Show me your dual sports, folks

[patch308]

Cool pix Patch308. Looks as the the big GS isn't keen on mud. DH and I found out that it doesn't like deep sand either, especially fully laden with camping gear, and full pressure tires. Not keen on tight turns, two up in deep gravel either. But, that said the bike just goes and goes. You pick it up, throw some more insults at it and it goes some more. I have the G650GS which is a better proportion for my height and lack of strength.

This thing with knobbies would be an ENTIRELY different animal I'm sure...The Metzler Tourance tires I have on there now will be my "dual sport" tires for the forseeable future as they grip on asphault like Beemerdons to a tequila bottle! I've taken them over some pretty hairy stuff and they've held just fine. Loose sand and mud just don't seem to agree with them. I'm looking at a set of the Metzler Karoo 2 for dirt stuff...more agressive than the Continental TKC 80's and I'm sure not as long lasting on blacktop, but for dirt...they look fun!

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

Love the picture on the bridge Patch. Sunday morning on the Lost Coast coming home I crossed that bridge's bastard son. Boards loose with one end popping up as the bike loaded the other end. I wanted to stop and atke a picture, but as it is the main drag (Mattole Rd.) in that area, I knew a truck would start at the other end just as I put the sidestand down (like when I was arriving at the campground a few days earlier).

Great pics from everybody!

Exciting bikes, aren't they?

 

[fjrrider]

Add another KTM owner, 530 EXC, the thoroughbred of DS bikes!

The Aspens in Colorado.

A little bit of single track fun

Flat Tires, not if, but when!

Rocks in the Rockies, Go figure!

 

[Fred W]

Add another KTM owner, 530 EXC, the thoroughbred of DS bikes!
A little bit of single track fun

I'm not seeing the "track" there... :blink:

Man... I'd love to have one of them.

But I sure don't think I could ride it to Alaska...

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

Add another KTM owner, 530 EXC, the thoroughbred of DS bikes!
A little bit of single track fun

I'm not seeing the "track" there... :blink:

Man... I'd love to have one of them.

But I sure don't think I could ride it to Alaska...

No way I'd ride that slope up those rocks. Not with the skills I have. Props to those guys...

 

[blkredlinedrvr]

I had a KLR650 that I painted desert tan. It was a VERY fun bike but there were few places around here to ride in the dirt.

 

[fjrrider]

Add another KTM owner, 530 EXC, the thoroughbred of DS bikes!
A little bit of single track fun

I'm not seeing the "track" there... :blink:

Man... I'd love to have one of them.

But I sure don't think I could ride it to Alaska...

Its there (just a bit hard to see in the rocks)

Man I wouldnt even try to ride it to Alaska, I'd get me a road bike for that, something like a BMW GS or so!

 

[Fred W]

Add another KTM owner, 530 EXC, the thoroughbred of DS bikes!
A little bit of single track fun

I'm not seeing the "track" there... :blink:

Man... I'd love to have one of them.

But I sure don't think I could ride it to Alaska...

Its there (just a bit hard to see in the rocks)

Man I wouldnt even try to ride it to Alaska, I'd get me a road bike for that, something like a BMW GS or so!

I here you. All I need to do is win the megabucks.

I'm thinking a Man-strom would be the right tool for the job.

 

[typ0]

Someone say thumper?

YAMAHA 85 XT600 (<- Notice, family member), Works Performance shock, Supertrapp. If you got the balls and can hang on, you can go over it.

 

[patch308]

Gents, I'm planning a trip (retirement...long way out yet) from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego on a bike (prolly a R1200 GSA)...between 3 and 6 months long I figure...these photos aren't helping me hold off at all. I'm about ready to pack up and dissapear. By the time they realize I'm not making payments on the bike anymore I figure I'll be somewhere in central america...out of gas because work realized I'm not comming back. Please, please, please be gentle with the photos. If I lose my mind and take off I'm calling YOU GUYS for gas money!

 

[VTFJR13]

Someone say thumper?
YAMAHA 85 XT600 (<- Notice, family member), Works Performance shock, Supertrapp. If you got the balls and can hang on, you can go over it.

I also had a XT600 1986 model. I loved it but had to sell it when I crashed my streetbike and needed money to fix it.

Eric N

 

[Silver Penguin]

This thing with knobbies would be an ENTIRELY different animal I'm sure...The Metzler Tourance tires I have on there now will be my "dual sport" tires for the forseeable future as they grip on asphault like Beemerdons to a tequila bottle! I've taken them over some pretty hairy stuff and they've held just fine. Loose sand and mud just don't seem to agree with them. I'm looking at a set of the Metzler Karoo 2 for dirt stuff...more agressive than the Continental TKC 80's and I'm sure not as long lasting on blacktop, but for dirt...they look fun!

