| Author | Message | ||
     Nutsosane |
One of the guys we rode with last week had his 56 mile DR-Z out on the trail. He had shiny new knobbies to go with his pristine bike! That's how ya break em in. NUTS | ||
| Tank_bueller |
OK, here's the story... Demo Day yesterday at Southside HD(yes, the 1125 was there, and no I didn't ride it. safer for my wallet) Mike and I were headed to get some free BBQ, and talking about hitting up some rice dealers later. We round the corner of the building, and there she sat, clean and pretty, with no tags. A 2006 DR650SE w/5k miles. I threw a leg over, and the suspension sagged just enough for me to reach the ground. Still has the original front tire in decent shape. Rear is a fairly new knarly knobby. After some scouring of the ol' Net, $4k out the door really doesn't seem so bad for a clean, unmolested 06. I pick her up tomorrow after work. Anybody need a 1990 DR250?? It's kick only....good exercise!!  | ||
| Nutsosane |
Way to go Tank. The DR is a great bike and one of the ones I seriously considered. They have a built in lowering link for the shock; two position adjustable IIRC. It was way too low for NUTS but should fit most other humans. The great thing about the DR is it has a strong rear subframe for mounting just about anything one could want. The only weakness I know of is the oil cooler location. Just make a habit of falling on the left(I always do). The low end grunt of the 650 thumpers lends them to excellent wheelies just on the throttle! Get yerself a smaller countershaft sprocket and the business is done. I have a used front tire around here somewhere if ya want it.  | ||
| Luvthemtorts |
Charlie, If I was getting discounts on farkles you would have already received several flyers as well as follow up calls. I ain't above whoring myself if it means cheap accessories  . Tank, OUTSTANDING! As you are well aware by now pics are mandatory. So when you coming over ? Nuts needs a few weeks for his back to mend and I'm waiting on some farkles. Middle of March sounds about right! Nuts, Looks like the grand riding plans we were hatching last night may be coming to fruition  . Back to Charlie, You sure you ain't got a dirt machine you can get tagged laying around? I hear SC will plate just about anything. If not you'll be missing out on more fun than should be legal  . | ||
| Tank_bueller |
That sounds OK for me. I just need a hard date so I can ask off from work with plenty of notice. You going to make the reservations at the fine establishment? Or were you NOT referring to the WVA thing?? Traffic is going to be MURDER going to VA Beach tomorrow, but at least there is a nice reward waiting! | ||
| Cyclonecharlie |
Jackie, All of my frames are pretty light weight.(not meant to be leaving the ground) It would take a pretty stout frame and wheels to handle a landing with me on it. Plus I know you and Nuts, the first water crossing I got to my butt would be drowned by the two of you. Then Id have to spend the rest of the day trying to get y'all back. | ||
| Nutsosane |
Now that Tank has a runner I am afraid; very afraid! | ||
| Tank_bueller |
She's a runner too, brutha. Electric foot works fantastic!!  I can safely say, It is NOT as clean as Jackies bike, but it should easily win a close second. Too dark to take pics today, but she is sexy. ...And tall, and heavy, and Veeerry powerful. It's like my Buell with 10 inches of ground clearance. WAAAYYY different than the 250. I didn't realize how big of a total POS that thing is. But the 250 is still better in the woods, because is't lighter, and the throttle on the 250 snaps RIGHT NOW. The 650 almost has a "soft start" feature. (if you have ever used a big router with soft-start, you can appreciate it. Insead of "whaaaaa", you get more like wwhhahahaahaaahaaaaaaaaaa. cool feature) The suspension seems stiff to me, but sitting on the 250 is like sitting on a huge water balloon hoping it doesn't pop. And the only thing I can see off the front of the 650 is the massive front sail they call a fender. The 250 rides more like a chopper, and the 650 seems a-lot shorter in the wheelbase dept, like the Buell. I like it so far. She's going to take some getting used to, but that shouldn't take long. | ||
| Tank_bueller |
P.S. I hear that the 250 rear 18" wheel will bolt on the 650(which has a 17", hard to find tires) | ||
| Cyclonecharlie |
Tank, If your gonna take that 650 in the woods, you better start working out now.Your gonna get tired fast.  | ||
| Luvthemtorts |
Tank, Never fear. We will be easy on you the first trip or two. Mostly gravel roads with some light trails thrown in for good measure. If we get to something that looks too rough for you we can simply turn around and go the other direction. No shame in knowing your limits. Charlie, Come on now. If I can find a bike to haul my triple cheesburger eating self around then you should have no problems. As far as getting roosted goes you are probably right on that one but its all in good fun . | ||
