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moto_rph

Bike Swap Sunday....11/20 - RIDE REPORT

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"Ya'll should've seen @J5ive out on the trail.  He got on my KTM 500, took off and left me like I was yesterday.  I saw him jump a whoop and got at least 2 credit cards of daylight off the rear tire!!!"

 

OK, I told John I'd make him sound good, so now that's out of the way, I'll start the RIDE REPORT...

BEAUTIOUS Sunday morning, driving to Ramona.  A little nip in the air, but I don't care....I'm in my truck :) 

We decided to meet up at Dunkin in Ramona, so about 8:30, @J5ive and @ECDave showed up.  Then, here comes @DSM8 on his 1290 to wish us good luck.  Dave didn't want to ride with street tires but must have needed a morning ride....good for him.  Soon after, @Goofy Footer comes strolling in to shoot the bull.  So, while Dave is there to wish us well, Tim starts talking about all the mangled bodies he's had to airlift out of sand washes etc. as a firefighter. 

Hmmm, John and I started thinking an extra donut and a ride home was sound pretty good.  Thanks Tim 🤣

Anyway, after our goodbyes, off we went.  I headed through Ramona on Main Street and turned left on 7th......paved to less paved to dirt (Pamo Rd).  Just before the dirt, John and I swapped bikes, which was the intent of this whole endeavor.  He wants to try some smaller dirt bikes.  So, I jumped on his Yamaha Tenere 700, and he got on my 500....a mile or so up the dirt where you turn right to go up to Black Mountain, there appeared to be some trepidation.  So cooler (read: older) heads prevailed and I took the group back to Orosco Ridge.  Nice riding, but not too intimidating.

Seriously, we had a great time!

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As you can see, there was minimal blood and ZERO bandages visible.  So, time for another bike swap.  @ECDave has been in the rear the whole time.  I told him to take the KTM and John would try his Kawasuki DRZ 400....honestly, today I just learned about the Kawasaki/Suzuki badge engineering.  Cool!

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So, Dave jumps up front on the KTM....BAM!  He's gone.  I tried to keep up on the Tenere, but couldn't quite do it.  John was pulling up the rear on the 400.  Good riding, lots of ruts but generally everything was quite manageable.  Good for bike swapping....NO ONE wants to dump someone else's bike!

The day ended at what used to be Packard's for a crepe and a Coke, along with a debrief of the ride.

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What we learned:

@ECDave found out he kinda likes the KTM 500....it's really skinny in the middle and it responds....but with the 400 and a Husky 701, why?  (Great point)

@J5ive found out after 50 feet on the Kawasuki, he liked it better than the 500.  It wasn't as aggressive.  Makes total sense and that's a good decision on his part.  He wants to enjoy learning how to "off road".  I totally get it.

Me @moto_rph, I found out what a nice bike a Tenere 700 is.  Wide bars, not too heavy, good torque for plunkin along.  Also found out it's just fun to go riding with buds. 

Wait a minute.  I knew that already!

 

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Sweet!  Sounds like mission accomplished. Wish I could’ve added the 1250 to the stable today, even though that’s probably outside of the objective. 

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2 minutes ago, Zubb said:

Sweet!  Sounds like mission accomplished. Wish I could’ve added the 1250 to the stable today, even though that’s probably outside of the objective. 

Objective makes no difference….you know that.  
Missed having you there today 👌

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@J5ive

a drz400 is the exact same thing

dime a dozen get anything built after 2004 most like an S model in Ca so it can be street registered 

Great for a bike that can do freeway speeds (65) and not blow up but have enough grunt to get up most anything.
I put 12K miles on mine before I finally sold it.

Many advantages and if it fits your frame a very good choice.

Example of one that is basically set up for trail riding, little pricy for the mileage.

https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/2009-drz-400-suzuki.1601305/

Edited by DSM8
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@moto_rph Thanks for putting this on.  I totally enjoyed it.   The trail you picked was perfect, I didn't have to fight the trail, just ride the bikes and get a feel for them.

