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#Post#: 1853--------------------------------------------------
Am I the only one that got turned into a 'maniac' by the 690 ?
By: DaveKubler Date: October 3, 2014, 4:38 pm
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Just a short note.... not sure if I am alone in this. I have
ridden all my life ( 30+ years) , starting motorcross...then
going into primarily street. About 5 years ago, I got my first
dual sport, not sure if I would be as interested in being
offroad. Being in Montana now, so much forest land beckoned for
one.... Well, I bought the KLR...and put 25,000 'wreck free'
miles on it...just tooling around. I got the 690 because I
wanted a lighter, more nimble machine with more power.... What
happened though, is way more than that.... as soon as I turned
the key on that thing...I suddenly became the crazy 18 yo where
everything had to be ballls to the wall. My skills are
GOOD.....but not that good that I can stay at that high end
level without mishap. Even the pros fall and get hurt at their
level..it's inevitable. needless to say, I have had 2
substantial wrecks on this bike, inside of 5000 miles. 1st one,
I luckily rode away from after cartwheeling it at over 70 mph .
( as I was flattracking gravel roads) Me and the bike were
FINE ! ...now just last week, I had a bit of a more freakish
wreck on a loose gravel double track doing about 35-40. Front
wheel just washed... ( note...I do NOT like the Michelin
Desert tires for ANYTHING other than sand and mud...they are not
nice on loose gravel).. MT 21 are the right tires for that...
So...I am now rebuilding my bike....and mending my broken arm.
:) I am just wondering, how has the power and performance of
the 690 corrupted any others ?? :)
I cant be alone......lol but damn, I love this bike. .
#Post#: 1857--------------------------------------------------
Re: Am I the only one that got turned into a 'maniac' by the 690
?
By: Colorado Rider Date: October 3, 2014, 10:20 pm
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Ha; you are not alone.
I'm 55, and I find my self taking short-cuts through car car
washes, going over curbs and 'other embankments' and just
general hooliganism (I really need to get the supermoto set-up).
No accidents yet, other than looking backward while riding
forwards on dirt - never a good idea. Another one of my
favorite activities is going through S turns and easily passing
the SUV that are going absolutely as fast as they can; it just
never gets old. I'm off to Texas Creek tomorrow to ride on the
dirt. Turning the knob under the seat; priceless...
#Post#: 1860--------------------------------------------------
Re: Am I the only one that got turned into a 'maniac' by the 690
?
By: Crowy Date: October 4, 2014, 8:29 am
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+1
Currently in motard trim and riding it like a f@#kin lunatic.
And absolutely loving it.
But really need to pull my head in.
#Post#: 1862--------------------------------------------------
Re: Am I the only one that got turned into a 'maniac' by the 690
?
By: DaveKubler Date: October 4, 2014, 9:39 am
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Right on guys. Hey, I am so NOT a preacher of woe and
doom....... but PLEASE, take inventory of yourself, and what
you REALLY want to be able to do for the long term with the
bike.... and yes, maybe bringing it down a notch might save
some OTHER 50 yo guys from my situation of watching the nice end
of the riding season slide away. :)
I loved every second of it (and still will).....as well :)
#Post#: 1863--------------------------------------------------
Re: Am I the only one that got turned into a 'maniac' by the 690
?
By: Wansfel Date: October 4, 2014, 9:51 am
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I've been riding for 50 years. Never raced, but pushed my old
KDX400 to the limits, often, and loved it for many, many years.
Moved back east for 9 years and did ride a Vulcan 1500. Back to
Montana and finally picked up a KLR. The KLR and I had a couple
of heavy discussions about how to ride dirt roads fast, and we
came to a consensus level where we were both comfortable. Just
couldn't treat it like a good dirt bike, but you can push one to
it's limits and that is what we did for a few years until last
July when I tried a buddies new 2014 690 last summer on a long,
long rally run. I had been in denial over what I had been
missing. Didn't take long before I found a little used 2010.
(Also found a 2012 for my son who also made the mistake of
trying a 690 so actually bought 2 690s this summer.)
However, every bike has it's own quirks and it take time to
adapt so I'm trying to take it easy for awhile and listen to the
bike letting it tell me it's limits before we have to have those
road side chats like with the KLR. At 64, I can't afford the
hard hits any more, but I can sure still enjoy the abilities of
the 690.
But , man it is a fun bike and I'm looking forward to get back
some of the playfulness the old KDX had, that I definitely
missed. Much more then mere transportation.
Dave, I had thoughts when watching you on the Toboggan Hill run
in September thinking you may well be due for a road side
discussion with your 690. It happens, most often when one lets
his concentration wander, yes?
Heal up, you're missing some great fall weather riding.
Ron
#Post#: 1865--------------------------------------------------
Re: Am I the only one that got turned into a 'maniac' by the 690
?
By: DaveKubler Date: October 4, 2014, 10:07 am
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[quote author=Wansfel link=topic=368.msg1863#msg1863
date=1412434269]
I've been riding for 50 years. Never raced, but pushed my old
KDX400 to the limits, often, and loved it for many, many years.
Moved back east for 9 years and did ride a Vulcan 1500. Back to
Montana and finally picked up a KLR. The KLR and I had a couple
of heavy discussions about how to ride dirt roads fast, and we
came to a consensus level where we were both comfortable. Just
couldn't treat it like a good dirt bike, but you can push one to
it's limits and that is what we did for a few years until last
July when I tried a buddies new 2014 690 last summer on a long,
long rally run. I had been in denial over what I had been
missing. Didn't take long before I found a little used 2010.
