On road or off? For motorcycle riders hung up on this choice there could be an easy solution - both on the same bike.

Dual sport bikes have been around for years, but some riders say the machines have never gotten the respect they deserve.

This style of bike is not very popular among younger riders, said Derrick Mackmer, sales representative at Hattiesburg cycles.

"Dual sports have a consistent following in the 40-plus age group," Mackmer said, "but they are bought for recreational use mostly."

The most popular selling model, he said, is the Kawasaki KLR-650. It is designed, Mackmer said, to run 70 percent on road and 30 percent off.

Although they look very similar to dirt bikes, Mackmer said, dual sports cannot handle most off-road tracks but are usually good for trail rides and light off-road use.

For Hattiesburg resident Jason Cowsert, 29, a dual sport is much more than a trail bike. It's his only means of transportation. And he prefers it that way.

Cowsert works in the service department at Honda Sports Center of Hattiesburg. He has been riding motorcycles for 13 years, he said.

He has owned a number of other bikes including street bikes, dirt bikes and other dual sports. He said he mostly does street riding, but he really likes the versatility of his KLR-650 dual sport.

"It's a light bike with a good bit of torque," Cowsert said. "It's an easy bike to ride on the street, it's easy to travel on and you can go off-road if you want."

The perks of a dual sport, the KLR-650 especially, are reliability, comfort and fun, Cowsert said.

There is definitely no room for a dual sport on a dirt bike track, said Max Burge, 47, owner of Red Creek Off-Road Park in Wiggins.

Red Creek, like most dirt bike tracks, is too rough for any street-capable bikes, Burge said. But these days, he said, finding a place to ride a strictly off-road bike can be pretty tough.

"Keeping a dirt track open through all seasons requires a lot of maintenence that many people aren't willing to commit to," said Burge.

Because of this, he said, many area tracks have closed down. In fact, the only one he knows about is his own.

The beauty of the dual sport, said Cowsert, is that you can get on it, ride it - legally - down the street to your destination and then get off-road if you like. This eliminates the need for a truck or trailer to haul the bike and makes riding a little more convienent.

But the thing about dual sports, Cowsert said, is that they're actually not very beautiful.

"They're not very stylish, and not very fast," Cowsert said. Dual sports wind out at about 110mph, he said, and that's pretty slow for a street bike.

Cowsert said he once reached 187 mph on a ZX1100 street bike that he owned. However, that bike got stolen. This, said Cowsert, brings up another good point on dual sports.

"I can park my bike outside of my apartment and not worry about it getting stolen," Cowsert said. "The fact that (dual sports) are not pretty bikes makes them less of a target for theft."

Cowsert also has a dirt bike specifically for racing, a Honda CBR-900, and he said he will probably get another street bike in the future. But there will always be room in his garage for a dual sport.

"I think I'll always have a KLR," Cowsert said, "it's just a good bike."

Originally published Wednesday, December 8, 2004