Motorcycle Lovers Thread

[Mothertucker]

I seem to find friends or neighbors that have spare yz250’s hanging out in their garages. When I was a teenager in San Diego Id borrow a bike and head with friends, who were pretty serious moto guys, to the desert, when I lived in smaller mountain towns we’d sneak out of town riding side streets and ducking the cops to the forest roads outsideof town(knowing we were breaking the law till we hit the dirt) and now Im in WA and we live right off a forest service road with hundreds of miles of dirt roads and moto trails out the door. Ive been thinking of getting my own dirtbike recently(leaning towards a 250 trail bike) but a passing comment from a neighbor threw me down a legal worm hole.

I always thought a non-street legal dirtbike was legal on forest roads, but apparently they arent!?!?

I used to think a dirtbike with a spark arrestor and a ohv/orv permit was all I needed for forest roads and the trails that were marked for motos.

Anyone provide some clarity on dirt forest service roads and what type of vehicles are allowed legally? We see tons of sxs on our road and maybe 10% have street plates. Am I overthinking this? I dont want a bike I have to trailer to trailheads but I also have no interest in riding on highways, I just want to ride the dirt roads and trails(do I, legally, need to be looking at dual sport bikes??

Probably varies by state, but in CA there are street legal, green, and red sticker vehicles, and not a lot of access for the last two. I like the dual sport idea, but I believe you are a big guy and would be better off on a 450-500 fuel injected thumper. Better suspension, street legal but uncorked.

 

[Mothertucker]

I never understood the appeal of supermoto until I rode this on the street a little bit, I'll never do it, but I get it now. Last October.

 

[scott43]

Supermoto is fun man! Sloppy and backing it in, whacking the throttle, great fun!

 

[Mothertucker]

I'd like to try snowboarding too, it's the falling while learning part that deters me.

 

[Bill Talbot]

I never understood the appeal of supermoto until I rode this on the street a little bit, I'll never do it, but I get it now. Last October. View attachment 230760

That's not a supermoto. It's a dual sport. Supermoto would have 17" wheels at both ends with sportbike wide sticky street tires on them. And on the road in your picture the dual sport would be much more fun.

 

[Mothertucker]

That's not a supermoto. It's a dual sport. Supermoto would have 17" wheels at both ends with sportbike wide sticky street tires on them. And on the road in your picture the dual sport would be much more fun.

It was truly a dual sport day, skied the first half, rode the second.

 

[Tom K.]

I seem to find friends or neighbors that have spare yz250’s hanging out in their garages. When I was a teenager in San Diego Id borrow a bike and head with friends, who were pretty serious moto guys, to the desert, when I lived in smaller mountain towns we’d sneak out of town riding side streets and ducking the cops to the forest roads outsideof town(knowing we were breaking the law till we hit the dirt) and now Im in WA and we live right off a forest service road with hundreds of miles of dirt roads and moto trails out the door. Ive been thinking of getting my own dirtbike recently(leaning towards a 250 trail bike) but a passing comment from a neighbor threw me down a legal worm hole.

I always thought a non-street legal dirtbike was legal on forest roads, but apparently they arent!?!?

I used to think a dirtbike with a spark arrestor and a ohv/orv permit was all I needed for forest roads and the trails that were marked for motos.

Anyone provide some clarity on dirt forest service roads and what type of vehicles are allowed legally? We see tons of sxs on our road and maybe 10% have street plates. Am I overthinking this? I dont want a bike I have to trailer to trailheads but I also have no interest in riding on highways, I just want to ride the dirt roads and trails(do I, legally, need to be looking at dual sport bikes???)

I grew up the same way, but my town was so small, that the police actually allowed us to ride to the "trailhead" but were pretty serious about "side of the road, first gear only". What a utopian youth!

Technically, DBs are not allowed on FS roads. Google will provide all you need there. Highly ranger-dependent, though. There is an astounding and legal trail network in the Gifford-Pinchot National Forest. Connecting two of the trails used to absolutely require that you rode on paved NF Road 23 for about a quarter mile. There was one ranger that liked to sit there and try to ticket bikes, but good luck following bikes onto single track in your SUV.

