You should have know that part, Bucky.
To a lot of young whippersnappers out there reading this blog (assuming that youngsters still have brains in their heads instead of rocks), a 1986 model dirt bike is as old as the hills.
Yes, I consider that old, too, but it is a model of motorcycle that I personally have experience with, and I know how it works and feels.
Yamaha is no longer manufacturing 200cc 2-stroke off-road motorcycles (the 2-stroke YZ-125 and YZ-250 are classified as motocross by the way, not off-road), so if a rider wanted a 200cc off-road 2-stroke dirt bike, this is almost the latest model out there - somewhere.
If I'm lucky, I'll be able to pick up a Yamaha IT-200 that isn't beat to shit by some shitheads, get it registered, and ride it on the ol' Pachaug enduro loop.
Compared to the CRF-450X9 that I'm currently riding, it would feel like a flyweight in comparison.
Also, it would be interesting to see in the present just how much or how little my view on dirt bikes from days gone by, that I know worked well back then, are being viewed through rose tinted glasses.
That means to see whether the memory of the bike in my head will actually stand up to the test, Lenny, and come out favorably, or to come out not seeming as great as the memories of it were.
I'd also go for a 1982 or 1983 IT-175J or IT-175K, as I also had one of those and they were great, too.
Better in some ways that really count, like ergonomics, a word that means how the bike is shaped with the seat, fuel tank, footpeg and handlebar positioning, and how those aspects fit and feel to the rider.
I'm thinking about light-weight dirt bikes from my past this morning because I had a good ride out on the Pachaug loop yesterday (Saturday).
Where's the connection?
You shall read about it, Edwardo.
What I did yesterday was to add an approximately 10 mile section, known as the "southern loop" to other Pachaug loop riders, that I've ridden just one other time in the past 20 years, and that one other time was last August on my ol' trusty WR-250FY.
On that ride last August, I encountered a few deep muddy water ruts and holes that turned me off and took it's toll on my energy, but, I decided to give it another go yesterday on the CRF-450X9 because I had a bit of a hunch:
I thought that I may have gotten off the beaten path and took a wrong turn last August, and the trail that had the bummer mud holes wasn't even part of the real Pachaug loop, but just some other side trail to be avoided unless you like getting stuck, which some retards do.
Well, that was the case, and by paying close attention to my odometer and the official NETRA route sheet, I did not take that trail with the obstacles that I didn't like.
In fact, I think I know where the wrong turn was made last year.
The ride was pretty darn good, and the extra mileage from the southern part of the loop put my total for the day at 61 miles on the button.
Not to bad.
The trails on this southern part of the loop were pretty good.
Although they were quite rocky, they were still negotiable as long as you knew how to actually ride a dirt bike, and the revalved suspension of the CRF-450X9 felt good over them.
I good compromise, I must say, as while still not ultra-plush and still allowing for the rider (me) to feel the hits the suspension takes along the way, they are softened a bit so I'm not being beaten up and punished at the same time.
As said, a good compromise that seems to be working.
Thanks, Tom from Nasin Machine.
Anyway, the trails were featuring a number of spots that had uphill and downhill rock ledges, something that gives good traction in the dry, at least, allow you to keep some speed up, and I had fun riding them.
There were also numerous spots that had natural terrain jumps that give the chance to catch some air (get your wheels off the ground if you hit them fast enough), and once I take these trails often enough to memorize the lay of the land, that's a sure bet to happen whenever I ride over them.
The trails were also wide, wide enough for some kind of off-road 4X4 vehicle in most spots, and I have to imagine that's what goes out on those trails from time to time, as well as ATVs.
This southern loop section came into my usual loop at about the 25 mile mark and lasted for about 10 miles, and after that was done, it put me right into my favorite pine needled whoop section through the woods.
I felt good, had good energy, rode the bike in a decent manner, made some good moves, had no mishaps, no crashes, and had a good time out there.
Not a bad deal, Howard.
So, if yesterday's ride was good, why am I daydreaming about Yamaha IT-175s and IT-200s?
It's because of my feeling the effects of cold, hard physics.
That is:
A 450cc dirt bike, even a modern one with all of the technological bells and whistles, is, in my opinion and for this 46-year-old and 150 pound rider, really more than is needed, and when I say more than needed, it's not really the enormous power and torque the engine has at all engine speeds and in any transmission gear you choose that I'm referring to.
