What’s a good motorcycle for a Backyardsman?


Last week I ordered a motorcycle. My wife thinks it was a sudden decision, but it’s something I’ve wanted for a long time. She should know, it’s not like I haven’t talked to her about it – a bunch of times. She’s always found some reason why it’s a “bad idea” at the time. “Just wait, not right now.” I guess I should thank her, because my tastes have changed a lot over the past few years. I used to love street bikes, especially Harleys and vintage Triumphs. I still do, but those are pure street bikes and not really suited to the needs of a Backyardsman. So what is a good motorcycle for a Backyardsman? It depends on exactly what you want, but for me it has to have a few things.

What motorcycle should a Backyardsman buy?

First, I need a bike that can run on dirt, and I don’t mean just smooth, hard packed dirt roads. Where I live, lots of the roads are steep, rocky, and rutted with lots of sharp turns. Some run through sand washes, others are muddy and slippery when wet.

Second, it also needs to work OK on the road. I don’t want to deal with trailering it or loading into the back of my truck just to get to where I want to ride. I want to be able to commute on it. Heck, I want to be able to take road trips on it. Just being street legal isn’t good enough, it also has to ride well on the street.

As it turns out, the motorcycle that meets all my needs doesn’t exist. I decided on an SWM RS500R for reasons I’ll talk about in a future post, but I’m probably going to end up getting a second bike. The RS500 does most of the things I want now, but it’s not even close to doing some of the others, at least not very well. Like 200-300 mile road trips…

What I’m looking at…

My first choice was actually a Suzuki DR-Z400S, but the dealer in town was out of stock. Other bikes that are interesting to me are Yamaha (WR250R and WR450F), Suzuki (besides the DR-Z 400, the DR-Z650 and the TU250X), the Honda XR650L, the KTM 350 EXC-F, the Hawk 250 Enduro, the Phatmoto All Terrain, and the Rokon Scout. I can’t afford all of them, but I’m going to study and write about them. Hopefully, at least one or two of them will join my SWM in the garage.

For now, I’m loving on my SWM. It should be home this Friday, and I already have a few things I want to do to it. Mainly an auxilary gas tank. Before I can do that though, I need to replace the dual mufflers with a single. Anyway, hope to have a first impression/riding post in the next couple weeks. Until next time…

Peace out,
porcupine

I did a thing…

Monday I was talking about getting a motorcycle… the shop is closed on Mondays so I called yesterday to check on the status of the 2021 bikes and seeing if the last brand new 2020 model on the planet was still available. The 2021’s are still on EPA hold (gee Biden, thanks for nothing…) and by some miracle the 2020 they had a line on is still available. So I had him work up a price sheet for total OTD (out the door) price. With destination, setup, and doc fees, plus my state sales tax, the total OTD price for my 2020 SWM RS500R is $9,280. In comparison, the KTM 500 EXC-F is about $13,800 OTD. Yep, the RS500R is over $4K cheaper than the KTM. That’s a lot of spare change…

So… I went ahead and told them I’d take it. My wife will probably be mad for a little while. She knows I’m getting a bike “some day” but she’s not happy about “some day” being so soon. Oh well. I can’t see spending $4,500 more for a bike I like less than the SWM. Not that there’s anything wrong with the KTM, I just like the SWM better. It’s a little heavier which is worse for racing but (hopefully) better for stability going fast on smooth dirt roads. Plus in reality it’s a 2010-era Husqvarna with updated suspension and fuel injection and I like that. Went down today and put down my deposit. It should be here next Tuesday and ready to pick up on Thursday. Whew…

The only two problems are (1) I don’t have a motorcycle license and (2) my wife. She’ll eventually forgive me (I did save $4,500 by jumping on this deal after all…) but getting the license will be a little trickier. Luckily I can buy insurance and register the bike without a motorcycle endorsement on my license. The problem is I can’t (legally) ride it without the motorcycle endorsement, and I can’t get the motorcycle endorsement without riding practice. Kind of a chicken and egg dilemma… I’ll figure it out, for now I’m just happy I’ve got the bike on the way. Here’s to exporing all the dirt roads and trails in my AO. Until next time…

Peace out,
porcupine

Whew…

Whew… another week’s backlog caught up. By the end of this week I should be done. Spent all my spare time today looking through my fishing gear and figuring out what I DON’T have. Couldn’t even find one of my tackle boxes… I think it’s been at least 5 years since I’ve even seen it. So basically I’m starting from scratch except for the rod and reel – and I might need a new rod and reel. All my stuff is (was) set up for catching trout in small streams. This bass fishing is a whole new ball game. We’ll see. I’ll probably start with the rod and reel I already have and go from there. I ordered some topwater plugs because according to a friend, that’s what the bass in these ponds bite on.

