DAMN Riders - No rules, Just ride!

Hello,

My name is Chad and I wanted to introduce myself. I recently moved to Northern Baltimore County Maryland in Freeland and I am interested in getting into dual sport riding. I do not have an off road bike at present but would like to resolve that, hopefully within a year. I currently have a KTM 950 SM as a street bike.

Looking forward to learning from all of you, getting into the game and hitting some trails.

Thanks

you'll get plenty of advise on bikes. Stay Orange and you won't regret it.

Welcome! I guess you've already gone orange so there may be little help for you now. ;)

Hey Chad,

Welcome.

I live in Hereford, near the Prettyboy reservoir so we are really close. I have a Triumph Tiger and know a few of the roads in the Zone so I bet you and that big SM are having fun!

Unfortunately there is no longer much opportunity for trail riding in our area even though its sure seems like it should be. However, I always have an open spot on the trailer for any of the events you will see posted here; get that dirt bike and hit me up.

SJ

Hey new guy. welcome

Skinny-J wrote:Hey Chad,

Welcome.

I live in Hereford, near the Prettyboy reservoir so we are really close. I have a Triumph Tiger and know a few of the roads in the Zone so I bet you and that big SM are having fun!

Unfortunately there is no longer much opportunity for trail riding in our area even though its sure seems like it should be. However, I always have an open spot on the trailer for any of the events you will see posted here; get that dirt bike and hit me up.

SJ

First, thank all of you for the welcomes!

SJ, seems you are right down the road from me! Thanks for the trailer offer that would be great. I also live close to the reservoir, near the Prettyboy market. I am slowly learning the roads around here. You are right, lots of good riding in the zone! However, with buying a house and everything that goes with it I have not had much time for riding this summer. Hopefully this coming year will be different.

As far as a bike is concerned, right now I am thinking a Yamaha WR250R but when it comes time to actually pull the trigger who knows what I will end up with. I am certainty willing to others opinions!

So, Where are the closest places to hit the dirt?

As far as factory dualsports I think the WR250R is pretty nice. Its heavy compared to a true dirtbike but not bad. Ive never owned one, but rode Sam's on several occasions. I always thought it worked well.

Im a big fan of having a tag on your bike whether its actually used for road riding or not. Opens up some extra options. That said, if you dont plan on much (or any) road riding you might want to look into a tagged dirtbike.

I started out road riding and slowly got into light dualsporting and then more hardcore offroad. I love it. Very glad I bought that first crappy DR350 long ago.

Good luck

p.s. SkinnyJ is a good guy and pretty knowledgable, take him up on his offer

Bucho wrote:As far as factory dualsports I think the WR250R is pretty nice. Its heavy compared to a true dirtbike but not bad. Ive never owned one, but rode Sam's on several occasions. I always thought it worked well.

Im a big fan of having a tag on your bike whether its actually used for road riding or not. Opens up some extra options. That said, if you dont plan on much (or any) road riding you might want to look into a tagged dirtbike.

I started out road riding and slowly got into light dualsporting and then more hardcore offroad. I love it. Very glad I bought that first crappy DR350 long ago.

Good luck

p.s. SkinnyJ is a good guy and pretty knowledgable, take him up on his offer

OK, now you have opened a new can of worms!

What is a tagged dirt bike? Are you able to ride them on the road? Any links for an explanation would be appreciated.

A "tagged dirt bike" is any dirt bike that has met the requirements to be road legal. Some bikes come with titles that make this process easier (KTM, Husky, some Suzuki's and Yamaha's) some come with titles that say "For off road use only". Those can be challenging to get a legal tag for. The inspection and equipment requirements for your State can also be a challenge.

I have a WR450F that is an example of a bike that someone jumped through hoops to get tagged. I bought it from another DAMN rider (da scrub) already tagged in Virginia. Whoever got it through inspection had to install all the lights, horn, turn signals that the State required to pass an inspection. You can buy these things in a "duel sport kit" for a lot of bikes.

I am lucky in that I am a Florida resident, no required inspection. As long as the title doesn't say "For off road use only" I just show up at the DMV, hand'em some cash and leave with a tag.

Hope that helped.

Yes, just to add. When I say "tagged dirtbike" I mean a bike that came from the factory as an offroad only bike. And then you (or a previous owner) went through the trouble of adding lights and such, passing inspection, and getting a legal tag so it can ridden on the road.

Of course some of the nicer Euro bikes are pretty much "tagged dirtbikes" that come from the factory as street legal. Just to make it more confusing...