**Disclaimer: I might be losing my mind** Well, I seem to be approaching a turning point in my riding. For years and years, I road dirt only. Then I bought the Strada last February. I still raced a lot of harescrambles and enduros on the WR, last year. In 2012, I raced 36 events (hare scrambles, enduros, endurocross, extreme enduro). I figured I really should trim that down. So, in 2013, I trimmed my schedule to 20 events. It's a much more manageable number. I also changed it up, I started racing as many enduros as were offered, and only supporting the hare scramble series I like the most, throwing a couple assorted races from other series to fill in the gaps. 2014, I tried to do the same. The enduro series and the harescramble series only though. Works out to 14 after 2 enduros got cancelled. Only 5 left for the year. I find I just can't enjoy a harescramble anymore. I don't know if it's because I'm in that in between age, where I am racing mostly with the up and coming 14 year olds, that are beating me by so much it's not even competitive, and that I'm still years shy of the vet class. 2 hours just isn't long enough anymore. While I love the enduros, the time keepers, which I truly enjoy, are becoming a thing of the past. Only a few available each year. Still the added seat time and challenge draw me in, a harescramble just doesn't have that appeal anymore. On the flip of that, I've been riding my TR more and more though. Looking for the bigger trips. I spend most of my free time brainstorming trips, planning things out, studying topographical, forestry service, and county maps, trying to create those epic routes. I've spent more time refining my camping gear than I have riding in the dirt. More time plotting GPS tracks than hauling to races. It's just a different thing I'm heading into. With my CDR ride coming up a bit over a month away, I found over the last 7 months, I've been more excited about that than anything else. It's a turning point for me. Add to it that my dad just bought a V-Strom 650, and my brother a GSXR-750. The sport bike thing isn't for me, but it opens up another avenue for fun on 2 wheels. My dad buying that V-Strom though, well, it opens up that possibility of actually doing a bike trip to Alaska as he's approaching retirement and that's the last of the 50 he has yet to visit. While I know the TR will handle that trip, for as road biased as this trip would be, something else would fit better. I'm really considering parting with my 650 come next spring and entering the 800cc middle weight adv bike arena. Probably a Tiger 800 XC, for weekend and longer trips, commuting, and general use. Keeping the big bore 2 strokes for the real dirt duty. With the spare engine parts I have collected, I have no doubt that I can race and ride the WR for the next 5+ years without any complaints. I still have a ground up build on a last model Italian WR build with a 360, but it would be a future project. The WR platform is still more competitive than I am. I'd consider picking up a cheap DRZ 400, if I decide I want to do a more dirt oriented trip, like the TAT, or something along those lines. I even went so far as to ride over to the BMW/Triumph dealer Saturday morning and look at the F800GS and Tiger 800 XC (SE) back to back. Then went and ordered a pair of pants from them, so I have an excuse to go back this Saturday for another look. I guess we'll see in September how things change after knocking down the 5500 miles of seat time in 2 weeks on the 650. It's kind of hard to imagine getting rid of probably the most versatile bike I've ever owned, and one as unique and orphaned as it is, but maybe it's a matter of trying to use a leatherman, when you what you really just need a pair of channel locks and a bow saw.
Hey man I'm with you. I've got a TE 511, though it's plated, that just gets me year-round riding in the OHVs in CA, and it gets me from trail-to-trail on the road. I really consider it a dirt bike. I've also got a KLR 650. It's now sitting in stock form after having sold off all of the aftermarket parts. I.e. suspension upgrades, windshield, top and side cases ... It was a pack horse, but I found that a majority of my riding (on the KLR) was on road. So now I'm looking at a more road worthy bike like the non-"R" version KTM 1190 Adventure. Though it has 17"/19" wheels it'll still get me down the dirt fire roads, on occasion, to the fish'n hole, but on the road, it'll put a real smile on my face.
I went the other way. I started riding street, and then a lot of dual sporting (2 TAT trips, camping off the bike on holiday weekends, etc). These days I usually haul the 300 to the trails in the back of my truck and just twist it all day, and I'm doing most of the races my local series offers. I've never found riding big dual sports to be very fun, they seem to suck at nearly everything, so the ride to the dirt isn't as fun, and neither is the dirt itself. Big epic trips (TAT, CDR, etc) are a bit of a different story because it's all about being out there, not just the ride itself, but for general weekend use I can't get excited about riding a 400-pound behemoth around. I think a lot of times we just crave something different. If you did 36 races in a year (insanity!), it definitely makes sense that you're looking for a change. Just be careful before totally jumping ship, you may find yourself wanting to come back.
I'd say that since the turn of the century, its been a wacky world to me, for sure -- My riding has also changed alot in the last few yrs ... The highly technical stuff is sort of on the back-burner for me now on most days ... I can still do that riding to some extent, but overall, just too taxing on my body to hammer that stuff all day ... Too much today and maybe tomorrow will be another day on the couch ... So at 56 yr old, I gotta pace myself if I'm gonna keep up a dirt bike riding lifestyle... Meaning, rest and sleep each day are close to being essential ... I'm almost like a micro DS rider here ... I have to start on the hardtop because I live in a small town and then hit the countryside where it is a little bit of everything. Then just pick out the level of gnarly for the days' riding and technical ST will be the shorter side of the ride ... Lots is planned out on goggle earth with the Voyager GPS ... Never studied terrain so much in my entire life as I have done in the last couple yrs .. -- Moving to more street riding is what I'm sure I'll do after dirt bike riding, but not yet :00) ... (I'll move on to pump boats after street riding is out) Ride what ya wanna ride and ride safe ... (I also cut back my racing here also from the last ~3 yrs... I can ~jump a bike now from all the MX type riding and that was all I really wanted to do anyway.. (36 races in a yr? That might be more than my 3 yr total )
