Opinions vary, of course, but the CB360 is a true classic machine (I had a '70 CB350 in college, loved it. CB. Get it? :cheeky
But to me it'd be a tragedy to take a pristine classic bike and bash it as a daily rider on DR roads. Parades or maybe a leisurly slow ride on a dry day? Maybe. My ONLY bike? No. But like I said, opinions vary.From a technical standpoint, a CB360 is old tech with old suspension engineering. Parts would be an issue, and you'd constantly be waiting for that EPS email saying the needed package had arrived.
DT's are dirt bikes, tall & skinny. The skinny seat is very uncomfortable on a long ride because one stands on the pegs of a dirt bike most of the time. That's how they are designed. Your passenger will HATE it. Knobbie tires are made for the loose stuff but lose significant traction (think cornering & hard braking) on pavement, not to mention they vibrate like hell off the dirt. Your hands will become numb. But dirt? Fantastic.
Every bike is a compromise between mission, performance and cost. There is no one perfect bike. And it's up to the rider to decide where the compromises meet. The single biggest mistake noobs make is gravitating toward a particular bike based on looks and/or the "cool" factor and *not on the mission asked of the bike*. This can lead to bad riding experiences, a garage queen...or even worse. There is a reason there are a bazillion Harleys with almost no mileage on the odo for sale, and you can't hardly find a low mileage F800 for sale.
I wrote in our free eBook (if you want a copy drop me a PM with email address & formet, .pdf, .mobi, .epub or .doc) how MotoCaribe Motorcycle Adventure Tours chose the Suzuki V-Strom DL650.
First of all we were 100% agnostic about any preference going into the process: we didn't care who "won", we wanted the BEST tool for the job. It took months of research and test rides. We created a list of what we wanted in a bike based on budget, mission and the riding conditions of the DR and force ranked the list, weighing each factor. We then, from online research, rider comments and test rides, force ranked each bike. Except for one, the DL650 came out at or near the top of almost every factor.
We ranked:
- Initial cost
- Operating cost
- Maintenance frequency, reputation & cost
- Rider ergos including 2-up
- Performance
- Durability
- Street/Off Road bias
- Availability of parts
- Consumer satisfaction
- Street appeal
The DL650 isn't the prettiest bike out there. You won't pull up to Bike Nite the Burger Doodle and attract a crowd...except to serious riders who "understand" function over form. They are a 85/15 street/off road bike with a ton of power, bullet-proof motor (the engine is a re-cammed & re-valved SV650 engine, one of the best small sportbike V-twins ever made), 55mpg, close to maintenance-free, tall and long (people are very surprised a machine that big is "only" 650cc's, agile in the twisties, capable on hard-packed and stable at highway speeds, a very comfortable for all-day rides including passenger, capable but not radical brakes, no chrome to polish and just goes in all conditions. They just aren't that purty, "cool", don't have a liter's worth of power and owners groups with logos on every item known to man.
But now that I've lived with the fleet for over 5 years I've learned that the DL650 is like a hardbodied Plain Jane Tomboy who can cook, drink you under the table, shoot pool, swears with the boys, knows a rotating 3 man zone deep drop NFL defense, plays shortstop, can clean up well for a night out, runs a surplus with the household budget and knows how to keep you warm at night.
She just isn't eye candy with a lot of bling.
We will replace the fleet with new 2013 DL650's. That's how well we like them.