(Also found a 2012 for my son who also made the mistake of
trying a 690 so actually bought 2 690s this summer.)
However, every bike has it's own quirks and it take time to
adapt so I'm trying to take it easy for awhile and listen to the
bike letting it tell me it's limits before we have to have those
road side chats like with the KLR. At 64, I can't afford the
hard hits any more, but I can sure still enjoy the abilities of
the 690.
But , man it is a fun bike and I'm looking forward to get back
some of the playfulness the old KDX had, that I definitely
missed. Much more then mere transportation.
Dave, I had thoughts when watching you on the Toboggan Hill run
in September thinking you may well be due for a road side
discussion with your 690. It happens, most often when one lets
his concentration wander, yes?
Heal up, you're missing some great fall weather riding.
Ron
[/quote]
Thanks Ron. Ok, refresh my memory. Where did you see me ride ?
lol...I tend to ride all over, and very common for me to NOT
know the names of places and stuff, and commonly forget the
names. I can't recall where the hell Toboggan Hill is ? Was
this on the Happy Trails rally in Kamiah ? I guess I looked
'out of control' ? not good...lol
#Post#: 1867--------------------------------------------------
Re: Am I the only one that got turned into a 'maniac' by the 690
?
By: Wansfel Date: October 4, 2014, 11:17 am
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Dave,
Yup, I led the HT Rally Lochsa Lodge, Toboggan, Kelly Ck, Pierce
run. At least up until we were blasting down the Toboggan Hill
Road.
#Post#: 1868--------------------------------------------------
Re: Am I the only one that got turned into a 'maniac' by the 690
?
By: DaveKubler Date: October 4, 2014, 12:07 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=Wansfel link=topic=368.msg1867#msg1867
date=1412439431]
Dave,
Yup, I led the HT Rally Lochsa Lodge, Toboggan, Kelly Ck, Pierce
run. At least up until we were blasting down the Toboggan Hill
Road.
Ahh...ok then :) Well, that was a fun ride for sure. The
interesting thing about my 2 wrecks.... 1st one, I was VERY new
on the bike. I had/have a steering damper, but had not yet
really understood how it works, so really was not set properly
for what I was doing. Which was some SUPER fast flat tracking
that made the Idaho run look tame. I wound up with a front
wheel wobble/tank slapper at over 70 MPH on a loose gravel road.
This last wreck, I was only doing about 30-40....not a really
'rough' section, but the front just bailed on me. Freak
accident, I actually have it on video...and no-one who has seen
it can pinpoint why I went down. Front just violently washed
out. I will be taking this front tire off...it is NOT friendly
on loose gravel. (Michelin Desert)... the rear isnt so great
either, but bearable till I wear it out. I want the MT21s back
on front and rear.
Hopefully we will get a chance to ride again. I would
probably be happy to be at a slower pace as well ;)
[/quote]
#Post#: 1882--------------------------------------------------
Re: Am I the only one that got turned into a 'maniac' by the 690
?
By: Rockitboy Date: October 5, 2014, 3:29 pm
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Oooooo yeahhh I got the 690 maniac bad! (I have a 14' 690) Just
goin on 43 years old & yep, feel 18 again every time I fire her
up. The FMF Powercore makes this girl sound beastly & begging
for a whipping every time on get on. Really surprised I got thru
the summer with only one ticket.. "riding wheelie across 4 lanes
of traffic" He wrote it out on the ticket in case I wanted to
take it to court! The sheriff called it exhibition & told me I
could get hurt. I called it fun & told him I could ride a
wheelie way more than 4 lanes!! He wasn't impressed. Well what
he said is kinda true as I've had a couple small wrecks this
year.. My first "get off" was a 45 mph high side in a grassy
ditch early this spring. Turns out only the top inch or so of
the grass was thawed out.. 2 broken ribs & a mild concussion.. O
yeah & a pair of mirrors. Then late this summer I cracked an
ankle riding a sand pit with a buddy. I thought "dude I could so
nail this on my old 250.." It was a sweet jump off a small dirt
pile but I got a bit crossed up in the air & crunch.. Shit
happens when your a maniac. I'm still nursing a messed up ankle
but getting in some great fall riding too. Yeah bud your not the
only one this bike makes a maniac of!!
#Post#: 1912--------------------------------------------------
Re: Am I the only one that got turned into a 'maniac' by the 690
?
By: Bartlioni Date: October 7, 2014, 4:58 pm
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I can zimply zay deez:
What your experiencing is a perfectly normal autonomic reactive
imbalance brought about through extreme stimuli aggregated
through multiple considerations including blistering
acceleration, light weight, graceful handling, and an uncanny
ability to chase deer through open brush. The prevailing
pathology suggests these aggressive stimuli excite the cerebral
cortex inducing radical endorphin production consistent with
hyper sexual stimulation. While several treatment regimes have
been employed including frontal lobotomy, radical mastectomy,
castration, and even stimulating the bottoms of the patient's
feet with a peacxck feather in the more extreme cases, the most
promising results have been obtained through oral consumption of
single-malt whiskey and physical therapy of the vocal chords
screaming: "Heeeeeeeeeyylll Yeeeeeeeeaaaaah" while the patient
laughs maniacally as he / she traverses the arid tundra on a
690e.
"But what does it all mean Basel?"
- Austin Powers
It means: yes, it makes you crazy. But its best (especially for
your nads) to just go with it. This is why I only managed to
put 100 miles on my Harley in the time I put 3000 miles on my
690e. Lord only knows how much single-malt whiskey.
:}
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