general use in los angeles ok?

looking for input from others in the los angeles area regarding handling & sufficient power in our wonderful concrete jungle.

trying to downselect between this wrx250x and a drz400sm.

thanks for your help.

duckboy

duckboy wrote:

looking for input from others in the los angeles area regarding handling & sufficient power in our wonderful concrete jungle.

trying to downselect between this wrx250x and a drz400sm.

thanks for your help.

duckboy

Man I wish I was in your shoes & not in this crummy grey climate.
I use my X in South East UK: commuting through gridlock is just AMAZING! Really wakes you up in the morning, but I fear I will get a ticket or worse for riding up footpaths, annoying pedestrians & generally being a hooligan..... The best fun is scaring scooter riders & fitting through unfeasibly narrow gaps in the traffic. For this reason alone I would buy an X over DRZ. It is just a shame that they don't make a 450 version, as the handling is brilliant.

Hi Duckboy:

A bit of self promotion here but every time I am in LA, I try and take out a bike. The last one was a 10 KLX250SF and in and amongst the concrete jungle you call home, it did spectacular! I was even satisfied with an 08 CRF230L through LA’s downtown sights and sounds as well.

The WR250X will do even better as it has a bit more top end so when you want to head East to the desert, it will give you all and more.

How much riding experience do you have as riding in LA is one of the more challenging locales I have ridden in due to the distracted cagers. Use lane splitting to save your hide as camped between two cages at a stop is a heck of a lot safer than hanging out in the back of one in every other state we ride in :(

NY City is about the worst for traffic when it does tie up as it literally gridlocks and you cannot lane split in NY.

Chicago is a Bitch because of all the damn lights and stop signs every two blocks when cruising around downtown but once out of downtown proper, everything but Rush in and out is pretty smooth sailing.

In any case, I found myself going a heck of a lot slower than the top speed the X can provide in and around LA and even on the I-5 heading North or South, traffic backups are almost always the norm whenever I have been out there. 0 to 65 mph back down to 0 every 5 to 10-miles and the X can do that without even breathing hard :)

You would know more about your traffic conditions for your normal daily grind then I would so just take with you that the WR250X is a supremely maneuverable bike with power to scoot through traffic like shooting fish in the proverbial barrel. You will do fine and as always, wear every piece of protective gear including the armor you own.

Good Luck

Wayne

Why would you think a wr250x might not have sufficient anything for downtown LA?

It will rip through the gears until it hits at least 85mph.

It's light.

It flicks quite wonderfully.

It'll: go up and down steps, jump off loading docks, perform 12 o'clock circle wheelies, and long distance stoppies.

It corners on rails. Has great ground clearance for curb jumping, and has plenty of mods for making it personalized to your tastes.

How does any of that not translate to LA?

motokid,

i wasn't referring to downtown los angeles, but the city of los angeles. it's a big city and we have freeways where speeds of 70-80 mph are the norm. i'm sure a tw200 would be fine in any downtown. just trying to get a feel for passing power at speeds of 70-80 mph and the suspension's ability to absorb large step bumps and drop-offs at those speeds as well. oh and emergency braking at those speeds too.

thanks everyone for your constructive help.

duckboy

The wr250x is NOT a freeway bike.

But neither is the drz400sm.

No SUMO is a freeway bike.

go with the 250x. You have 6 gears over the 5 of the DRZ so cruising along the 101, 110, 405, and 10 will be much more pleasant. Plus the X is lighter and easier to manuever.

I rode and drove in Los Angeles for over 11 years.

duckboy wrote:

motokid,

i wasn't referring to downtown los angeles, but the city of los angeles. it's a big city and we have freeways where speeds of 70-80 mph are the norm. i'm sure a tw200 would be fine in any downtown. just trying to get a feel for passing power at speeds of 70-80 mph and the suspension's ability to absorb large step bumps and drop-offs at those speeds as well. oh and emergency braking at those speeds too.

thanks everyone for your constructive help.

duckboy

If the traffic speed is 70-80mph, you're not going to be passing anyone quickly (if at all) on the wr250x/r. It is very quick up to about 55. After that it starts to struggle. I seriously doubt you'll find a street legal bike under about 600cc that will be much better in that regard.

If you're OK with being the slow guy on the road, the handling of the WR is great! It's very stable yet very precise. The suspension is better out of the box than anything street legal in that size range too.

A DRZ400 is a pretty old design. It's got older suspension and a five speed. From the folks who have had both and have reported their observations, the DRZ doesn't have much more more power either.

Fundamentally there is a real market niche to be filled by a modern light weight 450-ish dual sport. The problem is, no one makes one. So, you're faced with going smaller and new like a wr250x/r, or bigger and older like a KLR650 or DRZ650.

duckboy wrote:

looking for input from others in the los angeles area regarding handling & sufficient power in our wonderful concrete jungle. Trying to downselect between this wrx250x and a drz400sm.

Duckie... While the local LA opinion adds context, as you can see others with urban asault vehicle experience are certainly valid (to some extent).

Where, EXACTLY, is your primary use ? Freeway ? Commuting ? ...or add-in recreational use ?

I don't get far from the beach, and when I do it's in the canyons on the R1, or in the desert on the dirt bikes ( or somewhere in-between on the dualies).

Having said that, I can't recall (on a general basis) any 70-80 MPH drop-offs and/or step bumps. Emergency braking is always an expectation.

I regularly ride, on a weekly basis an R1, the KTM LC4 SuMo and LC4 Enduro, a Suzuki 650 SVS and of course the WR(R).

I never rode a DRZ-SM, but can interpolate power and braking somewhere between the WRX and my SMC.

Here is the bottom line as far as high speed performance:

ZED wrote:

I seriously doubt you'll find a street legal
bike under about 600cc that will be much better in that regard.

(There are some case-by-case conversion bike exceptions such as late model dual-sported 450s).

If that is what you actually want, and use is on an LA freeway,

1) You're immediately out of down selecting range between both bikes.

2) Get your wallet out.... The cost of overall performance (in that range) goes up significantly from there up.

...and not to talk you out of either, both are capable bikes, but why (or perhaps how) have you reduced your options to these two bikes ?

..and finally, where in LA are you ?

I live in Orange County and frequently shoot the 55/405/5/22, etc... to CSLUB for classes 3 days a week. Love the 250X for all riding in between, (freeway or side streets, or dirt!) As far as speed- 80-90mph tops bone stock... but I pass fools all day long! Lots of "fist pumps" and "thumbs ups" whilst roosting. Don't listen to anyone else-- they don't live here. Way better mpg's, lower maintence, and way f-ing cooler than DRZ poopers. I used to ride a R6, then a RC51, on the same routes to class--- I can tell you first hand that 250X makes the most sense. (Safety,price,mpg's, utilitarian by all means!) Besides you'll have way more fun tearing apart downtown on 250X than anything else. In fact if you wanna shred... hit me up. HA!