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Downsizing, how far will you go?

I am currently on the heaviest bike I've owned, and ready to start heading the other direction at 50 years old. My Aprilia Dorsoduro 750 is about 410 lbs, and has become too much to handle off road. My wife rides a DR350, so it would be good to have something closer to that.

My bike history:
KX80
CL100
IT250
XL185 (my first street legal bike!)
ZX6R (this bike was going to kill me)
XL600 supermoto (this is the sweet spot for canyon carving)
Dorsoduro 750 (this is the sweet spot for street riding)
Suzuki RL250 Trials (too small/slow)
XL75 (my pit bike)

I do less long distance street riding these days, so I'd like to go back down to a highway capable dual sport. I want a 2013-2015 KTM 500EXC with supermoto wheels. That should be about 150 lbs lighter than my current bike. Capable of rough single track, or short bursts on the freeway. Basically a lighter more modern version of my old beloved XL600.

I've also considered going with a KTM 300 supermoto, and keeping the Aprilia for street use. I love the Ape, and hate to sell it, but I am also trying to simplify my life.
 
I've had several R1200 GS bikes and always looked with envy at the R1200 Adventure but knew it was too big and heavy for me (5' 8" 185 lbs). I currently have a Street Triple for the city (wonderful bike) and both a Tiger 900 GT and a Yamaha XT250 for the ranch property. But, at 75 yrs old with replacement joints, a pacemaker, and more, I am finding the Tiger to be a bit much to muscle around on dirt roads and the Yamaha is kinda too small. So I went with a KTM 390 Adventure and so far it has been really fun.
 

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Biggest bike I've had is an HD Street Glide. Last street bike was R1200R. On dirtbikes right now. Next street bike will be XSR 900 or some other naked. Gradually downsizing.
 
in 2015 after not riding for roughly 30 years I started out on a Husky 701 which I still have. Most of the riding I do is adventure riding with camping luggage.
Even though the 701 is considered a light bike I find it too heavy.:wings

I switched to a KTM EXC 450 for the adv riding with luggage. I find that too heavy too.

I would love to get a 350 for adv riding... Until I find that too heavy also:happay

I wish they could downsize motorbikes for travel to the weight of my trials bike which only weighs 68 kg
 
in 2015 after not riding for roughly 30 years I started out on a Husky 701 which I still have. Most of the riding I do is adventure riding with camping luggage.
Even though the 701 is considered a light bike I find it too heavy.:wings

I switched to a KTM EXC 450 for the adv riding with luggage. I find that too heavy too.

I would love to get a 350 for adv riding... Until I find that too heavy also:happay

I wish they could downsize motorbikes for travel to the weight of my trials bike which only weighs 68 kg
CT125
 
Once upon a time when the world certainly seemed to be ever so slightly saner.
People had a fondness of the 250s, the manufacturers fed us with an endless array of types and models from std naked type to trail bikes and racer styled models, people liked the 250s because they got up close or even passed the then magic 100mph mark accelerated well and were cheap to buy cheap to run and not forgetting the important bit they were lightweight and fun to ride.
Even after the learner laws changed in the UK and other places, the 250 was honed to perfection with fast suzukis kawasakis and aprilias ETc with real performers and then some time around the millennium the tap was turned down to a dribble and it seems 250s exist but are fewer less interesting in most cases and not as well favored in the motorcycle community as they once were. Why the Demise do you think? and Please share your insight into your favourate 250s then or now.
 
I had decided to sell My GL1500 Goldwing when hip issues made it difficult to swing my leg up and over. First bought a Burgman 650 Executive and it filled the void well, until the expensive cvt system went out, at less than 29K miles-relegating it to a parts bike. It was replaced with a low mileage Silverwing 600 scooter, which I still have and love. After a couple of years of trailering the Silverwing between upstate NY and Florida each fall and spring, I bought a 250 Honda Reflex and a Helix to keep in Florida. The riding there is a lot different than in the great white north, so the smaller rides suit me just fine. In the meantime, I've come to appreciate the convenience, and comfort, and practibility of the scooters.
 
Once upon a time when the world certainly seemed to be ever so slightly saner.
People had a fondness of the 250s, the manufacturers fed us with an endless array of types and models from std naked type to trail bikes and racer styled models, people liked the 250s because they got up close or even passed the then magic 100mph mark accelerated well and were cheap to buy cheap to run and not forgetting the important bit they were lightweight and fun to ride.
Even after the learner laws changed in the UK and other places, the 250 was honed to perfection with fast suzukis kawasakis and aprilias ETc with real performers and then some time around the millennium the tap was turned down to a dribble and it seems 250s exist but are fewer less interesting in most cases and not as well favored in the motorcycle community as they once were. Why the Demise do you think? and Please share your insight into your favourate 250s then or now.
No hate for little bikes , but time matches on bike advancements have really worked in our favor. I'm not talking about bikes riddled with electronics.

Semi old school XR 250 vs XR400. Nearly imperceptible weight difference between the two but the torque factor of the 400 makes feel horribly underpowered.

Fast forward from a 1998 XR400 to 2003 and the WR450 is alive and well. Modern 450's are on par with the old 250's on weight while having 2x-3x the power.

