| Author | Message | ||
     Mattl |
Ok, so I took the ol' XB up camping this weekend. I'm torn in deciding which was more fun, riding the twisty asphalt roads getting there, or riding the dirt forest roads to the campsite. I had just put on a new set of Pirelli Scorpion Syncs, and oh man, that was a lot of fun. The tires were GREAT for nice controlled power slides. I was actually quite surprised how well they stuck in the dirt. Not to mention the knee dragging fun on the asphalt roads. MAN! That was fun. I want to go up again now! So, that brings up a question. How well do you all think a 2006 xb12s would hold up on dirt riding if I made a habit of this? There were a few washboard sections and ruts in the road, which I shoulda' slowed down for, but just powered over. I could hear the rear swingarm bouncing around quite a bit, but everything else felt real solid. | ||
| Mattl |
Obligatory pic of dirty xb at campsite.  | ||
| Ceejay |
I wouldn't think you'd have a problem, other than trying stream crossings-and thats only cause you don't have enough travel to soak up what you can't see. Does any one know how long the sync's last? I wanna put a set on my bolt for the same reason. I was on 20 miles of stone just today, and have often done the campsite roads getting to some fishing holes. Cool pic BTW-both bike and campsite... | ||
| Mattl |
My last set of Syncs lasted a little over 8000 miles. Although they were down to the chord and really shoulda' swapped em at 7500 miles. That is 80% freeway, 15% spirited twisties, 5% city. Absolutely love these tires. I was considering lots of other options, but just kept thinking back to how great these performed all season. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Been riding on the bendy and dirty with my CityX for over a year now. Watch the creek crossings. My last repair was for a corroded spark plug wire that had a rusted contact.  That being said, I would never give up my chance to ride on dirt, it is part of my daily commute. The scorps are the best mix of tire out there. I am running a dunlop on the back to get a bit more aggressive on the dirt. Fire roads, forest service roads, utility pole roads, dirty but not single track, The bike is too heavy for that , and you dont have the travel in stock configuration. Other than that, welcome to the Bendy and Dirty. MUD.. its whats for dinner. Cant load pic from home, see profile for my dirty rider | ||
| Punkid8888 |
I got 8300 on my syncs and I cannot believe how well they have held up, mileage is about 30% commute (mix of hwy and city) and the rest is just fun on back roads. Barely a noticeable flat spot, and plenty of grip in the turns. I have not really done any off roading, but I have a few friends with dirt driveways and I am surprised how well the tires grip in the loose dirt. I will probably get another 1500 miles out of them, and I want to try other style of tires just to see the difference. But in all honesty I will probably just go back to the Syncs, because they are such a good all around tire. | ||
| Xb9er |
Matti, look at it this way, if you break it today, in four more days you can buy a new one with a rotax motor, and buell/honda/ducati make on the title. | ||
| Mattl |
xb9er, that's exactly what I'm NOT looking forward to. I need this ol' xb to last as long as I can keep it runnin. I bought a Buell because it was American, V-Twin, cool engineering, great handling. All this crap about a rotax engine bums me out. I guess I shoulda' known they were going more foreign when the 2007 models no longer said "American Motorcycles" on the air box cover. Well, suppose I shouldn't cast any judgement quite yet. Maybe they'll surprise us and have a Blast based powerplant in a unique dirt bike. | ||
| Xb9er |
Matti I agree with you 110% I love my XB, buell just wouldnt be the same with a rotax. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
They see me rollin on the bendy and dirty, and all the sport bikes be hatin MUD, its whats for dinner.  | ||
| Mattl |
Cityxslicker, loving that bike with mud look! So do the Ulysses plastics actually help at all, or just for looks? Anything else you've done to prep for dirt? | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Really the front ULY set is because I REALLY wanted a uly but am to f'n shot to comfortably and confidently ride that bike on the dirt. So I took the City X and put the fender set on it. It does do a nice job of diverting some of the mud splatter. I did put a pair of Buell Blast bars on it to get up in the saddle and keep control of the levers, that and a short SCG seat (like I said, I am short) But it runs and works well for me. At least 20 miles of dirt every day  video of it running down the dirty on our local back roads http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG76ftSFOcg | ||
| Djkaplan |
Matt, Have you ever had a real dirt bike? Sounds like it might be time to get a few dirt bikes and go riding with your kids. The times my father and I spent riding and racing together were the happiest moments I can remember growing up... and the dirt riding experience I had when I started riding on the street has saved my life more than once. | ||
| Mattl |
Djkaplan, that is a great idea. I have been examining that option for a while. My kids are still a bit small, but I'm thinking a little 50cc is in the near future. Think they'll be able to keep up with me on my new Buell dirt bike?  I have a couple ol' 70cc ATCs, and my boys are fixated on a 70cc quad they saw recently. So not sure whether to go with two wheels or more for starters. Moving to a few acres soon, out of the city finally. So we'll have space to ride. | ||
| Typeone |
i'm with Djkaplan, get yourself a true dirty bike and save the XB for backroad duty. if you thought it was fun wrangling the XB through a fireroad, wait until you try out a true off-road bike with way less weight. insane fun. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
LESS than 2 days until the tell us about the new ones! I am hoping that the dirt bike is part of the big release on the 8th, then I will make my CityX my permanent "bagger" |
