Why not get a bike?

[SoonerP226]

Too bad you didn't tell me this two weeks ago; I could've made you a heck of a deal on a couple of '74-ish BMW R90s.

 

[Sgt Dog]

The stages of life are interesting to say the least.

I was certainly where you are. Now advanced Glaucoma has me contemplating doing something I thought I’d never do when I bought my Roadking 25 years ago, which is ‘sell it, and be without a scooter altogether!

And they don’t sell like they did in 1998 when I got the last Evo you could get on a Roadking. Now I’ll be lucky to get anything north of 6k for scooter and trailer. And because of life’s interuptions it only 40,000 miles on it. My consolation are those road trips with my wife. Those were nice!

 

[HoLeChit]

I’ve heard people say that some bikes are too tall for them, and I have that concern with dirt and dual sport bikes. I’m only 5’9” with a 30” inseam. Would I be able to make a bike of this flavor work for me? Or will I need to get creative?

Could I put the dual sport tires on anything and be able to just go off road, with the only issues being gearing and ground clearance? Or is there more to it?

 

[rickm]

Usually a street bike is the heaviest and a dirt bike the lightest with dual inbetween.

 

[dlbleak]

Too bad you didn't tell me this two weeks ago; I could've made you a heck of a deal on a couple of '74-ish BMW R90s.

What did you sell the beemers for?

 

[Hirschkopf]

I'm only an inch taller than you and truly loved my last bike a Kawasaki 650. Had no problem with the size, height-wise. Rode it from KS to AZ and CO a few times. Sold it in 1987 before going active-duty Army and moving to San Antonio. It's predecessor was a Kawasaki 400. On my last day riding that bike an AMC Gremlin ran a stop sign in front of me. My bike embedded into the side of it and did not fall over. I cleared the windshield of the bike, the car, and about 60 feet of brick lined street. I forget how many times my view alternated between red bricks and blue sky before I landed. Worst injury I had was a rash from my helmet strap on my chin. Could have been worse!

 

[SoonerP226]

What did you sell the beemers for?

We were originally asking $1K each or $1,500 for the pair (neither was running and one was partially disassembled), and someone agreed to buy them at that price, but never forked over with the money. We ended up selling them to a friend of the family for a total of $1,000.

It wouldn't have taken much to get them running, but we only had a title for the complete bike (my dad's), which hadn't been ridden in 20 years. The other belonged to my mom's cousin's husband, so I'm pretty sure my dad had the title for it, but we couldn't find it. He (the cousin's husband) is still alive, so we probably could've gotten a replacement title, but time was a luxury we didn't have.

 

[KOPBET]

I took the MSF course through Meyers-Duren in Tulsa. For veterans it was a free class and they provided the bikes as well. As mentioned, if you pass the course you don't have to take the driving test at the DMV to get the "L" endorsement on your license.

 

[p238shooter]

Aw man, got me thinking about should I get back to riding more or get on with selling my 98 Goldwing sitting in the garage. It has 20K miles on it and is ready to go. At 75Yo I just don't have the desire to ride anymore like I did for the past 58 years. I got an old jeep and it gives me about the same feel and don't have to worry about falling over at the stop signs. Ha Ha

 

[Roy14]

XR650R is a true dual sport bike

The 650R is a great bike! Should have come street legal from the factory and should never have been discontinued.