dual-sport

Traditionally, there’s no middle ground in the world of dual-sport bikes. It’s a realm occupied either by half-liter heavyweights or by bumper-rack campground transportation. So, why has the Husqvarna FE350s become a dual-sport mainstay?…
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What, you might ask, is a rally bike? Good question. At this point, no two answers are exactly the same. Honda, KTM, Triumph and other manufacturers use the term freely for wildly diverse models. For now, we like Kove’s definition best. The…
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Beta is sneaky. This isn't a company that generates a lot of hype and grand expectations. Austrian and Japanese corporations make all the headlines and win high-profile races, while Beta engineers work quietly in Italy, matching their…
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In the motorcycle biz, there are lots of ways to measure success. If you are talking units sold, revenue and stock value, it’s one thing. If you’re talking dreams, passion and performance, it’s quite something else. Right now, KTM is on top…
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If you’re old enough, you might remember that SWM was once a big name in the trials world, actually winning the World Championship in 1981. This company has little to no relationship with that one. The original SWM blinked out of…
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The dual-sport world is growing. Every year there are more bikes that answer the call for a street-legal off-road motorcycle that passes all the tests and meets all the requirements. GasGas, Honda, Husqvarna, Kawasaki, KTM, Suzuki, Sherco,…
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The whole idea of the dual-sport bike is a fairly recent invention. Back in the dimly lit past, all motorcycles had to deal with street and dirt. Most of America wasn’t even paved. Eventually, bikes got more specialized, making the concept…
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This month we’ve been collecting all the current dual-sport bikes to prepare for the March print edition of Dirt Bike Magazine, which will be devoted entirely to dual-sport and adventure bikes. Of all of them, the 2024 Husqvarna FE350S is…
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Rodney Smith personally delivered our 2024 Beta 500RS a couple of weeks ago. You gotta love it when a five-time GNCC champion drops by, hands you the keys to one of the greatest dual-sport bikes on earth and just says “Have fun.”…
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The KTM 500EXC is new for 2024, but it remains the bike of choice for serious dual-sport riders in the U.S. The frame is new and borrows much from the current 450SX-F motocross bike. The key difference is the PDS rear suspension which does…
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Just when we got used to the status quo in the dual-sport world, along comes Sherco to shake things up. The Sherco 500SEF Dual-Sport is freshly approved by the DOT, EPA and CARB, and it is legal in all 50 states. The U.S. homologation…
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Another piece of Beta's 2024 line-up has fallen into place with the release of its four dual-sport bikes. The 350, 390, 430 and 500 now have been redesignated the "RS" models and have received some refinements for 2024. The official press…
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I went to Sherco’s 2024 dealer meeting in San Antonio, Texas this week and got to hang out with guys like Gary Hazel, Pat Smage, Cooper Abbott and Cody Webb. It was a great opportunity to check out the 2024 models. Then, I got to ride the…
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We went to San Antonio Texas for the 2024 Sherco dealers meeting. When we got here, the Sherco guys had a surprise: a brand new 500cc Dual-Sport! It’s freshly approved by the DOT, EPA and CARB and it is legal in all 50 states. This is a…
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We love technology but hate change. This is a basic contradiction that we have learned to live with. The Suzuki DR650S is one of those bikes that brings our various shortcomings to the surface. On one hand, we love the fact that Suzuki has…
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Ken Roczen was 6 years old when the Suzuki DR-Z400S was first released. It was the year 2000, and the motorcycle world was about to go through some dramatic changes. Four-strokes would soon dominate the market, and most Japanese two-strokes…
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We always want more. It’s our nature as riders, racers and dirt bike dudes. In the world of serious dual-sport bikes, the big stars have always been the 500s. The 300s are popular for the masses and the 350s are for purists, but it’s the…
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We’ve been on a mission to test all the dual-sport bikes we can get our hands on for 2023. Three years ago Beta redesigned both the off-road and dual-sport lines, and their four dual-sport bikes were all built on the same platform differing…
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Right at the height of an unparalleled super bloom we got to do our 2023 500 dual-sport comparison. The Beta 500RR-S, Honda CRF450RL, Husqvarna FE501S and KTM 500EXC are the elite bikes with the most performance, the least weight and the…
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I just recently purchased a 2023 KTM 500EXC-F Dual Sport from Ride Now in Jacksonville, Florida. It is no surprise or mystery that in stock trim that all dual sports are a bit corked up and lethargic. This can bum you out if you ride on the…
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