In other news, I really need a motorcycle so I can explore all the dirt roads and trails around here. I think I’ve decided on a SWM RS500R. Two problems: 1, my wife is opposed. 2, the 2020 models are all sold out and the f*****g EPA or some crap Federal alphabet agency is holding up the 2021 models over some alleged emmissions bullspit. So they’re here – sitting on a dock in a shipping container somewhere. The shop I’m getting it through said they’d call around, so I’ll check with them in a day or so to see if they have any updates. Of course I could just get a KTM, but those are 14 freaking THOUSAND dollars out the door. They sure must be proud of them… The SWM is less than $10K out the door (assuming I can even get one).

If I can’t, the next choice might be a Yamaha WRF450F with a street kit on it to make it street legal. Which isn’t actually a choice. For one thing, it’s not as powerful as either the KTM or the SWM. Second, I really have my heart set on a European bike. Finally, the Yamaha is only about $1K less than the KTM – for that price, it’s not too big a jump to just get the KTM. But I don’t WANT the KTM. The SWM is a better bike imo, leaving alone the cheaper price. I guess we’ll see… (that phrase seems to come up way too often lately). Anyway, until next time…

Peace out,
porcupine

Getting caught up, looking forward to unemployment…

I’m finally getting some time to get caught up. Pretty much all I’ve had time for here is working on my 365 photo project. After getting hacked at the beginning of the month I haven’t even had time for that. It took 2 weeks to recover and I’m still not caught up all the way. I have the pictures but it takes awhile to decide which one to use, then edit and caption it. I got about a weeks worth done today, and hopefully I’ll be caught up by next weekend.

Getting ready for unemployment…

The thing keeping my the busiest is getting ready for unemployment. I was told earlier this year that there’s no guarantee my contract will be renewed at the end of June. Not only that, there’s a chance it could be terminated any time before then with 30 days notice. I hate dealing with uncertainty, so I signed a voluntary early buyout agreement. This guarantees I’ll keep working through the end of June and also gives me a small severance package. I’ve been wanting to quit and do my own thing for a long time, so this is actually good news. If only I could get my wife to see it that way…

Anyway, I’ve been busy getting ready. For one thing, I’m documenting everything I do so my friend (who still works there) will know pretty much how to do my job. He’ll be stuck doing it and I don’t like leavingĀ  friends hanging. Plus I don’t want him calling me with work questions after I retire… lol. I’m also traing a kid (student worker) who hopefully – eventually – be hired as my replacement. All good stuff.

Besides prepping at work, I’m also getting ready around the home front. I’ve spent a lot of time cleaning up the back yard and getting ready for a garden this summer. Also started working out again and “planning” to start eating healthy. And most important, making sure everything I want to buy is bought before my wife finds out I’m gonna be jobless after June… like a motorcycle… Also the mundane stuff of course, like cutting our monthly spending, enrolling in a health insurance plan, and finding a safe place to sleep for the first few weeks after my wife finds out.

Post-employment plans…

I’m already planning on going to Wilderness EMT school in July (the same one that’s been cancelled twice so far b/c of Kung Flu). I’ll be done with that in early August and don’t have any firm plans after that. I’m really hoping for self employement. I’m really burned out on working for others. One option I think I would like is working the camping or fishing department at our local Scheels. Home Depot might be OK too, and we have one close to our house So we’ll see…

The main thing I’m looking forward to though is having more time for woods running. Or in my dase, desert running. I haven’t had much time over the last 15-20 years to go off the beaten path even around my own local area. Hell, just last week I learned about a nice big bass pond less than 5 miles from my house. I mentioned it to a friend who lives almost next to it. Not only did he know all about it, he’s actually pulled bass out of it. He said the biggest he’s caught was a 4 pounder.

There are also tons of trails and dirt roads ripe for exploring (hence the need for a dual sport bike) and of course the garden. I also want to get into raising ducks and rabbits. Anything except sitting around the hause getting nagged at for sitting around the house. And also getting caught up and keeping up with the blog. Anyway, I have a lot more to say (been bottling it up for a long time) but work comes early tomorrow and I have a lot to do. Until next time…

Peace out,
porcupine

Hacked…

About two weeks ago the site got hacked. I’ve been spending all my time making sure everything (posts, picures, etc) were secure and was finally able to get back online today. I’ll get caught up on my 365 photo project over the next few days. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Peace out,
porcupine