My Hondas would be jealous, feel betrayed…
While I’m outfitting my lil (Honda crf)250L for adventure riding, this other bike, from another brand, very much has me yearning. No, I don’t have $15K to drop anymore than I have room to store it. That doesn’t mean I can’t ponder, admire.
It’s true, I love motorcycling, even obsessed by it (the latter being a conversation I’m willing to have, explore) and am taking that passion to a new place. Metaphorically as well as literally. I’ve logged some asphalt miles (I can go “half empty” and whine that I wish it was more) and the ROKONS were an attempt to get into the dirt.
They succeeded, sort of. To call them motorcycles is akin to calling a SmartCar a highway vehicle. Just because they CAN go there, doesn’t mean they shine. So last summer I purchased a dirt bike, dual sport ready (which means it legally does asphalt, but in its bones shines off of it. That spectrum is a separate convo…).
I’ve barely scratched the surface of dirt riding, and eager to dive in while my body can, will tolerate it. The modifications I’m undertaking make it better at both on and off-road riding, as I seek more of each. The bike pictured above is something of its mentor, benchmark. It’s pretty much already there, albeit bigger.
The ADV motorcycling realm is exploding, so I won’t be limited to lusting after this particular model. I’ve long been eyeing the Honda Africa Twin, but that money and storage thing keep me where I am, a spirited ludite.
Case in point, last night I chopped up an old atlas to fabricate a facsimile of the MABDR (Mid-Atlantic Backcountry Discovery Route, phew, thus the acronym!) that runs from the northern Tennessee border to the southern NY border. I’m ten hours from the latter, and may attempt a northern portion before locking in on summer plans, work.
I created the hybrid map in order to better visualize where the route is in regards to “the rest of the world”. Should I do recon on a street bike first, how the heck am I going to explore, access it’s asphalt crossings, sections? The BDR maps aren’t asphalt friendly, and that’s the point!
Not only did I learn A LOT about the route, I learned how hard it is to stick together different state maps in different scales. Wow, I was practically flummoxed, but reminded myself (REGULARLY) that it was a “fun project” and just a rainy evening not in front of a screen, an exercise regarding the direction of motorcycling I’m heading.
It was ultimately a win for me, and my burgeoning ADV (mini)bike. That latter, if it had feelings, would be resting assured that together we would embark on this journey, and that lovely Norden 901 isn’t much more than a pipedream, at this point…
DeedleDoodleDaily 