347 Days Until Summer

The WR-250FY awaits yet another Pachaug rock pile loop.

I went out on the ol' Pachaug enduro loop this past Sunday, and it was actually one of the best rides of the year for me.
That's partly due to me being well-rested since I'd missed two weekends in a row (due to working on the new-to-me CRF-450X9 and then feeling sick).
Also, the weather was fantastic for this time of year (warm), the traction was good, the bike felt as good as ever, and it was basically one of those rides where I felt damn good the whole way.
That last one is so very important to enjoying yourself.
You know? ;)

I was able to get yet another comparison of the Yamaha WR-250FY and the Honda CRF-450X9, this time by riding the WR.
Basically, the WR has enough power with a very good handling feel and a feeling of light weight to go along with it.
It obviously doesn't make as much power as a 450, but at no time have I ever wished I had more out on the trail, and the light feel of the bike is very much welcomed out there.

The CRF-450X9 makes a truckload of power, and using that power is very fun, indeed, but it comes with a very noticeable heavier feel to it.
It handles well, and the suspension is good, but the trade-off for having that large lump of an engine spinning away down there is an unmistakable and ever-present feeling of much more mass.

What this all means is, basically, what I'd guessed would be the case:
The WR-250FY is the better-balanced bike for riding the Pachaug rock pile due to good power and it's much lighter feel.
Those trails simply aren't open enough to justify the added power of the bigger bike and it's feeling of mass, or even allow you to use it all.
The loop can be ridden on the CRF-450X9, of course, and I am waiting to do exactly that and have fun playing with the big power, but it isn't the better bike for that terrain, at least not with me doing the riding.
What I do plan to use the CRF for is street riding to work, some Pachaug loop trail riding, and also some off-road riding in exploration mode, meaning investigating a place or three I either haven't been to in years, or that I know about but haven't been there at all.
The CRF will be an excellent choice for this because the bigger power and taller gearing will allow it to easily run with 55mph traffic on the street, and yet, it will still have that real-dirt-bike performance and feel that is very desirable while actually riding off-road.
See?

I plan to bring my modified CRF-450X9 up to the DMV for inspection and registration this Friday, so wish me luck. :)

-John

346: Nice Weather this Weekend, but, no Riding for Me

That's because there is a deer hunting season going on, and hunting is allowed on the same state land where the ol' Pachaug rock pile trails are.
So, I opted to not ride on Saturday, lest I piss-off some guy with a shotgun in his arms.
I'd hope that nobody would be pulling the trigger anywhere near the trails, but, I can only imagine that hunting has just as many dipshits out there as does motorcycle riding. ;)

Today, Sunday, I woke up feeling weak and under the weather.
I bet'cha it's because I'm fighting off a fuckin' cold of sort brought to jerk by one of the other guys.
Too bad, because today's weather was very nice, indeed.
It was very tempting with two awesome bikes in the house that are just waiting to get ridden, but, when I feel bad, my concentration suffers, so I played it safe.

I can tell you what my first ride on the Honda CRF-450X9 was like, though:

I rode the bike on some of the Pachaug loop Monday both before and after jerk, and it felt great.
I really liked the feel of the bike.
The power was enormous, the suspension felt good, the bike handled well, and I discovered no issues or quirks that I didn't like.
The down side to all this power from the 450cc engine is that the bike feels heavier while braking and turning as compared to the WR-250FY, but, that is exactly what I expected, so, no disappointment there.
It's physics, and I've felt such things before.

The CRF-450X9 feels good out on the trails in it's own right, although the WR-250FY, with it's lighter feel and still excellent power characteristics, is better for the tighter bits.
The CRF-450X9 feels best where you have the room to open the throttle and use the power and torque the engine produces to launch you forward faster than you really need to go. :)
Good thing the bike has excellent straight line stability, something that I really like in a dirt bike, especially one that can stand up, wheelie, and roost as it covers rough ground quickly when you open the throttle.
That's great fun, as well, and I plan on riding this bike much over the coming season.

So, I've got two bikes with distinctly different characteristics and areas of excellence:
The WR-250FY with it's magic little engine, light and accurate handling, and excellent suspension, and the CRF-450X9 with it's strong, big bore engine, freight train stability, good handling, and...newness.
It's new to me, so that automatically puts it in the limelight for now.

The Baja Designs dual sport kit should be here in a couple of days, and I hope to put the bike through DMV inspection and registration by the end of the month.

-John

345 Protesters Arrested at the Latest Occupy Wall Street Gig

Just where did this occupy Wall Street shit come from, anyway?
Seems that just a couple of months ago, it sprang up from nowhere, and if I read correctly, it's some kind of supposed grass roots movement where every-day people who are fed up with how the rich get richer and the poor get poorer are protesting here, there, and where ever.