I mean the feeling of heavy mass that has to be steered in the intended direction, something you feel every time you want to slow for a corner while in the rocky bumps or negotiate a tight section, something I encounter a lot on each ride.
In other words, the CRF-450X9 is simply more heft than is ideal, and the large-displacement engine (the source of the hefty feel) with that great power and torque is overridden by that hefty feel.
Or, for the real dimwits out there:
It's more bike than is really necessary out on the ol' Pachaug enduro loop, and a smaller-displacing bike is really the better way for me to go, all-in-all.
I should know, as I'm the guy riding them, and I was thinking about this very thing at several points on yesterday's ride.
So, for now, I'll keep riding this bike until fate intervenes and I see something I would like to ride for sale.
Stay tuned. ;)
Edit:
I went out on the ol' Pachaug enduro loop again today, Sunday, and it was a good one even though I ran off the trail and smacked a couple of fingers on my left hand into a tree. :)
Details on that in a moment.
I rode basically the same route as yesterday except for skipping a 3 mile section that I don't take often on the big ol' CRF-450X9 for reasons mentioned above.
I rode the southern part again, intent on getting to know that part of the loop as I want to make that part of my usual route from here on out.
When I got up this morning, I felt a bit sore from yesterday's ride, my nagging right wrist was feeling sore, and to top that off, I felt a a little tired even though I got 8 hours of sleep, but, I still wanted to go and ride Pachaug.
Why?
Because I ride dirt bikes, dammit.
So, my plan was to ride the same route as yesterday but to use my head and not be a hero and slow down if I started to get tired and/or lose concentration because of feeling tired.
Well, I did slow it down in some sections on the second half of the ride, but it was due mainly to my pesky right wrist.
I tweaked it waaaaaay back in 1996, and although it never bothered my for most of those years, riding out on the Pachaug loop with that wonderful Connecticut rocky terrain, especially on the CRF-450X9 with it's strong acceleration AND uncanny ability to hit sharp bumps harder than a smaller bike while under that strong acceleration AND with the way it requires muscle to muscle through the tight sections, my wrist started to cry, "Uncle!"
So, I slowed down through the more intense sections requiring wrist power, patty-caking the throttle (not opening the throttle as aggressively as usual, especially when hitting bumps) to lessen the jolt, and, basically, wishing I didn't have a bum wrist.
However, it was while riding more gingerly with the throttle when I crashed.
While going through the last few tenths of a mile in my favorite pine-needled whoops section, I hit a good-sized tree root (that I've crossed many times before and I had it in plain view) that shot my rear wheel off to the right, pointing the bike toward the left, and into the woods I went.
I came to a stop when my front tire rolled up the sloped side of the trail and into a sturdy pine tree, but, since rolling up the incline toward the woods used some momentum, I wasn't going fast and I just jolted to a stop.
The bigger deal was my smacking my fingers against another tree, and then after I came to rest, I realized the floor of the trail was down about 18 inches since the trail was down at the bottom of a mini-valley with the sides of the trail raised above the part where my tires are supposed to roll.
That naturally meant the bike fell to the right side.
No harm came to the bike, luckily, and I was OK other than smacking my fingers, so, I carried on like a good soldier.
I think the reason I messed-up while crossing over that tree root was because I was too sloppy with the throttle that I was patty-caking and gassed it too late, causing the tire to just bounce off it instead of drive through it.
Geddit?
I was able to complete the last pesky hill climb, the rocky one (there aren't many that are not rocky out in Pachaug) just before finishing the ride that I sometime mess-up and have to stop.
However, by this point my wrist was saying, "Enough, already!", and I took that rocky uphill in 2nd gear instead of my usual 3rd gear on the CRF-450X9.
It's a bummer having to slow down like that, but, as I planned on doing, I needed to use my head and listen to my body, Lenny.
All-in-all, it was a few miles less than yesterday at 57.1 miles for a total.
The majority of the ride was good, I rode well, I enjoyed the newish southern sections (there was a cool rock sticking up about 2 feet off the ground at the top of a hill that lets you get some air), and basically survived another good weekend of dirt bike riding.
I'm already looking forward to next weekend, this time with a fully rested body. ;)
-John
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