| Author | Message | ||
     Itileman |
Aloha also means good-bye. For those of you who don't watch the used bike classifieds, I recently sold my 09 XT and it will be moving to Hawaii soon. The new owner is my age (66) and, like I did, is getting off his Road King for a little more adventure I'm sure he'll introduce himself at a later date. So, why did I do it? I love the bike, had it molded & modded to fit me like a glove. Unfortunately, if I were to take it where I have been lately and where I'm going soon, it would have come back in pieces. Riding off the tarvy in the flats and rolling hills is one thing. Mountain roads/trails are another matter. At 500#, gravity is not your friend on down hill runs over loose rock/gravel atop a hard base, or, more often, solid rock surfaces. The Uly XT is simply not built for the pounding that this type of riding dishes out if you want to keep up a decent pace for any length of time. Maybe I should have gone with an X to start with, but that is too much height for a short old fart like me to deal with on steep slopes and narrow roads with loose gravel and thousand foot drop offs. Some of you know I've been Jonesing for a smaller, more dirt orientated ride. Long story short, here she is:  1979 Honda XL250. It's undergoing a few minor modifications, but it ran great a couple of weeks ago when I had it out in the mountains of Northern Idaho around Coeur d' Alene. Racked up about 400 miles in less than a week. For those familiar with Advrider, it's going to the MT1k, WestFest, WABDR & Wetfest. I'll be lurking around as I seem to have a lot of the Kool-Ade in my system. Ride safe. Aloha. | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Wow, congrats! Dirt is not a bad place, nor is Hawaii. Please keep hanging out here, enjoy your posts. Aloha! B | ||
| Eulysses |
Bet you upgrade to a 250 with a mono shock! AMHIK! It is a beauty! | ||
| Etennuly |
Nice find. There are not so many of them in that good of condition anymore. My first bike was an XL250, 1973 with a Hooker header. It was heavy, slow, and had little suspension. The dirt bikes of the late '70s had big improvements in fork and shock travel(like two inches more!) In '79 I went to a Yamahammer TT500, oh so much more power!. I have my third XL250 sitting in my shop just waiting for me to install the $400 cam and follower setup. Thanks for reminding me.....I need to get back to that. Not letting go of my Uly though! | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Sounds like a very nice mid-life crisis.  | ||
| Whisperstealth |
Congrats, and sorry to see your Uly go! But do hope you stick around and pop in from time to time. I have enjoyed reading your post, and seeing the mods you have done. You've given me lots of info and ideas! Good trailing on the honda, let us know how it goes! | ||
| Mnrider |
Post some pix of a grass skirt hula girl on the back of your bike please! | ||
| Itileman |
The new owner will have to do that - he's the one in Hawaii. |