I can't tell you and Dave, @ECDave how much I appreciate you two letting me try out your bikes.  It gave me a different prospective on tires/weight/suspension.  Another bonus for me - was the debriefing with you and Dave about what I liked and how the two bikes felt different from each other.  That is going to be helpful in my search for a bike.

So, I guess I should be mad at you two, because now I'm going to have to spend a ton of money on suspension - already talked with them and got a price.  I have tires, just need to get them put on.

Perry...What do you mean 2 credit cards - it was clearly 5 or 6!  Man, I get NO Respect!!!

 

 

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Sounds like a hoot. Glad to hear it, I do love that ride and I chose the crepes at packards over anything else in Ramona for breakfast / lunch 🤙🏻🫡

I’m in a sleeper car on the Amtrak to Vancouver with my wife, just riding through Gilroy now. Have a great thanksgiving 🤠

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8 hours ago, J5ive said:

@moto_rph Thanks for putting this on.  I totally enjoyed it.   The trail you picked was perfect, I didn't have to fight the trail, just ride the bikes and get a feel for them.

I can't tell you and Dave, @ECDave how much I appreciate you two letting me try out your bikes.  It gave me a different prospective on tires/weight/suspension.  Another bonus for me - was the debriefing with you and Dave about what I liked and how the two bikes felt different from each other.  That is going to be helpful in my search for a bike.

So, I guess I should be mad at you two, because now I'm going to have to spend a ton of money on suspension - already talked with them and got a price.  I have tires, just need to get them put on.

Perry...What do you mean 2 credit cards - it was clearly 5 or 6!  Man, I get NO Respect!!!

 

 

I hope you talked with George at Suspension101 

@Suspenders is his username here

if not do so before you make any decisions 

to describe his work in a word

transformational 

Edited by DSM8

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11 hours ago, shutterrev said:

Sounds like a hoot. Glad to hear it, I do love that ride and I chose the crepes at packards over anything else in Ramona for breakfast / lunch 🤙🏻🫡

I’m in a sleeper car on the Amtrak to Vancouver with my wife, just riding through Gilroy now. Have a great thanksgiving 🤠

"I love the smell of garlic in the morning..."

Happy Thanksgiving Nick :)

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On 11/20/2022 at 2:41 PM, moto_rph said:

"Ya'll should've seen @J5ive out on the trail.  He got on my KTM 500, took off and left me like I was yesterday.  I saw him jump a whoop and got at least 2 credit cards of daylight off the rear tire!!!"

 

 

any air time is still air time!

 

Looks like you guys had a blast.  Wish I could have gone.  I did escape for a short ride for about 1.5 hours myself, it's all I could get away with.  

 

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20 hours ago, DSM8 said:

I hope you talked with George at Suspension101 

@Suspenders is his username here

if not do so before you make any decisions 

to describe his work in a word

transformational 

@DSM8 - already have it covered.  Already been in touch with him.

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@Goofy Footer not a fair comparison...didn't try them under the same conditions.

The DRZ was a blast to ride, felt very comfortable - it may sound funny, but I could feel it between my legs when standing.  But, the KTM was way skinner, I didn't feel it.  For the good riders it may not matter - because they just flick the bike towards where they want it to go.  But, I want to grip the bike.   I can say, the KTM was lighter and had a better rear brake feel.

The XR650L that I rode was a 1996 and it felt comfortable but it was street riding. So it's not fair to compare them based on that.

However, I did ride with @350thumper once and his XR650L was impressive with the ease the bike moved around in the sand and in fact on the whole ride.  But that was me watching him ahead of me.

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On 11/22/2022 at 8:47 PM, Goofy Footer said:

@J5ive what were your impressions of the DRZ vs XR650L ?

 

 

I would get the drz if I were you🧒.

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The drz is easier to pick up during lvl 4 rides. 

Edited by 350thumper

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