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cmbthumper

New SDAR Member from Ramona, CA

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Ignore the grammar 😀😀

Good Morning/Evening. My name is Mike. I got back into dirt bikes in October 2018 with my last ride in 1998. The reason was to squash any hectic work weeks and have some fun even for just a few hours. After a ton of research and a budget in mind, it came down to two choices for me. A Suzuki DRZ400 or a Honda XR400. I knew I wanted to street ride to the trails so both had to be plated. The XR was at the top of the list since I loved my XR600 and the bottom since it did not come with e-start.

I was in my car getting ready to see a near new Suzuki DRZ400S and decided to check CL one last time. A very nice looking/reading 00’ Honda XR400 just posted a few hours earlier. Only a few plated appeared over the two months I was looking so I called and went to look at it. When I arrived, I was shocked as I didn’t read the CL ad to well. Sure, it had a plate but it also had an E-Start and was done with the TRX crank so it still retained the kickstart. Took a test ride and was too nice to pass up so I bought it. Funny thing was that it was a package deal and came with a CA Green Sticker 01’ Suzuki DRZ400E that looked like it had been started, rode down the trail and that’s it. It wasn’t plated and not possible in CA any longer so I figured I could offload it later. That was the thought anyway.

I rode the snot out of the XR400 for a month and had a checklist of things I wanted to change/upgrade and do a yearly maintenance on it. The PO had done most of the yearly and while I was confident, I needed to do it myself for peace of mind.

While working on my XR400, my dad came back from vacation to check it out and really liked the “Package Deal” I had gotten. My dad taught me to ride and though we rode together on the street he hasn’t been on the dirt since 1989. He asked what my plan was for the Suzuki DRZ400E and I said I was going to sell it to recoup some $$. I saw the body language and the look in his eyes. I handed him the key to the Suzuki DRZ400E and said if you can get it plated it is yours for $1. While it can’t be done in CA, I knew he had a vacation home in AZ so a few weeks later an AZ plate came for the Suzuki DRZ400E. Now, my pops is my riding partner.

Fast forward a few months and the XR400 went down a rabbit hole of maintenance and upgrades. The more I read and learned about the XR400 and what I wanted in the bike, the more it got taken apart and changed. Just after Christmas while working on the Honda XR400 I got frustrated and went for a cool down drive. Later that night my 19’ KTM 500 EXC-F was delivered. The month I spent on the XR400 was an absolute perfect experience. Will my KTM 500 replace the XR400? No way, ever. My XR400 is a keeper for life and it will just take longer to finish. He! He!

A lot has changed since 98’ in riding gear so I am now at the point of buying riding gear and upgrading to what I like and the level of protection I need and can afford.

I am way out of shape and then way way way out of riding shape so still can only manage about 30mi before I am just pooped. I wish I could ride more often but work and life see to that doesn’t happen as much as I would like.

A few months ago, I met a local rider on the trail and he just like some of us can only ride a few times when time allows. I am always looking for a ride and to meet other riders. While I don’t get to ride as often as I would like, I always want to ride so hope I can join you guys sometime.

I also ride an Aprilia Dorsoduro 750 on the street so if anyone wants to street ride, I am good with that too. I am not in any way a knee dragger but do like to ride.

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Plated electric start XR400R?  Cool rig!  Welcome to the group, see ya on the trail .

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Very cool story, and good for you and your DAD!

I am an old XR guy as well.  My wife bought me a 650L for my 50th B-day in '09, and it has been ridden as much as possible.  I had the suspension reworked for me, removed the smog and muffler and did a few small mods to clean it up.  Like you, I will never sell it (makes a great 2-up bike for my wife and I still enjoy riding it).  Got my 500EXC in October and love that it is 100 pounds lighter than the XR.  I am not worthy of this bike but will grow into it!  Look into the mods for yours to really wake it up (remove smog, remove reed valve, modify existing exhaust, tuner).

Congrats again to you and your Dad; welcome to the page!!

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Cool story. Welcome back to riding. There are quite a few Ramona peeps on this board. You've just got to take the time and effort to try and join a posted ride or post a ride of your own and see if others jump on board. Get yourself back in shape so you can do some desert rides that will be coming back in a few months.

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41 minutes ago, Oracle said:

Cool story. Welcome back to riding. There are quite a few Ramona peeps on this board. You've just got to take the time and effort to try and join a posted ride or post a ride of your own and see if others jump on board. Get yourself back in shape so you can do some desert rides that will be coming back in a few months.

Welcome neighbor

LB, we might have to take him up for a 2fer Tuesday next week? :big_boss:  

It's supposed to be cooler next week.........I need to get out on the 500 or 350 one night next week anyway.......both bikes are sitting under a pile of dust.......need a shakeout ride to get ready for the Big Bear Run on the 22nd

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Wow Crazy. Didn't think the welcomes would come so quick. Appreciate the comments and hope to meet all of you. 

