Why Did you pick the IMS over the Acerbis or was it just a toss up? This is going to be one of the first things I do when I pick up a DR

It was pretty much a tossup but the Ascerbis requires moving the front turn signals I think.

You have the best color scheme and even got the high fender kit!

And you even got it in the right color!  I usually hate white, but the AT in white is just dead sexy.

ETA: Looks like I got beat on the color comment!  Definitely agree with Poet.

Are those Kriegas you have on the back?

I am thinking it will be IMS for me as there is a Corbin seat for it. Probably for the Acerbis as well but I know for sure the IMS. I have had excellent luck with the Corbin flat seat on a KLR.

I need to get off my ass and get a DR sooner rather than later just so I can ride it around the property. I haven't felt to pressed because to be honest my GSA is just so Damn good.

Before I get the DR I am going to have to get a no mar tire changer. With six bikes including the projects it is becoming a necessity.

Yes Kriega OS32’s
I also bought a Camel ADV auxiliary gas tank during their Black Friday sale. It’s been so cold in the garage I haven’t installed it yet.

Have you had your forks inspected?  It's kind off off-putting how Honda is dealing with it so far.

I am suffering from MBD (multiple bike disorder) and feel the need to fill in the huge gaps in my meager two-bike stable.  

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Recommendations?

You have gaps?!?! Right now in the garage I have a 1979 Vespa P200E and a BMW GSA now that's a gap! There is also my wife's Ural but I am not allowed on that not to mention it is for crazy people.

Of course over in our shop we also have a '72 electraglide, a '74 XLCH project, and a '65 Triumph project.

I traded my perfect KLR for the Electra glide and now I am thinking of selling the Shovelhead to fund a DR. Also considering an XT250 for the wife. Or maybe a Van Van 200. She also really likes the Kymco Spade 150 and Royal Enfield Himalayan. Grr...so many good bikes!

I am craving a black RC51 (I always loved those bikes) for a sportier option.  I also would like a dirtier option.  The BMW covers so many bases it's basically sharpening the edge for when the BMW isn't quite the right tool for the job.

I don't want a new sportbike.  Anyone can roll the latest Kawayamhonzuki.  I like older bikes with panache.

Maybe a good dual sport with a sumo option for hooligan moments.

I would love to find a Harley XR1200.  Why?  I don't know.

An old Ducati SS because desmo.

A KLR because, well, KLR.

A Ruckus because it would be fun.

A Honda CB1100 because what's old is new again.

A GSXR1100 Oil-coiled beast.

A V-max.

An RC45 (I wish)

An old British standard because I'm a masochist I guess.

A Kawi H2 because sometimes too much is about enough.

An original KTM Duke because it was the first bike I really wheelied.

One of the 80's turbo bikes just because.

I swear I'm schizophrenic.  Anyway, back to the ADV talk.

Hey now, when you are talking classic bikes they are all ADV bikes!

I still want a R100 gs. I am thinking I might build my ironhead into a Scrambler or maybe my Triumph. In the end though as much as I like the old stuff it is just romantisicm. The new BMWs kick ass and are light years ahead as far as...well, everything.

As for a ruckus I rode one a buddy had at his shop for sale. It was fun but I pulled out onto the road and thought alright let's go. Little did I know I was already going. Maybe if I lived in Key west.

Get a Triumph Thruxton R, sell the blackbird.  Sporty and classic.

This is pretty much what I was going to say.  Obviously, I'm a BMW guy, but the BMW R1200GS is probably my next bike purchase, this year.  We're getting his n hers GSs.

The bird isn't going anywhere.  My first bike (!!!) Was a new '98 Blackbird back in the day.  I have this '99 perfected- RaceTech forks, Nitron rear shock, Galfer brake rotors and stainless lines, TBR Titanium exhaust, power commander, MRA screen, etc.

The brakes and suspension made the biggest difference- power wasn't an issue.

In fact, I intend to put some Galfer rotors and pads on the BMW.  There really is a huge improvement.

I get the cold garage thing.  I have a Neutrino Black box, Cyclops TPMS and Denali light system I want to get installed, but my hands just freeze up in the garage.  I need to get a space heater.

LOL,

I am in the same place.

My current list.

A 2017 Tuono 1100 Factory.  Because V4 is auditory ecstasy.

A K100 because I love the look and it's a triple.

A Grom because.... Grom

DRZ400 for a TAT run at some point.  This will probably be the next purchase, because I'm not getting any younger, and if I'm going to do it, I need to do it now.

Ducati Panigale 1299, 959 something vtwin SS.

R90, because you must have a boxer at some point.

And if i somehow manage all of that... a Rocket 3, because if I'm going to have a cruiser, it needs to have enough torque to move the earth.

Ok, despite riding all year the 20 degree temp is making me antsy. So what are your adventure motorcycle plans for 2018? For me it is:
1. Riding out to Colorado, Utah, and Yellowstone mid-June.
2. The Kentucky Adventure Track for my wife and I thanks to this thread.
3. The Overland Expo in NC.
4. ?

