Supermoto riding questions.

[scatman]

My current bike is for sale and I'm thinking of maybe trying something completely different from anything I've ridden (strictly street riding) instead of giving up on riding all together even though I barely ride as it is. I've never ridden a dirt bike and have been looking at supermoto bikes for a couple days, but have questions....
Can you take turns hard like a regular street bike or do you have to have a leg out?
4 stroke FI bike an obvious better way to go?
Anything different have to be done to them as far as winter storage?
Maintanence any different?
Find a ready made sm bike (drz-sm) or build one (like a crf with motostrano's street legal kit)?
How to register if I build one?

I may add more if I can think of aything else.

[eboos]

Can you take turns hard like a regular street bike or do you have to have a leg out? Turn like you normally would.
Find a ready made sm bike (drz-sm) or build one (like a crf with motostrano's street legal kit)? DRZ400SM will be ready made and less maintenence intensive. Building one will cost more, require more maintenence and be difficult to register.
How to register if I build one?I just spoke to someone yesterday that built a WR450 supermoto bike from RI and he "sold" it to someone in NH so they can street title it and then "bought" it back and registered it in RI

[schleppy]

I "built" my supermoto out of a DR650. Yes it's not as light as a standard dirt bike, but it's as reliable as a hammer, and VERY easy (and cheap) to work on. It turns faster and holds a line better than most of the 20+ bike I've ridden, gets good mileage, and can run on the highway without issue.

With all that being said though, it's not a great long-haul bike, and it would suck two-up. I'll likely get a slightly bigger street bike for doing long haul duties.

[scottieducati]

http://www.nestreetriders.com/forum/...rna-sm610.html

You are more than welcome to come take it for an extended ride sometime. I'm also more than welcome to sit down and go through the bike front to back and discuss what recent maintenance was done and what it would require for ongoing maintenance and winter storage.

Let me know!

[scatman]

Thanks for the input, guys. Scottie, I was viewing your thread earlier and appreciate the invite, but before I do anything I need to sell mine off (which I thought would be easy to do). For now I'll research and learn about them in case it happens.

[R7]

"Can you take turns hard like a regular street bike or do you have to have a leg out?"

Take the turns like a normal bike, but have more fun and use less energy. leg out isn't a must, but it looks cool on the pavement. Dirtroad riding, leg out for sure!

"4 stroke FI bike an obvious better way to go?"

4-stroke, yes! EFI...that's debatable. On a MX bike converted to SM, you can swap jetting in 5 minutes for $5 per jet. I've never had an issued with a carbed SM bike.

"Anything different have to be done to them as far as winter storage?"

Depends what bike you get. If you go Enduro or MX bike conversion, there is no such thing as winter storage because you'll swap the knobbies back on and ice ride in the winter
The winter storage of my SM bikes is, put them in the basement and drool on them. That's pretty much it.
For unheated storage, I'd shut the fuel off and drain the carb bowl...and if the bike has a battery, traet that like any other bike.

"Maintanence any different?"

yes, oil+filter changes more often, valve checks more often and depending how often you ride and what bike you get, a minor "refresh" of the engine.
Also pay more attention to the chain as you would a street bike...assuming you'll be exploring some more dirt roads.

"Find a ready made sm bike (drz-sm) or build one (like a crf with motostrano's street legal kit)?"

Personally, i'd build one! The Enduro model of your favorite brand will be the easiest and least expensive to convert. Mostly because of the electrical power output. The ready made bikes will still put a smile on your face, but if you build one, it'll put a bigger smile on your face and weigh 50lbs less

"How to register if I build one?"

It's tricky, but there are several ways to get it done. I know people in Mass have done this so maybe someone will chime in and offer you some advice.
It gets more expensive if you chose the out of state route as chances are, you'll have extra fees and may have to pay the sales tax twice

"I may add more if I can think of aything else."

Keep the low fuel range in mind on rides.

Not great for any highway use.

I wouldn't commute on one.

150 mile days in the saddle and your ass will feel like a 450 mile day on a sportbike...but the rest of your body will feel great.

if you find a trail on the side of the road, you'll quickly learn that smoothie tires offer a LOT of traction on dirt, roots and rocks! If it's wet and muddy, be ready to fall..haha

[FriskyDingo]

Mark covered most of it, I'd just add a few comments to the below points as I feel several of these are somewhat bike dependant(MX coverts specificly). For reference I've got a KTM 690SM.

"I may add more if I can think of aything else."

Keep the low fuel range in mind on rides.

Not great for any highway use.

I wouldn't commute on one.

150 mile days in the saddle and your ass will feel like a 450 mile day on a sportbike...but the rest of your body will feel great.

I get 150+ miles per tank before the low fuel light, not touring range but 50 miles further than my Duc.
I hate the highway on anything, again not touring mileage, but a 20-30 mile slab to save time is easily doable. I'll cruise along with the traffic at 80 no problem.
I commute on mine probably 60% of the time I take a bike, 25 minute commute each way.
Stock seat sucked ass, with my Corbin I've done 150+ mile days over a dozen times.

Just another opinion, based on a different model. So anyway, just do it , most fun you'll have on the road at 60mph

[MysteriousR1]

Watch what you buy and research the bike. Many ticking time bombs out there that people try to dump before issues arise. I have KTM 525exc and it is a fucking blast, not a single regret buying one. I acually find myself on it more then the R1. Oh, and its a KTM, pretty easy to street legal....

[scatman]

Wow, all good info here. Turns out (if everything sticks over night) I'll have a guy coming with cash and a trailor for my VFR from 3 hrs away tomorrow....I'm very excited. Thinking of paying the car off for now, doing some research and then find something to play with over the winter while the boat is inactive.

[snowborder]

also be forewarned not many supermoto bikes last more than 10k without a serious engine rebuild or blow up. Some even much much less.
The 610 from Scottie has the 2nd most prebuilt reliability next to a DRZ in First and WR250 in 3rd.

Just see my Sig.

Personally I'd like what R7 does, have a supermoto to rip on at times and a streetbike as a daily rider.

If Yamaha ever came out with WR450X stock, it hit that.

[Pittenger5]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9530/5.0.0.328 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

Get a 690smc or a drz with mods.

[breakdirt916]

I never built a supermoto and I'm a cheap-bike-build sort of guy, so I can't speak for the more expensive models, but I recommend that you buy a supermoto out of the box. The conversion, plus rims, plus tires could put you over budget...