Madhatter wants a dirt bike….

[eemsreno]

My wife might read this and find out just how many we have. [I have]

 

[Madhatter]

I bet she knows how many ..... just letting you think you're getting away with something.... either way its cool.

 

[Madhatter]

happy thanks giving to all ..... four days of food family friends and football , very thankful for all of it .

 

[Madhatter]

stuffed like the turkey on the table....

 

[Madhatter]

weather , holidays getting in the way... replaced rear brake on my Tenere... new rotor and pads . got to have brakes ....crf think I forgot about her...

 

[Madhatter]

will be riding soon , I need to retire so I can just ride everyday.

 

[ballisticexchris]

Boy retiring my wish!! For now I just did a wheel swap to my street tire so I can do some slow speed drills near home:



I know I was supposed to give a review of my bike. I cannot say enough good about this machine. 498cc of pure fun. It is the very most reliable dirt bike I have ever swung a leg over. It's got over 300 hours and 10,000 miles on it. One valve adjustment at about 150hrs. I rebuilt the carb around 200hrs or so. The clutch is a Rekluse so I have been through a few sets of plates/clutch packs, and a clutch basket. I have it jetted so it can go from sea level to over 9,000' without adjustment. It's modified with an adjustable leak jet but I have not had to mess with it.

As far as proof for the durability, It will scream for hours on end and not use any oil. I can ride it from my driveway to anywhere my Super Tenere will go. Just not as comfortable.

 

[Madhatter]

I have had my honda X one year now..... I have crashed once in sand , once because of a stall , dropped it twice because of footing . no damage to bike , me a little ,but no need for doctors . I have ridden it every chance I have had , but that has not been as often as I would have liked . I believe that just the short amount of time of riding helped me with the tenere in Moab . the last time I rode the X was in September , everything that could pull for my time has . I do not regret buying this bike ,I regret I have not ridden it more. the good news is I was able to pay off the bike a few weeks ago , and as I type this it is parked next to me all pretty in red. my wife actually lets me keep it in the man cave , how cool is that. and Christmas is fast approaching along with a new year . my hope is I get to ride it twice as much in the new year than the last. one nice thing about the X is I don't have to worry about traffic , no left turning cars to ruin the day . if there is another regret it is that I didn't start this dirt bike thing till so late in life . so if you older and reading this and have an interest in this type of riding , just do it. my bike has a 5 speed tranny , its never been past 3rd gear , its pretty fast when it gets on pipe in 3rd. and I'm not on the roads to see what it can do. some may laugh at that , but I am happy and that's all I need . never been a slave to peer pressure , mob rule I call it. this forum has great people on it , and I have made good friends through it , motorcycles rock . this thread about my dirt bike is fun , and I love it when another member shares on it , I always learn something . such a big nation ,blessed with freedom , and impossible for most to be everywhere to meet everyone , this forum allows that through this medium . so after all that or this ,I wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy new year .

 

[Madhatter]

ballistic, I am considering a dual sport (though not sure I would ) add to my stable , keep the Tenere for long distance , dual sport for local exploring , and the X because its my trainer. so my interest into Beta and KTM as possible choices . and been impressed with how Beta is moving ,leaning that direction. the dealer net work is sparse , closest one is 4 hours away . we will see , thanks for posting.

 

[ballisticexchris]

You can't go wrong with either Beta or KTM.

 

[Madhatter]

Christmas is done , and rain is forecast for Saturday , its pretty sad but I may have to ride the back yard.

 

[Madhatter]

didn't know it was there ,but there is a Beta dealer about 20 miles from here. guess where I'm going Friday.... just looking ... never seen one inperson .

 

[ballisticexchris]

Before my dealer quit selling Beta's he would take you out on a local desert loop to test them out. One thing about the Beta is they are super reliable. And with the BYOB program you can have it set up and delivered just how you want. Go ahead and try it out. I configured mine a whole bunch of times to get it just the way I wanted it. At the time I had to re-spring it myself for my weight. Now you can have it valved and sprung ready to ride as delivered.

https://betausa.com/models/

 

[Madhatter]

I have seen that byob program on the beta site ,everything you would ever want to do with a bike is an option .

 

[Madhatter]

so I paid the Beta dealer a visit , small place ,mostly known for repairs and sales of pre-owned bikes . has a collection of rare Japanese bikes like a dr800 . had a great visit . he has been a dealer since September . I will be going back.

 

[Madhatter]

have the honda loaded on the truck heading to Lockhart to ride tomorrow . also taking a few firearms to play with. then it's probably a bbq meal then home .. hope to have photos to post tomorrow. been awhile.

 

[Madhatter]

Did about 3 hours today on the X. Carrot and myself had a good day, no crashes. Lots of sprinkles but no rain out . The trails were tacky perfect, no dust.

 

[Madhatter]

Nothing special as far as these pictures go

 

[Madhatter]

there is a story here, I will give details I. A bit

 

[Madhatter]

so, here come the details. anybody no what I am standing in .... well I am going to tell you anyways... this weird circle hole thing , its not man made.... after a couple of hours riding around in the woods ( we tend to ride 15 min then talk 15 min ) and getting comfortable on the X as I have not ridden it since September . I decide to go across this pasture , nice and flat mostly . as I have never really opened up the X and never had it in 4th gear or better , I decide now is the time. she really moves in 4th , and I know to look ahead . but maybe I didn't look quite far enough ahead this time. as I am blasting across this pasture I'm thinking maybe 5th gear , I see a strange outline in the grass . what the heck's this hole doing here . I don't have time to brake or dodge , I am going through this hole, like it or not . so I stay on the gas and get my butt off the seat . vision of being a human lawn dart suddenly go away as the honda handled it great. amazing all that can cross your mind in a few moments . the rear tire caught the far edge of hole and absorbed the hit (I think the seat did come up and slap my butt ) bike never wiggled . so the cause of the mystery hole is , it seems bulls make these as they show off (to intimidate ) other bulls .... seems they use their front hove's throughing dirt around . learn something new everyday. or space aliens landed here.