2008 Honda Transalp ... too bad we won't see it in the States.

Motorcycle Daily has the scoop on the 2008 Honda Transalp. Looks like a sweet ride and another potential dualsport machine. I never will understand why models such as this aren't offered on our side of the pond...

Yamaha Introduces Two New Dualsports

Dualsporting continues to grow here in the States, as evidenced by these two new models from Yamaha:

Yamaha 2008 WR250R

Yamaha 2008 XT250

It's going to be another great year for motorcycling!

The New Tiger, Don't You Dare Take it Offroad! ... NOT!

For those thinking the new 1050cc Triumph Tiger has lost all its dualsport/offroad pretensions, I offer up this video made by the owner/administrator of TigerTriple.com (formerly TriumphTiger.com):



Clearly, the Tiger still has claws.

And if you thought you wouldn't be able to find aftermarket accessories to enhance its dualsporting abilities, think again. Here, already, are some rather stout looking crash bars. Add a belly pan and you're probably good to go.


While it's true you can take any street bike and abuse it offroad to some degree, it does appear from this video that the new Tiger has retained some of its former mojo and is at least as capable offroad as the new KLR or a V-Strom.

Let the mayhem begin!

All New Kawasaki Versys -- Versatile Enough to Dualsport?

Great review on this new Kawasaki is here. Read all about it.

"For commuting, exhilarating street riding, swooping through the twisties, raising dust along a gravel or dirt road, or disappearing off into the sunset, we have found that the Versys handles everything in stride. You can pay far more and not get as much motorcycle for your money."

2007 Flint Hills (Kansas) Stampede, 14-16 Sep 2007

Many Okies will join our dualsporting friends to the north at this annual event in the Flint Hills of Kansas. Limited to just 50 riders, reservations are filling up fast. You can learn more at the Backroads Touring Kansas website.

Dirt Bike Drag Races

Tonight the OK Dual Sport group will meet at Thunder Valley Raceway in Noble for a night of dirt bike drags. This annual tradition is a break from the summer heat and a fun time for all. It is a "run what you brung" event. No need for street tires, just leave the knobbies on and come out and see who is the fastest - KTM vs KLR, BMW vs XR650, DRZ vs KLX. Cost is $15 and you get to run all night. Best of all you get bragging rights for the entire year! Start time is 7:00 pm. All you need is a helmet, jacket, gloves, pants and boots.

Ouachita Forest Comment Period Extended

The US Forest Service has decided to extend the comment period for the new travel plan being implemented for SE Oklahoma's National Forest. The comment period now ends July 27. The US Forest Service will be holding an open house in Talihina to listen to riders comments on July 12 from 3-7 PM. Interested parties should be sure and attend. It is important that you send comments about what trails you use and would like to keep open to Kelly Russell, the ranger at the US Forest Service in Talihina.

Relevent contact info:

Kelly Russell kmrussell@fs.fed.us
Previous OK Dual Sport post on subject

Ouachita Forest Trail Management Plan

Today I receive an urgent email about "Feds trying to stop motorcycles from riding on US Forest Service land". Alarmed by this fact, I started digging to find out what was going on. After a bit of research, I talked to Kelly Russell at kmrussell@fs.fed.us, District Ranger for the US Forest Service in Talihina, OK. According to her, Congress enacted a law that requires the US Forest Service to develop a Travel Management Plan for all National Forest Land. The travel management rule requires that all of the nation’s 155 national forests designate a system of roads and trails for all motorized vehicles including OHVs. Hence, this is not something optional for the US Forest Service, or something that is being thought up at the local level.

This ruling was brought about partially by irresponsible ORV users riding off-trail, cutting new trails without thought to the long term health of the forest, and damaging important natural resources. Responsible riders know that forest access requires working with the landowners (in this case the Federal Government), being responsible when they ride, taking care of the riding areas, and assisting with trail development and maintenance.

The Ouachita National Forest team expects that significant public input will be needed to develop this plan. To this end they have held a number of meetings in SE Oklahoma and western Arkansas. Turnout has been low, probably because of the remote locations and weekday meeting dates.

In talking to Kelly, it is clear they are VERY interested in hearing from ORV owners about how, where, and what type of riding is done in the Ouachita Forest. The US Forest Service wants to accomodate ORV users and work with ORV riders to build a responsible, reusable, well maintained system of trails in the Ouachita Forest.

How can you help? First and most important, contact Kelly Russell via email and explain to her what type of riding you like to do in SE Oklahoma, where you like to ride, what type of events, the places you like to visit, and any other details about riding in SE Oklahoma. Public comment officially closes June 29 so you need to get something out very soon (they may extend this comment period 30 days).

Second, you can fill out this questionaire and volunteer to help with trail management, development and to provide input as needed. You may not necessarily need to do a lot of on-site work, but you can do things like help manage the trail while riding, assisting the rangers when you come down with some type of trail project, etc.

