To all the faithful! [Archive]

knary

04-07-2009, 09:25 PM

Not me, I just bought one today.:laugh

:ear

I've been shopping for something that can go those places that suck to go on a GS (despite the wonderful marketing) but can still handle highway duty when needed. I worked my way through the list and narrowed it down to an XR650R, X-Challenge, or TE610.

The XR is an awesome hammer of a bike. But the lack of a magic button gets old fast.

The X-Challenge, if you've got the money for the aftermarket, can be made into perhaps the best go anywhere bike ever. But expect to spend a chunk to fix the suspension, wheels, tank, etc.

The TE610 kept coming up as the best compromise. It makes great power and out of the box doesn't suffer from the X-Challenge's issues, at least not as severely. The downside is the service life of the bike, but knocking off 1,000 mile days isn't what this machine is for.

The GS is indeed for sale. I will be without a BMW for the first time in more than a decade. I'll miss her, but I can't at this time afford to have more than one bike. I still love the bikes, but spending $12k to get an X-challenge to be almost as good as a $7k TE610 just didn't make sense to me.

If it makes you feel any better, BMW does own Husky. :D

SIBUD

04-07-2009, 09:31 PM

:ear

I've been shopping for something that can go those places that suck to go on a GS (despite the wonderful marketing) but can still handle highway duty when needed. I worked my way through the list and narrowed it down to an XR650R, X-Challenge, or TE610.

The XR is an awesome hammer of a bike. But the lack of a magic button gets old fast.

The X-Challenge, if you've got the money for the aftermarket, can be made into perhaps the best go anywhere bike ever. But expect to spend a chunk to fix the suspension, wheels, tank, etc.

The TE610 kept coming up as the best compromise. It makes great power and out of the box doesn't suffer from the X-Challenge's issues, at least not as severely. The downside is the service life of the bike, but knocking off 1,000 mile days isn't what this machine is for.

The GS is indeed for sale. I will be without a BMW for the first time in more than a decade. I'll miss her, but I can't at this time afford to have more than one bike. I still love the bikes, but spending $12k to get an X-challenge to be almost as good as a $7k TE610 just didn't make sense to me.

If it makes you feel any better, BMW does own Husky. :D

I know this doesn't make a lot of sense to some, but I bought the GS because everyone says what a good road bike they make. Time will tell.

Good luck on the new bike search. Looking is half the fun, and free!!!!!!!!!

PAGoldsby

04-07-2009, 09:34 PM

Why does your chainsaw have wheels on it?

:bolt

knary

04-07-2009, 09:59 PM

I know this doesn't make a lot of sense to some, but I bought the GS because everyone says what a good road bike they make. Time will tell.

Good luck on the new bike search. Looking is half the fun, and free!!!!!!!!!

The GS is indeed an awesome road bike, amongst the most versatile ever. Sport bike one moment, long distance missile the next.

The search is over. I'm the proud new owner of a 2008 Husqvarna TE610. It came with a flurry of farkles. I love it. It'll pull 80 on the highway quite easily, loft the front wheel up through third gear, and only weighs something like 320 lbs fueled.

SIBUD

04-07-2009, 10:59 PM

The GS is indeed an awesome road bike, amongst the most versatile ever. Sport bike one moment, long distance missile the next.

The search is over. I'm the proud new owner of a 2008 Husqvarna TE610. It came with a flurry of farkles. I love it. It'll pull 80 on the highway quite easily, loft the front wheel up through third gear, and only weighs something like 320 lbs fueled.

Dang, you sure that is a real bike and not some kid's toy? :laugh :laugh

Enjoy the ride and we expect to see pictures of it dirty.