I have a lot to learn for sure and knew the 500 was 10000x more than I needed but hey why not. So far just creature comforts on upgrades. Tires are the next and then the big upgrade as suggested in the ECU and De-smog. Fun stuff for sure and makes you feel like a kid again just with $$ bills instead of change in your pocket.

When I started back in I joined Thumpertalk and ADVRider so on those forums under the same name. My build thread of the XR4 and KTM are there so I'll link those from time to time.

My XR400

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My KTM

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image.jpeg

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The Crawdaddy and Oracle show...:heh:

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7 minutes ago, Crawdaddy said:

Welcome neighbor

LB, we might have to take him up for a 2fer Tuesday next week? :big_boss:  

It's supposed to be cooler next week.........I need to get out on the 500 or 350 one night next week anyway.......both bikes are sitting under a pile of dust.......need a shakeout ride to get ready for the Big Bear Run on the 22nd

Well thanks. During the week stinks for me with work schedule but I'll try anytime the invite comes.

I had this whole week off to do a Big Bear run but the Boss squashed it and said only Thursday and Friday.

Defintly dust off the bikes. Now that I know I am not the only one here, the invites will hopefully come regularly. A quick blast up to the Pines or on Lusardi is good enough for me. 

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6 minutes ago, Oracle said:

The Crawdaddy and Oracle show...:heh:

As long as you don't mind waiting for slower riders, I'll be in the audience for sure.

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1 minute ago, cmbthumper said:

Well thanks. During the week stinks for me with work schedule but I'll try anytime the invite comes.

I had this whole week off to do a Big Bear run but the Boss squashed it and said only Thursday and Friday.

Defintly dust off the bikes. Now that I know I am not the only one here, the invites will hopefully come regularly. A quick blast up to the Pines or on Lusardi is good enough for me. 

The twoferTuesday that Cdaddy referred to is our occasional Tuesday after work ride. We ride up SYTT to Black Mountain TT and have a couple beers on Tuesday evenings... Two trails, two beers = twoferTuesdays.

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1 minute ago, cmbthumper said:

As long as you don't mind waiting for slower riders, I'll be in the audience for sure.

As long as you don't forget there might be vehicles on the trails we ride so you don't crash into them...:heh:

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3 minutes ago, Oracle said:

The twoferTuesday that Cdaddy referred to is our occasional Tuesday after work ride. We ride up SYTT to Black Mountain TT and have a couple beers on Tuesday evenings... Two trails, two beers = twoferTuesdays.

Gotcha. I assume SYTT is Santa Ysable and the slippery Black Canyon back to Ramona?

Will be in on that ride for sure.

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10 minutes ago, Oracle said:

As long as you don't forget there might be vehicles on the trails we ride so you don't crash into them...:heh:

Ha Ha funny stuff. Noted.

That was 100% my fault as I was just in the groove and wasn't thinking. 

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Welcome cmbthumper. I have only been a member here for 6 months or so, maybe a tad longer. Anyways, so far everyone I have met or interacted with on the forum has been top notch! You are in good company.

Great story, by the way. Get your pops signed up to the forum and keep an eye out for rides. They happen all the time and randomly. There is something for everyone and a wealth of knowledge on here. Hope to see you on the trails and the street!

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Welcome to the club

 

Your already getting the "The Crawdaddy and Oracle show" invite.

Next thing the Governor will be giving you a call 

 

Lots of good folks here and the tacos taste pretty good down south, the ktm lighting looks more then Baja ready 

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Welcome, just did my first ride with a classy cast of characters last week. All good stuff here!  

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13 minutes ago, Huntndogs said:

Welcome, just did my first ride with a classy cast of characters last week. All good stuff here!  

Huh.

You did two rides last week?

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5 hours ago, cmbthumper said:

Ha Ha funny stuff. Noted.

That was 100% my fault as I was just in the groove and wasn't thinking. 

That and the stock tires SUCK!  Get a real set of tires and enjoy the change!

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3 hours ago, paulmbowers said:

Huh.

You did two rides last week?

Well, at least Amgems is classy or is he considered a classic?

 

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Thanks for big welcome again.

Those four lights are on the XR400. Had the great idea to ride at night before daylight savings changed. Shows how long I have had it apart. Maybe by next DLS change I'll be ready.

while the stock tires are good for what they are Fatty's or Maxxis are going on when Poway Powersports does my 20hr service. Yeah I just said 20hrs and I'm about 7hrs shy of that. Flipping work and dumb decisions have limited my ride time. Now it sounds like I have no choice but to join a ride or just stay home. 

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