Off road > On road

So, I've had my EXC for a coupla months now...I'd done a few days off road before that, 2 of which were in Spain. Basically I reckon I have about 30 hours experience off road. and I fucken love it!! I'm not that great at it but I dont care, it really gets me out of my comfort zone, I get to see wicked parts of the countryside and rip the shit out of it with a bunch of top blokes.

My point is....I have more fun at 40mph off road than 140mph on it. It's safer too. I mean I know I crash a LOT more off road but I'm more likely to land at 15-40mph on mud or grass in full armour rather than on a fast corner at 60-110mph either lowsiding or highsiding on tarmac, possibly being hit by another vehicle, getting nicked, going to prison (for the kind of speeds I can do if I so desired), losing my licence and my job and maybe my life.

Basically, the more i think about it, the more i think of selling the beloved SDR and keeping it muddy from now on. It's crazy how much i love it compared to road riding when you look at how much I have done of each.

I'd love to keep the R...she is an amazing bike....SO focused and almost perfect for me in every way....but maybe that money could be put to better use? Maybe trade her in for an SM for some slower speed fun round tighter twisties at more copper friendly speeds? I would love to know how the EXC would behave on SM wheels.....but then I just think, why not grab a 690 SM or a DukeIII...


Anyway, I'm interested in your thoughts...

I had an EXC also, but sold it to get a SD. Man I miss riding dirt. I'm gonna get another once they'er FI. Keep both because you will eventually miss one or the other. Great thing about the EXC is you can motard it out.

My dads exactly the same as that he's been riding road bikes for years and has a VFR800 and BMW 800 commuter thing and a couple of years ago bought a kawasaki klx250 and since then the 2 roads bikes have done 500 miles and the off roader has done 12,000 all off road or on road just to reach road he loves it 10x more than on road.

I on the other hand tried it and didn't like it at all I got a bike tried it a few days with him and ended up selling the off roader to fund the SDR which I love 10x more than I did off roading.

Guess ur either a dirt demon or speed demon!

Hey Shade, keep both....believe me...you'll miss one or the other.

I have ridden & owned dirt bikes all my life. I had a couple of street bikes through high school & afterwards, but basically got away from street bikes the last 15 years or so. Was really focused on dirt bikes....which is my first love. But after pulling the pin & getting the SD last year, I gotta admit, it's been way toooo long without a street bike. Right now I'd be in a real predicament if I had to choose between the two. I hear what you're saying about the relatively safe fun you can have in the dirt as opposed to the street. They both have their own addictive qualities. Just when you might feel you want/need to git rid of one....take a ride on that one & then the decision becomes unbearable again....so my 2 cents, if you can, definitely keep both.

I think I have the perfect combo....SD & 300 XC-W

Glad to hear of another dirt & street guy

cheers Rob

I have both a SD and KX450F and they each posses something the other does not.

You can't do this on a street bike.


And you can't cruise along country roads on a dirt bike like this.



Why not get both, you can never have enough bikes

I know what you mean Shade. Of road is soooo much fun. You can push the boundaries safe in the knowledge that if it does go wrong chances are it's not going to result in serious injury or death. Certainly not in a loss of licence and job. Also I think it improves your road riding so much and you can actually go into corners on an enduro track shoulder to shoulder which on track will prob result in at best a black flag and at worst 2x written off bikes and a ride in the air ambulance.
Can't see me selling the SD though. Sometimes you just have to get out and rag the arse off her. Also need a couple of trackday fixes a year. How else am I going to fulfill my elbow down dream??

When you find your calling then you just have to follow your heart dude

Phaps you should have kept the ol SD

There is no way IMHO a Superduke could be replaced by ANY dirtbike...

I have been riding dirtbikes since I was 4yrs old. Owned & ridden several, 2-stroke & 4, and while they are a blast, the SD is by far more fun to me.

No,'I can't jump in the dunes on it or take it to the MX track or go freeriding in the hills, but that's why I still have a dirtbike. And the SD.

Keep both. Make it work. Be happy.'

All my riding buds have multi bikes. I need lot's of options cause I ride a lot. I know I would get tired of dirt only but still know how much fun and a work out it delivers. I love the street rides after work that takes me to the coast. Dual sport riding the back logging road to outstanding locations that are seldom seen by the normal Joe. Camping off my Tiger, what a treat. If you can swing it, get more bikes and don't settle for just one. I cut grass to trade for storage for my 7 bikes, my van to haul my bikes and car space in the summer when I comute on my bikes. Sitting on the lawn mower gives me time to day dream about bikes and where to ride next.

I have a scooter...fook you all..

