I have motocross experience and was interested in a sportbike but am now interested in a supermoto

Question

I was interested in a gsxr but have no street experience. Have about 11 years on a motocross bike, been lookin at the drz400 sm. Curious on the power of the bike, it will be used mostly in town commuting and maybe some canyons and playin with some wheelies. dont know to much about the drz400 sm but any advice will help............Thanks

Answer 1

My buddy has a KTM 590 SM, and I used to race mini-supermoto. I've ridden the GSXR600 K6, K5 CBR600RR, K5 R6, and K4 R1.

If I got a supermoto it would be the Aprilia 550. My friend says his KTM doesn't have enough power. I've heard from the DRZ400SM riders it doesn't have enough grunt to get good highway speeds. The Aprilia is a V-Twin, and it looks gorgeous.

A sportbike isn't really like a supermoto at all, it's heavier and you can't dip and back into corners as easily. Not to mention if you're used to putting your foot out in MX, you will take a while to get used to putting your knee down. I personally like putting my knee down though, very exciting doing 80 through a state park with a new knee slider scraping.

The DRZ will be a very nice commuter, but passing on the highway is going to take some planning and gas useage.

If you got the money, the Ducati Hypermotard would be the best choice.