The red is not ideal of course, but I got a deal on this one barely used. It will be a work in progress to set it up for the purpose. My brother also picked up a used red one of the first generation variety. Here they are side-by-side from yesterday's spin in Desoto National Forest:
These bikes are infinitely practical, as while they are not the best at anything, they do many things well, from cruising down the highway at Interstate speeds to negotiating some pretty rough stuff off-road. The six gallon gas tank gives a range of roughly 300 miles, depending on how you ride. Load-carrying capacity is also good, with a huge variety of aftermarket racks and pannier systems available.
We will be both be going to a more utilitarian finish that suits these bikes better. Here are a couple of options I like, flat black and desert tan:
I love this bike. I don't have one yet but I test drove one, two of my friends have them and they have nothing bad to say about them Good luck and keep us posted on the changes/improvements you will be making to it.
ReplyDeleteAlex,
ReplyDeleteSo far I like it better than any bike I've ever had. They're infinitely customizable, so I will be setting it up for the kind of adventure touring I bought it for. Will be posting more here for sure.
I wish I had the money to get one, biggest complaint I've read and heard about them is the suspension and tires as a BOV.
ReplyDeleteRecently panned on a 5 min bugout test on my little motorcycle, but the severe thunderstorms that rolled through the area squashed that idea. Also, NOT having a quality 2 person tent messed up my plans. Tents I have now will NOT be practical in a Bug Out situation - bugs in my AO may carry you off at night or suck you dry.
On the Tent.. Get a Quality 4 season Tent.. bring extra poles and a roll of duct tape. In a real storm most tents out there simply collapse with you inside. Most unpleasant. (I have spent 3 days in my tent during a whiteout pitched on the side of a mountain.. between a tree top and the mountain (which was a suprise we discovered when we could see again..our tents were costly mountaneering jobs.. but we would have been dead had they collapsed or blown down.. So don't skimp on your tent.
ReplyDeleteBTW I found some tires for my Kawaski Enduro which are primarily made for off road by Chen Shin.. the tread pattern works perfectly on the street.. (for a primary Off Road tire as it rides on a spine of rubber but has the lugs and big gaps to work off road.. Several thousand miles on them so far and they are not wearing badly at all.
Always use the heavy duty inner tubes and some green goo (it is not reccommended for high speed use.. most of my time is not freighting down the freeway so it was my call..