RSS Trialing Thumper
Filed in BlogThe sun was shining, I could hardly believe it was February, and Beastie needed some brake pads. So I did a bit of homework and headed on over to Tracy Powersports, one of four big dealerships owned, apparently, by the same guy.
I’m not used to big dealerships. I’ve only ever bought one bike new, and I tend to avoid places with a hard sell policy. So the minute I entered the big, glossy sales room I looked the sales kid in the eye and said I was after some brake pads. He walked me to their little parts and apparel section and another kid who hadn’t had enough coffee chatted to me as he looked up the part number. It was twenty bucks and some change (on sale, yay!) so when I started to count out the change he waved me off and changed the price so that I was paying twenty bucks even. Yay again!
On a whim I asked about their selection of dual sport bikes. When Don and I go on the road we’d like to avoid having a trailer, so this means lighter bikes. Given how many ghost towns there are, none of them down paved roads, a dual sport seems like a good choice, but it has to be powerful enough to be a full-time bike. Last year I had a go on Bluepoof’s XT225 and I really enjoyed myself and could see the appeal, but I’m not sure it would be a suitable full-time vehicle.
Now, a dual sport is tall to help you stay out of the mud. This is great if you’re six foot tall, but I’m not. I’m five-three. Fortunately, a strange quirk of genetics seems to have given me 50% leg and 50% torso. In other words, for a short person I have long legs. I was amazed that when I sat on their Suzuki DR650–a single-cylinder thumper–I could just about tippy-toe it. It can be lowered two inches, and more can be shaved off by messing with the seat.
So, there’s at least one dual sport that could be made to fit. I’m not sure how comfortable they’d be on long rides–those seats seem awfully hard–but presumably all this can be fixed with aftermarket parts and maybe some raised boots. ;)
In the meantime, I’m just starting to scratch the surface of what is out there.
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