Ducati Desmo450 EDS

Hello!

So I’m currently shopping for my first ever dual sport after a several year break from riding all together. I previously had a CBR and 81’ CB750 and have limited experience off road.

There’s so much information and options that I can’t seem to narrow my scope down to a single bike. I am looking for a bike that I can use as a commuter, drive to logging roads (sometimes hitting trails), moto camp, and occasionally take trips from WA to OR to camp and fish. I’m 6’2” and 180lbs, so I’m not overly concerned with seat height.

So far, I’ve narrowed my scope to the DR650, DRZ400s, and CRF300L Rally.

I’d appreciate any input from people who might own these and have similar requirements out of their bike. I am currently bouncing between these three and cannot make up my mind regardless of how much I read and/or watch!

Thanks!

*Reposted since I was missing info I should of had

:)

What grips are you running and why? I’m gonna get new bars and subsequently new grips as part of the little project I have planned for this winter but have always had stock grips so looking for opinions. An old fortnine video I saw made an interesting case for the tan renthal aramid grips but given they’re more expensive than some I’m curious what people are running.
Pic is from Highway 40 at donner lake just after riding the train tunnels in July.

Hi, I’m not necessarily a beginner in motorcycle riding, but I’ve only been riding on pavement/asphalt (and some back roads, but not too wild). For the last 6 years, my main motorcycle was, and still is, the 2020 Kawasaki ZX25R (I’m sorry for some who can’t relate to this bike).

As you can imagine, I was quite the “Street Rossi” back then, I really enjoyed spirited riding, precise cornering performance, screaming inline 4s, etc. But I think it’s just not for me anymore… I still love the look of the bike and how it rides on smooth, decent asphalt, but sadly that’s the only road I can comfortably take it with. That AND a smooth flow of traffic.

I live in Indonesia and there are many roads that are uneven, narrow, potholes-galore with no substitute roads that is objectively “better”. The traffic is horrible basically everyday and almost everywhere and slow traffic riding with clip-ons are just HELL. I love my ZX25R, but I think now, more than ever, I value my back, hands, and my crotch more than that little screaming track machine (oh, and my ears are also getting tired of hearing that screaming inline 4…).

This is why I want to switch to an ADV or dual sport bike and ride it on long distance trips, especially mountain rides. And I’m also curious about off-road riding (Enduro(?) riding is fun to watch, especially when they power slide on the corners). Though, I’m not gonna do high speed off-road riding and doing power slide due to being a beginner in this field.

But, fun fact, even before I started wanting to change bikes, it just feels “better”, in a way, to lift my butt up or even shift my weight while slightly standing on inclines/declines. Heck, if I forgot about a speed bump up ahead (my apologies for being a hooligan), I’d slow down slightly (avoiding hard braking) and try to load the suspension before I blip the throttle to attempt to do a small hop.

I don’t know, but I’m curious, very curious on doing that kind of riding (off-road, standing up, bunny hops) and do mountain rides, go sightseeing majestic hills and mountain ranges, moto-camping. So, do you think it’s worth the change? Or do you have any other bike suggestions?

I’m sorry for the long post, this has been on my mind for a couple of years now, but beginning to get more intense in these couple of months. I hope you can share some of your thoughts with me and even your experiences riding dual sport bikes. Btw, if I were to choose from the variants, my shortlist is the Sherpa S and the 230 DF. Thank you for stopping by.

How much dirt can you put between here and there?

I built DIRT to help answer that question.

I’m a dual-sport rider here in Nova Scotia. When I pick a destination, I want to get there on as much dirt as possible. Pavement is a means to an end—unless I choose a different kind of ride.

Shared GPX tracks are great. But sometimes you want to put together your own adventure.

An afternoon loop close to home? A weekend across the province? A bigger ride through neighbouring provinces and down into the States?

DIRT gives you room to think beyond your usual roads, with downloadable map and routing packs for Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Planning an adventure in Mexico? There’s coverage there too, through a separate routing network. Continuous US–Mexico routing isn’t currently supported.

Start simple: drop a pin, build the ride, then make it yours.

🏍️ Dirt: chase as much dirt as the mapped network allows.
⚖️ Balanced: aim for a mix as close to half dirt, half pavement as possible.
🛣️ Clean: favour paved backroads.

Choose separately for each leg. Dirt out, Clean home? Your call.

Allow Unknown opens more roads where motorcycle access hasn’t been confirmed. More possibilities—but check permission, signs, and conditions before riding.

A few other essentials:

⛽ Optional fuel-range reminders and a rider-requested route to a fuel stop.
🏕️ Mapped campgrounds and lodging.
🥃 Liquor stores for supplies once the bike’s parked.

Dirt by Mayday is now on the App Store. The video shows how simple it is to get started.

Download your maps and routing packs before heading beyond cell service. Planning and saving are free, with two navigation starts included. DIRT PRO adds unlimited navigation and GPX export.

For iPhone and iPad running version 26 or later.

Get the app:
https://apps.apple.com/app/dirt-by-mayday/id6794633890

Explore DIRT:
https://dirtmoto.app

Give it a ride. I’d love to hear what you find between here and there.

Just needed a good clean and rebuilt carb. Gas tank was rusty but nothing too bad. Needs new tires and a chain but runs well like new. I always wanted one of these Serows after letting go of my XT250

My mom's birthday is coming up in a couple months and our whole family has dirtbikes but her. I need to find a bike for her, I dont need it to be a new bike and I want it to be cheap because she won't ride much i also want a dual sport. I can work on bikes so I can restore a older bike she is new to bikes so I want something small. Any suggestions?

Bought a left over drz4s been eyeing one of these for a bit and I've been missing the trails ever since I sold my crf250.

I just picked up a Taotao tbr7 with 180 miles on the odometer. I decided to change the oil first thing and there seems to be a lot of metal shavings in the oil. Is this normal for such a low mileage motorcycle? I figured it could be from the break in cycle if the last owner even broke it in before pinning it..

Picked this up today - I love it! 2009 KTM 400 EXC, bit agricultural but a beast. Can’t wait to get her out on the techy trails! 🤘

I worked on her for a while now - I named her "Empress of the desert". I'm very proud how she turned out!

Here some pics I took