How to set up your dual sport or adventure bike!
We are all different shapes and sizes.
If you have average weight and height your bike might fit perfectly.
But once you are too tall, too short, or too heavy, you may need to make adjustments.
We encourage you to do the free mods first then ride your bike for a while before spending money.
Retailers know that adventure riders often have lots of cash to throw around.
They will try to drain your wallet on stuff that often makes little to no difference.
Learning to ride better will always make the biggest difference!
Lets start with ergonomics.
This is the relationship between your levers, handlebars, seat and footpegs.
First, your hand levers.
These should be horizontal, or slightly angled down.
Some riders angle these at 45 degrees if they stand on the footpegs a lot,
but it only encourages bad body positioning.
If you have long fingers, consider moving the levers
in so you have more leverage with your fingers.
You can use plumbing tape or electrical tape
under your lever mounts so the levers will spin in an accident instead of breaking.
If you have short fingers, you can buy this style of lever so it's easier to reach.
Handlebar positioning.
Draw a line from your forks to your handgrips.
The more the bars are angled toward the rider, the more inline stability you will have at speed.
When the handgrips are actually in line with the forks, the steering is quicker.
This is a good default position for dirt bikes and/or for tall riders.
But dual sport and adventure bikes normally have the bars angled back slightly.
Handgrips.
It's a good idea to put some wire around your handgrips to stop water getting in
and suddenly they are rotating while you ride.
Rear brake positioning.
The default position is to have your rear brake lever
horizontal with the footpeg, or only slightly lower.
Riders who sit most of the time often set the angle very low
but it's difficult to use the lever properly when standing.
Are you a short rider?
You can shave some foam from your seat to make it lower.
There are usually expensive aftermarket options available,
but automotive upholstery specialists will often do this for under $100.
Bargain!
You can increase the sag on your rear shock, and slide the forks up through the triple clamps.
You can buy a different linkage that will lower the rear.
Or actually get your suspension professionally lowered.
See our short rider setup video for lots of other tips.
Are you a tall rider? You need to make this triangle bigger,
especially if you stand on the footpegs once you are riding offroad.
Consider rolling your handlebars forward if it doesn't affect the steering too much.
You can use high bend bars, bar risers, pad the seat higher, and get footpegs like the Fastway
that drop the footpegs down and back. See our tall rider setup video for more information.
Some motorbike coaches argue against these mods, but the reality is many adventure riders are in
their 40s, 50s and 60s. As we get older, comfort takes priority over performance.
Tyre pressure. There is endless debate about this. Here is a very rough guideline for recommended air
pressures for different bike weights. The low pressure is for off road riding. The higher
pressure is for the street. This can vary a lot, see our detailed video about tyre pressures.
One of the great things about cast wheels and tubeless tyres on many adventure bikes is you
can fix punctures in a few minutes with a simple plug. If you have narrow 18 inch and 21 inch rims,
you can consider the TUbliss system but just remember if you live in the USA
it's not DOT approved. Many ignore this. If you do run tubes, make sure you don't tighten
these bolts! If your tyre moves, you won't notice your tube is moving then it will be ripped apart.
You can prevent this by installing rim locks, a great idea if you will run low tyre pressures.
Bike protection. It's easy to spend two thousand dollars and make your
bike much heavier. Skidplates, disc guards, linkage protectors, full wrap handguards,
sidecase covers, crankcase savers, swingarm covers, exhaust guards, engine guards,
frame guards, radiator guards, heavy duty chain guides, speedo protectors, fender braces,
master cylinder guards. You need to work out your compromise between making your bike bulletproof
but being able to manage the weight. So many newcomers buy the big adventure bike,
then make it much heavier with all the protection so they just drop the bike more often. A lot of
riders end up selling the big bike and getting something much lighter and more manageable.