BubbaZanetti

04-08-2009, 01:02 AM

Bob_M

04-08-2009, 08:18 AM

:ear
The GS is indeed for sale. I will be without a BMW for the first time in more than a decade. . :D

If I recall correctly you still have half the time-share of an airhead. Get your facts straight or this thread will have to be moved to the Tavern. :stick

Have fun w/ the Husky

john1691

04-08-2009, 09:18 AM

[QUOTE=knary;444385It'll pull 80 on the highway quite easily[/QUOTE]

That's second gear for the "S", but then, I wouldn't take it too far off road! :laugh

Enjoy the new ride, Husky makes a great chain saw and lawn mower, I'm sure the bike will be fine, too...........:bolt

kgadley01

04-08-2009, 09:39 AM

Hopefully the lawnmower & chainsaw parts will interchange. I've always liked Husky, but I sure would like a nice Ossa... good luck on your new ride.

tessler

04-08-2009, 10:35 AM

Cool new bike K-man!

I'm just baffled by the trajectory:

K75 ---> 1150GS ---> TE610.

What's next?

http://www.whycycle.co.uk/cms-files/0trials20.jpg

knary

04-08-2009, 10:48 AM

cool on the husky man, i hope you like it, but.....

x-challenge 12k??? really??? i thought that was like a 7500 dollar bike? 4 grand to make it like the husky or is that what the spend anything farklemeisters on adv are saying, are they still making them???

also, don't you have an airhead or something?

i'm all sortsabaffled.....not that i care, i just ditched a new beemer for an old one and hope to spend a grand to make it awesome.

The X-challenge can be found for $6k or $7k these days. But it's got a few significant issues. To make it comparable to its competitors you need to...
1. Upgrade the rims/wheels.
2. Replace the rear shock
3. Replace the front forks
4. And a bunch of little things (like the solid! shift lever).

To even think about significantly more fuel capacity, instead of a couple hundred bucks, you're looking at nearly $1,000 Touratech tank. It and my new bike get great gas mileage, but the TE carries more fuel and thus has another 50 miles of range.

And so on.

It all adds up really fast. That motor is *awesome* - smooth, good power, and the most durable by far - and if you've got the cash for the upgrades, it might well be the bike to have. But for those, for what ever reason, with less money to throw at a bike the TE is the better choice. IMHO.

Did I mention I got a new bike? :lol3

p.s. we recently sold the airhead. My buddy needed the money and as much fun as it was, it was only ever going to be an in-town toy.

knary

04-08-2009, 10:52 AM

Cool new bike K-man!

I'm just baffled by the trajectory:

K75 ---> 1150GS ---> TE610.

What's next?

http://www.whycycle.co.uk/cms-files/0trials20.jpg

http://www.fleetfeetatlanta.com/files/user/home-page-feet.jpg

:D

After the K for a bunch of miles, I wanted more power, more sport, more fun and greater versatility. Enter the GS. After 6 years with the GS, I don't care so much about long distance miles but wanted to go further away from civilization. Enter the Husky.

Mika

04-08-2009, 10:55 AM

Did I mention I got a new bike? :lol3

Some one call 911 I have whiplash!!! Knary pulled the trigger on a new bike!!!:ha

When last I checked in I thought you had found a used Husky that fit the bill.

As always -This thread is worthless without pictures - and a detailed list of the farkles it came with and what you are going to add.

BubbaZanetti

04-08-2009, 11:04 AM

Did I mention I got a new bike? :lol3

so i take it you wanna go riding off road or something?

knary

04-08-2009, 11:05 AM

More pics coming soon. I promise.

The short farkle list:

Lynx Fairing with HID hi/low headlights
Pro Billet rear rack
Fastway footpegs
Renazco seat
Cycra bark busters
Uptite Racing skid plate
Upgraded battery
and some little stuff

All but the bark busters, which are good ones, are pretty much the top of the line choices and it all adds up to more than $1500 in add ons. IOW, expensive enough that if it didn't come on the bike I wouldn't have ever gotten around to rationalizing them. :ha

knary

04-08-2009, 11:09 AM

so i take it you wanna go riding off road or something?

