The best 'from the factory' supermoto were the 09-10 Husqvarna SM 450-510s. Came with the proper forks, brakes and geometry. Street legal too. KTM did make some nice factory supermotos, but were a bit rare in the US. I believe they had some recent street legal ones as well, but not in the US. I just sold a 2015 KTM 500 EXC. That thing was TINY for a full size bike, and the motor pulled like a raped ape. My goal was to turn it into a full supermoto, but needed the cash for other things. That would have been top dog in today's supermoto world; but needed about $4000 in parts to make it sing (wheels, tires, brakes, tripples, suspension work, etc) In my humble opinion, you don't need more than a 250/300 on most supermoto tracks. My old Husky 450 never got out of 2nd gear on BeaverRun's cart track. Just too tight to really get the max power out of them. Street is a different story, and most road courses can kill the life of the rod/crank.
one of our buddies has one of these... KTM Factory Works Supermoto. he said its one of the most retarded things to ride ever. i think the service intervals are nuts as shit too. i wanna ride it tho real bad.
I want a supermoto but not an actual supermoto; I'm not going racing. I just want the look. Been looking around, and it seems that my options are: drz400sm converted 250 dual sport honda 450l or similar ktm/husky 690/701 As stated I don't want the bigger bikes. The DRZ is more than I want. This bike will be used to dodge potholes on surface streets in Atlanta. I want to twist the throttle like I did on my ESS bike and not get into trouble. The bike will be a tarted up commuter. Ideally I'd get a 250 dual sport sold in supermoto trim, kind of like the 09-10 Kawi KLX250SF was. Can't find one of those older kawis near me. Is there soemthing I'm missing? Right now it looks like an EFI KLX250, wheels, tires is gonna be close to a DRZ400SM. Would be silly not to buy the Suzuki...
I've got a 2004 WR250F and a Husky TE511. Both plated and both with two sets of wheels - knobbies and street tires (the Husky actually has a third set of wheels as well). I'd let either of them go as I can barely find time to ride these days.
The DRZ is long and heavy. A WR250X will beat up the DRZ on anything not flat out. The DRZ would be a good 50MPH+ bike, but the WR250X can do freeway if your butt can handle it. Here's a decent thread on ADVrider comparing the WR and the DRZ: https://advrider.com/f/threads/yamaha-wr250x-vs-suzuki-drz400sm.568685/
Hm, 3,000 miles away tends to put a damper on these ideas. Plus the "not enough room as it is" situation. I'll send you a PM if my brain submits to my heart.
WR since 2012ish. Round here good luck finding one that new used. People don't sell WRs until they're at least 15 years old.
We've got a WR250X. Had to have one after riding one of my buddy's extensively. Nothing shared with the off-road WR, but mostly the same as dual-sport WR250F, aside from wheels, frame color, etc. Designed and built from ground up as a dual-sport bike. Great bike stock. If you need more power, I'd look for something with more cc's. Plan to put an aftermarket seat on it, though, for longer rides.
