Wilsons Sandbox

"Thomas Baumen" wrote:

> As a BMW owner for ten years I have to agree with you Alex. > BMWs are nice and they are over rated and the atitude of many of the > owners is absurd. >Same with Harley's, Ducati's, Triuph's, etc, etc......

And KLR's and VFR's and... It has been a long time since I rode a motorcycle I didn't like. Yes, there are some that appeal to me more than others, some that do what I think I want to do on a bike better than others and some that are just rolling art and make me drool just looking at them... I like the idea of a do it all bike, and before I decided that "all" included dirt roads, the VFR (with a little help from Givi and Ohlins) was as good as they get. Of course, then I decided that there a lot of un-paved roads to explore, and got the KLR. But it is a little lacking in the high speed, long range department, and as a two-up touring bike. I wouldn't mind an 1150GS (I was very impressed with my friends' bikes when I switched bikes with them. It's hard to believe how well that beast handles on pavement), but $14K for a bike seems like too much for me right now. The fact that the reliability is questionable only makes it less appealing. But it is very close to what I want. Maybe if Cagiva and Suzuki ever sort out the liability or whatever it is that is stopping Cagiva from bringing the Navigator to the US, I could have a good candidate to replace my VFR. Or if Honda brought the Africa Twin, or if Suzuki made their own version, based on the SV/TL engine, or... Or maybe my friend Terry is right, and I will just have to build that "perfect" bike myself. Anybody ever hear of the TPowell Special? YDreamBikeMV, Gustavo

gyb@... wrote:

> > It has been a long time since I rode a motorcycle I didn't like. Yes, > there are some that appeal to me more than others, some that do > what I think I want to do on a bike better than others and some that > are just rolling art and make me drool just looking at them...

+++++++++++ I concur. You're absolutely right! In real life, the perfect dream bike only exists for the biker that is willing to limit himself to what one particular bike is good at. I am not willing to limit myself to the capabilities of any one bike. For example, as much as I like my KLR and my DR, to call them a better bike than ANY OTHER is, in fact, myopia on a grand scale. Serious technical riding is done with a light and nimble bike, serious road biking is done with whatever a serious road bike is. The big thumpers are neither serious dirt or road bikes, and anyone that thinks they are, is seriously handicapped. Big thumpers are complete compromises. You gotta love them for what they are, not hate them for what they aren't. Then that attitude opens up a whole world of acceptance for other people's favorite bikes. In my opinion, the only thing worse than trying to ride technical on a KLR or DR is taking a long trip on either. In my limited experience of 45 years of riding (mainly dirt) my favorite bike to pound the dirt is still the Honda XL250, and my favorite street bike is a Suzuki GS 550 or 750. If they were still being manufactured, I'd buy one of each and shit can both my big thumpers, but until then, I'll ride my thumpers both on and off the road and continue to feel handicapped in both areas until I find modern replacements for my two favorite bikes. In the mean time, everyone that comes here still enjoys riding my old XL250 and my older Honda Trail 90 around the grove between riding the thumpers. My advice to all is to go find someone that will let you ride a real (small) dirt bike. It'll bring back memories of why you fell in love with motorcycles in your childhood. And then ride a few real road bikes, before you criticize another's "perfect" bike. The long and short of it is, if you want a perfect bike, buy one of each type: trials, trails, motocross, thumper, flat track, etc.; then ride each as if it were your favorite. Until then, consider yourself limited. Just my .02, but I'm loco. -- bierdo -- on a Mac warmed up in Hell '01 KLR650 '99 DR650 '82 XL250 '78 Trail 90 Yammy 4 stroke golf cart Snapper joystick rider mower 2 dogs and a sled PS: I'm on the rag because it hasn't rained in Florida for months, and tomorrow is our first official WDSR ride and they're predicting steady rain all day. These weather gods give me a big pain in the ass! I say *, %, $, #, @, and shit!