Hey All-
Hopefully, this is all you need, but let me know if I missed something:

ME:

• No experience riding motorcycles but taking licensing class in about 5 weeks
  
• Did a lot of BMX/ freestyle/ mountain of the peddle variety
  
• Driven manuals my whole life and undertand the concept of shifting/ clutch control
  
• Been athletic most of my life and tend to not shy from contact
  
• 5'9", 140lbs, early forties, was a strong kid for my size
  
• Guess what I'm saying, is I hope to pick it up quickly... haha
  
• Know nothing at all about mechanical stuff, but am fine with tools
  
• Live in the city with no garage - though I do have off street, uncovered parking for 2 cars - but shit would walk if left unattended -- I guess I could (and hope to) work on a bike for a couple hours at a time but cant really leave jobs unfinished overnight
  
• Virtually no other friends with bikes I can test ride

WHAT I THINK I AM GOING TO WANT TO DO WITH THE BIKE:

• Ride anywhere possible that is within riding distance and is off-road
  
• Track and fire road with eventual single track and more technical terrain sounds appealing
  
• Would love to eventually go on riding trips (drive and ride) and compete in some harescrambles/ comps if I get good enough
  
• Enduro/ HS/ Erzburg seem more appealing than MX
  
• Ride around the city:  approx 5 mile round trip to work (possibly frequently), 10 mile trips (once/ twice a month), hop on to head 4 blocks for beer (to go)
  
• The off road is what is appealing, but I can see this being handy in the city as well
  
• Would need to ride at highway speed (65) at times

BIKE:

• Brand matters little
  
• Used
  
• Ideally less than $3000, but under $2000 would be great!
  
• Would be chained up outside (under roof though) when not in use

What bike to you think and why?

Do I start with a street legal dual sport or convert an enduro/ MX?

Thanks a TON for all the info and help!
MF

If it is outside no chain/lock will ever keep it safe if someone wants it. Make sure you insure it.

x2 with the guy above, keep that thing in your room if you have to! I would say, a type of woods bike since you would ride trails and such, but if you're going to ride on the road, you would about have to have a street/trail bike, since they are road legal, either that, or buy the stuff to make a bike street legal which in my opinion would be a PITA. Don't know how the rules are where you live though. Maybe some other guys can chime in and help with a bike decision cause I don't know too much about street/trail bikes.

Anyone else?

Suzuki DR-Z 400?
Kawa KDX 200?
KTM EXC?

In that price range I would expect buying a street legal (or close to it), 4T Japanese DS bike would be the best value.

DRZ/KLX400 is probably the most obvious, or a plated Honda XR/XL 350-600, also KLX 300. Lots of Honda XL's/XR-L's in that price range or less.

A KTM EX-C in 350+ is another good choice, but probably more than $3k in decent condition. KTM's are tall, so make sure you're comfortable on it.

KDX200 is a great trail bike but I wouldn't want to ride one in Maryland traffic.

xsrdx, on 06 March 2012 - 09:54 AM, said:

Is that due to it being lightweight and not able to handle consistent highway speeds?

Thanks for all the input as well.

In your price range and new to m/c riding. I would buy the newest DRZ400 dual sport you can afford and then buy a front disc brake lock, strongest lock and chain you can afford, m/c cover and full coverage theft insurance.

David37, on 06 March 2012 - 08:45 PM, said:

NEVER put a disc lock on the front, always use it on the back.

David37, on 06 March 2012 - 08:45 PM, said:

Are the DR-Zs known to have bad brakes?

And 420, why should I never put a disc on the front?

Thanks guys!  Keep the suggestions coming!

Mick_Feisty, on 06 March 2012 - 05:14 PM, said:

Yes - if you're riding on major surface streets in MD. 65 would be WFO on the KDX, not a good feeling with Escalades flying by at 85.

