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Strada Demolitionist
Well, I brought the TR650 home on Wednesday. The first day I put about 75 miles on it, it was a blast. Today I took it out with my KLR buddy and we hit even more dirt. The bike did very well, but I am very new to "offloading" of any kind. I was coming around a tight corner and headed toward the shoulder, the gravel there was deep, and I dropped into what I can only describe as silt-like mud. My tires hit the mud and down into the ditch we went. The whole bike sliding into a deep muddy mess. The left side of the bike was in the dirt, and My pal ran off toward the horizon on his KLR completely unware.
No worries, it's a light bike, I picked it up and hopped back on. The ditch was pretty deep, so I made a running start and tried to head back out onto the graveled area. NO LUCK! As soon as I tried to climb the steep hill of the ditch it was all Paul Simon... Slip Sliding Away. The bike slid horizontally again and I landed squarely on the opposite side. I literally started laughing at my ineptitude... it was pretty dern classic. A newbie learning that dirt riding ain't easy!
So I lifted the bike up again and rode to the lowest point I could find in the muddy ditch and BARELY hopped back out. I proceeded to run down the gravel road (a little more slowly) and finally caught up with my pal who was just turning around at this point to see what had happened. We both laughed about it, and he and I marveled at how well the bike fared a double drop!!! I joked about how I had to keep it symmetrical!
I will say this. No other bike I have owned would have fared this well, seriously. Hats off to the folks at Husky/BMW for building a bike that can actually hold up to a little operator error.
Right after the drop on the left side:
Right side didn't really show much in a photo--I will snap a shot tomorrow to demonstrate just how well the bike handled a fall.
From a distance:
I cleaned her up once we got home and you wouldn't know she went down unless I told ya, or you were looking for it her really close
I should have taken "after pictures" once I got it cleaned up. I'll snap a few in the morning.
All this to say that the bike is built to take a drop or two on the trail and keep on going. The only thing that got a little wonky was the throttle cable, which got pinned on the second fall and revved up a bit. The Touratech guards did their job admirably, and shined right back up afterwards. NONE of the plastics were scratched other than the textured lower on the left side that is pictured above. I can't wait until my Altrider crashbars and skidplate come in... clearly I am going to need them.
I will take a few shots tomorrow to show how well the bike fared--it is astounding!
I have only been in "off road" on a bike twice ( both times on this bike) and I am still learning a lot despite 13 years of riding experience on roads and track. In so many ways this bike is exceeding all my expectations. It is comfortable, nimble, and clearly handles a bang or two quite well.
No worries, it's a light bike, I picked it up and hopped back on. The ditch was pretty deep, so I made a running start and tried to head back out onto the graveled area. NO LUCK! As soon as I tried to climb the steep hill of the ditch it was all Paul Simon... Slip Sliding Away. The bike slid horizontally again and I landed squarely on the opposite side. I literally started laughing at my ineptitude... it was pretty dern classic. A newbie learning that dirt riding ain't easy!
So I lifted the bike up again and rode to the lowest point I could find in the muddy ditch and BARELY hopped back out. I proceeded to run down the gravel road (a little more slowly) and finally caught up with my pal who was just turning around at this point to see what had happened. We both laughed about it, and he and I marveled at how well the bike fared a double drop!!! I joked about how I had to keep it symmetrical!
I will say this. No other bike I have owned would have fared this well, seriously. Hats off to the folks at Husky/BMW for building a bike that can actually hold up to a little operator error.
Right after the drop on the left side:

Right side didn't really show much in a photo--I will snap a shot tomorrow to demonstrate just how well the bike handled a fall.
From a distance:

I cleaned her up once we got home and you wouldn't know she went down unless I told ya, or you were looking for it her really close

All this to say that the bike is built to take a drop or two on the trail and keep on going. The only thing that got a little wonky was the throttle cable, which got pinned on the second fall and revved up a bit. The Touratech guards did their job admirably, and shined right back up afterwards. NONE of the plastics were scratched other than the textured lower on the left side that is pictured above. I can't wait until my Altrider crashbars and skidplate come in... clearly I am going to need them.
I will take a few shots tomorrow to show how well the bike fared--it is astounding!
I have only been in "off road" on a bike twice ( both times on this bike) and I am still learning a lot despite 13 years of riding experience on roads and track. In so many ways this bike is exceeding all my expectations. It is comfortable, nimble, and clearly handles a bang or two quite well.