:nod

The GS is a phenomenal machine - the perfect choice for the guy that wants to haul hundreds of pounds of gear thousands of miles and spank sport bikes along the way. But it's not so good at traveling on anything that might actually be described as "off road". Most guys say "off road" when what they mean is "off pavement".

Places like this are not where the GS excels...
http://gaspipe.smugmug.com/photos/133921962-L.jpg

tessler

04-08-2009, 11:10 AM

so i take it you wanna go riding off road or something?I smell some kind of impromptu OR Johnson City Challenge coming up... :laugh

Mika

04-08-2009, 11:11 AM

knary

04-08-2009, 11:17 AM

I can wait for pixs...rationalizations of farkles - HECK I just really excited to hear you got to the end of rationalizing getting the bike: stick

Have you rationalized an emergency beacon and Medivac insurance ?

:hide

Anyone that would even dare consider the incredible stupidity of riding a motorcycle without a helmet must be impervious to harm. -ommmmm-

As to the rationalization of farkles, I'm married and I'm neither an ass nor wealthy. It all has to be rationalized. :ha

knary

04-08-2009, 11:18 AM

And since BMW now owns Husky, I demand a Husky forum NOW!

:hide

tessler

04-08-2009, 11:19 AM

Have you rationalized an emergency beacon and Medivac insurance ?
:hideThanks, Mika. :laugh

I'm kind of getting the gist of it now, Knary... it's going to be like Hiking but Faster... and with more guys and noise around you!

knary

04-08-2009, 11:38 AM

Honest blunt truth? Riding far on pavement has become really boring. I like the athletically challenging stuff more these days - sporty riding and off-pavement riding. The former, chasing sport bikes, is great fun, but to get a thrill on the so-easy-to-ride-fast GS I'm hurtling down the road at insane speeds.

And this weekend was the big reminder of what a motorcycle is supposed to be: fun. Some locals put on an in-town enduro ride. 80 motorcycles hurtling down the unpaved alley ways that criss cross parts of the east side of portland. My GS was the biggest machine of those on two wheels. It was an utter blast, even as some neighbors screamed, "This isn't a dirt track!" (most cheered us on or stared bewildered). The alley ways are a mixture of neglected double track and single track often filled with vegetation and debris. It was FUN. FUN. FUN. Only a few boy scouts to be seen. Lots of black leather, jeans, and even just some plain sweatshirts. These people were riding noisy belching bikes. Ever try threading a single track in a mass of bikes most of whom are ratted out Vespas, old CB's, and well worn XR's? It's an utter hoot. :ha

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/gotsand17/ADV%20Rides/IMG_6825.jpg

the thread on ADV...
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=448690

When did we begin to think riding a motorcycle was about carefully measured dollops of risk simmered in a broth of fear and civility? :dunno

I'm not suggesting we should all be hooligans, but sometimes the boy scout mentality that pervades so much of BMW motorcycle-dom is the perfect way to make riding a motorcycle anything but what it, IMHO, should be - fun.

Damn, I'm starting to sound like JK. :ha

rinty

04-08-2009, 11:51 AM

Scott:

Now you'll have to get some of those cool orange Husqvarna suspenders, too. :)

Mika

04-08-2009, 11:52 AM

Honest blunt truth? Riding far on pavement has become really boring...

Welcome to your version of my mid-life crisis :rofl

:bikes

knary

04-08-2009, 12:02 PM

Welcome to your version of my mid-life crisis :rofl

:bikes

:nod:nod:nod:nod:nod:nod:nod:nod:nod

Most definitely. :ha

My mantra for the year, "Have fun!" I'm so very tired of being boxed in by worry and need.

I did say to Erin, my wife, "It could be so much worse than this." :ha

Mika

04-08-2009, 12:21 PM

:nod:nod:nod:nod:nod:nod:nod:nod:nod

Most definitely. :ha

My mantra for the year, "Have fun!" I'm so very tired of being boxed in by worry and need.

