Need advice on 650 Dual Sports. Buying etc.

[mysticsage]

I am an average rider, been riding on and off for 13 years since age 11, weigh: 220lbs, and am 6ft.3in. tall. I am now interested in buying a dual-sport.

Who has any advice as to what model dual-sport I should get and what flaws should I expect to see in each model and what changes should I make? Overall, what is the best deal I can get and not have to spend a tramendous amount of time maintaining of modifying the the beast? I presently have my eyes on several bikes: Honda XR650L, Suzuki DR650 and DR-Z400, Kawsaki KLR650, BMW 650.

I plan on using the bike for commuting, going out riding on Saturday in the dirt, Sundays through the canyons with friends.

E-mail me if you can: mysticsage@aol.com
Thank you.

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Motorcycles owned and ridden:
Honda: 1967 & 69 50A, 1973 CR125, 1978 CB350 Hawk, 1980 CB450T, 2002 Fireblade CBR954RR. Suzuki: 1977 RM250, 1986 GSXR750, 2001 Bandit GS1200SK2. Kawasaki: 1980 KZ550. Yamaha:1971 R5350.

[EGcivicSi]

My dad has a 98 XR650L and according to him its a great bike. Plenty of power when you need it and its great hill climber. I only rode it once but its nice im just not too into dirt bikes. A buddy of his has a kawasaki 650 and thats almost the same in comparison. Same powerband according to him. But as for the Suzuki I have no idea. KTMs are really good too if you have the extra money.

[speediva]

DO NOT BUY THE BMW!!!! I honestly think it is the worst designed bike EVER... Not to mention that my dad is 6'4" and he DWARFED the bike. It's single cylinder- which is ridiculous in most of today's bikes... AND it buzzes at almost any speed... Did I mention that it is very easily tipped??? Both my dad and I dropped the bike in low-speed maneuvers, and I'm not short at 5'10" myself (I'm a girl... that's pretty tall). I can't tell you anything about the other bikes, but I will do whatever I must to tell you to RUN, not walk from the BMW!!!

[EGcivicSi]

Well all the dual sports are Single Cylinder so you dont have much of a choice in that department.

[mysticsage]

I appreciate the feed back about the BMW, but what I want to know mostly is what is wrong with any of these bikes so I can prepare to make changes, atticipate costs and repairs to adjust my budget and buy a bike according to what I can afford.