Andy put a set of knobbies on his bike for a while. He took it to the desert and rode a few laps of the campsite. Said it handled very well (for a heavy, touring dual-sport). It's an unfair comparison though because his desert bike is a KTM450 with good knobbies. The tires on the GS didn't last long, with the daily freeway commute.

Now, he's talking about a tire changer.......

 

[patch308]

This thing with knobbies would be an ENTIRELY different animal I'm sure...The Metzler Tourance tires I have on there now will be my "dual sport" tires for the forseeable future as they grip on asphault like Beemerdons to a tequila bottle! I've taken them over some pretty hairy stuff and they've held just fine. Loose sand and mud just don't seem to agree with them. I'm looking at a set of the Metzler Karoo 2 for dirt stuff...more agressive than the Continental TKC 80's and I'm sure not as long lasting on blacktop, but for dirt...they look fun!

Andy put a set of knobbies on his bike for a while. He took it to the desert and rode a few laps of the campsite. Said it handled very well (for a heavy, touring dual-sport). It's an unfair comparison though because his desert bike is a KTM450 with good knobbies. The tires on the GS didn't last long, with the daily freeway commute.

Now, he's talking about a tire changer.......

I won't be using 'em for asphalt much. I want to get another set of rims for my GS and run Metzler Tourances on one set, Karoo's on the other. It's so easy swapping wheels on these bikes that I think it'd be worth while for a day of riding. And believe me, I understand the difference between "handling well" and "handling well for a 1200cc pig". I love my pig to death though!

 

[FiveG]

You guys are killin' me. I've been lusting for a F650GS or a Wee for some time. Keep telling myself that the Feejer does it all, so don't need one. But . . .

 

[typ0]

You guys are killin' me. I've been lusting for a F650GS or a Wee for some time. Keep telling myself that the Feejer does it all, so don't need one. But . . .

Well if you have to have a beemer, well, to each his own.

But if you just want to ride, the old Yamaha XT's are damn good bikes. I bought my 85 XT600 in 2002, paid $700 for it, $600 for the shock, $200 for the Supertrapp. I bet I have just as much fun on it as I would a beemer. But I ride it mostly on the dirt, its only on the road long enough to get to the dirt and that's not very far. And if it gets laid down or scratched, so what. Doesn't decrease the value at all, adds character if anything.

And you can get a Wee too.

 

[FiveG]

And you can get a Wee too.

Believe it or not, that's my default. XT is a great idea, but I probably want to have something that likes road more than a dirtish bike.

 

[patch308]

You guys are killin' me. I've been lusting for a F650GS or a Wee for some time. Keep telling myself that the Feejer does it all, so don't need one. But . . .

I bought a 1200 GSA because; #1 it's my ONLY bike right now. #2 I am planning some looooong trips that WILL involve dirt/gravel/whoknow'swhat and don't want a sport tour for that. #3 it runs great both on the road and off.

I am looking for a KTM 450 right now for actual dirt riding and motocross stuff cause the big GS is NOT a single track bike by any stretch of the imagination. She IS fun in the twisties and on jeep/4-wheeler trails and SOME roughish terrain.

 

[Canadian FJR]

Gros Morne National park prior to doing the Trans Lab Highway.

Canadian FJR

 

[Mr Bill]

[SIZE=14pt][/SIZE]

Canadian,

Green and blue? My eyes, my eyes!

I thought my orange bike was an eye opener, but next to your stitch and that green monster nobody would see me

 

[beemerdons]

FiveG: I wanted to add a photo of my Kawasaki KLR 650 to Canadian FJR's picture. If you want a dual sport, for not much money, consider a KLR; you can pick them up for $2.5K easily! This photo was taken in the parking lot of a hotel in Chihuahua, Mexico on the way to Barrancas del Cobre; Mexico's Copper Canyon, my KLR made the descent no problemos!!

From Canada's Trans Labrador Highway to the Baja Peninsula in Mexico, the KLR 650 is a do it all machine. It does it slowly with only 36 ponies, but they never leave you stranded either: RELIABLE!

Gros Morne National park prior to doing the Trans Lab Highway.

Canadian FJR

Here's an "extremely bumpy" video my Mexico riding buddy Brian Boles filmed descending down into Batopilas. BB was on his GS and I followed on my KLR!