Merge: date=May 2008 A dual-sport, colloquially known as "dualie" or an "on-off road bike" is a type of street-legal motorcycle that is designed for both on and off-road use. The terms dual-sport and DualSport are also used. Dual sports are equipped with street-legal equipment such as lights, speedometer, mirrors, and horn, and can, therefore, be registered and licensed. Examples of dual-sport models include the BMW GS series, KTM Adventure series, Kawasaki KLR, Suzuki DRZ and V-Strom, Honda XL, Yamaha XT and many more.

Evolution of Dual Sports

“The concept of a versatile motorcycle equally at home on dirt and pavement is as old as motorcycling itself. Most roads were still unpaved when motorized bicycles first appeared around 1900. In a sense, all motorcycles at that time were dual sports, intended to be used on dirt as well as pavement. Advertisements well into the 1920's depict motorcycles on dirt roads, raising clouds of dust. By 1940, most roads were paved and motorcycles had become heavier and more oriented to the street. In the 1950's and 60's British manufacturers such as Triumph and BSA offered versions of their, relatively light, street motorcycles with high exhaust pipes, and called them scramblers.”

Yamaha is credited with rekindling popular interest in dirt worthy motorcycles that could also be ridden on the street. In 1968 they introduced the hugely successful DT-1 based on a 250cc two-stroke engine. Other manufacturers soon followed with similar models called enduros. These light weight machines were good on trails, and adequate on pavement.

“Over the next 20 years manufacturers began producing heavier and less dirt worthy enduros based on four-stroke engines, as they searched for better combinations of weight, power, durability, performance and comfort. The heavier machines were less popular with “real” dirt riders and who began modifying them to create lighter, more competent, trail machines.

Suzuki introduced the DR350 in 1990 and promoted it as a DualSport (one word) or “dirt bike with a license plate”. DualSport is a registered trademark of Suzuki Motor Corporation. The terms dual sport or “dualie” were quickly adopted by riders and the motorcycle press.

Manufacturers use several different names for their dual sport models. Suzuki uses DualSport to describe its products. Kawasaki describes its offerings as dual purpose, Honda lists its entry under off-road, and other manufacturers describe machines as enduros, or simply list them as model numbers. A few models are described as adventure bikes. Despite these differences in terminology most enthusiasts understand that dual sports are licensed motorcycles that can be operated on highways, dirt roads and trails.