new to dirt

Just added a 08 WR250R to my motorcycle collection. Now up to 4 bikes, (01 RC51, 08 CBR1000rr, 02 GL1800, and now 08 WR250R) and need to get rid of a sport bike. Anyone need/want a low mileage 08 CBR1000rr?

Anyway, I have been riding for a long time but very little off road. I am looking forward to learning and riding single track for fun and adventure. I am located in Northern New Mexico; riding location suggestions will be welcomed.

Yeasty wrote:

..... riding location suggestions will be welcomed.

Alpine Loop - San Juan Mountains, CO

you will enjoy off road more than on   

lanerider wrote:

you will enjoy off road more than on   

There's still something to be said for carving a nice fast curve on a 100+ hp sportbike, although both on and off road riding are enjoyable!  

Thanks for the tip gatorfan. I will check out the Alpine Loop this summer.

As far as off road vs hard surface, I do not see myself ever giving up the occasional track day and the no-intersection twisty mountain roads. My best riding buddy recently gave up racing for trail riding and sold off his street bike. He is the main reason I finally got a dirt capable bike. The few times I have been off road, in over 55 years of riding, I have had a blast and I love the workout that goes along with it. Anyway, a couple of us are going to southern AZ in mid-Jan to ride the Boulders area north of Phoenix. It will be my first ride on the WR other than my driveway. I will ride the bike stock ('08 1246 miles - like new) except for already installed skid plate, luggage rack and yama link (not sure I want to keep this). I have some hand guards I will install before going. I am in the process of going through it to make sure adjustments and maintenance are up to date. I suspect the black money hole will open soon. I already feel the need for power ...

have fun and take some pics

Yeasty,

You obviously have lots of riding experience but there are a couple instructional videos and a book that I recommend you view/consider as they will help you immensely. Go to this site http://www.dualsportriding.com/ and order up the dualsport and advanced dualsport dvd's. They are excellent training aids and are very well done. Secondly, a great book to read and adopt into practise is "How to Ride Off-Road Motorcycles" by Gary LaPlante. The first forty pages are for beginners, but after that, there is lots of great information presented in a readily understandable format. Gary has done a great job of putting on paper the lessons he has been teaching for many years at his schools. Read it slowly, think about what is being discussed, and read it again, and again - this is not a book to breeze through if you want to get maximum benefit out of it. Great tips in there for beginners and pros alike. Enjoy !! Get yourself some protective gear and remember that one of the best things you can invest in for self-improvement is........gas for your bike.

BTW - I had two Goldwing 1800's and they just started collecting dust in the garage once I got back into dirt riding. Just saying :)

saddletramp wrote:

Yeasty,

You obviously have lots of riding experience but there are a couple instructional videos and a book that I recommend you view/consider as they will help you immensely.  Go to this site http://www.dualsportriding.com/ and order up the dualsport and advanced dualsport dvd's.  They are excellent training aids and are very well done.  Secondly, a great book to read and adopt into practise is "How to Ride Off-Road Motorcycles" by Gary LaPlante.  The first forty pages are for beginners, but after that, there is lots of great information presented in a readily understandable format.  Gary has done a great job of putting on paper the lessons he has been teaching for many years at his schools.  Read it slowly, think about what is being discussed, and read it again, and again - this is not a book to breeze through if you want to get maximum benefit out of it.  Great tips in there for beginners and pros alike.  Enjoy !!  Get yourself some protective gear and remember that one of the best things you can invest in for self-improvement is........gas for your bike.

BTW - I had two Goldwing 1800's and they just started collecting dust in the garage once I got back into dirt riding.  Just saying :)

Here are the Cliff Notes: When in trouble, butt off the seat. Steep hills, butt off the seat and lean forward.

Saddletramp, thanks for the tips. The local Motorcycle Safety Foundation used to occasionally offer off road riding courses, but as far as I know, no longer. I took their Experienced Rider Course with my daughter a long time ago and found it useful. Keith Code's A Twist of the Wrist was most helpful when I progressed from riding on intuition to actually trying to control a motorcycle. The most important learning was gained by going to trackdays and race schools. I suspect your recommendations will have similar results.