I did say to Erin, my wife, "It could be so much worse than this." :ha

I hope to meet Erin some day. From all you have said about her she seems to be something special. I wonder how she remains so sane amid all this insanity.

:laugh

knary

04-08-2009, 12:22 PM

I hope to meet Erin some day. From all you have said about her she seems to be something special. I wonder how she remains so sane amid all this insanity.

:laugh

I'm the moon. She's the sun.

tessler

04-08-2009, 01:25 PM

And this weekend was the big reminder of what a motorcycle is supposed to be: fun. Some locals put on an in-town enduro ride. 80 motorcycles hurtling down the unpaved alley ways that criss cross parts of the east side of portland. My GS was the biggest machine of those on two wheels. It was an utter blast, even as some neighbors screamed, "This isn't a dirt track!" (most cheered us on or stared bewildered). The alley ways are a mixture of neglected double track and single track often filled with vegetation and debris. It was FUN. FUN. FUN. Only a few boy scouts to be seen. Lots of black leather, jeans, and even just some plain sweatshirts. These people were riding noisy belching bikes. Ever try threading a single track in a mass of bikes most of whom are ratted out Vespas, old CB's, and well worn XR's? It's an utter hoot. :ha

the thread on ADV...
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=448690Oh boy, I betcha that was a lot of fun for the locals. So it's true, You get to ride off pavement with more guys and noise around you! :laugh

So what's the upshot from here? I mean if pavement riding got boring after 10 years, how much mileage do you think you'll get out of this new phase? I'm not trying to be assumptive, I'm just really curious how it may change your riding and moto-socializing habits.

Mika

04-08-2009, 01:26 PM

I'm the moon. She's the sun.

:nod

http://knary.smugmug.com/photos/507821742_rLPQE-L.jpg

:ha

Anyone want a GS? :evil

:dance

Now pull up your riding pants turn around and answer this question.

Is this a Karma thread - if so I am in
If your selling the GS - Heck I am having trouble coming up with the coin to buy a front tire desprately needed by my Roadster - I am out

(but this post gives you a chance to shamefully plug the sale of your bike again :ha)

wezul

04-08-2009, 01:34 PM

And this weekend was the big reminder of what a motorcycle is supposed to be: fun. Some locals put on an in-town enduro ride. 80 motorcycles hurtling down the unpaved alley ways that criss cross parts of the east side of portland. My GS was the biggest machine of those on two wheels. It was an utter blast, even as some neighbors screamed, "This isn't a dirt track!" (most cheered us on or stared bewildered). The alley ways are a mixture of neglected double track and single track often filled with vegetation and debris. It was FUN. FUN. FUN. Only a few boy scouts to be seen. Lots of black leather, jeans, and even just some plain sweatshirts. These people were riding noisy belching bikes. Ever try threading a single track in a mass of bikes most of whom are ratted out Vespas, old CB's, and well worn XR's? It's an utter hoot. :ha

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/gotsand17/ADV%20Rides/IMG_6825.jpg

Aha! Now I'm getting it.
That looks like a blast, hmmm, me needs a CT90, methinks.
Yeah, like that's gonna happen anytime soon.

knary

04-08-2009, 01:40 PM

Oh boy, I betcha that was a lot of fun for the locals. So it's true, You get to ride off pavement with more guys and noise around you! :laugh

So what's the upshot from here? I mean if pavement riding got boring after 10 years, how much mileage do you think you'll get out of this new phase? I'm not trying to be assumptive, I'm just really curious how it may change your riding and moto-socializing habits.
I don't know that I care how long this lasts. I may well find myself not riding at all at some point. In the end, what I care about is seeing and doing stuff. As much as I love motorcycles, at some point they're just a means to an end. The social side is part of it, but it's not why I got on a bike or continue to own a bike.

If it seems like putting down street riding, remember that I'm talking about Me and only Me. I've got great memories of my tours across the country. There will probably be another one or three in my future. But for now the more local riding is much more appealing. Remember, local here = mountains, beach, rain forest, desert, etc.

