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Tuesday, April 16, 2013

His, Hers, and......

HIS...



HERS...



OURS...



We've been thinking of adding a smaller dual spot to the moto-stable for a while now.  Something lighter than the Tiger for Troubadour to chase the guys around the back woods and something small enough I could handle it to chase him around forestry roads and gravel.

The opportunity came last week when he spied a used 2009 Yamaha XT 250 for sale on Craigslist with only 42 miles on the odometer.  A woman in Colorado bought it new in March 2012 from a dealer, put 42 miles on it, scared herself silly and decided to sell it.  She moved to Oregon at the end of February this year and was looking to sell at a fair price.

A week ago Sunday we went and looked at it but it wouldn't start. It still had fuel in it from a year ago and the pet cock (fuel shut off valve) had been left open since February when she last started it.

On Saturday after coffee we once again drove an hour to see it.  This time we were armed with PolarBear's trailer, fresh fuel, new spark plug, and a variety of tools, not to mention PolarBear (thank you Andy) following on his Tiger.

They drained the old fuel, changed the spark plug, tinkered a bit and after gently stuffing a gas soaked shop towel down the air box it fired right up.  They tweaked the idle set screw and Brad took it for a quick putt.  It was a done deal.  How could we go wrong - it is basically a brand new machine.

They loaded it on the trailer and we brought it home.


Last night the rain stopped long enough for Brad to take it for a quick ride for a photo shoot.  He was quite pleased with it and thinks it was a perfect addition.  Now to clean the garage and make a little more room.  Three bikes can be a little tight in there.




I've heard rumors of a dry weekend coming up, but I am not holding my breath.  I should just be glad we don't have snow.

- Au Revoir

"Life is too short for traffic." - Dan Bellack
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40 comments:

  1. Congratulations! Little bikes like that are a blast to drive on forest roads. I think you guys will have a lot of fun with that. Good find!

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    1. Thanks. I am thinking it will be fun. I was surprised it wasn't snapped up before we got a chance to look at it.

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  2. Trobairitz:

    what a nice find ! You should be very happy with that. You have so many of those forest service roads down there.

    It's also got more Blue than Orange, so technically it should belong to . . . ☺

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast

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    1. No orange on it...... A KTM would have orange but they are pricey.

      I won't tell you how little we pay for insurance per month for it, but it is under $16 with full coverage.

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    2. Trobairitz:

      Yes, the thought did cross my mind as I was looking at a wr250x I couldn't justify another $750. insurance premium. We are going broke here with vehicle insurance. My Vstrom is just over $1,100. and my R1200r is over $1,700. plus I still have cars.

      I know, I know . . . rub it in why don't you. You know how it is up here. I wished we could insure the driver instead of each vehicle. They were talking about changing our system, but then ICBC doesn't want to lose these extra premiums, so in the meantime we are being milked . . .

      bob
      Riding the Wet Coast

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  3. Nice find on CL! And it looks like it's street legal too. Is the seat pretty high?

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    1. Yes it is street legal. It was plated in Colorado. Friday we'll take it to the DMV here so they can verify the VIN# and we'll get a plate.

      I have a 32" inseam, Brad has a 30" inseam and we can both flat foot the bike. Specs page for the bike says the seat height is 31.9" which is pretty much what the Gladius is. My inseam is longer but he weighs more compressing the suspension more, so we end up touching the ground about the same.

      Next time you are in town you'll have to try it out. I am sure we have enough gear around our place.

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  4. I am sooooo jealous!!!
    Congrats! You are going to have too much fun with that one :D

    ReplyDelete
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    1. You have the pedal powered version.

      This will go faster, but yours is better for you.

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  5. Very nice, now you can explore all those roads you couldn't before with Max.

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    1. Yeah, it was a bummer when I'd have to stop whereas Brad could keep on going if he wanted to. This should just add to the fun. Max will still be great for those longer slogs around the State though.

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  6. How exciting, I can feel a bunch of adventures coming your way!

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    1. Let's hope so........

      I know the song says "Born to be wild", but for me it is usually "Born to be mild."

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  7. You're going to have fun with that. I'm sorry I sold my dual sport and am thinking about trying to find another one (cheap!). They're a blast on gravel roads and forest trails.

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    1. We are thinking is was a good addition and should be quite versatile. We are close to a lot of forestry and BLM (Bureau of Land Management) roads around here.

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  8. I like the photos that look like a warm summer late afternoon.

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    1. Just Spring in Oregon - when the rain stops. Although summer would be warmer. Brad said it was quite chilly at 50˚ with no windscreen.

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  9. Congratulations!!! Such a cute little bike with tiny little tires. hehe. The paint job is surprising familiar. ;)

    You will have so much fun!

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    1. The front tire is a 21" so it is actually bigger than the one on Max or Lucy. It is a skinny little tire compared to your TW200. I'll just have to be more careful on gravel than you do. We would have bought either bike just depending on motive and opportunity and price of course.

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  10. Super! Looking forward to your off-road adventures.

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  11. Call me crazy, but I think everyone should have at least one Yamaha in the herd! Would love to adopt a little one but some how a 'Gator' followed one of my family members home and it seems to be 'smugly' taking up all the free space right now.

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    1. You aren't biased for Yamaha are you? Nooo not you. You can see we aren't always brand loyal with a Triumph, a Suzuki and now a Yamaha in the stable.

      A gator has followed you home, that has fun potential too.

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  12. Replies
    1. I am lucky. Not just for the cool little bike but because of the awesome husband I was fortunate enough meet and marry.

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  13. Replies
    1. Not biased - just enthusiastic for the Yahama.

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  14. Replies
    1. Thanks. It seems to light compared to Max I can imagine how light it must seem to Brad compared to Lucy. he rode i to work today so it will be interesting to hear how it does on the highway. I am hoping to ride it this weekend.

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  15. Good work there! Can't wait to read of your new gravel adventures! Of course you will have to find another one soon so you can chase the guys in those back woods...

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    1. It's like you are reading our minds. The plan is to get one to see how often we'll really be riding off road and it if turns out we have to pay "paper rock scissors" for it more often than not to see who gets to ride it, we may end up with another.

      And why is I am always chasing the guys. Used to be the guys would chase the girls......sheesh

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  16. Your garage is crowded? I keep trying to figure out how to squeeze a dual and a Can am spyder behind the cab with the Raider! ;) I think I need either a longer truck or give up trying to have a "Smaller" rig! :)

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    1. Yeah it is getting crowded. We just have a single car garage (less than 12 ft wide) with 3 motorcycles, 2 bicycles, our washer/dryer, workbench, etc. I am sure we could squeeze more in, we don't actually need to walk around it, do we.

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  17. Looks likes so much fun! I could never reach the ground, so I will look forward to your posts on this fun one!

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    1. My 32" inseam helps. I can flat foot it, which is nice. I rode it to coffee yesterday. Was quite different that the Gladius that is for sure.

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  18. Congratulations on the new bike! It is an excellent addition to your stable...you will definitely enjoy that on the forestry roads.

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    1. Now we just need to find some time to go tooling off into the woods.

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  19. Oh, how fun! :-)

    I see some adventures in your future...

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    1. I've only had a chance to ride it to coffee. It sure was different. Very forgiving in the shifting and clutch but odd not to have a gear indicator. I am so used to the Gladius.

      I told Brad the Gladius is like putting on a old pair of comfortable shoes and riding the XT is a like a new pair. It isn't that it won't become comfortable with wear, it is just that it isn't as comfortable out of the box, lol.

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