Who needs a KLR when you have a Ninja 250?

With all due respect to the KLR and other dual sports, who needs 'em? A Regular on the Ninja250 Riders Club , Skippii, went for a ride on his Ninja and stopped to take a few pictures, as seen below. Read the ride report >here.

Cool ongoing trip report I found...

This guy is taking a Vstrom from Oklahoma to Alaska. Very neat read and some awesome pictures. Take a look here.

Sorry if you have seen this before.....

What's your reason for riding?

What a simple question. What a hard question to answer.

There are, of course, a million answers, none of them wrong, either.

For some, the answer is pure speed. That's why they ride. For others, the answer is necessity and with $4 per gallon of gas, that answer is going to be relevant to more and more of us. The answer can also be freedom, which is in itself a million different answers. Freedom from what?

I've been thinking of the reason I like to ride so much and there are many reasons but the main one I think is part of all the other reasons is exploration. I want to see new places.

Yet, the more I look around, the more I realize how I don't have to go hundreds of miles away to see new things. There are things in Tallahassee I haven't seen. For example, there is a home that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, right here in town. Aren't too many of those in the country, are there?

There are probably five or six cool experiences in every nearby county, waiting to be seen, one weekend at a time. It is probably the same for everyone, but most of us put the blinders on and look further out for the cool experiences, don't we?

I think I'm going to pull out my Rand map book and really investigate the three or four surrounding counties. See what pops up.

Then, once I get two wheels (soon!), I'm going to go see them. Take lots of pictures. Blog about it.

Sounds good to me.

More thoughts on motorcycles....

Well, I've sort of rekindled my interest in the Kawasaki KLR 650. You have to like a bike that even its most rabid supporters will say 'It doesn't do anything great, it just does everything ok.'

If you think about it, that's actually a pretty cool thing to say about a motorcycle, in my opinion. Want to ride 300 miles on the interstate? You can...at reasonable speeds. Want to go off road? You can...but a bit slower than smaller dirt bikes. Want to do both? You certainly can...

I also know it's really not a good idea to lump all KLR owners into a group, but after doing some research and meeting a large group of them January, CAMPING!!, I can say it's a group I'd like to be a part of.

I've been reading up on the KLR at a lot of sites. One of them, Adventure Rider, is an amazing site for people going way out of the way, doing all sorts of awesome things on a motorcycle, then taking lots of stunning photos and posting them online. Take a look, I bet $5 you won't get past the opening page without spending five minutes or more looking at the slideshow. I know you won't.

Anyway, I ran across a thread entitled You know you're a KLR Owner when... That has to be one of the funniest things I've ever read on the 'net.

I love the one about 'If you have any accessories made out of wood...'

I guess I could be a KLR guy, huh?

Tallahasseescooters 2.0

Well, as you may be able to tell, especially if you read KymcoJones (who owes me my tag!), I sold my Kymco. The plan was to sell it and get a motorcycle, but of course, that plan didn't work. I am still bikeless, due to other issues. Namely, the Owner/Realtor/Developer still not having completed the renovation to the building my wife and I are using to hold our new business, a Childcare Facility. However, there is very little left for the guy to screw up and lie about, so maybe, hopefully, miraculously, we may have a COC next week. Of course, work was supposed to complete November 1 of 2007 so neither my wife or I am holding our breath. Seriously, November 1. This is approximately the 9th missed deadline.

The Owners even chuckled at the fact they had four months to get the work done. They swore it wouldn't take longer than two months to finish. We signed the lease at the end of June, 2007.

Yeah.

As you may be able to tell, I am not happy about this ordeal, it has seriously caused a lot of stress and pain for me and my family. It's hard to plan finances for a certain date, only to have that date stretch by over 8 months. It's been tough.

Add in that I haven't been able to go for a ride in a long time, and if you ride, you know how quickly the ride becomes the perfect reliever of stress and you can understand how badly I want a motorcycle.

But, I have had time (oh, have I had time) to really research bikes, decide on a bike, change my mind, decide on another bike, read ADVRider.com, decide I need an adventure bike and change my mind again.

However, I honestly feel like I can see a light at the end of the tunnel and I decided to get serious about picking a bike that I will find and purchase (unless I find a really, really good deal on another bike that is on my list).

So, how does a bike get on my list? Well, good question. I only have a few criteria:

1. Must be able to cruise at 80 mph. The bike must also be able to hit 90 without adversely affecting the motorcycle. If I ever decide to hit I-10 for a few days of riding, I want to be able to. Not sure I will, but I want to be able to do it.

2. Light weight. I don't want a 700 pound bike.

3. Must be reliable and newbie friendly for repairs/maintenance.

4. Must be cheap. Real cheap. Like one to three thousand. In good shape. I've been looking and that's doable.

5. Must be a cool bike. I'm a fan of the underdog or the things that only a true fan could love. You know what I mean? For example, I had a dog that was part lab, part dachshund. There you go. He was cool.

6. Would be cool to have an online following. Cause I like to belong :)

So far, there are five motorcycles that fit the bill:





1. The Buell Blast.

Ok, where to start? I first saw a Buell Blast last year, when Tim and I went to bike night at Famous Dave's here in Tallahassee. We were walking around the parking lot looking at the bikes and this was the coolest looking bike there. Well, it was, until the ratty BMW dual sports pulled up. Nothing cooler than those, if they're muddy, in my opinion. Anyway, I had no idea what the Blast was but it was definitely cool looking in my opinion.

