Ok this is a ducati forum i know, but i rather hear it from people i know than other forums with scattered thoughts.

my DR650 got stolen. ;\ doenst look like im getting it back, and the only two bikes that can replace it is the Honda XR650R (not the L), another DR and the 690 Enduro. Does anyone here have one and used it extensively with DS tires? My main use is for off roading (trails and forest) and commuting. about 30/70. But with 30% being really tough off roading (relatively speaking for the bike of course).

The DR650 was litteraly the KING of reliability, carry-all, with a really good torque output. That bike was just a bit on the heavy side for getting out of tight spots. Id love to get another one, but im just scoping out the market right now.

You can get some ideas here, though not specific to the bike you are interested in:
http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=53746.0

This could be my new bike in 2016, so....

Quote from: 1.21GW on January 05, 2015, 01:14:32 PM
This could be my new bike in 2016, so....

haha, ive been OOGLING this bike for a long time.

Quote from: He Man on January 05, 2015, 01:54:25 PM

haha, ive been OOGLING this bike for a long time.

I sat on every KTM at the Int'l show this year and wanted them all.  690 Enduro is at the top of the list.

are you trying to buy new or used? I cant find too many used ones. maybe only 5-6 are for sale in the whole US right now.

Quote from: He Man on January 05, 2015, 08:10:52 PM
are you trying to buy new or used? I cant find too many used ones. maybe only 5-6 are for sale in the whole US right now.

Yeah, I noticed that as well.  I won't be in the market until at least Jan-Feb next year at the earliest, so I only occasionally browse online more as a curiosity.  Like looking at bike porn.  But yeah, about 5-6 nationwide sounds right.

I don't like buying new cars/bikes because I think the best value is in ones that are 2-3 years old---big drop in price without much wear.  But who knows, if I have no other options and NEED the 690, I'll be putty in the dealer's hand.

I'm hoping some 2012-13s will come on the market by next year.  But that doesn't help you since you're looking to replace your DR650 sooner rather than later.  Also, the season might be an issue---I tend to see fewer bikes for sale in winter, at least here in the NE.

especially of the KTM variety.

i dont mind flying to california and doing a reverse TAT (if you dont know what this is and like offraoding you need to check the TAT out!!), but the buyer would have to be very trust worthy for me to do that.

Financially, if I go new... i'm thinking of financing one.

I ride to work everyday so its not as much as a toy as it is for some other people and on top of that i dont have ANY hard loan credit history and buying a house in the future will need that hard loan credit history. It might be a good move to go that route instead of burning through my savings.


but i agree, 2-3 years old is the best. Buy it from someone who made a mistake and throw on the basic goodies, bash plate, handguards and maybe some rear racks!!!

We need to make KTM "cool" on wall street so that when traders get their bonuses they blow them on impulsive toys like KTMs that will inevitably be on the market at fire sale prices 6-12 months later.

Maybe you and I can plaster some KTM posters on bus stops and construction barriers around the offices of JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.

Ducati did just that with their GP bike from that movie with wall st. haha! man i want that 690!!!

Ask Dan the man.

He rode his 690 around the country.

Quote from: He Man on January 06, 2015, 07:53:30 AM
i dont mind flying to california and doing a reverse TAT (if you dont know what this is and like offraoding you need to check the TAT out!!)...

Just looked up TAT.  Yeah, that now goes on my things to do list.

But He Man, didn't you start a job last year?  Where are you getting the time to take off on a 5000 mi DS ride?

I started at an engineering company June 17 2013, its a rather large company and i had permission to take 25 days off to ride the TAT last summer, but i bailed cause my friend(s) who said they would ride bailed on me, and i wasn't mentally ready to do it solo. This year I am.

Anyway, i have 5 weeks of vacation saved up this year, and i plan on working my jobs so that i dont have a high work load in August. Typically in our industry we have spurts of design and construction administration, and then for a while our jobs are able to administer themselves in the field. That time is typically around August when summer construction is full blown and is usually problem free. Sometimes this is not the case and its full of problems and i might have to abort. though we have lots of engineers on staff so theres someone to push the job onto.

What's most impressive in all that is that you had the balls to ask for 25 consecutive days off within a year of starting a new job. 

hahaha, i wow them with stories of my past riding and skydiving adventures. I negotiated up front before i was even hired...as an intern..then i re anchored the thought when i was hired full time. LOL

i need to ride man. At this point, i dont know what id do without riding.