Motorcycles BS Thread 2.0

Im scooping some free boots next weekend. Using those to trade in and get 15% off some new Alpinestars Tech 7 Enduro Drystar. I think i want the gold/black ones.

The color choices are:
Black/white
Black/gray
Sand
Black/gold

thoughts? Also planning on a yellow jacket. Not sure on pants yet. Going to just go for every color..

 

I like black/gold. The sand is nice too but not sure how it would look after some dirt.

 

Exactly my thoughts. Black/white is too boring. #2 for me would be black/gray/hiviz. #3 sand, #4 black/white


This jacket:
https://moskomoto.com/collections/apparel/products/rak-pullover

And eventually some separate armor under it

 

Oh I love the pullover aspect. That is awesome. Sometimes the zipper gets annoying or in the way or the top gets snagged on my helmet.

 

I don't love the price haha.

 

I like the black/gold or the red/grey/black. I like to match.....so it'd all depend on if I could find matching pants/jacket/gloves

Alpinestars Tech 7 Enduro Boots | Riding Gear | Rocky Mountain ATV/MC (rockymountainatvmc.com)

 

I also like these just to match the pants/jacket









But I've been eyeing the new MSR stuff

 

I want the Drystar ones. A few more $, a few less colors

 

Im going to keep my Tourmaster gear. But want something waterproof. Im not sure if I want in boot pants yet

 

I’m going to take you on a bit of a journey to get to the answer to your question.

TLDR: just skip to the last paragraph.

I rode dirt bikes from the time I was 8 years old until I was about 38 years old. After buying a recreational property about 900 miles away from where I worked, the KTM spent most of its time sitting in the garage untouched, but still loved. I’d never had an interest in getting a bike license and riding on the street, but my girlfriend expressed an interest in getting hers, and challenged me to get mine as well. Around this time I starting hearing about this street legal Honda mini called the Grom. I checked it out and it ticked all the boxes for us. Small and not intimidating for someone of her experience and stature. And a fun toy that brought back memories of my mini bike days for me. Brought home a sweet pearl white SF. In the end, I took the course and added the class 6 to my DL. She found ways to be busy and put it off until just last weekend, which is 5 years after the fact. Better late than never though, and I’m super happy she’s doing it now and can’t wait to ride with her.

So now I start thinking, I should have a bike that combines the fun of the Grom with the capability of a dirt bike, so I picked up a WR250R. Perfect for the paved roads around town and, but able to take it down some trails and into the pits. That was the theory anyways. Turns out that I found it neither fun, nor all that capable. Maybe suitable would be a better way to say it. I’m sure it’s a capable bike in some hands. I just found it tall and heavy, and I really didn’t care much for the switch gear, dash, or controls. I had an internal conversation with myself, coming to the conclusion that 3 bikes was excessive given the amount of riding that time allowed me, along the shortness of the season up here. So somehow, even though I hadn’t jelled with it, I convinced myself that I would keep the Yamaha, and sell the super fun Grom…which with its low C of G and a set of Shinko 428’s was the best bike I’ve ever taken down the 7km gravel road I now live on…and also sell the KTM a that I loved, but hardly rode. After dealing with a few shit head low ballers on Kijiji, I sold both bike for asking and tried to build a rapport with the WR. Within in a month or so, it was sold too, never to be missed, and I put my biker days behind me.

Fast forward to the next summer. I had the itch to ride, and also the want for something cheaper on gas to take on the 20 minute trip to town when I didn’t need to take the truck. So, I started looking for Groms between where I lived, just inside the Ontario-Manitoba border, and Winnipeg. And also along the number one highway between home and where I work in Alberta. The 22’s were just becoming available, but the look hadn’t grown on me. The locals dealerships affiliate in Winnipeg was showing a SF Grom though, so I called to tell them to put it on the next truck to Kenora for me. They told me that the website hadn’t been updated. The SF wasn’t available, but they could put me on the list for the SP. Passed on that, taking a bit of time to figure out what I wanted to do. I just needed an in town runabout with a bit of highway capability, and there were lots of bikes in the 300 segment that fit the bill. Didn’t want a sport style bike though. My old back can’t take being hunched over. The CRF300L wasn’t available yet. That narrowed the field down to the CB300R and the Yamaha MT-03. The neo cafe styling of thee Honda caught my eye even though I’m not a hipster by any means. The small beak and demon eyes of the MT front fairing are in my opinion ugly. So even though the Yamaha had more power and was about a grand less expensive, I brought the Honda home.

If you’ve made it this far, congrats! To finally answer your question, the CB is almost every bit as fun as the Grom. It does everything I need a bike to do. Being sized somewhere between the Grom and a full size bike it maintains most of the playfulness and agility of the little bike, but it’ll do highway speed with a bit of power in reserve. It’s also more comfortable if you sit someone on the pillion. I’m getting around 150 mpg out of it. It comes with Honda build quality and reliability, but it was a dick move on their part to put the battery in front of and under the gas tank. I took care of that by adding a NOCO pigtail so I don’t have to take the battery out while the bike sits through 7 months of Canadian winter. All and all it’s been a great bike for me, and a lot of fun to ride. I’m not looking to move up in CC’s anytime soon, but I would like to have another Grom someday. I think it’d be perfect to carry on road trips, without taking up a lot of space in the box. It’s the one bike I regret ever selling. So yes, I’d recommend the 300, but I’d also tell you to find a way to keep your Grom, or if you’re happy with it, just keep what you’ve got.

 

Gotcha

 

I'm with ya on the 300's. I've had bigger/faster bikes and at this point in life.......the little 300 does everything and more for me. I would love to have a CB500X though. Those bikes do it for me too.

 

I may step up one day to a Husqvarna 701 Enduro. One of my friends has a KTM 690 Enduro. It's got torque. It's got speed. To me, it handles like a much smaller lighter bike. It's everything I was hoping the WR250R would be. I'd go with the Husky because so we wouldn't be on the same bike. It'd be like wearing matching track suits.

 

I can understand that. I don't heal as well at 44....so I'm trying to stay on tame little bikes This little 300 will never cause whiskey throttle I do understand that some jackass could hit me.....I'm just saying I don't worry about the bike itself causing a wreck.

 

The first thing I think of is….. Old man Phil.

I do remembering seeing them around when I was a kid tho.

 

I'd damn sure ride one

 

Get any polyester suit, and your g2g.

 

Got it

Potato pic for 2005ish

 

The white ones! The 2 tone ones that match your suit are sweet too.

 

THAT’s what I’m talking about.