I'd really like to think that people everywhere were going to do something about their situation in life, but, I just don't see it happening.
Not like that.
I would expect to see the vast majority of people getting all upset and ready to kill somebody if their Monday Night Football were taken away from them, or if alcohol were suddenly removed from the free market, or if they no longer had SUVs to drive to the mall in.
Do something about the crooks, liars, and murderers that are in high places?
The ones that believe they've got some kind of divine right to rule over everybody else because only they and their supposed equals are the only ones that possess real intelligence and the only mature minds on the planet?
I really doubt it, folks.
What I would expect is that this Wall Street gig is yet another supposed revolution fad that's actually a form of controlled opposition.
Controlled by who?
The very guys these supposed protesters are protesting (or occupying) about.

Yeah, if you want to somehow divert people's attention - the people you've been fucking out of their labor and worthless money for thousands of years - away from you and your crooked scheme and direct them toward something else, why not just start a club that, on the surface, looks like it wants to really make things better, but in reality is a pied piper that leads these fools off into another direction.
A direction that lets it be known who these participants are, where they are from, what their views are, how much they know, how they think, and, most of all, it keeps the limelight off of the bigshots.

Here's all the proof I need to know that this won't amount to a hill of beans:

911.
How do you think those Twin Towers came down, and why?
If you honestly believe the planes did it, you are both a real dummy when it comes to 2nd grade physics (and common sense), and you are in denial about the whole thing because the thought of any other explanation really bothers you.
How are you supposed to get stoned while at work in peace if you are contemplating who wired those buildings with explosives?
Hmmm?
Since we're on the subject, how long do you estimate it would have taken to get those buildings wired and setup in order for them to be demolished like that?
A week?
A month?
Two months?
How many people do you think it took to do that?
Where are they drawing their checks from?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?
Or, did they work for free?
Eh?

The proof I'm talking about is that these two skyscrapers full of people were brought down right in front of everybody, thousands of people died, we were given a shit excuse that terrorists did it, the crime scene was cleaned-up pronto without any kind of investigation as to how those buildings came down, and here we are, going along as if it is no big deal and as if it never happened.
Ask somebody what they think about it and how it was pulled-off, and most will repeat what they heard on the news (the official story).

Try this one:

April of 1995 in Oklahoma City.
Remember what happened then?
A big building, the Alfred P. Murrah building, crammed with people was wrecked when (supposedly) two losers parked a van full of fertilizer in front of it and lit a match.
These two guy were supposed to be the only two people on Earth involved, and their bullshit bomb was supposed to be a bomb forceful enough to blow the front half of a hardened target (a building made of reinforced concrete) away as if it were wet tissue paper.
Well, anybody who doesn't want to bury their face in a case of Budweiser would know that those those two guys were willing fools who were played and setup to be the patsies in the whole operation.
Who knows how many people were involved with rigging that building with the wired explosives (shaped charges) that actually caused the blasts and actually did the damage, and if you look at a pic of the remains of the building after the blasts, it was even done to look like a big bomb went off in front of the building.
And, when the remains of the building were finally demolished, do you know how they were brought down?
Well, it sure as hell wasn't by a van with bullshit in it.
It was done with (more) shaped charges.
In other words, a team of experts did it, two retards took the blame in a story that should make you want to throw up, and people today basically shrug if you bring this up.

So, basically, Occupy Wall Street can take a long walk off a short pier.
I see it as, basically, a bunch of willing fools who are getting involved in something funded by the very ones at the top of the whole mess to begin with.

-John

344: New Wheels in the House

This is a 2009 Honda CR-F450X, designated CR-F450X9.
Basically, it's the 450cc Honda version of my WR-250FY - an off-road bike based on the company's motocross bike.
This pic is just after I unloaded it from the truck when I brought it home this Friday.
It was a bit grubby, but otherwise in very good contition.
Most would say it was in excellent condition, but, I'm not so easily impressed. ;)

As is always the case whan I buy a new (or used) motorcycle, it gets a super cleaning and a teardown and thorough lube and inspection.

That way, I know it's health status, as well as truly make it mine.

I also degoober the bike, which means correct any goobery things done by the previous owner or remove aftermarket parts he put on that I don't like.

That's more like it.

Clean, lubed, and tended to just as if it were heading out for a ride.

And I would have taken it for a ride, too, if I hadn't spent the weekend working on it. ;)

OK, so I got another dirt bike.

Why, and why this one?

Well, folks, I'd been keeping an eye out for a Yamaha WR-450F to come across my path, but, basically, this one showed-up first.

This is the Honda model that competes for consumers' dollars with the Yamaha WR-450F on the showrooms.

It's the 2009 CR-F450X, an off-road bike based on their CR-F450R motocross bike.

Thank God, I realized as I was cleaning it and lubing it that's really in excellent condition.

Well, it's in excellent condition now that I've done that work.

So, why do I need another dirt bike when I already have a very nice Yamaha WR-250FY?

Well, this Honda will be my dual-purpose bike.

That means, my dedicated back-and-forth to work and some trail riding after work or maybe some exploration riding bike.

In other words, it's the bike I'll use for getting around on the street as well as off-road riding.

That way, I can ride a bike on the street without having to drive my truck during the nice weather next season, and do it without using my only dirt bike (the WR-250FY) as a street bike and wear the tires on that bike down quickly.