| Nutsosane |
Can ya believe someone bought the tank off of my Scarlet? I ordered a new black one today along with a new headlight shroud. The rack arrived and was installed this morning. Jetting mods have begun too. I have physical therapy tomorrow, so I'll be the fittest NUTS in the woods. | ||
| Tank_bueller |
Charlie, At my size, I have to keep balance enough to let the bike do most of the work. Yesterday, I slid(slowly) to a stop and managed to softly prop myself and the bike up against a tree with my shoulder. Tried to start off slowly uphill and the rear just slid down the hill a bit. Soo I grew a pair(Thundercat style), revved it up, pushed off the tree, and dumped the clutch. Left about a 50ft trench through the woods from my place of rest to the driveway. Now if I could just place the trenches to where water will run off the drive, I'll be in business.  Jackie, Sorry, No pics today. It's raining outside!  Actually, if you take a handful of dirt, go to your basement, and throw the dirt on your bike, That's pretty much what mine looks like(except for the whole radiator thing).  Pics just don't do the blue metallic paint any justice at all. A-lot deeper and darker in person. | ||
| Luvthemtorts |
Sorry man but a picture or two is mandatory. None of that just imagine my bike without the radiators crap . Try to get your moms to snap one of you standing beside it as well so we can see some size comparisons. Don't get too attached to that pretty blue metallic paint because it is going to get scratched in VERY short order! | ||
| Cyclonecharlie |
Jackie, You not planning on doing some" rubbing is racing" with Tank are you? Don't worry Tank, from what I hear "bubble wrap" doesn't leave a mark.  | ||
| Luvthemtorts |
Charlie, I think you are gonna be proud of me before its over. I've already peeled stickers, added stickers, yanked off unneccesary items and added aftermarket goodies. Hopefully knobbies will be next then its off to the gravel and mud  . Still waiting Tank . | ||
| Tank_bueller |
So you didn't throw dirt on your bike??  OK, mom took the warm fuzzy pic of me standing next to the bike...  And here's on that aint so fuzzy..  | ||
| Luvthemtorts |
A FINE LOOKING RIDE!! You my friend have dove head first into the world of dual sport motorbike riding. The pic with you beside the bike didn't load fully. Are you kneeling down or is the bike really that tall? So what kinda farkles are you going to buy? I would highly suggest a skidplate as one of the first items. Nuts took his off the other day after an oil change and said it was dented up pretty good. If he wouldn't have had one then his cases may have been toast. Pretty cheap insurance if you ask me. Anyways, me and Nuts will try to figure out some dates for a ride to see if we can get it in the works. Any objections to the local trails and forest roads? I have to break mine in and prefer to do it on familiar territory. | ||
| Tank_bueller |
Yes, the pic loaded fully. It was a bad pic to start, and I cropped it to not show that I was indeed kneeling just a bit. She is indeed a fine steed, and one I may take a liking to, if the weather will allow enough time for a ride longer than 5 minutes. A bash plate and smaller front sprocket are on the list. She needs new shoes, too.(just because I don't like mis-matched rubber) Everything else is good for her next 5k miles. I'm hard on stuff, though. She might need some lovin' before that. No preference on terrain, yet. When we go to the indian trails, I might like to try the thing they call "single track". Nail down some dates, and I'll be there. | ||
| Luvthemtorts |
Goodness my brutha'! Had the bike a few days and already talking about single track. Most of the single track trails I have been on are EXTREMELY knarly and involve rock crawling, log hops, crazy steep incline/declines and razor sharp ridges. I'm game after the break in but it may be a rough day for all three of us. We have one hill climb and descent here that can help prepare you for what you may be looking at if we do it. It is open so no worries about jacking into a tree going up or down but I will forewarn you it is intimidating when you are sitting at the bottom looking up. Nuts, Tell our good friend Tank about the climb of which I speak. You know, the one right off the big mudhole on Broad Run. Me thinks we better have two cameras on that day to cover it from a couple different angles  | ||
| Nutsosane |
I'm not a big fan of covering "carnage". That hill is tougher than it looks, with consequences in the "airlift" realm. Tank, might I recommend some moto-x boots and either real handguards or an extra lever or two. I'm taking this back re-hab seriously. Every day I'm being barraged with new reports of dual-sport news. One day it's my wifes new boss, next a 10 day dual-sport adventure to Costa Rica. Found a local that wants to do the TAT too. That's an awful lot for someone of my reputable instability. NUTS | ||
