[dsn_klr650] nklr-old people [long]

[Gary Weaver]

Claude, This story remind you of someone? The older you get the smoother you are. Happy Birthday!! Twistin, BMWzzzing ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 13 Date: Tue, 4 Jul 2000 00:02:33 -0600 From: "Dennis Angus" Subject: nklr-old people [long] Just did a two day full dress trip to the local mountains. I stopped on a 10000 ft ridge trying to cure a mild case of monkey butt. About the time I took my e-map out to figure my location, a sport bike came up the hill like he was late for a promise. I started down the hill and five miles or so later that same bike passed me. The road was mostly curves, I figured I could catch him. Not a chance. The next town I hooked up with a friend. We rode to the only store and gas station and just as we were leaving that same rider pulled up to the pump. He got off his bike and took off his helmet. The gentleman had to be 70 or older. White hair, a face like a topo map, and as he walked towards the store he had the gait old people get from years of physical labor, a bent over shuffle. I told my friend he had passed me and he is an excellent rider. He told me that the old boy raise's cattle, the motorcycle is his summer diversion. He wasn't sure but he figured that he is 73. I was amazed this old timer, dressed in full leather road gear and on a bike an 18 year old would kill for, could be such a skillful rider. Good lesson here. Never let the kid in you grow old and always leave room to learn. Opinions are nice but leave some room for change when it dawns on you, "you're wrong." DAngus A-11 ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

[Tom Simpson]

> > > I was amazed this old timer, dressed in full leather road gear and on a > > bike an 18 year old would kill for, could be such a skillful rider. >

My father taught me that lesson. When I first got my KLR, My father, my then-15-year old nephew and I went up near Abbeville, SC to ride in the NFS rec area there on some enduro trails. As it happened, they had been throughly chewed up by a 50-bike enduro through there earlier that morning, this after a heavy rain the night before. Also, that part of SC is close enough to the Georgia line for certain geophysical characteristics to bleed over, first among these being the infamous Georgia Red Clay. On top of all this, the trails were so poorly marked we ended up running them backwards. All the makings of a catastropy were in place. And so it was. At least for me, anyway. I dumped my brand-new KLR about six times and demolished both mirrors as its heavy weight (compounded by a full tank of gas...doh!), Godawful Dunlop OEM tires and lithium grease-like mud made the going absolutly miserable. Neither my nephew or I had any dirt experience to speak of so even though he was running a Honda TL250 Reflex trials bike, he faired only a little better. At least it was easier to pick up. And my dad? He was on a Yamaha SR250 street bike, a freakin' *cruiser* no less, with no suspention travel in the rear, spindly little forks up front and hard old Cheng Shin street tires on both ends. How many times did he go down, you ask? Not once. He was 60 at the time and had so much time in the saddle riding Sporsters and crap like that in mud and dirt that he just 'ed right through it all with hardly a problem. It was amazing. Experience rules. -Tom '96 KLR 650