r/adv

Hey y'all! It's another one of these posts, I know. But I'm looking into my first ADV/Dualsport bike to add to the garage. I've been riding for a few years, and slowly started acquiring the gear for ADV. My riding experience has largely been on street with a sport bike (Ninja 500) and on track (a race prepped RC390). But now I've gotten the dirt itch.

For my size, to compare to bike dimensions, I'm on the shorter side, 5' 8" but almost all of my height is in my legs with a 32" inseam. I weight in at 155lbs without gear, so with gear, probably closer to ~160-165lbs. I've sat on a '25 Tenere 700, liked it and felt good getting feet down, but WAY too big as a first bike for dirt. Both power and size wise.

For the kinds of riding I'm looking at. A majority of the riding will be weekend trips exploring OHV roads and random roads I find in my area (Oregon), but I would also plan to do BDR's with it eventually. Specifically, Oregon, Washington, and some of the California ones. Also, to get to the trails and off roading around me, I will have to ride highways to get there. 55mph minimum, but up to 70-75mph. Trailering isn't a practical option for every time I want to get out. So, that leads me to the bikes I've been looking at and trying to figure out what's best, and within my budget. Speaking of budget, ideally I want to keep it around $6,500 max (not necessarily counting fees), if it was really really worth it, I could maybe stretch to $7,000 but would much rather avoid it. I've also looked at used, but the used market around me is absolutely fucked. Only things I can find for $3k are 20+ year old bikes that are beat to hell, anything $5k is minimum 10 years old.

Anyways, the bikes I've been considering:

• CFMoto Ibex 450
  • It checks a lot of the boxes for me, I love the look, have heard good things about it, parts aren't a concern around me, and it seems plenty capable. My only hesitation is the size, but some friends have ridden both it and the CRF300L Rally for local rallies and preferred it. Personally, my top pick right now minus the price, but I've seen other people with more experience cast shade on it
• CRF300L Rally
  • The classic, I frankly also love it, and similar price to the Ibex. My only hesitation, and my absolute biggest hesitation is the suspension (aside from the stop sale). I've heard it's royally shit, and has to be upgraded. Which, from what I've seen, is another ~$1,500 and puts the bike at almost $8k minimum. That just doesn't seem worth it to me
• 390 Enduro R
  • I've sat on one, it felt comfortable, I like the price, I have a great KTM shop near me, and I'm familiar with the 390 powerplant already. I don't like the small tank size, the lack of a fuel gauge (minor, I know), and I've heard about flame out issues. I'm also not entirely sold on the pure dual sport style, I like the more adventure style
• 390 Adventure R
  • Same points as the Enduro R, minus the fuel gauge and tank size. I also love the adventure style. My main hesitation here is the price, $7.7k MSRP is high for my budget. I could stretch if it was REALLY worth it. But does it really do anything that much better than the Ibex?
• KLX 300
  • Honestly, I haven't seen too much about it. I've just seen it mentioned in conversation with the CRF300L but with a better suspension. The price sounds good but not sure how it stacks up
• WR125R
  • The odd one out and frankly the one that makes the least sense. It's may less power than any of the others, smaller, full dual sport style. BUT I LOVE the price. I can get one from a really solid local shop for just over $3.5k OTD. Which, sounds great for my wallet. But I'm not sure if it's even remotely capable of doing what I want it to do
• Used
  • I would go for a WR250R or a DRZ400S in a heartbeat if I could find one. But as I mentioned earlier, I can't find any near me for a good enough price, or in good enough shape. There's a 2017 WR250R not too far from me, but they're wanting $6k and idk if that's worth it, with an unknown service history. And the only DRZ400's near me are the SM's which, from what I could find, don't have the same offroad chops as the S.

Sorry for the long winded post, but figured I should write everything else and give as much as I can for valuable feedback. Thanks for all y'alls help!

Hey there,

I’m doing the PA Wilds BDRX, and my clutch cable broke at my hotel in Reedsville, Pennsylvania. Does anyone have a spare clutch cable for a Gen 1? I would more than happily pay for it.

Thanks in advance!