As far as ADV stuff goes, I would like to hit the Big Bend area.  A closer goal is the ride to the end of Padre Beach for a siesta.  60 miles of beach.  I still haven't hit most of the Sam Houston National Forest trails, either.

Not strictly ADV, but I plan to complete an Iron Butt Bun Burner 1500.  From home to Anthony, TX is about 775 miles of I-10.  Then there's the Iron Butt RAT (Ride Around Texas).



Ride around the perimeter of Texas in 85 hours.  

I also intend to continue to explore my AO.  I set my GPS and Waze to "Home" and just ride randomly, taking this turn and that, paved and dirt, until my time limit is reached.

I've taken my Land Cruiser down PINS, it would be a fun ride on a bike.

Well I hadn't met any elitist ADV riders until yesterday. I saw them in a pizza joint with a couple of rally shirts on so I went up and introduced myself. The one dude was going on about how they are real riders and there is another group with a similar name to their little club and they aren't real riders because they go slow down the trails and avoid the worst of the mud.

Then when I mentioned a localish rally they went on again about how they hadn't been but those guys weren't real riders .

At first I thought it was a joke. But no, they were serious. If I had more time I would have screwed with them some just for being pretentious assholes.

I wish they made a 150cc Ruckus. Love the look! I've got a buddy who's got one. My wife and I have his/hers Metropolitans. Mine's white/blue and hers is white/pink with habiscus flowers on it. They're great little commuters and I've put about 3K miles on mine. But I live about 2 miles from work and commute on 25mph city streets. I avoid most 35mph streets because that's about max speed for the Metros (and the Ruckus). I suppose they don't make them sportier because those tiny tires aren't made to go faster than 40mph. But it would be nice to have enough power to actually go up a hill without bogging down to 20mph or lower.

I get a lot of shit from guys for riding a scooter. What's funny about it is that I've spent more years riding in dirt and on the street than many of those guys have even been alive. But such is the whole machismo deal. Whatever... I'm too old to give a damn what others think. Life's too short for that!

Yeah... I could see some guys with more money than sense being that way. Around here, it's mostly the chrome-is-the-ONLY-color-to-ride group that seems pretentious. Which is ironic because most of those guys' idea of a destination is just the next bar. There are certainly some hardcore Harley riders out there,  but the average ADV, Winger, and sportbike rider puts far more miles in and days of riding than the average cruiser rider... around here anyways.

They were only made for a couple of years but there is a Big Ruckus that is 250cc.

Our little Vespa P200 has 10" wheels and I ride it at 60+ but that is the top of my comfort level on those little wheels.

I got a short ride in today.  First weekend that it was above freezing since before Christmas.  I can’t wait for spring!

COBDR in Sept.

That's putting it up to the end of the season isn't it? Aren't some of the passes starting to see snow then?.  I am still dreaming of the TAT and am not sure what the best time of the year would be. I have heard September is about as late as you can go.

There's a really narrow ideal time frame.  Late August or preferably early Sept is prime time.  It can get snow that early, but any earlier than that your looking at pretty gnarly afternoon thunderstorms almost daily.

Last week of September’17 I couldn’t go over engineer pass or Black bear. But some of the others in the Alpine loop were open. It’s a crapshoot.

Where’s Neil Peart when we need an expert opinion?

Double Tap...

For my east coast brothers...

I will be heading out west for the first time this summer. I have never seen the Rockies. I don't know that I will have time to make it on any of the BDR routes but I am not ruling it out.

I have to stop my ride for a few days to verse the building of a log house in Utah but other than that I am just going to ride wherever the wind blows. Out through Colorado down to Southern Utah riding north through the state to my job site. Afterwords I think I will head for a ride through of Yellow Stone. That's the plan at least. Sleep where I sleep and eat where I eat.

The local thread i post in on ADVRider was talking about this.  Maps are supposed to be out this week or next week.  My bike, nor my gear, is setup for that yet.  Neither am i, frankly, but it's definitely on my to do list.  Get another season of riding under my belt and a few thousand miles and then i plan to tackle this next year.  (Maybe sooner, we'll see how it goes)

You will not be disappointed.

I grew up out west, even though i've been on the east coast for the last couple decades.  There's days i still miss it.  Part of the impetus behind getting the Tiger was to do what you plan on doing, because i want to experience the scenery again, and add the new viewpoint of being on a bike to the experience.  Before i'm too old to feel like i can do it.

That would be cool!

I have a friend who's got a 250cc Vespa, with all kinds of aftermarket bolt-ons. I've ridden it and it's pretty badass. He's also got three Ducatis (Multistrada, Street Fighter, and Diavel) that are optioned to the limit and I've ridden all three. I don't think that he's even swung a leg over one in 3+ years. In fact, that's why I got to ride them all the last time... because he needed someone to run them just so they weren't sitting endlessly. He's too into his Ferraris these day to be bothered with two-wheelers.