Well, maybe not. I rode for 40 years with hardly a tipover, and thought I was pretty fast. Once I realized how to control a motorcycle I started pushing the envelope and discovered gravity and mortality. Thankfully almost all crashes have been on tracks.

For a short time some years ago I had an old KTM 350 2-stroke I paid $600 for. At that time I bought some O'Neil protective gear that has been collecting dust. Just today my off road boots arrived (Fox Comp5) and I am wearing them as I type. One of the few times I got off road i went riding with some friends who are advanced off road riders. One of the guys does Pikes Peak every year, and has finished as high as 2nd in his pro class. He hates it that the course is paved all the way now. Anyway another friend and I were getting ready to leave to meet them. I had my beater KTM and I borrowed my boss's 125 2-stroke for him. He noticed a hose clamp that looked loose, so he tightened it up only to have the water pump housing crumble. We shared the 125. I gave the KTM away. Riding I did ok, mostly keeping up once I was told to move back on the seat and keep the front light with the throttle when going through sand. That was 8 years ago. I am sure there are many more lessons to learn and am getting excited over our trip to AZ in a couple of weeks. Sure hope my buddies will provide adult supervision.

The Goldwing does not get a lot of use, even though I enjoy riding it like a sportbike. You can trail brake hard and do not have to worry about breaking the rear loose when you get back on the throttle. The other bikes take a bit more concentration. I keep the GW for the rare occasions I get my wife out for a road trip. When touring alone or with friends I almost always take a sportbike.

Thanks for the welcome to your world.

Yeasty wrote:

 I suspect the black money hole will open soon. I already feel the need for power ...

I've only had my '12 WR for a few weeks, and can already tell you that you -will- start to tinker with it.  I got mine with 348 miles on it.  It's completely stock.   I've been on one off road ride with my usual riding group (I've been riding a YZ250) and find the WR quite a bit underpowered in stock trim

We seem to have similar backgrounds.  I also have several decades of street riding under my belt, the last 10 years or so almost exclusively on Ducatis.  Horsepower is addictive, ain't it?  The good news is that the aftermarket black hole for these little bikes doesn't seem to be that deep.  For considerably less than a grand, one can get a pipe and programmer.  Further mods to let the little engine breathe can be done for free or at minimal cost.  While doing my research, I've been very pleasantly surprised to find that I can just about fully mod this bike for about what a pair of rearsets would cost on one of the Ducs.  The chassis and suspension both seem to be acceptable, so once the engine is perked up, happy days and happy trails should follow!

Have fun!

Got the bike back together today after adjustments and oil/filter change, and install of hand guards. I needed beer and I needed to ride the bike, so I rode over to a neighbor's, who is thinking about getting an off road bike, to show him the new toy. He had been racing autos for many years and has no desire to street ride, but is interested in off road. We may get a new member of the fraternity soon. After leaving his place I headed over to the 2nd St. Brewery. Dang this thing is tall. It is lowered almost 2" and I can barely get my leg up over the seat, especially with the ice chest on the luggage rack. The rear brake does work - after you find the tiny pedal with the big clumsy boots. Shifting with the big clumsy boots is not too predicable and with the toothed pegs and big clumsy boots it is hard to get your big clumsy boot under the shift lever. It got better as I got more used to it. [Note to self: rotate shift lever up a bit.] My luggage rack has a 3 growler carrying capacity. Going through the tight twisty couple of turns of Arroyo Hondo Road near the house without even thinking about it on 5 year old OEM knobby/road tires, I carried as much, if not more, speed than any other vehicle I have piloted - wow. I get the whole supermoto thing now! On my driveway I like to break the rear loose a bit just for grins. With this bike, even before I get off the gas the dang thing rights itself and heads forward. I am stoked.

You gotta wipe that grin off your face. People are going to get suspicious! :)