My new scoot

[yankeejib]

I'm back in the world of motorcycles. My woman wasn't too thrilled. My last two bikes both were killed at the fault of other drivers. One was a left turn out of nowhere, the other was a stoplight runner. Neither my fault. Both times I flew away and managed not to encounter anything before I came to a stop. The last one was 10 years ago.
But, I digress. I've long distance hiked and ridden my bicycle all around the United States. Appalachian Trail, Long Trail, rode from Seattle to Tampa in 2005, rode Tampa to Maine in 2007, and rode a big mid-west circle in 2009. 12K miles on my bicycle in 8 years. Since then, I've suffered some health setbacks, had a couple of surgeries, and now the wife is not too thrilled with my "Lone Wolf" wandering ways lest I expire where I purposefully hid myself not to be found.
So, my next adventure (3 year plan) is a North American motorcycle circumnavigation. Florida to Labrador, around the Hudson Bay, Northern Canada territories, Alaska, the Pacific Coast, Baja, Mejico, and then back to Florida. 14K miles in 6 months, and to that end, I bought a new ride: Kawasaki KLR650. Lo-tech, proven platform, utilitarian, self-servicable. I got it Friday and have pains in my face right now from constant smiling as I have ridden it around in Tampa since then. I bought a rack for it so I can carry it on the back of my truck and take it to NC with me. Now I have $1K worth of wish list upgrades.

[Nathan]

That looks sweet! I sold my bike six years ago and miss it often but the laws of physics (15 year olds driving while texting versus me on a bike) prevent me from replacing it.
The road trip sounds awesome! What will you do about carry through states prohibiting carry?

[deadguy]

Looking forward to your travels.

[yankeejib]

What will you do about carry through states prohibiting carry?

[samuelrp]

I love a Kawasaki. Had two. The two stroke would turn 11000 rpms with no issue. A pint of liquor would just fit under the seat in 1976 ive been told.

[yankeejib]

I hauled my bike up to NC for a long fall weekend. I've been up in the hills now for an afternoon each of the last two days. Man, I'm beat. I feel like a train ran me over.I did discover several things. One, my eyes/intentions are bigger than my skills/motor. I dumped a couple of times (low speed) and had a total botch of a steep hill climb when I encountered the rock shelves. I've learned to get my ass off the seat and steer with the throttle. The whole forest is covered with fallen leaves right now, so everything is slippery and invisible. The downside is tonight I've already ordered new front springs, new back shock assembly, new aluminum skid plate, radiator guard, and new foot pegs. New hobbies suck.

[yankeejib]

I hauled my bike up to NC for a long fall weekend. I've been up in the hills now for an afternoon each of the last two days. Man, I'm beat. I feel like a train ran me over.I did discover several things. One, my eyes/intentions are bigger than my skills/motor. I dumped a couple of times (low speed) and had a total botch/abortion of a steep hill climb when I encountered the rock shelves. I've learned to get my ass off the seat and steer with the throttle. The whole forest is covered with fallen leaves right now, so everything is slippery and invisible. The downside is tonight I've already ordered new front springs, new back shock assembly, new aluminum skid plate, radiator guard, and new foot pegs. New hobbies suck.

[samuelrp]

Had to keep replacing front fork seals in my enduro back in 1976. If I could hang on, it would go anywhere. There were huge mountains of dirt in Boone right behind the Kawasaki shop. Woods offer a greater challenge I think

[CharlieW]

Nice iconic bike -- I did not know you could get them in black. Looks like a ton of fun.

[yankeejib]

Nice iconic bike -- I did not know you could get them in black. Looks like a ton of fun.

The first thing I did when I got it home was go after all the Power Ranger decals with a hot blow dryer and restore it to plain Jane. Thankfully, they hadn't been clear coated.

[CharlieW]

Nicely done -- I would be tempted to add some subtle pin striping