And the problem with a front disc lock - if you forget it, you may well destroy your caliper or crash, most likely both.

the DRZ is a great all around bike, but heavy on trails (i ride one on trails a lot). if you are serious about wanting to get into enduro/harescrambles/etc. and want something that you can also use around the city, but not for extended highway trips, look for a used KTM450exc or plated KTM450xc-w, imho.

if you're patient, you should be able to find one in decent shape for about $3,000.

the DRZ is certainly an option, it's just a lot more work to ride on single-track/rough trails than something like the 450exc/xc-w.

a plated KDX would be a great option for the woods part and a pretty good option for the city part other than highways, imho, too.

ultimately, you have to compromise either in the woods or on the street. with the DRZ you are compromising in the woods. with the KTM, you are compromising more on the street and less in the woods. with the KDX you are compromising on the street.

Youre telling him to hop on a 450 and hopefully be just fine...thats alot of bike....I'm 17 and supposed to be fearless, but i aint dumb

You need something semi low maintenance since this is your commuter & you have nowhere to work on it really, so I would suggest a drz 400s.  I wouldnt even try racing it, but I think it'll be just what you're looking for while you're learning the ropes.

Hondarider299, on 07 March 2012 - 08:51 AM, said:

450 four strokes aren't too powerful or hard to ride. less powerful, way smoother, and easier to ride than a 2 stroke 250. actually, the KTM 450 xc-w might be the easiest bike to ride of any i have ever ridden.

LittleRedToyota, on 07 March 2012 - 08:43 AM, said:

Thanks!  In your opinion, what is the compromise of the 450 EXC on the road?

Once I first start riding, I am definitely going to have to ride to my off-road riding.  However, the off road is the primary reason for buying a bike.

I do like the KTMs.  Do you think there is a big difference in a 2005-2007 and today's version?  In other words, do the older models have issues/ not have the same features that make today's models so desirable?

Bullwinkle58, on 07 March 2012 - 09:20 AM, said:

Yeah, this is kind of what I was leaning towards for similiar reasons and because it seems to fit in with my criteria from my original post.  Seems that there a re also a ton of resources for owners.  Not knowing a thing about bikes, I want to make sure I have loads of easily available info for working on mine.

Curious to know, why wouldn't you race the DRZ?  I thought that I had heard that they are actually pretty good for harescrambles with just a bit of minimum modding.

Mick_Feisty, on 07 March 2012 - 11:35 AM, said:

the seat is not very comfortable for long periods of riding sitting in one position. in general, good dirt bike seats are designed to make it easy to move around on the bike and anticipate that you will do a lot of your riding standing up. as a result, they are hard and skinny. you can put an aftermarket seat on it, though.

also, the bike is very light compared to a street bike...or even a DRZ. as a result, it gets blown around by the wind. it is also a bit buzzy.

finally, it does have shorter maitenance invtervals than a DRZ. riding on the street, you tend to rack up miles, so you end up doing maintenance (oil changes, valve checks, etc.) more often.

how much any of that matters is purely personal preference, though.

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then go with the KTM 450 exc, imho. it is night and day better than the DRZ off road.

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many people actually think the 2005-2007s are better. they changed the engine after 2007. the old (RFS) engine was known to be very reliable. some people think the newer engines are not as reliable.

i don't really know.

just make sure it is street legal. the EXCs did not used to be street legal from the dealer. i'm not sure exactly what year that changed (i think maybe 2006, but not sure).

Edited by LittleRedToyota, 07 March 2012 - 11:53 AM.

xsrdx, on 07 March 2012 - 07:29 AM, said:

Still new to bikes and tehir acronyms... "WFO"??? Wound the F Out?

Yeah, we have a lot of shit ass traffic around here.  I would only get on the beltway, I95, etc to get to off-road spots.

Mick_Feisty, on 07 March 2012 - 11:44 AM, said:

a "real" E model (with the FCR carb)...which is not the street legal version, is a decent, though still not great, race bike. it is lighter than the S model, has a better performing carb, has higher compression. basically, it has more power and is lighter weight.

the street legal (from the dealer) version is the S model. it has a lower performance carb, weighs way too much (and carries that weight up high which is bad), and is down on power.

Mick_Feisty, on 07 March 2012 - 11:49 AM, said:

wide f'in open. (same thing)