A big thanks to yous guys

[bomber]

All -- I'd thought about getting a dual sport off and on for a while, and reading some of the threads here helped me decide to go ahead and act on the impulse . . . . after spending a couple hunnert miles on some gravel and dual track yesterday on my new-ish to me KLR, I gotta say it was jusy silly, stupid fun . . .

So, thanks, gents (and especially to you, Scottz)!

[sammyseaman]

I'm really hoping I can get back in the dirt this summer. To me at least, I find dirt riding so much more fun than street and if'n I can get a decent D-S bike I can have the best of both worlds.
Glad you're having fun out there and reading stuff like this just makes me want to get out there that much sooner  

[buls4evr]

 
  I told you guys you would like it better than street only! Dirt roads and easy 2 track take you right back to that first time you ever rode with your dad on that DT1. The world slows down. Farm dogs chase you(but never catch you in this perfect world). You smell all the flowers by the side of the road and out in the fields. You actually have to think about traction again when you take off. The roads are not marked perfectly so you look at your compass and dead reckon (no GPS cheating allowed). People in the restaurants want to know where you have been(they want to be there too), because they know it was a great adventure from all that dust. Like an Indiana Jones movie that you are in instead of watching. Great fun.

[sammyseaman]

  
  I told you guys you would like it better than street only! Dirt roads and easy 2 track take you right back to that first time you ever rode with your dad on that DT1. The world slows down. Farm dogs chase you(but never catch you in this perfect world). You smell all the flowers by the side of the road and out in the fields. You actually have to think about traction again when you take off. The roads are not marked perfectly so you look at your compass and dead reckon (no GPS cheating allowed). People in the restaurants want to know where you have been(they want to be there too), because they know it was a great adventure from all that dust. Like an Indiana Jones movie that you are in instead of watching. Great fun.

  I was thiknig about the differences with street and dirt riding on my morning commute. On street my favorite thing is curves and accelerating from a stop. On dirt it's jumping (which I neither jumped high nor far) and roosting through a turn. Both fun  

[scottzilla]

All -- I'd thought about getting a dual sport off and on for a while, and reading some of the threads here helped me decide to go ahead and act on the impulse . . . . after spending a couple hunnert miles on some gravel and dual track yesterday on my new-ish to me KLR, I gotta say it was jusy silly, stupid fun . . .

So, thanks, gents (and especially to you, Scottz)!

Now that the swingarm bearings are good and lubed, crash that fucker.
You can always blame the tires.

[Windblown]

Congrats!  Getting off the pavement is full of win!

1) Get to ride roads in your core area you haven't already ridden a million times.
2) See all sorts of sights you just don't have time to appreciate at speed.
3) Put a bit of "Challenge" back into riding, without going mach1...
4) Get to explore the full range of the bikes throttle much more often than you can on a powerful streetbike.

In the Video Dogboy put up a while back one of the riders mentioned he had gone to off-road only early in life because he realized he could go fast enough to scare himself without going fast enough to get himself killed. This is so true (with proper gear).  

Damn, I got work to do and now all I want to do is go explore some gravel roads and two-track.

[bomber]

Now that the swingarm bearings are good and lubed, crash that fucker.
You can always blame the tires.

How fast is the forward motion componant of a crash? I may be already qualified.

Feckin Tires!

@Buls -- poetry! nicely done!

[scottzilla]

How fast is the forward motion componant of a crash? I may be already qualified.

Feckin Tires!

@Buls -- poetry! nicely done!

If you simply drop the bike in a thicket of thorn bushes, that counts as a crash.

[bomber]

If you simply drop the bike in a thicket of thorn bushes, that counts as a crash.

Done, done and done! With Oak Leaf Clusters, FTW!

[sammyseaman]

Damn, I got work to do and now all I want to do is go explore some gravel roads and two-track.

 

If you simply drop the bike in a thicket of thorn bushes, that counts as a crash.

Done, done and done! With Oak Leaf Clusters, FTW!

 

[1Arm]

. . . . after spending a couple hunnert miles on some gravel and dual track yesterday on my new-ish to me KLR, I gotta say it was jusy silly, stupid fun . . .

Congrats bomber, a DS bike has put a very favorable twist on my riding experience lately, also.  Just returned from a see-some-new-places trip and it was grand!  Not only dirt/gravel fun but discovered a delightful paved road that, since the pavement ends,  I never would have found otherwise.  Good times

[JonS]

I never read this whole topic, so I will reply.
The funny thing about an off road bike is that straight , dirt and sand roads, are a lot of fun, while you need good twisties and sweepers to get the same effect on the road. I have found this knowledge very useful. and entertaining.