Luggage. A similar story here. It's easy to get carried away and think you need to have
these ridiculously expensive setups. It's common to see experienced adventure riders often ditch
these fancy setups, then travel light and keep it simple. If you want to get away from it all,
why bring it all with you? My longest ride was eight days of camping and I just used two dry bags
strapped to the sides of the bike. The cost of my luggage setup? $40. Total weight of everything?
Only 13kg or 28 pounds. Soft luggage options will always be cheaper than hard luggage. And it
doesn't need to cost much. Another example is this Third Gear bag for only $89 Australian dollars.
Lighting. See and be seen. There are plenty of budget options around today,
it makes a lot of sense to upgrade. LED headlight bulbs are finally working well.
LED driving lights are great for added safety, this pair only cost $25 including a switch. Make
sure you comply with your local road rules. See our vid about budget lighting options.
Windscreens and fairings are a great idea. They reduce fatigue, keep some of the rain off you,
and can greatly reduce wind noise that leads to permanent ear damage. See this video. If you are
a gazillionaire, you can look into very expensive rally setups if you want to look like a Dakar pro
rider. But there are plenty of very reasonably priced options. Adjustable screens are a good
idea if you are very tall or short. The wrong sized screen can actually make wind noise much
worse. Feeling creative? Try making your own. The $6 garbage bin mod is a favourite of mine.
Suspension. This is an endlessly debated topic. Some riders insist you must spend a fortune
getting every bike revalved and resprung precisely. We believe the suspension on
most motorbikes is pretty good nowadays for the average rider. Often the stock setup will be fine
unless you are very heavy, very light, or you are an experienced rider pushing the bike hard.
It is important to set the sag correctly, and dial your clickers in. If that's not enough,
look into the correct spring weights and possibly a revalve. One of the worst suspension
setups is the Suzuki DR650. But unless you are overweight and/or plan on pushing the bike hard,
you may find it's fine. I deliberately rode my new DR650 stock for four months and did not have any
issues until I started to ride it aggressively. See our video, do I really need suspension mods?
Exhausts and power mods. One of the sillier mods tends to be getting louder exhausts. The majority
of exhausts are designed quite well nowadays, so performance increases are typically between zero
and three percent for all that extra noise. And you are just increasing your chances of permanent
ear damage. See this video. It's a similar case for power mods. There are a few older style bikes
that respond well to power mods without needing to spend a lot of money. And in most cases it's not
very cost effective. But of course if you have plenty of cash and like bling, go for it.
Tyres. Everyday riders obsess about tyres way too much. Sure there are different types depending on
your mix of road and offroad riding. But your riding skills will always make a much bigger
difference. Why are there are endless online discussions about the best tyres for dual sport
or adventure bikes? But you almost never see anyone discussing how to actually ride better?
One day I will do a vid about tyre choice. But it will emphasise the need to put
way more energy into skill development that endless debates about tyre choice.
Your toolkit. Every bike comes with one.
And they don't give you much either. The further you ride from base, the more important
it is to take more stuff with you. See our toolkit video for a huge range of ideas.
Gearing. Some riders claim small changes in gearing makes a huge difference. More experienced
riders who use their clutch a lot often don't touch their gearing. If gearing your bike lower,
I suggest going for a larger rear sprocket if your chain allows this, as your chain will last longer.
A lighter clutch. As your skills improve, you will use your clutch more if you ride in rough
terrain. If your bike has a heavy clutch pull, there are mods to make it lighter. You can just
add washers to lighten the springs, change to lighter springs, use a Midwest clutch lever,
or go for the expensive but awesome Clake One Light Clutch. See our video for more information.
Speaking of clutches, some beginners like to install an autoclutch. Even some experienced
riders use these. Many criticise the autoclutch as a crutch, but it can be a very sensible option
if you have physical issues with your hands, or simply want to make riding as easy as possible.
A final note. Maintaining your bike is an important part of setup. Regularly check
your air filter, radiator coolant, brake fluid, chain tension and spoke tension.
Check all those bolts and loctite any that come loose.
Do you have any extra tips? I will put them in the pinned first comment
of the Youtube video. Ride safe, boys and girls.