We don't have to choose between big engines and light bikes anymore. The gap has closed.
 
No hate for little bikes , but time matches on bike advancements have really worked in our favor. I'm not talking about bikes riddled with electronics.

Semi old school XR 250 vs XR400. Nearly imperceptible weight difference between the two but the torque factor of the 400 makes feel horribly underpowered.

Fast forward from a 1998 XR400 to 2003 and the WR450 is alive and well. Modern 450's are on par with the old 250's on weight while having 2x-3x the power.

We don't have to choose between big engines and light bikes anymore. The gap has closed.
The Weight Power and torque thing 250s to 450s as kind of always been a thing anyway, ok modern versions have more power but we need only look at the market options from 40/50 years ago to see its always been so re the weights.
By Example Honda CB250 VS Honda CG450 Black bomer the Yamaha RD350 AC to RD400, the RD/ RZ 250 350 and 500s and even BSAs B25 to B40 and Not forgeting the Ducati Desmo 250/ 350 and 450 The weight Power torque deal with all of these was as you describe with your XR comparisons.
I think my early grounding in the UK with its learner laws back in the 70s/ early 89s was 250cc and i think other countrys had similar laws too, this i think did make the 250s more popular in that 15 year or so period, but it must be said that back before the 250 learner laws here when learners were unlimited the 250 class was very much alive and thriving with many japanese european and british brands offering 259s and selling plenty.
They were a jump up from the smaller bikes and yet had ample and sometimes interesting performce and model variant options on the 250s perhaps not on the bigger brothers in the range.
Royal enfield springs to mind the royal enfield crusader sports 250 was a lighter frame than the bigger bullet 350 and their 500 singles, and Royal enfield made the crusaders successor the continental Gt 250 pretty unique for a brit in that it was five speed and rev counter with sporting vibe at lest if not ground moving performance. Staying with Britain the 250 BSA model range had a sporty 250 in the C15 SS80 IIRC a more powerful version of the basic C15 .
It was all before the 250 learner laws were introduced but who knows the manufacturers perhaps saw the writing on the wall and were prepared in britain, but i must say i find this sort of hard to imagine as they clearly were slow to react to the cb750 four for an example.
One other thought on the 250 demise , i believe the quite sudden two stroke dropping out of road bikree line ups did not help the 250s, and this is where we come back in with the xr400 etc .
I mean some manufacturers after lets say the late ninties still honed the 250s performance but this fadded out and i dont know of any modern time interesting 250s that match up to these heady 250 performance bikes of around the millennium.
 
My bike kept taking naps last year.

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So I started thinking about building something like this.

the-worlds-lightest-dirt-bike-mountain-moto-fx5.jpg
 
You really can't beat the R1200GSA for road touring and maintained dirt/gravel roads. This was my first bike and I started riding in my late 30s. Recently, I bought a KTM 690 Enduro R fully adventurized. I believe the weight reduction is about 250 lb or more, considering the 690 has soft luggage vs aluminum for the BMW. Granted, some of that is due to the smaller fuel capacity. I feel like the 690 is the ideal bike for a light weight ADV. I keep the R1200GSA mainly with Michellin Road 6 tires, even though I have an extra set of wheels with Anake Wild knobbies because the ride is just so smooth for touring. Even if a bike can do both, tire technology really cant.
 
I am on a 1250 now and I think that is about my lower limit.
I used to see stuff like this and not really get it. I'm on a torquey 120hp bike now and I know I wouldn't enjoy riding as much if I had less power.

I realize these comments aren't a flex. Going back to 30hp on the street just isn't fun after you've felt power.
 
It's less fun. That is if you primarily use the motorcycle as a toy,, and suffer from impatience. Are always in a rush. Don't enjoy the relaxation of the travel,, and the views on the way.
But. If you change gears (metaphorically). Slow down, look at the views around instead of hyper focusing on overtaking the car in front. Take the back roads. Then even 10 hp becomes plenty and enjoyment takes over from fun.
Well, that's my 2 cents. :-)
 
I realize these comments aren't a flex. Going back to 30hp on the street just isn't fun after you've felt power.
I used to have a 125 HP sportbike. I still have a blast riding my 13 HP scooter. Its a different kind of riding. Around town my scooter is more fun than any other bike I have owned. I can actually use all 13 HP. 125 HP is complete overkill and boring around town unless i wanted to lose my license.

I just got back from a 4 day trip on my 650 Versys which has 58 RWP. I never thought it lacked for power. On some of the really tight roads i was on I could have gone faster on my KLX250. I'm more into speed in the curves, not in a straight line so I don't need a lot of horsepower.
 
It's less fun. That is if you primarily use the motorcycle as a toy,, and suffer from impatience. Are always in a rush. Don't enjoy the relaxation of the travel,, and the views on the way.
But. If you change gears (metaphorically). Slow down, look at the views around instead of hyper focusing on overtaking the car in front. Take the back roads. Then even 10 hp becomes plenty and enjoyment takes over from fun.
Well, that's my 2 cents. :-)
Even if you are into speed 10 HP can be fun. I talked to a guy once who was riding the dragon on his Z125 which has around 9 HP. He said he also owned an RC-51 but the Z125 was more fun to ride on the dragon.
 
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