I'm long out of touch on this, but I think the WA dirt biking advocate group got that little piece of road signed as being OK for dirt bikes. Conversely, there are "No OHV" signs posted on forest roads all over around Old Man Pass out of Carson.

A long-winded way of coming around to saying: just buy a dual sport. They are so good these days, and everybody and their brother knows how to uncork them to get the lost power back, and that gets to be less and less as the years go by.

 

[SlowPokePete]

Here's my bike...1984 BMW R80ST...

July 22, 2022 by SPP™ SlowPokePete, on Flickr

SPP

 

[UGASkiDawg]

Here's my bike...1984 BMW R80ST...

July 22, 2022 by SPP™ SlowPokePete, on Flickr

SPP

Wrong background need a Starbucks

 

[Bill Talbot]

A quick shot of my 'lightweight' explorer, Honda 300 Rally.

Water, Road and Rail. Used to be fairly common as 'transportation' evolved, each following the one before.

 

[chris_the_wrench]

A quick shot of my 'lightweight' explorer, Honda 300 Rally.

Ive only begun to really research dual sports, but those 300 rallys seem to be pretty popular. Probably out of my price range for now, but they sure look like fun!

 

[DesmoDog]

For years a riding buddy and I have been talking about doing some touring, but we've never both had suitable bikes at the same time. Earlier this year he invited me along to the local Ducati shop and I found out he bought a new Multistrada.

I've never been all that "into" Multis, but this one inspired me so I started looking around. I've bought two non-Ducatis in the past 30 years or so and never binded with either of them, so I took another look at Multis and found this. A 2018 1260S with 1100 miles on it. 99.9% stock. Tires looked like no one had even gone around a corner on it. I had to do it.

I've already changed a couple minor things but have only ridden it once so far. Nice weather appeared so we took both bikes out for our maiden voyages. This one "fits" much more better than the V85tt I had did. I'm hoping we can now find the time to put some miles on them this season.

 

[Bill Talbot]

Ive only begun to really research dual sports, but those 300 rallys seem to be pretty popular. Probably out of my price range for now, but they sure look like fun!

Well they have their place. They also require a few 'upgrades' before you can actually ride them. They're no unicorn like some folks like to claim. For dirt roads, jeep trails and secondary rural pave they can be made to work pretty good. If you want highway use you're on the wrong bike. My modded bike averages around 85-90 mpg for how I use it. As with skiing you need to define what you are actually going to do with it so you can buy the right tool for the job.

 

[Bill Talbot]

For years a riding buddy and I have been talking about doing some touring, but we've never both had suitable bikes at the same time. Earlier this year he invited me along to the local Ducati shop and I found out he bought a new Multistrada.

I've never been all that "into" Multis, but this one inspired me so I started looking around. I've bought two non-Ducatis in the past 30 years or so and never binded with either of them, so I took another look at Multis and found this. A 2018 1260S with 1100 miles on it. 99.9% stock. Tires looked like no one had even gone around a corner on it. I had to do it.

I've already changed a couple minor things but have only ridden it once so far. Nice weather appeared so we took both bikes out for our maiden voyages. This one "fits" much more better than the V85tt I had did. I'm hoping we can now find the time to put some miles on them this season.

Seems mighty limiting only riding one brand of moto. Can't imagine it personally.
I have a friend with a Multi (who also has a couple other Ducks) and for some types of 'touring' it is pretty well suited. What used to be called Sport Touring. With soft panniers and a tank bag keeping the weight down. If you're thinking anything much beyond county maintained dirt roads you will not be happy despite road tests showing 'trail use'. But for fast secondary roads it would be a hoot if the ergos fit you for 200-300 miles days.

Again you have to define what your use will be. This would be a hard charger, 90mm ski.

 

[chris_the_wrench]

As with skiing you need to define what you are actually going to do with it so you can buy the right tool for the job.

Im looking to do just dirt forest roads and singletrack. My electric dirtbike will pull me upto around 50, and loop ya on your arse if you too heavy on the throttle, and thats fast enough for me on trails/usfs roads. I want something with a stock or aftermarket tank where I can ride a longtime without having to refuel. I also HATE loud bikes in the forest. No long tours, but Id like to have a rack I can toss some fishing gear/float tube on.

