...and the water muddies a bit.

OK... since I last posted I decided to pose a question on the Adventure Rider forums and ask those who ride currently and are in tune with the motorcycle world, what they think I should be looking for in a bike. I figure these nice guys and girls are the ones to ask since they're much more knowledgeable than I am about the latest equipment and bikes. So far I've received quite a few good replies and I'm looking forward to more. I am 99% sure I'm going to start out with a smaller bike like a 250 or maybe a 400 instead of the 650 I had initially planned on. I'd hate to get too big of a bike and end up getting discouraged right off the bat because I wasn't having fun. After all, having fun is what this is all about right? I'd like to look at the Yamaha WR450 and WR250 and see what they are like. I also need to look at the Suzuki DR400 again and compare.

That's it for now. Soon I'll be joining the ranks of the riding community.

Big ideas... smaller bike.

Yes, it's been awhile since I've had anything to put on here but honestly, I don't think anyone even knows about this blog so it doesn't really matter.

I've been looking for used motorcycles on pretty much a daily basis. I mostly look on Craigslist and there have been an occasional "good deal". I really just haven't been ready to lay out the bucks just yet.

I am still in a quandry about the exact bike to get. I have recently added to the list of things I'd like to do with a motorcycle and now off-road racing / enduro races are among them. Since I have started entertaining the idea of racing, I decided to ask someone involved in racing to see what their suggestions might be about what bike to get. Well, "my" Honda 650 was not on the top of his list. In fact, he said it wouldn't even be very good in the woods here in western Washington. I assume because it's fairly big. He mentioned a few others like Husqvarna, KTM (his favorite), and a couple others. Honda wasn't on his short list and Kawasaki is apparently a bad word to him. I realize this is just one guy's opinion and he may be biased to a particular brand or whatever but I have to definitely consider that he's much more in tune with the off-road racing community and probably knows a thing or two just from experience.

In light of this information, I think I have decided to go with a smaller bike. I like the Suzuki DR400 but will need to ride it and do some more research. I have heard that Yamaha might be making their race bikes with the option of a street legal version. Something to consider. I am very interested, however, with the 2008 Honda CRF230L. It seems they've geared it such that it won't actually be that bad on the pavement. I don't plan to spend much time on the pavement but on occasion it'll be nice to not have the thing screaming bloody murder at 45 mph. I also like the lighter weight (50 lbs less than the 650). I'm not sure how it'll do in race trim but I guess that's something else to look into.

Well, that's about all for now, the time is drawing near when I'll actually have a motorcycle in the garage. till then...