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Couple things...
I'm going to say that loading a bike into the back of a pickup by using a 2x10, or the equivalent, is a bad idea. It's fine for someone like Tim, who has probably been loading dirt bikes that way his whole life. For a first-timer, no way. IF you have to use a board, use the widest one you can, have several people to help and do it with the engine off. At least one person needs to be in the truck bed. I like the painters' walkboard better, if it is a heavy duty one. I like the idea of using a loading dock, or other similar architectural feature even better.
As for the motard, I'd caution you there as well. I'm a life-long bike rider and I've owned just about everything I've ever wanted. The current inventory is at least a dozen bikes. I've never owned a motard, though, although I own several dirt bikes. I used to think of a motard as equivalent to one of my dirt bikes, with street tires and better brakes. Gotta be fun, right? After all, I've covered more than a few miles on the street, riding a motocross bike...
So, last year my oldest kid gets a motard. It's a retired race bike, that was raced by a friend of ours. The only change from it's racing days are the addition of lights, a way to power them, and a tag. I was excited to try it, as I had begun the planning in my head for building one for me. Bottom line, I hated it. Yes, it was light; yes, it made a lot of power for it's size (mid 50's) but I hated every mile I rode it. I can't really tell you why. It's certainly uncomfortable, to start with. The seat on a dirt bike sucks when you ride on pavement, as you don't move around on it like you do in the dirt. The suspension was a factor as well, since it had lost the dirt bike plushness, in favor of something stiff enough for pavement duty. Even though it had a pretty good power to weight ratio, I was revving the nuts off of it all the time. Not such a good thing, with a single. Does anybody actually like vibration? There's no way I could see myself riding one on a highway, or a fast country road. And, it was tall. Not as tall as my motocross bike but way taller than any street bike I own. I've never ridden a Suzuki DRZ-SM, or the 250 Yamaha equivalent, so I can't say anything relevant about either of those bikes. I do know that my desire to try one isn't what it used to be.
That Suzuki SV650 sounds pretty good to me.
JR
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