peterbaron
Road warrior
Ferret, when the Blue bird starts riding??
What did you do on or to your other bike part 2
- Thread starter the Ferret
- Start date
the Ferret
Road warrior
Thread starter
On Blue Bird days lol.
the Ferret said:...
Anyhow in paying attention to the roads, I blew past another mileage milestone. ...
You must be getting near a year of catching up to your CB1100
Gone in 60 said:
I'm a little conflicted about selling it, but I might have a buyer. I had so much fun this summer and fall riding non-paved surfaces on my DR650. I explored single and dual track roads that I never would have attempted on my KLR650. Even so, the DR650 is a fairly heavy bike for single track (366 lbs stock, probably 390 with skid plate, side rack and tire changing tools). I finally broke down and bought new springs and dampeners for the front and Cogent shock for the rear. I still need to install them. I'm told it will make a world of difference...we'll see. I can't wait to try it. But the weight is the weight. I've never minded the weight of the CB1100; in fact, I like it for hiway travel. But for the first time since I started riding, I "get" the weight issue for single track riding.
So...I thought I'd try out a Kawasaki KLX300. The CB1100 isn't going anywhere; nor is the DR. But the W800...it has a certain redundancy with the CB. I absolutely love the W and know I'm going to miss it, but I'm still in a "I want to try out different bikes and types of riding" mode. And unlike some people, I don't have room for another bike, 3 is the max here. Besides I still have the XR190 in Costa Rica that I bought last year, so actually I do have 4 bikes. Eventually, I'd like two dirt-worthy bikes in CR (big street bikes are useless there in my opinion), the CB1100 and either the DR or the KLX here in the Sates. We shall see. Retirement looms in the near distance.
And maybe this does too
Gone in 60
Road warrior
Sunday, dropped off Mrs. G at the airport for a business trip. Got home at 8am and decided to spend an hour in the garage with the new (to me) NC750X just to go over a few things.
That’s when the “I have no adult supervision time warp” occurred.
By 5pm I had touched up all of the areas I knew would bother me, cleaned up and detailed much of it, put clear tape on areas that I knew would be rub spots like where the seat rubs the “frunk”, flushed the brake fluid, and removed the lowering kit the original owner had installed.
She’s getting there. Givi rack will be waiting for me when I get home from a trade show, and I’ll let the bank account recover a bit before the next round of farkling.
At least with the rack I can start using the NC for its intended purpose, my new commuting mule.
That’s when the “I have no adult supervision time warp” occurred.
By 5pm I had touched up all of the areas I knew would bother me, cleaned up and detailed much of it, put clear tape on areas that I knew would be rub spots like where the seat rubs the “frunk”, flushed the brake fluid, and removed the lowering kit the original owner had installed.
She’s getting there. Givi rack will be waiting for me when I get home from a trade show, and I’ll let the bank account recover a bit before the next round of farkling.
At least with the rack I can start using the NC for its intended purpose, my new commuting mule.
Gone in 60
Road warrior
pdedse said:the Ferret said:...
Anyhow in paying attention to the roads, I blew past another mileage milestone. ...
You must be getting near a year of catching up to your CB1100
Gone in 60 said:
I'm a little conflicted about selling it, but I might have a buyer. I had so much fun this summer and fall riding non-paved surfaces on my DR650. I explored single and dual track roads that I never would have attempted on my KLR650. Even so, the DR650 is a fairly heavy bike for single track (366 lbs stock, probably 390 with skid plate, side rack and tire changing tools). I finally broke down and bought new springs and dampeners for the front and Cogent shock for the rear. I still need to install them. I'm told it will make a world of difference...we'll see. I can't wait to try it. But the weight is the weight. I've never minded the weight of the CB1100; in fact, I like it for hiway travel. But for the first time since I started riding, I "get" the weight issue for single track riding.
So...I thought I'd try out a Kawasaki KLX300. The CB1100 isn't going anywhere; nor is the DR. But the W800...it has a certain redundancy with the CB. I absolutely love the W and know I'm going to miss it, but I'm still in a "I want to try out different bikes and types of riding" mode. And unlike some people, I don't have room for another bike, 3 is the max here. Besides I still have the XR190 in Costa Rica that I bought last year, so actually I do have 4 bikes. Eventually, I'd like two dirt-worthy bikes in CR (big street bikes are useless there in my opinion), the CB1100 and either the DR or the KLX here in the Sates. We shall see. Retirement looms in the near distance.
And maybe this does too
That KLX is pretty sweet! If I had some trails I could ride without needing to go 70 mph on a freeway to get to them, I'd consider a small-displacement bike like that. My friends who do have trucks and trailers to get them to the trails.
Gone in 60 said:
I think the KLX300 maxes at 80mph on flats w/ little passing capability above 65-70; so yeah, it wouldn't do you well in the LA area. But your friends have the right idea...load it on the pickup and get to where you really want to ride. I'd be able to ride one to the Mt. Hood trails, but for central or eastern OR I'd definetly haul it in the pickup.
The KLX300 looks even nicer in one's own drive way
Does that mean you bought it?
rdprdp01
Road warrior
Looks like something followed pdedse home. 