 

[DesmoDog]

Seems mighty limiting only riding one brand of moto. Can't imagine it personally.
I have a friend with a Multi (who also has a couple other Ducks) and for some types of 'touring' it is pretty well suited. What used to be called Sport Touring. With soft panniers and a tank bag keeping the weight down. If you're thinking anything much beyond county maintained dirt roads you will not be happy despite road tests showing 'trail use'. But for fast secondary roads it would be a hoot if the ergos fit you for 200-300 miles days.

Again you have to define what your use will be. This would be a hard charger, 90mm ski.

With 17" wheels and 100% street tires I can't imagine any experienced rider would intend to go "off road" with this. They make an actual "enduro" model if that's what you want to do but I have no interest in that sort of riding on a bike this big. For cripe sakes I might be able to pick it up once but the second time I'd be crying for my old KDX. (That should clue you in on how long it's been since I've ridden off road...)

Weight's a funny thing. I think this bike is a tank at over 500lbs. Compared to a full blown touring bike it's a featherweight even fully loaded. It's all perspective I guess. It's got hard bags (shown in first pic) but I prefer not using them and have soft tail bags instead. It scoots along pretty well regardless.

200-300 mile days? That's sport bike mileage. Well, ok, 300 miles on a 996 made me want to take up stamp collecting instead, but that's an extreme example. I'm a bit surprised you think that's all a Multi is good for? Is it the lack of a gigantic windscreen? FWIW I cut 3" off the screen on my V85 and have since put a shorter than stock screen on this too. I've done 200-300 mile days on fully naked bikes, it's not an issue. That said I'm not a fan if riding on interstates. BORING... but unavoidable if you live in the midwest and want to get anywhere before your vacation days run out. (I'm retired now but not everyone I ride with is).

I've RIDDEN quite few other brands, even briefly worked for one of them in a previous life. But when it comes time to spend my own money I know what I like.

 

[Bill Talbot]

With 17" wheels and 100% street tires I can't imagine any experienced rider would intend to go "off road" with this. They make an actual "enduro" model if that's what you want to do but I have no interest in that sort of riding on a bike this big. For cripe sakes I might be able to pick it up once but the second time I'd be crying for my old KDX. (That should clue you in on how long it's been since I've ridden off road...)

Weight's a funny thing. I think this bike is a tank at over 500lbs. Compared to a full blown touring bike it's a featherweight even fully loaded. It's all perspective I guess. It's got hard bags (shown in first pic) but I prefer not using them and have soft tail bags instead. It scoots along pretty well regardless.

200-300 mile days? That's sport bike mileage. Well, ok, 300 miles on a 996 made me want to take up stamp collecting instead, but that's an extreme example. I'm a bit surprised you think that's all a Multi is good for? Is it the lack of a gigantic windscreen? FWIW I cut 3" off the screen on my V85 and have since put a shorter than stock screen on this too. I've done 200-300 mile days on fully naked bikes, it's not an issue. That said I'm not a fan if riding on interstates. BORING... but unavoidable if you live in the midwest and want to get anywhere before your vacation days run out. (I'm retired now but not everyone I ride with is).

I've RIDDEN quite few other brands, even briefly worked for one of them in a previous life. But when it comes time to spend my own money I know what I like.

I say that because keeping off the damn interstate and on scenic backroads with something to see, 300 miles is a pretty long day.

 

[François Pugh]

Im looking to do just dirt forest roads and singletrack. My electric dirtbike will pull me upto around 50, and loop ya on your arse if you too heavy on the throttle, and thats fast enough for me on trails/usfs roads. I want something with a stock or aftermarket tank where I can ride a longtime without having to refuel. I also HATE loud bikes in the forest. No long tours, but Id like to have a rack I can toss some fishing gear/float tube on.

How many miles/hours before you need to charge it?

 

[François Pugh]

Ski hill's closed and the roads are full of salt and here's the weather forecast.
Was hoping to get the Gixxer out this weekend. Guess not.

 

[Tom K.]

FWIW I cut 3" off the screen on my V85 and have since put a shorter than stock screen on this too.

Same approach here, on pretty much every road-oriented bike I've owned the last 25 years.

I'd much rather have my helmet in clean, laminar flow than in the buffeting zone.

Caveat: I'm 6'2" and all torso. Some of my shorter friends love their stock windscreens.