looking at:
Honda CRF300L Rally 335 lbs.
Yamaha WR250R 295 lbs.
Honda XR650L 346 lbs.
Suzuki DR650 366 lbs.
Kawasaki KLX300 302 lbs.
Kawasaki Versys-X 300 386 lbs.
Honda CRF150L 269 lbs.
Kawasaki KLR650 456-483 lbs.
Suzuki V-Strom 650 470 lbs.
Yamaha Tenere 700 452 lbs.
Honda CRF450L 289 lbs.
All these bikes are street legal in the US.
I thought the Versys-X would be a good motorcycle for me but that high weight concerned me. And I've gone through many places on the Suzuki that the Honda CRF300L and the more street oriented dual sports would have bottomed out terribly. I do think the Yamaha WR250R and Honda CRF300L Rally might have been a better motorcycle for me but I couldn't find a deal I liked.
I also like the Husqvarna FE 501S at 247 lbs wet. It has good ground clearance, suspension travel, and lots of power. But I have no idea how many years and thousands of miles I'll be able to ride the Suzuki before I spend as much money as I would have just to get the Husqvarna home.
After learning recently that I can ride a dirt bike on the National Forest Service roads if I register it with the state of New Mexico, I might get a 125cc two stroke dirt bike but I could go as high as a 450cc four stroke dirt bike.
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