First time poster here, here’s my "about me" post.
Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 2:06 pm
I was born and raised in rural west Tennessee, and I’m a lifelong motorcyclist, mini-bikes at 4, racing moto-x at 6, Hair Scrambles, enduro’s and street ridding from my late teens to mid-twenties. I took a long break from motorcycle ownership for a few years as I raised kids and served my country in the Navy. I ended up here, in Maryland. After leaving active service in ’04 I got back in to street riding. I now own a 2003 FZ1 and a ’08 FJR for two up riding with the wife. While I love both of my bikes, the dirt often calls my name. The FZ1 is one awesome machine, water crossing, mud and wash board gravel roads are not what it was designed to do. I crave DIRT! Not state maintained gravel roads, but dirt!
So here I am searching the internet and thinking, day dreaming, and working my budget over and over trying to find spare* change the wife won’t miss.
I have decided that I have 3 real options.
First: Sell the FZ1 and buy an “Adventure” bike. I’m thinking a F800GS would be a fun replacement to the FZ1. It’s light weight, peppy, and fun on the street. It would do a lot better on the gravel roads I sometime encounter and enjoy. BUT: Not much of a ‘real off-road’ bike, more of a off-pavement bike. I can see myself having a ton of fun on the F800GS, but is it really going to scratch my itch.
Second: Go with a good used KTM/Husky or maybe a KLR or something more capable off road. An oversized dirt bike with blinkers that could be ridden to the trail head. It may not be fun getting there, but once there, fun is sure to be had. Two main issues with this idea are first and foremost, I have a kid with a CRF230 (at his Grand Parents house in Tennessee) that would have a fit if I went off-road and he wasn’t allowed to follow. Second, would I do it? I don’t personally know any dirt or dual sport riders in the area. I have yet to find a legal trail head in this entire state.
Third: Buy myself a real dirt bike and a trailer. I drive a Ford Raptor, and don’t mind getting it dirty. May be fun to tow the dikes and tents to some places that are open to ORV’s. But, how often would I be able to manage that? I still don’t know any trails in the area to even go to. And when I’m out on my FZ or FJR and see a rutted gravel road, I still can’t explorer it.
I hope that this board will turn out to be a great resource if finding places to responsibly enjoy.
So here I am searching the internet and thinking, day dreaming, and working my budget over and over trying to find spare* change the wife won’t miss.
I have decided that I have 3 real options.
First: Sell the FZ1 and buy an “Adventure” bike. I’m thinking a F800GS would be a fun replacement to the FZ1. It’s light weight, peppy, and fun on the street. It would do a lot better on the gravel roads I sometime encounter and enjoy. BUT: Not much of a ‘real off-road’ bike, more of a off-pavement bike. I can see myself having a ton of fun on the F800GS, but is it really going to scratch my itch.
Second: Go with a good used KTM/Husky or maybe a KLR or something more capable off road. An oversized dirt bike with blinkers that could be ridden to the trail head. It may not be fun getting there, but once there, fun is sure to be had. Two main issues with this idea are first and foremost, I have a kid with a CRF230 (at his Grand Parents house in Tennessee) that would have a fit if I went off-road and he wasn’t allowed to follow. Second, would I do it? I don’t personally know any dirt or dual sport riders in the area. I have yet to find a legal trail head in this entire state.
Third: Buy myself a real dirt bike and a trailer. I drive a Ford Raptor, and don’t mind getting it dirty. May be fun to tow the dikes and tents to some places that are open to ORV’s. But, how often would I be able to manage that? I still don’t know any trails in the area to even go to. And when I’m out on my FZ or FJR and see a rutted gravel road, I still can’t explorer it.
I hope that this board will turn out to be a great resource if finding places to responsibly enjoy.