As I believe Yermo has as well, I've concluded that the DR650 is the Adv/Dual bike for me. I made an offer on one today that's up at National Powersports in NH and should know Monday.

That's the white one I forwarded you the link to, right?

That's the one.

Nice. That's one of the best examples I've seen.

I too am officially looking for one. I think the advantages of riding the same make/model of bike on a trip like this outweigh many other considerations.

So if anyone comes across a nice deal on a DR650 please let me know.

I don't think for this trip, or any in North america actually, it would be all that important to be on the same or similar bikes. No part of the trail is more than about 60 miles from civilization and pretty much any modern bike is pretty damn reliable. the odds of catastrophic failure are really low, far more likely for some near-consumable part to fail. These were my considerations in order of importance to me:
1. Dual purpose capability, i.e. can be a fun "trail" bike for all the time not on an adventure
2. Economics: cost to acquire, own, maintain, and accessorize
3. see #2, after all ...this is a 2nd bike in every sense
4. Comparative value against segment peers; what are the pains/gains against similar bikes
5. Field repairability against odds of needing repair
6. Degree to which I won't care when it falls over repeatedly

That's pretty much it, anything else is bonus. If $$ were no object I would have gone with a new Tiger 800, as money was in the equation it came down to the DR, KLR, and the Honda. After looking at reviews and comparisons the DR seemed more attractive "to me"even though the KLR actually won pretty much every comparison.

I think it's far more important to get what works best for you in all of the areas that are in your personal "must have" or "must do" list.

WOW....maybe the best DR650 in the world?:

This was a crazy amount of rebuild and customization

Two for sale on Advrider:

Theres over 200 DR650s for sale on cycleTrader

There's one for sale in Frederick that looks pretty good. Bone stock from a dealer.

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It has the advantage that it's in MD so I wouldn't have to deal with tags for it or shipping or getting a trailer.

oooh...candy:

Very cool.

OK, I bought the DR at National Powersports. Should be here in about 3 weeks.

Excellent!

    "Shit just got real".

GREAT DR resource that lists all the changes between model years and full specs for each.

great find. Tagged and saved.

Put a deposit on a 2009 DR650 with 419 miles on it.

419? Wow, practically new. Where was it?

In Frederick.

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Thinking about it, it just seems to make sense. I don't have to worry about shipping. They take care of title/tags/tax/etc so no trip to the DMV. It's nearly new.

Of course I picked a hell of a week. Contemplating riding it back down from Frederick tomorrow or the next day but not sure I'm up for that much cold.

Well, this is getting pretty serious, isn't it?

Indeed. I think I'm going to go up there tomorrow to pick it up. I've been preparing for a very chilly ride back.

It will be very chilly indeed. The high is only 24 today. Be careful.

Awesome, congratulations to both of you. Enjoy that cold ride.

This should be interesting.

Define "interesting"...