A Ulysses would be fun...all that power... Actually my XR650 was a hoot on gravel too. Wheelspin? When do you want it?

 

Just ride and have fun. I look at a nick on my bike and get kinda ticked. Life as a rider. Us musicians get bumps on our axes all the time. It just shows character. It's yours and very special.

 

Gravel No F in way.

tom

 

Maybe you should buy a used sporty.... That way you won't be so afraid to get it dirty or nicked up. Maybe even put some dirt bike tires on it.... You'll have the best of both worlds... I got my 02 XLH 883 for $3500 and I ride it to work 30 miles each way. I don't care if it's perfect... a bike is for riding....

 

That's what I was thinking.

 

It's the first nick or scratch that's the killer; after that, you just let it go.

 

I too own a KLR 650 (I'm also Awf Hand on the KLR650.net)!!

NEVER get rid of the KLR 650, you will regret it every time you look longingly down a dirt road and think "I coulda gone there if I hadn't sold my #$%^ KLR".

I will never part with my KLR 650. The Sporty will be an addnl bike when it comes.

How many other vices do you have?? What I mean is, what would convince the wife that "one more" isn't the end of the world.

Please keep us updated on what you decide to do...

 

Buy it, ride it ,enjoy it. Use it for what it was meant to be used for, Transportation and fun. Stone chips can be touched up . If you want a museum piece , leave your bike parked in the garage . If you do any serious riding you will have to ride on a gravel road from time to time to get to where you are going. Most gravel roads are packed and usually the most that happens is a little dust... Go for it..Mark...

 

He's only going to be riding it 3 freekin' miles down the 'gravel road.' Geez, if you can't ride your Sporty 3 freekin' miles down a dirt road, you might as well hang it up and get an SUV.

It's real simple. Keep the speed down and keep the bike steady. Should be kinda fun, actually, and a workout as well. Gravel's not as dangerous when you know you are in it. It's only when you hit patches of it on the asphalt that you didn't know was there is it the most dangerous.

But hey, to each his own, but Bronson would be ashamed. I can still remember him riding his Sporty through fields and so forth and on beaches and whatnot, if I remember correctly, and definitely down dirt roads...

 

Some of us treat our bikes with pride. Some of us let them get ratty. If I had to go down a gravel road, so be it. Would I want to though, heck no. To each their own!