I was faced with a hard desicion when choosing sd, I had a test on a duke 3 which I think is a much better road bike, I thought I was going to hate it but was very suprised how much fun I was having on it, I have no doubt I would be much faster on the road on a 690 90 percent of the time as I mainly do dirty shitty back roads, but then it would not be much fun on track, and besides I dont have much time to get on the road much now with 2 kids, so I settle for a bike that looks the dogs, will track well and gets me out for the odd burn, I think track riding is much safer than road riding, do not get a smaller bike thinking it will slow you down, you will just spend more time closer to the limits of the smaller bike,

i too have been thinking this... im just so over the cops... thinking of gettin a 300exc and also getting a motard kit

Need Vs Want welcome to my world. I take it you no longer use a bike to commute?

I am having the same debate though not because of the off roading which hasn’t gripped me yet (17hrs to your 30) That said, I am looking forward to enduroland / motocross tracks and a summer of dry tracks to hoon about on.

Riding thorugh shitty deep mud is no fun at all at my level of experience, neither is cleaning the bike after.

I have also questioned the need for a road bike to use purely for enjoyment (i.e far in excess of the speed limit) in the current climate of unmarked bikes and telephoto cop cameras looking to obtain a ban plus a big fine and trial by Youtube. I have reduced my road riding from 10k plus per year down to about 2k. I need my licence for work. I don’t have any fun riding at legal speeds so that isn’t an option.

Trackdays have become another pain in the arse. Since 2005/6/7 when I did about 10 per year I have decreased my attendance to about 2 per year. Mostly due to the whinging briefings and protracted noise testing. Who wants to lose money for a day off work for, at best , 7 sessions with at least 3 foreshortened by unnecessary red flags? So it is a no brainer, the ZX636 B1H that hasn’t turned a wheel since last May ought to go on e bay.

However, I still like to do a couple of Lyddens per year, plus a few spontaneous road rides so I do need a road bike. The only thing I would willingly swap my SDR for would be an earlier 2005/6 SD if I needed the money.

Insuring 2 bikes isn’t much dearer than insuring one. Tax on an off roader is peanuts. Unless you have to get rid I would say stay as you are. A 690 is neither, one thing, or the other and would be found wanting on or off road. In future years you may need to get a cheaper road and off road bike but I would still say it is worth having two separate bikes rather than a jack of all trades master of none. Likewise a 450EXC with road wheels will be a boring, gutless, uncomfortable bike that cant keep up with anyone you know…except Freestyler .

Unless you desperately need the money or are certain that you wont ride on roads again stay as you are. Whatever you do, don’t buy a mid life crisis bike that was shit in your youth just because you remember the big boys had one (sorry thought you were Schnauzer for a minute)

I love both, I know at times when I've only had one that I've missed the other one.
I can't say that one is better, they're just two different kettles of fish, I love them both.

My 13 yo daughter has started dirt riding in the last 12mths, and I'm having so much fun showing her the ropes.

So my opinion is ,if you can afford it, keep them both.

Good points ther Luke, i can only agree. To clarify, i would not replace both with a 690, only the SDR. I do not want to be rid of a pure off roader! So far the EXC is a revelation to me and I love the thrills of off roading albeit with heaps of fear/testosterone/sliding/jumping (a little) and even wheelies (which i enjoy more on the EXC).

I am genuinely thinking about this and really appreciate the feedback guys. I am going to get out on the SDR again this week i hope, i know i will love it....how much remains to be seen!

I have the same problem, so im building my way to the soulotion.

The duke is obviously the best bike for the road. Arguing that is pointless.

I have a 250 2smoker for the bush and there is nothing like hill climbing with the front wheel in the air and the back wheel skipping.

And i have a norton that im putting togther as a track bikes for the classic racing series. For when i need to race someone without the fuzz asking me if i know how fast i was going ( i don't look at the speedo as i ripping around a corner cuntsable)

The best of all three worlds. But $$$

(BTW - I had most those big old heavy bits of crap first time around. You would know that if you were on Facebook. Oh, you are )

I decided over the winter that I was going all dirt this year. With a new kid I just don't have the time for track days and dirt riding. And I haven't put in any decent road riding in three years (commuting blows in the big city and I have to ride 80mi's to find two consecutive curves and then 80 more to find another two). Trying to keep up with parts, tyres, maintenance, insurance of two bikes is time consuming and expensive. In my single days no problem. Time and money was all mine. All that droning out of the way now I can say I already miss track days and the season is just getting started here. Technically I haven't even missed a track day yet!

Dirt riding is a kick in the ass no doubt! You get to do all the things you wish you could do on a street bike with 1/1000th of the consequences. Slide it, wheelie it, go as fast as your balls allow you, drop it, flip it, jump it, drop it, flip it, pick it up and keep going. I crash more and get hurt more in one hour of dirt than I ever did on a street bike but (for the most part) it's the kind of hurt you get up and ride away from. My riding season starts two months earlier and goes a month longer for dirt. But really it's not a street vs. dirt thing for me. I kinda get a pit in my stomach when I think of giving up the track and a street bike and particularly my SD. But, for now, I really needed to pick one and dirt is offering more riding to me. My plan is to keep my 250xcw for enduro and hare scrambles and get a full on MX bike for track riding.