| Tank_bueller |
Dang, Dude! I never said I wanted to die by falling off the side of a mountain.  I've just never done single track like that, and I'd like to try some. Don't have anything like that around here, but I've done my share of all different types of gravel, rutted, washed out, whatever. And I've seen a hill or two. Definitely getting some hand guards like the ones ol' Nutster has. Got another problem, though. I did buy some Alpinestars Tech-3's, but I can't work the shifter or the rear brake with them on. I wore them around a couple hours a day for a week straight, and I don't think they are ever going to break-in enough to be useful?? The only time I rode with them, I thought something was wrong with the bike. No power. I was on the rear brake and didn't know it. | ||
| Luvthemtorts |
Tank, It is possible to run the climb I am suggesting as practice. I've done it as well as Nuts. I suggested it so you can get a feel for what we might encounter on a single track. On this hill there are two ways down depending on how comfortable you feel. On single track once you go you are committed regardless of what you run into. MX boots take some getting used to. Just ride with them for a week and you will get used to them provided they fit properly. Keep in mind you aren't really bending your ankles to operate the shifter or brake but using your entire foot by rocking it back and forth. Also you gotta get used to not being able to feel what your doing and just let it come naturally. Not lecturing just giving what will hopefully be some helpful hints. See ya' soon! | ||
| Tank_bueller |
..you gotta get used to not being able to feel what your doing.. Therein lies the problem. I ride by feel. I use the smallest amount of feedback from every part of the bike to let me know what's going on, and what to do about it. On the Buell, I can feel the isolators working with my foot, when under load or when the suspension is working hard. The shifter is attached to the motor, but the peg is attached to the frame.(just an example) I guess the Buell has spoiled me more than I realized. Just ordered new sprockets(-1 front/+1rear), handguards, and a skid plate from the store on Thumpertalk, cause they sent me a 10% off e-coupon for my b-day. (I've never even posted there, just registered to look at the classifieds) | ||
| Tank_bueller |
BTW, Thanks for the lecture!  | ||
| Tank_bueller |
I missed an opportunity at a lo blow a couple days ago.....Something about "break-in". Doesn't that require actual riding of the motorcycle??  So how's the new bike, Jackie??  | ||
| Luvthemtorts |
Well, I haven't actually ridden it yet. I trailered it home and pushed it up the driveway into the basement because I couldn't find the kill switch in the dark . I have however sat on it many times while going "Vroom, Vroom". Does that count for anything? In all seriousness I am dying to get the break in over with but have been hampered due to the flu and back problems. I'll probably break it in on the street starting the beginning of March. Nuts and I came up with the tentative dates of April 4th and 5th for a local outting. If it ain't too cold how do you feel about making it a mini camping trip? Get there early Friday and set up camp. Ride Wildlife Rd., Broad Run and Potts Mountain Jeep trail and then back to camp. Saturday we could then ride Patterson Creek and the associated trails. Any ideas? | ||
| Tank_bueller |
Hard dates, I like it. I'll put in for the time off on Monday, cause the Boss is out of town. I was supposed to have tomorrow off, but the Boss called from North Carolina today and "needs" me to work. So much for a beautiful day with the new toy. Ride and camp sounds cool. Is there a shower nearby? Or a clean creek? In case I get roosted, or splashed again?? | ||
| Luvthemtorts |
No shower but you can heat some water over the fire and clean off. Thats what I do and it keeps the stench down pretty good. There is a creek but it is gonna be CRAZY COLD that time of year since it runs off the mountain. I wouldn't worry about it though, Nuts doesn't wash up and wears the same clothes on camping trips. I imagine your stink will just blend in with his . No bathrooms either so you'll have to dig yourself a poop hole as well since we don't take kindly to littering with used toilet paper around here . | ||
| Nutsosane |
Tank, regarding the lack of feel on your new scoot: MX boots seem to be about four sizes larger than one is used to. See how the boot feels on the peg; usually inadequate. I went to the bigger pegs and it made all the difference; I do wear a 13-14 boot though.  Adjust the shift/brake levers as well to suit your needs. My shifter had to come up a notch; resulting in trimming the caseguard. Now with the wider footpegs(There's a pic on here somewhere) it feels half normal.NUTS |
