Looking at a few, some obvious bias with our new elite partnership
My normal ride is a Tuareg 660. Might be shopping smaller DS to have a bit more fun on trails. Tuareg ain’t going nowhere, so no travel-compromises needed 
on the smaller one.
KLX 300
CFL300L or Rally
New DR-Z4S is nice, but jumped in price
Any favorites out there? Less interested in the higher-strung KTM/Husq 500/501, etc
Are you looking for a true dual sport or something to have more fun on the trails? 300 2-strokes are the cheat code in Colorado.
Good question. DS… I don’t want to have to trailer or truck it places.
Good deal. A 300 is great for connecting trails on the road but not for long road miles.
The 500 platform is great and pretty well mannered. However, I have heard great reports on the Beta 390’s as a good DS platform.
What’s your budget? Do you have a truck / trailer?
IMO, you can’t go wrong with a ‘12-18 KTM 350 or 500. Extremely reliable and excellent bikes.
I don’t care for the Japanese plated DS bikes as they are usually heavy and under powered compared to EU bikes. And not a fan of new because everyone needs to dump addition $$$ into bash plate, handguards, etc. Used bikes will have all of that.
What you’re looking for is a well farkled DS purchased by an old guy who dumped money into upgrades and didn’t ride the bike 
I think you’re going to find that a hitch rack is a good investment. You’ll be more likely to want to ride good stuff when you’re not spending 1-2hrs+ on admin pavement on a light bike sitting on 2x4 for a seat. And you’ll be doing on the math on the knobbies as the pavement wears them down.
Very true. My riding time is limited right now, so that’s part of the DS desire vs towed. Appreciate the input though. I’m a team-orange fan, but also love a good farkling on my own. Half the fun is the ridiculous amount of shit you buy later, with very poor justification to your spouse, complete with lying about cost.
Edit, to add for Rich-GPT, budget ideally 5-6. But can flex a bit on that
Went a slightly different route after test rides (390 Enduro R). Happened to find one to try. Ignore the poor naming convention, it’s a DS through and through, and was fantastic on a ride today at bunce.
Did you buy or rent? Curious to learn more
Buy. In garage staring down the Aprilia. I was able to test ride it, the klx, honda. Ended up sleeping on it and grabbed one. Hit some stuff today I’d lack the confidence on with Aprilia. So much easier.
Awesome!