Yeah, I know the tires on the CF-R450X9 will wear down, too, especially if I use it as my street bike as well as a trail riding bike.

But, I can accept that with one of my bikes if I can keep the other one just for off-road riding, and that's where the WR-250FY and the ol' Pachaug rock n' roll pile come in.

See?

I knew you would.

Anyway, I'll be doing to the CR-F450X9 what I did to the WR-250FY two years ago:

Buy parts to modify it so that it will pass an inspection at the head honcho DMV office and then register it for street use.

I'd like to get that all done by the end of the month.

Stay tuned. ;)

-John

343: More Riding for Me

WR-250FY oil change on the house.
Or, in it, in fact.


I have to laugh to myself (because these comments don't merit doing it out loud) when a rider says (more like bitching, pissing, and moaning) that a modern off-road bike like my WR-250FY is "too maintenance-intensive".
Whenever I read that, I know that I'm either reading the writing of a complete lazy slob, a newbie who doesn't know his ass from his elbow and is just repeating what he heard from some other freak who doesn't know jack shit, himself, or simply some Internet troublemaker who thinks he's being funny and witty, while he's actually a retard, himself.

You see, folks, there are people out there that treat doing what is shown in the above pic as a Great, Giant Pain In The Ass.
That was capitalized because that's how much importance they place on that feeling.
Yup, a simple engine oil change is enough to make these guys moan about having to pick up a wrench and do some work to the bike.
What's even worst (for them) is that an engine like the one I have has two places where the oil is drained from.
These guys will make that sound like it makes the task twice as hard.
Really.
Funny, because the two drain plugs are about 5 inches apart.
However, you do have to remove three bolts and remove the skid plate.
Geezzzz, that does sound like a big job, after all.
If you're a moron. ;)

You see, these guys are under some kind of illusion (delusion, more like) that a bike like my former WR-250R (the dual-purpose bike I owned from June of 2009 until September of 2010), because it has written in the Owner's Manual under the street-orientated scheduled maintenance chart, that buying a WR-250R (or other Japanese dual-purpose bike) basically frees them from lifting a wrench to do things like an engine oil change.
They're kidding themselves with this because since the chart in the manual lists a recommended oil change every 3,000 miles, they believe you don't have to change the oil until 3,000 miles, no matter what.

Wrong.
They are ignoring one little disclaimer put in that manual.
It's the one that says to do things like an oil change and air filter servicing "more frequently in wet or dusty conditions".
They make it sound like they never read that part, because wet and dusty conditions = off-road riding, Lenny.
You see, that maintenance chart is for street riding, not off-road riding, and I also believe it's so lax so they won't scare away the typical off-road newbie that often buys a dual-purpose bike.

So, basically, they ride around off-road on their bikes in a (false, I believe) sense of security believing they can go and do whatever they want without even touching the bike for a month, or two, or three, and they will often brag about it and state that other bikes are way, way too maintenance-intensive.
I'd just love to see how black-as-the-ace-of-spades that oil looks when they finally drain it.

The Owner's Service Manual for my WR-250FY is written with off-road use in mind, and if one of these guys were to read it, they'd probably pass out when they read the part about servicing the air filter after each ride and changing the oil after 600 miles.
That's the recommendation if you were to do some hearty off-road riding, such as actually racing the bike.
These fools are so brainwashed, they actually believe they could race their WR-250R in an off-road race (which, in my experience with the bike, would not feel very good at all) and still not do an oil change until 3,000 miles passed.
These are the guys who also have their swingarm pivot shaft rusted in place when they are finally forced to take the rear suspension apart to replace worn-out parts (that they never maintained in the first place because they're on a bike that is practically maintenance-free in their minds).
The joke is on them.

Turning back to something like reality...

I rode the highly maintenance-intensive WR-250FY out on the ol' Pachaug enduro loop both days this past weekend, and they were good.
Saturday started a bit chilly (although it was decent by the mid-way point), so Sunday felt like the better day of the two.
On Sunday, I also rode with a guy named Stanley, a guy a never rode with before although I've talked with him countless times while at jerk.
He rode a well-used 1996 Honda CR-250R with a (supposedly) legit license plate on the back.
That's something you don't see every day, as a CR-250R is a bona-fide 2-stroke motocross bike.
He rode the trials just fine, and as far as I know, he had no bad incidents.
We both enjoyed the 52 miles out there - I know I had fun.
Hmmmmm.
I wonder how such a high-maintenance bike made the whole loop. ;)

I also tried a different rear tire, just out of sheer curiosity:
A Bridgestone M603.
This is listed as an intermediate/hard terrain tire, where my usual M22 is a hard terrain tire, period.
The verdict?
Basically, it feels like I assumed it would - trading away some hard terrain feel and grip for some softer terrain grip.
It's not a bad tire, but, I still feel the ol' M22 is a better tire for the Pachaug loop because there is so much hard terrain out there, and, more often than not, the M22 feels more solidly hooked-up to the ground.
So, once this M603 wears out, I'll put the usual M22 back on, even though I wonder if I'll be doing that this year since the off-road season is winding down. :(

Off to jerk,
-John