duhg

A long hot boring ride all day on the interstate, or trailer? Trailering gave us a car for going to dinner and drinks.

After riding them on the Triumph, I've decided that the 705 is the next tire that is going on my DR650.

I got curious about a miles/dollar comparison of tires I've tried recently. I don't think this matters much, because I won't ride on tires I don't like regardless of their ranking in this comparison, but I had to see the data for myself. I keep a maintenance spreadsheet for each bike and took my data from that and from online tire prices. Of course your mileage and pricing will vary. My favorite tires over the past decade have been Michelin Pilot Roads. On the FJ the Road 5 GT tires scored 45 miles/dollar front and 23 rear. Dunlop Roadsmart 3 got scores of 67 front and 38 rear. That's a big difference, but I did not like how the Dunlops felt. My last 2 Michelin rear tires were outliers in my experience - one went lopsided and one was worn out at 3500 miles, so I have a new set of Conti Road Attack 3 GT on now. Looking at the maintenance log for the Tiger Explorer I just bought, I see that the Shinko 705 on the front has lasted over 15k miles and rates a 129 miles/dollar score! The rear gets a 69. I've ridden them for 500 miles and they're not as bad as I imagined, but I'm switching to Anakee Adventures soon.

A 2017 Triumph Tiger Explorer 1200 XCA will replace my BMW R1200GS beside the FJ in the garage.

True. Is there a "posers only" bike night nearby? 😉

I attended the MSTA Canaan Valley Just for Fun event last weekend and had a great time. I stayed at the resort lodge and followed routes provided by the organizers. I rode there from Columbus, OH with two friends and returned alone. I didn't alienate the others, to my knowledge😉, we just had different plans for Sunday. In all I rode 1211 miles in 4 days. The riding alternated between smooth state routes and narrow country lanes, went down scenic valleys and over switchbacked mountains. We didn't go far from the resort, rather we concentrated on the lesser known roads in the area. I had wanted to travel up to Berkeley Springs on Saturday, but the forecast was for 92 degrees F, so I stayed in the higher elevations. It was cool on top of Spruce Knob. We had lunch in the Curly Maple general store in Monterey, VA on Friday - friendly folks, good sandwiches. On Saturday we entered the Korner Shop Cafe in Franklin, WV and were serenaded by the kitchen staff singing along with the radio, "You Never Even Called Me by My Name." More good sandwiches and pie. On the way home Sunday I rode through Helvetia and past two mines where the mud-covered roads transferred a load of silt to my bike, which ended up in my driveway. I dodged the rain until Barlow, OH and mostly encountered wet roads after that.

Next challenge: your bike in front of a marker/sign for a historical community or settlement. Example below:

Both signs are in the background.

I average about 18 km/l with my flashed 2015. I've seen individual tankfuls between 17 and 19.5. I have averaged 42 mpg (18 km/l) on 8 of the 10 motorcycles I have ever owned, which ranged from 400 cc to 1200 cc. I think that where I ride and the manner of my riding accounts for this consistency. https://www.mpgtolitres.com/mpg-to-kml

It looks that way, but I would remove the centerstand spring on the brake side first.

I rode past many redbuds and a pasture with of hundreds of paperwhites (who planted them?) today. Did not take a picture. If I could remember where they were... Of course there are daffodils next to my driveway.

I re-installed the newly rebuilt K-Tech shock. Ready to ride.

I got over 4k miles out of a Shinko 003 Stealth rear tire ...ON MY BMW R1200GS. It was the only tire in the area around Sparta, NC that would fit after I tore up the rear on an eye bolt during Memorial Day weekend. I rode that tire to South Dakota and did a couple of hundred miles of gravel roads with it, rode it home and rode it until it was nearly bald. I think I could have squeezed a couple of additional rides out of it. It felt like a normal tire back there - no issues.

I once went on a memorial ride for a fallen BMW rider in Fort Wayne in November. I rode from Columbus, another BMW guy rode in from Chicago. All the others were local Harley riders with no electrics. We stopped so often to warm them up, that we only did 28 miles in 4 hours.

When my jacket freezes stiff, I'm unhappy. I've ridden briefly in single digits Fahrenheit. That was damn cold. I commuted on the bike all but three days one mild winter. Since then I have acquired electric gloves, jacket liner and socks. The gloves are warm all over. The jacket liner has a heated collar that frees my neck from bulky layers. The socks are least effective, but they're the best solution I've found for cold feet. Add a balaclava under the helmet, watch for ice on the road and it's a ride. I hate road salt, so when that stuff goes down I'm done until it has washed away.

My question to myself was, "Do I fix the suspension or sell the bike?" The stock handling was unacceptable on rough roads. With the upgrade the bike is composed and unperturbed on potholed pavement, allowing me to enjoy the ride wherever I go.

I have the same K-tech setup and it has been great. It's a big improvement over the stock suspension. Money well spent.

Barber is fun. I raced there with AHRMA a few times. Little Tally and CMP were fun, too, but I liked Barber better. Just a thought about track days - I'd remove the centerstand before hitting the track with this bike, since mine touches down before the right side peg feeler on the street.

Congratulations! This is a great all-round road bike. All the knowledge on this forum makes it an even better choice.

It is Africa Twin, Triumph Tiger Explorer, 3 FJRs and me. I got to relax at the back for a change.

Southern WV - Lewisburg and the surrounding area had great weather last weekend. I rode the Dingess Tunnel, Burke's Garden and many twisty roads between here and there. 1300 miles in 4 days. Time for a new rear tire. Pics are of: Bluestone Lake on the New River near Hinton, WV The big rock at Burke's Garden, VA Group lunch at Smokehouse Barbecue in Glenville, WV

I like mid-sized bikes running above 5k rpm when having fun. That's where they seem more "alive." Acceleration is crisp, handling seems better. Maybe it's just my internal tachometer that prefers not to lug it low. It's not super quick or high top speed that I'm looking for, just a brisk burst out of the corners. The CP3 suits me in this regard.

I spend a lot of time in gears 2, 3 and 4, that's partly due to the roads I ride. I have always been happiest in 3rd gear regardless of what bike I'm riding. Fifth gear is a resting state between fun sections of road. When I hear the whine in 6th gear I downshift. Oops. Didn't mean to be in 6th. I recently spent a weekend riding in eastern Kentucky with friends. I was on my BMW GS and another friend was also riding a GS. After traversing a great curvy road the friend asked, "What gear were you in on that road?" I replied that I'd been in 3rd gear all the way. "I guess that's why I wasn't getting the drive out of the corners that you were, because I was in 6th." I bet he also didn't have the amount of engine braking among other things. This is the same guy that has complained for years that his bike must have 93 octane gas, or it will knock. Mine runs fine on 87 octane.

The DR650 is lighter and has a smoother motor than the KLR650. It does not have the touring tank and alternator. Tanks are available, as are many accessories and mods. A newly popular adv bike is the Yam WR250R, which has fuel injection and weighs 300 lbs.

I'm intrigued by the use of the Vstrom wheel. Cheap, available and tubeless, I've wondered about fitting one on my DR650. What mods did you have to make for the fitment on the DRZ forks?