Took the CRF on it's first real ride today. Covered 266 miles. (I have 345 on it now, not too bad for only owning it 2 1/2 days) Rode from Sandy, OR down to Albany, OR via rural highways and backroads. Didn't get in any dirt though, most of that is still snowed in around here. And I put my OHV sticker on already and everything.... Mainly just to use a coupon for a free tire gauge that is normally $25. They were out though and told me to come back next week when a new shipment comes in. Sounds like they gave me an excuse to pick out a different route down there and do the ride again. (Any excuse will do.) I did pick up some grips though. Something a bit thicker and softer than the stockers. Got a couple pics. (Sorry for cell phone quality...) Silver Falls. This is just one of the waterfalls in the park. Only one that can be seen from the road, park is still closed for the season. Photo op in Mt. Angel. A little Bavarian town I went through on the way home. They have a huge Oktoberfest every year. Loving this little bike more and more. I had been riding Ninjas up until this point. Even with the knobbies the CRF leans in real nice and carves the twisties well. the "chicken strips" just keep getting smaller and smaller as I break in the tires. And the little bit of large potholed gravel parking lot I got to try out the suspension in confirmed it is still very much dirtbike. Honda did pretty good getting the balance right. Now to just get the grips, handgaurds, GPS mount, power port, and rear rack installed so it'll be a bit more setup for some real exploration this summer. (Probably gonna do the IMS 3gal tank as well, and a better skidplate)
It was good times indeed. The seat was a little bothersome, but not as bad as I thought a dirtbike seat would be and I'll get used to it, and if not I guess there are seat options. A short ride on the scooter I have is 100 miles (50cc Yamaha Zuma I built up to 70cc and turned into a mini dual sport, looks like a mini me KLR), this will always take me further. Everyone says I should have gotten a KLR. But I like the little Honda. I like pushing smaller machines as far as they can go and I can go on them, more fun than hopping on something that will do a given trip easy. Today I hope to see a little dirt. The mountains I live at the base of are all snowed in. But if I head for the coast I know there is very little to no snow in those mountains. Plus there are OHV trails. Time to strap a gallon of gas to the back and explore. (My rack arrives today but I doubt anytime before I leave. But if it does before I'm done installing my 12v power port then I wont have to come up with a pad to protect the fender) Looks like I wont even own it a week before it's time to do the first service.