Neil is the man who put adventure riding on the map for me. It was about 12 years ago when I first read "Ghost Rider". My copy is well-worn. I also have all of his other books about riding. Rush has been my favorite band since about 1980.

Anyways... I would fall-over in shock if Neil EVER participated on a web forum of any kind. He's like of like a nocturnal animal that quickly scurries into the shadows when you shine a light on him. I used to fantasize about bumping into him at a fuel stop somewhere in my riding AO. I wouldn't get all starry-eyed and chase him away. I'd just say "hello Neil" and leave it at that, so he would know that I knew who he was. I wish Alex was the one into ADV riding. He's such a goofball and so outgoing. He'd be a blast to hang with.

If you do get to YNP, use the NE entrance through Red Lodge and ride the Beartooth and/or Chief Joseph highways. I live in Billings, MT... so I ride them (or drive them in my convertible) about 5 times every summer. My dad lives in Cody, WY... so I often ride both highways and head down to see him there. If you do make it to Red Lodge or Billings, IM me before hand and I'll meet up with you somewhere on my bike.

I also ride/drive the Bighorn Mountains in northern WY about 5 times every summer. One day, I was feeling very adventurous on my FJR1300... so I left Billings for Red Lodge, over the Beartooth and Chief Joseph highways to Cody, then across the Bighorn Basin to Shell Canyon in the Bighorns and over the top to Burgess Junction, down into Dayton, WY and back to Billings. That's the only time I've ever linked the Beartooth and Bighorn mountains in a single day. It was a very long day. Another time I drove every highway in the Bighorns and back to Billings, in my convertible in a single day. They happened to be chip-sealing two of the highways on that same day. It was about 90F out and I was baking a bit while waiting for pilot cars in the Shell and Tensleep Canyons.

Anyways... you will NOT be disappointed if you ride any of these highways. They're starting to be a bit ho-hum for me, because I've ridden/driven them dozens and dozens of times over the past 50 years. I've been working my way over to the Black Hills more and more to explore there and see more roads that I haven't spent much time on. It's funny when you ride the 11,000' Beartooth Pass in your backyard and you're just cruising along like it's your daily commute... while people from all over the world are stopped and oohing and aaahing at the scenery. It's still stunning to me, but a bit "old hat" at the same time. I would imagine that people who live in the shadow the Eiger or Matterhorn in Europe are kind of BTDT about those stunning features. A big part of the reason that I am glued to all three weeks of the Tour de France every August, is that I'm enjoying the scenery and fantasizing about riding through all of that on an ADV bike.

I would bet the 250 could move. Ours is a '79 2-stroke. You even have to clutch and shift on the old ones. The shifter is the left grip. Strange little thing, but fun for an occasional ride.

I will check out your route suggestions on Yellowstone, to be sure. I don't usually go out and build houses anymore but this seems like a good excuse.

Got my Sumo setup installed!



I was going to take it for a little spin around the neighborhood to scuff up the tires.

Well, I made it about 20 feet from my driveway and low sided in a right hand turn.

Thank goodness I was just leaving from a stop sign and wasn't up to speed.

New tires are slippery but damn. It was like I hit a patch of ice.

Low asphalt temp was probably a factor too.

Just got a little bit more road rash to add to the collection and my hip is good and bruised.

Bike did better than I expected. My rear brake lever was mangled but I bent it back in place.

My brush guard and bar end mirror is a bit scuffed but really not bad at all.

After I dusted myself off and straightened out the bike. I rode around the hood, carefully lol.

The bike handles pretty sweet with the 17" wheels vs the stock 21/18. Much quicker steering.

Anyway, can't wait until it warms up so I can really ride.

FPNI.... Twice

Yeah... That's my $20k FJR1300ES on top of a $300 Harbor Frieght lift.

I'd love a more ADV type bike so... I might just go with another Yamaha...
Their Super Tenere appeals...
I'll never give up the FJR though...

Deal's Gap last September with my parents. Them on FJR, me on SuperTen.

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Honda Ruckus is a blast in town.
Honda Grom or Kawasaki Z125 both fun.

I have the Ruckus and Z125. Wife and I call them the baby bikes, and ride all over DFW on them, though it does take a while

Looks like my '16 FJR. Non ES though.

Added Heli bridge and peg lowerers. good times

Looks good, glad your ok

Midwest is gonna be 60/70 partly sunny Tues/Weds

Thanks.

70 will be nice. Hopefully it doesn't rain.

I'm ready for spring.

I may skip work and pull a distance haul if we get some decent weather.

Jesus, I am so glad we get a break from the weather tomorrow. I will ride in the rain and not think twice but with a week solid of rain I just said screw it. I guess that's why I ride probably 300 days a year and not 365.

Yesterday was 60 so I went on a nice ride. Today it's in the low 30's and is snowing.

New to me 2006 vstrom 650! Recommend me a skid plate and 50/50 tires for it!

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