Most importantly, get involved and make sure your voice is heard. Ride Oklahoma and Oklahoma Dual Sport will be maintaining contact and actively reporting and working with the US Forest Service and other local clubs, agencies and riders to help make sure the wonderful riding areas we have in SE Oklahoma remain open and accessible to ORV riders.

Important web sites and emails:

US Forest Service OHV Travel Management Rule
Ouachita Forest Site
Feedback form for Travel Management Plan (requires Acrobat Reader)
Kelly Russell - US Forest Service land manager for Ouachita Forest - kmrussell@fs.fed.us

Observed Trials

Chris Johnson from the Medicine Park area sent this intersting video along with his comments.

"Here is an interesting and one of the better examples of the upper .005% of motorcycle trials skill I've seen. Notice Mr. Raga makes this Indoor Trials section look so easy, yet it in fact can only be completed by maybe 10 riders in the world with only he and a few other being able to make it look easy. I like the effortless pullbacks he does to set up for and check traction on that insane undercut step!" Chris




I have seen Chris treat his KLR-250 bike like a itty bitty trials bike, so he knows a thing or two about trials. Are we ready to see ZRod do this on old Hoss?

BMW's growing dirt bike business

I know, you orange-clad off-road riders don't think much of BMW's off-road prowess. In your mind, they build overweight, underpowered street bikes that are modified to go off-road.

But all that is changing as BMW is making a concerted effort to move into the dirt bike world. Not only has their 100+ horsepower BMW HP2 been a giant killer at places like the Erzberg Rodeo in Austria, they are now in the development and testing phases of a single cylinder 450cc true off-road bike.

Click on any picture to see additional pics of the 2007 Erzberg Rodeo.



BMW's under development single cylinder 450cc dirt bike.


Earlier this month at the world-renown off-road event known as the Erberg Rodeo, BMW ridres Chris Pfeiffer, Simo Kirssi and Mickey Dymond put the BMW HP2 and their yet unreleased 450cc dirt bike through it's paces. Simo Kirssi on his HP2 placed first in the King's Class, besting KTM's David Knight on this race of twin cylinder bikes. While the still under development 450 had good success at earlier European off-road races, mechanical failure during the Hare Scramble race ended with a DNF. Still, riders on BMW's won both the King's Race and the Prologue, scoring two for three in this grueling test of man and machine.




So when are we going to see the BMW 450 dirt bike in the USA? Soon I hope. Will it be competitive, both on the track and in the showroom? Let's hope so. Competition is good very everyone and it is wonderful to see another manufacturer enter the off-road and dual sport market.

Get by BMW of Oklahoma City and check out some of the new BMW models coming soon.

Dealer Prepped Dual Sport

As part of a growing motorcycle trend, you see more dealers customizing motorcycles to fit a specific customer's need. This includes custom choppers, lots of bling on cruizers, frame sliders on sports bikes, and now tricked-out dual sport bikes.

Recently I was invited by Performance Cycle to view a very nice custom Suzuki VStrom that they had tricked out for a customer in Tulsa. Traditionally I didn't think of a VStrom as being a true dual sport, since from the factory they are more oriented towards street riding. But once the people at Performace Cycle in Bethany, OK were done with this one, you can see that is is ready for a trip to Alaska or to the tip of South America!

Custom items from Touratech and Suzuki grace this bike. They include aluminum footpegs, bar-bags, a skid plate, bar-backs for a more comfortable ride, engine guards and some true knobbie tires. As Borat would say "NIIICEEE!"

Twenty Years in the Making: Kawasaki's KLR650 Gets a Makeover

Motorcycle Daily has an excellent review of the totally-redesigned-for-2008 KLR650. Did Kawasaki ruin the world's most popular dualsport motorcycle or is the venerable old beast now even better than ever? Read all about it here.


Edited to add this link to a great article at Advrider.com. From all accounts, the new KLR is the cat's meow.

Okies in Mexico!

Oklahoma riders Brian Hopkins, Rich Desmond, Chris Marlow, and Danny Holloway are just back from an amazing dualsport adventure to Mexico's Copper Canyon. Check out their ride report -- with tons of photos! -- in the discussion forums, here.

Dyno Tuning a dirt bike?

Bill Dragoo recently completed a quest to increase the horsepower and improve throttle response on his 2006 Kawasaki KLX-250S dirt bike. As part of that quest, he stopped by RPM Performance Cycles - located at Thunder Cycles OKC on Memorial & Western, to dyno-tune his KLX. Buddy Moore, dyno-tuning master, normally sees big inch v-twins and multi-cylinder dirt bikes at his shop. But the need for proper tuning extends to dirt bikes if you want to get the maximum performance from your bike.

Bill will have a story in Ride Oklahoma Magazine soon detailing the effort and people who helped him increase the power of his KLX from 17 horsepower to over 28 horsepower. For a short version, check out Bill's Garage.

South of the Border

OK Dualsport members Brian Hopkins, Rich Desmond, Daniel Holloway, and Chris Marlow are bound for Mexico's famed Copper Canyon. You can watch Brian's blog here at Ride Oklahoma for updates and a trip report when it's all said and done.