Gone in 60
Road warrior
Have to assume that’s your driveway, in which case, congratulations!
the Ferret
Road warrior
Thread starter
Congrats pdedse.
peterbaron
Road warrior
+1, pdedse
Yep, it's here. I only sold the W800 to pay for it. Found a no-nonsense dealer in Sublimity, OR (about an hour and half away) that doesn't charge shipping nor set-up, and OR has no sales tax which makes new bike purchases more attractive. I saved a little more because I was able to use the W's license plate which still has 2 years of registration. Funny, I've used that plate on the first W800 I bought (café version), the RE INT650, the blue W and now this bike.
I held back from two very good deals on second hand KLXs because I just wasn't sure if the W would sell this late in the fall. The guy in NV was the only one who responded and by the time that finalized, the second hand KLXs had already sold. With the W sold, I thought why not as it nearly came out even.
I've come full circle as my very first bike I purchased in 1982 was a '78 Kawasaki KLE250, which was also green.
I held back from two very good deals on second hand KLXs because I just wasn't sure if the W would sell this late in the fall. The guy in NV was the only one who responded and by the time that finalized, the second hand KLXs had already sold. With the W sold, I thought why not as it nearly came out even.
I've come full circle as my very first bike I purchased in 1982 was a '78 Kawasaki KLE250, which was also green.
Congratulations pdedse.
SportsterDoc
Road warrior
pdedse: That Kawasaki is downright ugly, but since you are such a good guy, I would allow you to hide it in my garage!
SportsterDoc said:
Thanks for the kind comments folks. It is hideous so I understand the need to hide it! Aren't you in NM? We'll likely be neighbors in the future, so...
SportsterDoc
Road warrior
pdedse said:
It is actually is a good looking dual sport and probably considerably more HP than my air cooled XT250s. Unfortunately, if I were still riding, the seat is about 5 inches higher than I would prefer. Yes, central NM, 40 miles south of Albuquerque. Come on down!!
SportsterDoc said:
And of course, I love the way it looks. If a bike's visual appeal doesn't immediately speak to me, there's no combination of hp/torq figures, top speed, fuel economy, braking power, reliability, utilitarianess that will persuade me to buy it. And regarding seat height, I get punished the other way...the question is always how can I make myself fit these classic looking bikes with the 30-32" seat heights.
I'll be in Tucson, but I have a good friend in ABQ and will make my way there from time to time. It would be so cool to meet you in person. If you recall, we "met" on the sportster.org site about 18-20 years ago. I think you helped with some electrical issues my '04 Sportster was having. Such a beautiful bike, with real rattlesnake-skin grips!
And it has been the only motorcycle that I buggered up real good-like in an accident. Broke my collar bone, but otherwise I was fine. The bike...tank was trashed, handlebars bent up, mirrors broke, exhaust all sratched up and dented. I did ok. Insurance paid me $2,500 (not totaled) and then I sold it as is for $2,200, which came out to about what one would have paid for the bike second hand, maybe a little less. But I got my fun out of it, about 33k miles over 8 years. Still, a bike I could have kept for lots longer.
SportsterDoc
Road warrior
Did that Custom have the 4.5 gallon tank?
Let me know when you may be in the area. I would appreciate being able to meet.
I only met one person from one of the Sportster forums. We met up in Victorville when I commuted (Triumph Bonneville?) from Las Vegas to Los Angeles.
Sportster.org ended circa 2012. I started posting on it circa Dec 2002/Jan 2003. Not only was Doug Mansfield running out of space on his university computer, but his brother's demise seemed to affect him.
It was replaced by the XLforum, but the ads and pop ups are now so intense, it is irritating to even browse. I have posted only occasionally in the past couple of years. I still have some stickies in the electrical section.
Sportster wiring sure got more complicated in 2014:
REF: Electrical System - Sportsterpedia
And new "Sportsters" are not Sportsters.
Let me know when you may be in the area. I would appreciate being able to meet.
I only met one person from one of the Sportster forums. We met up in Victorville when I commuted (Triumph Bonneville?) from Las Vegas to Los Angeles.
Sportster.org ended circa 2012. I started posting on it circa Dec 2002/Jan 2003. Not only was Doug Mansfield running out of space on his university computer, but his brother's demise seemed to affect him.
It was replaced by the XLforum, but the ads and pop ups are now so intense, it is irritating to even browse. I have posted only occasionally in the past couple of years. I still have some stickies in the electrical section.
Sportster wiring sure got more complicated in 2014:
REF: Electrical System - Sportsterpedia
And new "Sportsters" are not Sportsters.
SportsterDoc said:
The '04 1200c did have a 4.5 gallon tank, and it was the first year Sportsters were rubber-mounted and so the vibrations were much less than previous models, or so I'm told. I did my very first multi-day on my Sportster, four days beginning along the coast in Washington, then ferry to cross back over north of Seattle, beautiful hiway 20 east, dry side of WA, a little Ranier and back home. Along the way, struck up a conversation with another rider that was completing a trip home from China, and he was riding his BMW to Kentucky. He told me about a site called advrider.com, and that's what started a "rest of my life" interest in motorcycle travel.
From that trip in summer of '07
I even packed another helmet...I have no idea why. Olympic National Park
Deception Pass
Diablo Lake along hiway 20
My first mc camping experience
Dry side of WA
Mt. Ranier
Sometimes I think OR has a lot of variety to explore...it does, but WA might have just as much or more.
