Motorcycles BS Thread 2.0

oh when i was reading on the site i didnt see if you could swap it around or not. also i got a sissy bar on my bike for the gf so i gotta make sure any bag i get will clip to it. we plan to get two small saddle bags for the sides and maybe one small one for the sissy bar but prob nothing that large tbh since we dont do super far rides with loads of gear strapped down lol

 

I've only ever seen Ventura stuff at dealerships that catered to European stuff. The shop I worked for back them was one of the top Triumph dealerships in the US for a while. I really liked the way you could put a bag on the pillion seat when solo, over the back and on the rack if 2-up or when traveling solo zip 2 bags together with one on the seat and one on the rack. Really nice modular design too. Put together only what you need.

 

What kind of trails?

And why kawi?

 

nothing crazy hard tbh lol and idk what kind of trails yet its been years since ive done a lot of trails around the akansas area.

the reason for kawi is the maintenance intervals. i dont want a high strung race enduro bike that after 15 hours it needs an oil change... and so on. i want a bike similar to the drz400 but modern lighter and not as goofy tall to do trails with. the klx300r does all that. maintenance intervals similar of a dual sport since it technically is on one trim. lighter then a drz, simple but modern with FI, the suspension as well for the price is amazing for its class. the bike is no race bike its a trail bike to go and have some fun with and have a good reliable dirtbike. ive talked to a lot of the guys in here with the dual sport model and also @Sociopenguin about his 300r and read lots of review's on how great out of the box they are. so for me on price for new at least and specs it seems to be the best for me.

 

I always buy a size (or two) larger than I normally would. I try to make sure the jacket has plenty of tightening adjustments to get me through all the circumstances I may see. It seems to get used more when cold fronts hit unexpectedly than rain here. LOL Those late spring unexpected cold fronts 200 miles from home where the temp drops from a humid 72 to 39 and rain in a distance of 2 or 3 miles leaves me looking like the Michelin Man when I get caught un-aware. Every piece of clothing in the saddlebag is on my already plump ass. LOL Caught me once when a blue norther started moving days ahead of what was forecast, wont catch me again.

 

My frogg tog suit did exactly the same thing put pants on through a leg over rip! The jacket though held up great during my time in Hawaii but they definitely are thin and are for last ditch effort not something I'd be using constantly.

 

Heated jacket liner......

 

I have a Gerbing, but my wife didnt pack her Gerbing and was wearing my liner and gloves. Was 34 and snowing by the time we made it home. I never got dangerous cold, but I got cold for sure. I could lean back against her and feel the warmth. LOL

The TMRA had an annual rally in Dublin Tx one year, cool, overcast and damp/misting. We stopped at the Koffee Kup Kafe in Hico about 5 pm to grab a bite on the way home. Place was full of riders, sitting at our booth I kept hearing something between a whimper and a groan and could not figure out what it was. Got up to take a leak and realized the guy wearing very new leather 2 booths behind me was shivering so bad he couldnt keep from spilling his coffee, every time he took a sip he would groan/whimper. His lady friend was okay, but this guy was miserable. I mentioned it would be dark in an hour, he might want to catch a motel. Heard I'll be okay. We walked out and in a parking lot full of tourers sat a new Dyna Glide. Told my wife, be thankful we got a full fairing, but for the grace of god, there go I.

I really felt sorry for the guy, I have wondered more than a few times how he made out.

 

Fair enough. I will say I think the OCI really isn't as big of a deal as you might think.

I will agree I wouldn't buy any 4 stroke that wasn't FI.

I still think personally if I was in the 5-6k range that I'd look at a ktm 500

 

tbh its not on the oci, its all the other maintenance that goes with it. some of the hondas are 30hour valve adjustments same with other models of that nature. i know some never have issues and some that do or need top end rebuilds at 100hours in. which is just part of it tbh and if you are racing around it makes sense for sure but for me it just doesnt.

agreed im so done with carbs!

i cant find any ktm in the 5-6k range at all... most are closer to 8k used.. plus a ktm 300 would do me perfect but finding one in a good price range thats not destroyed is hard to find it seems out here since people thrash the bikes hard it would seem.

 

I was with a small group in Yellowstone touring back in 2001. We left out in the morning with 5 bikes, 2 of them 2-up, in decent weather but while we were out about halfway round the park from our cabins a front moved in and it left loose raining. Big heavy drops that stung like Hell and none of us had our rain gear along as it wasn't called for all day. One couple split off leaving the balance of us to make our way back to our cabins about 16 miles away. It got so bad we pulled over in an area with rest rooms and 5 people huddled together in a latrine to get out of the weather. We waited for a while and it lightened up so we decided to push on and get back to our home base. We made it about 5-6 more miles with me leading the group and I had intentionally put my sister in law, the least experienced rider, up front with me where I could keep an eye on her. Periodically I would glance over and noticed she was shivering more and more so I made the call to pull the group over again and see what we could do to get her warm as I was genuinely concerned about hypothermia. She argued with me initially that she could make the last few miles but I could clearly see she could not do so safely. The rest of us basically took turns making her do jumping jacks or jog in place and rubbing her arms to generate some body heat in her. It only took about 15 minutes but it was definitely needed.

 

I'm on a ktm forum. The 500s don't get valves adjusted that much. Non-racing they go very far with good maintenance (air filters/oil changes)

Not sure where in AR you are but I do get down to the wilderness Buffalo ranch every once in a while.

I'm surprised you can't find a good 300 (I like my 250 better) reasonably down there

 

@Calamity_taco here's one by me

 

ive heard that about the 500s since they are more a dual sport then a racing enduro but i dont know many with them so cant say much about them.

im not lol im in missouri near kcmo idk if you remember but i use to have a grey double cab tacoma i bought your old tire gate off you yeaaaars ago.

it honestly depends on prices lately ive been seeing ktms in the 7k range but i havent been looking super hard yet until i sell my klx400r

 

damn thats actually a good price

 

I don't remember. My bad. Has been years like you said. Wife still wants that tiregate back, ha. She doesn't like I put a tailgate back on it.

Are you on fb? I can add you to a couple groups.

All the "local" places, chadwick (springfield), Buffalo ranch, and where currently ride (motofarm), will all be much more enjoyable on a dedicated bike like a 250/300.

 

I clutchless shift all the time...it does have a quickshifter, so no biggie on the upshifts, but for some time I thought my BMW had an auto blip for downshifting....nope I just mastered the clutchless downshift apparently lol.

Same, never understand it lol. I love harleys personally, but the owners I've encountered are a mixed bag. But I guess you could say that about any moto category lol.

This paint scheme reminds me of the Bugatti Veyron styling

I use a Dainese D-Dry jacket, if it's gonna be really rainy I have some of their rain pants that I'll throw on as well. Keeps me dry unless I need to ride in a real downpour for more than 20 minutes or so

Yup that's the one I lost in your first pic. Ram mounts are generally pretty secure. wouldn't be a bad idea to safety tether the phone/mount regardless in hindsight lol.

 

I went ahead and ordered that Rev'It stuff. It should work well for the few minutes I'd use it.........hopefully

 

trash bag third world special usually does the trick too if all else fails

or...

 

Very first bike I ever owned was a 1970 something Yamaha 175 Enduro that had been around the block more than once.
From the day I owned it to the day it was sold, it never had a clutch lever. Clutch worked, but back then parts were scarce, no internet, and in the back woods or Northern Idaho, it didn't matter.
Right out of the box I learned to not only clutchless shift, I also was quite good at kicking it in gear with the engine running and go.