Like someone mentioned, if the money tied up in the SDR isn't a problem just hold it for a year and get your dirt fix guilt free. The SDR will be there ready for some love when you quit cheating on it

I feel that on the dirt i can take more risks and get my adrenaline pumping. When u crash a dirtbike the costs are not that serious compared to a crashed SD, i had 1 crash with my SDR and i lost 1000€ to that.
U would have to crash your dirtbike in some serious way to get to that number...unless you drive a 4stroke and blow it up, then your in for some expensive shit.
2Stroke rocks, cheap to maintain and allot more fun to ride then a offroad thumper.

i was thinking of selling my SDR aswell but i just cant get it done, im to attached to the bike.

Keep the sdr !! like everyone says sooner or later you will miss one or the other,I sold my gasgas a bit back and im missing having an offroad bike,im after a 450exc....with sm wheels

So.., has anybody heard anything about an EXC with fuel injection. That's what I'm holding out for. My wife said she would buy me a bike since she has horses now. It all works out... seems I pay for everything in the long run anyways.

It's a difficult choice to make Shade,i'd say keep both bike's if you can. Be wary of going down the SM route or you could end up owning three bike's and then you'll have a real dilema like i had it then gets costly keeping them in chains,sprokets and tyre's especially an SM

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I didnt knpw you had an SM mate. When did u get rid of it?

One bike can't do everything, which is why I also have a XR650L for dual sport/off road fun, and a FJR1300 for touring.

I've ridden off-road my entire life. And in that time I've gone through maybe 60 or 70 bikes, only 2 or 3 were street bikes. I'm only on this site because my SuperEnduro has an SDR motor in it. Back in 2005 I got a wild hair and bought a V-rod. I always thought they were pretty cool and the dealer was damn near giving them away at $15K out the door with 72 month 0% financing... how could I say no? I rode that bike 150 miles from the dealer to my house. It felt like one of the longest rides of my life as I was bored out of my fookin' mind! Sold it a year later with exactly 150 miles on it...

To each his own. I've got tons of riding buddies that swear asphalt is the way to go. But for me at least, I just can't get the thrill of two wheels when they're firmly planted. Plus I fookin' hate the traffic here in the Los Angeles area. It's only a matter of time before some dumbass soccer mom in a mini van takes you out at an intersection...

Buy a 690 enduro and supermoto wheels, it works great both on and off road.

I brought my 690 enduro R converted to 690SMC (forks, brakes, wheels++) as a back-up for road racing practise (so not track day) last weekend. Unfortunately SDR fuel pump broke so had to use the 690 for the entire 2 days. And I'm genuinely shocked A single shouldn't be this fast Of course I loose on the straights, but not nearly as much as you would think and it pulls really strong out of the corners. Took a couple of sessions before finding a ok body position basically not hanging that much off. I was in the middle of the intermediate group and I was the only guy with plates (that was off for the occasion) and street legal tyres, the rest was 600s and mostly 1000/1200 sports bikes on slicks. And I'm no Rossi.

Being a supermoto it of course turns very quick but a 600 isn't exactly slow in turns either so it's the motor that was the big, big surprise I was going to keep the Superduke as it obviously is better on the road and track. But not sure about the first and though probably maybe 1-2 seconds slower on a track, I think I had more fun on the 690 And it's good fun passing sportsbikes with a big cross bike on 17" wheels And much cheaper to crash so you don't worry that much

I've considered the superduke a keeper, a bike I would never sell and tell my grand children this was before ABS and traction control was normal and you had to control the bike yourself. But not sure any more, seriously considering selling it And I really love this bike it breaks my heart even thinking about it

So the 690 actually works for anything, and is GOOD at anything, Race track, Supermoto track, twisty roads, touring, gravel roads, Off road (Myself I'm rubbish...but talking about the bike here).

It's not a motorway bike of course, but I stay away from motoways and any straight roads anyway. And don't think it would be a big problem, go 120kph instead of 160kph. Then it's the 12L gas tank, but actually lasted about the same track time as the 18.5L superduke. And there is plenty of options expanding to twice that and more. It is big though, especailly the R I've got (but works best for converting to SMC), so in rough terrain it's a handful for a beginner (like me). Not that heavy mind 130kg with slip on without gas.

Of course you need to change wheels to make this work, but easy job. For track also changing to the SMC forks and front brakes is a definate improvement. But not that big deal. 4 bolts to loosen a fork leg and 2 bolts for the brake lever. The calliper must off when changing wheels anyway. Have complete sets so no need to bleed the brakes.

KTM 690 Enduro R:


Same bike converted to semi-690SMC track tool :

Ask yourself which makes you happier. Then do that.

Just found this. Not sure if it's been posted yet.