So, when I got home, I googled it and found out it is the sport bike Harley Davidson. Sort of. More or less. The Blast is not a sport bike, but the bigger Buells are, in every sense of the word. The Blast is a very small bike, with an air cooled 500cc single cylinder motor.

It is not particularly fast, in motorcycle terms, but will outrun most any car off the line and will cruise at 80mph, so performance wise, it is fine. They are also reliable, after you weed through the knee jerk comments. There is a dedicated group of people that absolutely love these bikes and their site is at the
Buell Blast Motorcycle Forum

So, the Blast fits my criteria. The only concerns I have are that it is a very small bike. I look ok on it, and felt great sitting on it. The handlebars are up high and sitting there, hearing the single cyclinder rumble... ok, it was a slight rumble, but still.... It just felt cool to me and that's all that counts. The other concern is that they cost more new than a Ninja 250 and used, you can find a Ninja 250 (and even Ninja 500's) for what some people ask for their Blast. Yes, I know about haggling and all, but still, it is a concern.

Next bike:





2. Pre-2008 Ninja 250.

To be honest, this is my choice as of right now. It does everything I need and want in a bike. Sure, it's a 250cc engine, but so what? The bike has completed several Iron Butt Rallies, goes 100 mph GPS verified, is extremely reliable and easy to work on and has a rabid following, as seen at the Ninja 250 Riders site.

They are also dirt cheap, because too often, people buy them and consider them a 'starter' bike. I do not buy the whole 'I outgrew the bike's power so I HAD to upgrade' BS you see. The Ninja will outrun most every car out there, will break every speed limit in America, so why do you need to 'outgrow' it's speed ability? Noone can explain that to me.

Sure, I understand that you might WANT more power but my guess is the majority of the people buying and then selling a Ninja 250 that use that excuse are doing so because of peer pressure or some goofy ideal of what a real Motorcycle is. I do understand that the Ninja may not work well for 2 up riding or heavy touring but I don't see many people riding their Hayabusa or R6 or whatever at 100 mph in Tallahassee or on the Interstate.

Sorry, let me get off the soap box.

I've always liked the way the Ninja looks, ever since they were released back in 1986. The fact that they remained basically the same for 20 years also really appeals to me. Their underdog status also really appeals to me. Add in they are cheap and I'm a big fan of them.

The main concern I have on the Ninja 250 is the comfort of the bike. It is pretty small and I'm not sure how comfortable I'll be riding it for longer than an hour. Sitting on them, I'm pretty comfortable but I'm not sure if the slight lean to the handlebars would become a pain.

The other concern I have is that with a bit of research, it is possible to find the next bike on my list for only a bit more money...




3. Ninja 500

Well, take what I wrote for the 250 above, and add another 250cc to it. This would certainly cure any worry about power and it is a bit bigger than its 250 sibling. There is a decent fan site for the bike at EX-500.com

There are a few concerns though. First, and I realize it is purely an aesthetic problem but I really do not like the horrendous front fairng. I'm sure I can live with it, but it is UGLY. But, I do not see this keeping me from a Ninja 500.

The only other concern is that I am wondering: Do I need a 500cc bike?

Other than that, I like the Ninja 500. In Kawasaki Green or in Yellow, please.

Next bike:




4. Suzuki GS500F.

Neat bike. Performance and comfort is fine. It is roomier than the Ninja 250, that's for sure. It is more expensive used, though. There is a decent fan site at GS Twin.

It's a bit plain, I guess but there's nothing wrong with that. Flying under the radar is fine with me.

This bike has everything I'd need, plenty of power, plenty of room, fun and reliable.

The only concern is price. I think I could find a Ninja 500 for less. I know this write up is small, compared to the others but I do like the bike.

Last but not least:




What a cool bike. It really fits the bill for everything I want in the motorcycle I buy. It, like the Ninja, until this years update, was basically unchanged for 20 years. It's a big single cylinder bike and a lot taller than the other bikes I have on my short list. I sat on a KLR at a local dealer and looking at it, the bike is huge! But, when I sat on it, honestly I felt better on it than the other bikes listed.

The bike would do everything I want it to do on my list and it has an extremely large online fan base, as seen at KLR650.net. Plus, it gives me the ability to ride off road, well, off paved roads. I don't think I'd be doing much serious off roading.

There are some concerns on the KLR, though. One is price. I'm not sure I could get a good model for under $3000. It's possible, but not as easy as the other bikes on my list.

The other concern is financial. For less money, the other bikes would do everything as well as the KLR, maybe even better, except riding on dirt roads. So if I found a KLR for the right price, chances are I could find one of the other motorcycles for less.

Anyway, those are the five motorcycles I think I'd be very happy on. If you've made it this far, feel free to let me know your opinion. They would be welsome!

Ok, time for a new (re)Direction.

Hello, long time, no see. Yes, this poor blog has been neglected, but there are good reasons for that. However, I had a thought today that one of the reasons for so few posts could actually turn into quite the entertaining blog, so with a bit more thought, here I am, once again updating the blog.

What's in store? Well, give me an hour or two and I'll make a nice long detailed post that spells out what I have done, what I'm doing and what I plan on doing.

Stick around, this might get good :)