u/HavingNotAttained

Indecisive newbie here, getting a million opinions and was about to pull the trigger on a DR 650 (versus a WR250R) and came across a listing for a 2017 500 EXC, looked at the stats and it seems like an amazing ride, mainly I’m looking for a daily suburban-urban commuter and weekend trail/BDR bike but I’d really also like to go touring once or twice a year; assuming I could only have one bike, 1. is the 500 too much of a handful for a newbie (really the more important question rn)? And 2. are there seats and mods that would make for comfortable 8+ hour a day highway rides? Or is that not really the right mission for the bike? TIA

Was looking at the DR 650, F/G650GS, and the V85TT (cuz I’m a little weird and they’re so cool) but a neighbor is looking to sell his WR250R and he’s tricked it out a bit so that it looks like a slender ADV and swears that no matter what I do with it I’ll never get tired of it nor wish I had a bigger bike or more creature comforts.

My commute is NYC so 18 freedom units each way with some miles of highway and windy bridges, some crappy road surfaces, and the occasional bumper-to-bumper red-light-every-quarter-mile nonsense; I love camping and want to go moto camping; the BDRs call me in my dreams; and if I could ride alone or with a couple of my family members from NYC to Baja or Prudhoe Bay or Seward AK that’d be a damn fine trip.

fwiw, the neighbor selling the WR insists it could do all that if I get the right seat for it and a windscreen. I’m afraid of being blown off the highway in strong winds but that’s a weird paranoia though I’ve read that the V85 really is a handful in strong crosswinds.

V85 would be at the absolute top of the price range but I’m told it’s not really a BDR ride due to its weight.

The BMW is supposed to be incredibly smooth but allegedly needs an expensive custom toolkit to keep handy if I need to repair it in the middle of nowhere, and I’m told the DR is a sleeper hit because it puts you to sleep haha but can be repaired anywhere by anyone.

Your thoughts/suggestions on these or other motorcycles would be appreciated, TIA.

—a novice

“There’s only one way out!”

“Actually there are two fire stairwells on either side of—“

“One…metaphorical…way out!”

“I mean have we really tried anything else?”

Wtaf are the Dems doing? Really. Sincerely asking. DNC backs war hero Alani Bankhead in the primary and then try to ratfuck her for a corrupt Independent college president in the general election…why?

NYT article. “The ride-hailing giant promised to handle legal claims ‘in a way that was best for the survivor.’ Its lawyers are pursuing a far more aggressive strategy.”

There seems to be a difference of opinions about what to do when you’re losing control of the bike at very low speeds: assuming you’re in any position to keep it from falling, do you stop the fall and risk spraining a wrist or pulling your back out, etc.? Or do you say hey, just drop the bike; better the bike than myself?

Maybe if it’s an old beater, I kind of understand the just drop it theory, although old bikes can still be very expensive to repair; but if something stupid happens at 3 miles an hour on your five week old Africa Twin or Tuono V4, are you so ready to simply drop it to the pavement?

Of course “Mayor Cuomo” would’ve gotten along just fine with trump. Swamp creature, just dressed in blue.