Back to riding

I've been away from riding for over 2 years. Well to be more technical, I've not owned a motorcycle in over 2 years. I really never was away from riding.

When I first started riding street I rode a Ninja 250. It was so easy to ride, but after riding 6,000 miles in a few months I sold the bike and bought a SV650S (mostly based upon my friend’s recommendation). I’m not sure why but the SV650 didn’t feel as fun the 250. It was top heavy, big and didn’t have that easy to ride feeling, it was more like the bike was riding me. So after a year of riding just a few thousands miles, I sold the SV650 and didn’t buy another bike. The bike never felt fun like my 250, and after most of the friends faded from the interest of motorcycles, I followed the same path. As far as I knew I was done with riding.

While I didn’t own a motorcycle in those 2 years it was on my mind a lot. When people would ask where I took a photo, I would explain it was a seldom used road in the Woodside area I discovered on a motorcycle ride. If a motorcycle passed me on the freeway, I could tell which model it was and year. The conservation of how dangerous lane splitting was on a motorcycle I would explain a motorcyclist has more risk of getting rear ended than side swiped lane splitting. Even at a friend’s bbq I spoke with another motorcyclist and talked about some of my favorite roads near the coast.

After some time my interest in motorcycles was re-started. I began to read up on different types of motorcycles and decided to judge what would be fun to ride instead of what would be the fastest or best looking. What I wanted was something not too heavy, easy to ride and more suited for goat trails than high speed. The more research I did, the more and more I noted that a dual sport or supermotard style bike was closer to my needs. Since I had a slightly bad experience with my SV650S, I was very hesitant on buying another bike without a test ride, but didn’t know anyone who rode a supermotard bike.

While asking for comments on the DRZ, Andrew graciously allowed me to ride his DRZ supermotard to get an idea of how it felt. After a few minutes on the bike it felt so much easier to ride, just like a 250 but with big suspension. I began to look around for used DRZs and new DRZs, but the pricing was higher than expected, so I started the slow process of just saving up for a used bike. After saving for a while I saw a KTM for sale, it was the supermotard version and the price was in my range. Once I took the test ride, it felt just like Andrew’s DRZ but a bit more power. So, I took the plunge and bought the bike, once again returning to 2 wheels.

Coming back to riding feels strange, I have to re-think the roads more carefully and even what I can carry. The bike feels very easy to ride and light, like a jumbo 250 with more power and bigger tires. It’s such a difference between this bike and my previous SV in so many ways. I haven’t taken any back roads but on the streets it feels so solid and much more confidence inspiring. This bike is actually fun to ride, like my first bike, where I’m looking forward to coming home to ride it. After a few hundred miles I’ll post a ride review.

So, I’m back on 2 wheels but I really never left when I think about it, I was just looking for the right bike.

Warcraft

I've been playing less and less World of Warcraft, in fact I let my subscription expire this week. While I enjoy playing, my school is almost done and rather spend the time finishing homework instead of playing. After I'm done with school, which should be this next month I'll join my friends playing again.