Having said that, have you tried anything a bit more aggressive than your K75? You might be surprised at how intoxicating it is. :evil

tessler

04-08-2009, 01:54 PM

I don't know that I care how long this lasts. I may well find myself not riding at all at some point. In the end, what I care about is seeing and doing stuff. As much as I love motorcycles, at some point they're just a means to an end. The social side is part of it, but it's not why I got on a bike or continue to own a bike.

If it seems like putting down street riding, remember that I'm talking about Me and only Me. I've got great memories of my tours across the country. There will probably be another one or three in my future. But for now the more local riding is much more appealing. Remember, local here = mountains, beach, rain forest, desert, etc. Certainly and of course. I don't perceive you to be putting down street riding (in all it's forms) at all. In fact, there's a small clique of EAR Inn guys/gals that ride DS bikes and constantly go on local excursions, tag-o-ramas, etc. You know the drill. Not really my scene, but I was just wondering if that kind of scene was in the near future for you.

Having said that, have you tried anything a bit more aggressive than your K75? You might be surprised at how intoxicating it is. :evilYes, of course I have. I've ridden a couple of 1200GS's (pre-and-post 08), an 06 RT , a borrowed K1200R (last year; it's nice having a celebrity friend who gets bikes to use) and have tried a 650 and an X-Challenge.

Nice bikes all but that's just me. I'm intoxicated enough. :bottle

wezul

04-08-2009, 01:55 PM

Having said that, have you tried anything a bit more aggressive than your K75? You might be surprised at how intoxicating it is. :evil

Yeah like a Vespa!!!! NOT! :doh
I still love my ET4 though it would fare poorly against bikes like those illustrated here.
A friend has a couple mini trails and there is open space by his house. We've jumped on those and gone bombing around in the dirt. It's wild and when you wreck you're laughing so hard it doesn't hurt!

knary

04-08-2009, 03:02 PM

Certainly and of course. I don't perceive you to be putting down street riding (in all it's forms) at all. In fact, there's a small clique of EAR Inn guys/gals that ride DS bikes and constantly go on local excursions, tag-o-ramas, etc. You know the drill. Not really my scene, but I was just wondering if that kind of scene was in the near future for you.

I'm mostly interested in being able to get further away from people. But some group hooliganism will occur, I'm sure. I never really did the group thing while on my GS so I don't think things will change much. However, one real difference is that when riding on the street I could care less about having a buddy there for help. In the dirt, a second hand is often a very good idea.

Yes, of course I have. I've ridden a couple of 1200GS's (pre-and-post 08), an 06 RT , a borrowed K1200R (last year; it's nice having a celebrity friend who gets bikes to use) and have tried a 650 and an X-Challenge.

Nice bikes all but that's just me. I'm intoxicated enough. :bottle

I forget that. This bike is very much a direct competitor for that X-Challenge - including seat height. :D

The K75's are so dependable and once you know a machine really well, you can do things with it that it isn't necessarily great at.

SIBUD

04-08-2009, 03:37 PM

I don't know that I care how long this lasts. I may well find myself not riding at all at some point. In the end, what I care about is seeing and doing stuff. As much as I love motorcycles, at some point they're just a means to an end. The social side is part of it, but it's not why I got on a bike or continue to own a bike.

If it seems like putting down street riding, remember that I'm talking about Me and only Me. I've got great memories of my tours across the country. There will probably be another one or three in my future. But for now the more local riding is much more appealing. Remember, local here = mountains, beach, rain forest, desert, etc.

Having said that, have you tried anything a bit more aggressive than your K75? You might be surprised at how intoxicating it is. :evil

Me, hanging banners at West Bend. Scott rides up on his bike, thousands of miles from home, asks where to register and I tell him to just drive into the building and he started to so I had to say something (on second thought, I should have just let him ride in).

Don't know how many thousands of miles he had ridden to get there but he had a big grin on his face.