DP Bikes
Norman Hamer
I've been looking at adding to my bike stable slightly- I have a GL1100 and
a Katana 600... time for a dirt bike of some sort.
I'm severely disinclined to buy a new one, considering how often it seems
I'll be crashing... how many dirt miles is "a lotta miles"?
Also, since I don't have a 3-rail, and wouldn't have a place to store one
if I did... what are good DP bikes in the early 80's range? Looking for
something I can get down to the dirt on, don't particularly care if it's a
great on-road bike, just want something street legal.
Reccomendations?
Rube
Well a shop Williamson Honda, right near me in State College PA may be able to
help you out.
They have a GL 1000 that they have converted into a dual purpose bike ( yes the
y did 8-)
It has got a new front suspension with new shocks inthe back, motorcross style
bars, a off road seat and everything else non-essential removed, includingthe t
urnsignals.
It has a sticker onthe side that says 'XL1000'.
I don't know how it handles in the dirt ( and I probably do not want to know).
But it sure is attention getting.
Oh it also has a dealer plate on it.
For your information.
-Aaron
-amr...@psu.edu
eric hobson
>
>
>... time for a dirt bike of some sort.
>
> I'm severely disinclined to buy a new one, considering how often it seems
>I'll be crashing... how many dirt miles is "a lotta miles"?
>
> Also, since I don't have a 3-rail, and wouldn't have a place to store one
>if I did... what are good DP bikes in the early 80's range? Looking for
>something I can get down to the dirt on, don't particularly care if it's a
>great on-road bike, just want something street legal.
>
> Reccomendations?
Consider this. If you anticipate crashing, as most riders occasionally do if they ride at all aggressively, you definately want to trailer a bike to the riding area. It's bad enough to have to walk back to (hitch a ride back to) the staging area, it's unthinkable to be stranded without any way home. With a trailer you can carry more tools, spare parts, and gas and not worry too much about being stranded. I bought one of these 4' X 8' do it yourself foldup thingys and it works great. It folds up to about 6' high by 5' wide by 18" deep behind my apartment.
Having both a '91 DR 650S and '84 RM 250E, I recommend that you get a strictly dirt bike and a trailer. You can find (at least in Southern California) hundreds of older RM's, KX's, RMX's, whatever for less than $1000 and they're a lot more fun in the dirt than a dual purpose. (Ok, ok I know the DR 650 isn't really meant to be an aggressive dirt machine, still though...) Overall I'd bet that you'd spend less on a strictly dirt bike and trailer than on a dual purpose. Of course if you don't have a tow vehicle this doesn't help. If you don't want to buy a trailer, U-Haul can rent you one for about $10/day. They usually rent pickups too.
You might make note of the thread running about off-road riding gear too.
Glad to have another joining the ranks!
Eric Hobson --Standard disclaimer
San Pedro, CA