Motorcycle people.....just bought this,

[jerk]

i paid too much but it's what i would have built had i the time or skill.

make fun....
Therapy Garage

[Clyde]

Very sweet looking bike, and the resto! Wow!

[pdxharth]

Each one of those builds is amazing! Nice choice, Jerk. Kelly is a beauty.

[Corso]

Congrats! Looks like a mountain of fun!

Motorcycles (like bikes) should be simple. IMO.

[ides1056]

badass

[xjoex]

Wow that thing is cool. Nice bike.

-Joe

[dogrange]

Reenactment bike. Still beautiful, though.

[davids]

make fun....
Therapy Garage

You know I want to.
But that's pretty damn cool.

[Too Tall]

Dirt road exploration?

[Mabouya]

Very cool.

I have the same question as Josh - how / where are you planing on using it?

[jerk]

Very cool.

I have the same question as Josh - how / where are you planing on using it?

there's lots of great fire roads out here in San Diego county. The bike is also street legal so it'll serve as the quick way to get between home in San Diego and the new bike shop i Delmar. It'll be a fun bike. Might go play on the flat track with it too- although i don't really want to go down the rabbit hole right now of making it a real flat track bike.

[Mabouya]

I'm still a newbie to the moto world, but for the last two years I've been enjoying the twisties on my Ninja 300.

In a year or so I think I'll move up and probably get an XSR900.

[Lionel]

This is a fun looking machine. I always wanted to buy a harley in Aix but getting the motorcycle driver's license is such a pain in the ass that I have always put this off. Harley's are uber cool in France. Just saying.

[Badonkadonk]

there's lots of great fire roads out here in San Diego county. The bike is also street legal so it'll serve as the quick way to get between home in San Diego and the new bike shop i Delmar. It'll be a fun bike. Might go play on the flat track with it too- although i don't really want to go down the rabbit hole right now of making it a real flat track bike.

for those of us that don't know bikes, what makes this one a dirt / track bike other than the tires? if it had street tires, what kind of motorcycle is this?

[Corso]

for those of us that don't know bikes, what makes this one a dirt / track bike other than the tires? if it had street tires, what kind of motorcycle is this?

I’ll take a shot: This is a street bike that has been modified to a “retro” look- off road bike. Many, many years back, before “true” dirt bikes, guy would modify street bikes by stripping off anything that added weight, adding protection and dirt tires. Dirt bikes “grew” out of the need for bike to perform in the rough (like mountain bikes were developed vs road bikes that people rode in the dirt for centuries).

They are fun to take off road (mildly rough off road), but in cycling terms, you wouldn’t want to ride a cross bike down a wold cup downhill course. Dirt roads, smooth “flat track”, etc ok. But when the going gets rough, you want a bike built for that purpose.

No matter what tires you put on this, this is a street bike at heart.

My KDX is more “dirt” than street: Longer travel suspension, ground clearance, geometry to handle the woods vs the road, etc. It looks a lot different than Jerks new Yammy.

Whatever you’re riding, motorcycles rock!

KLX400-ME.jpg

[Badonkadonk]

I’ll take a shot: This is a street bike that has been modified to a “retro” look- off road bike. Many, many years back, before “true” dirt bikes, guy would modify street bikes by stripping off anything that added weight, adding protection and dirt tires. Dirt bikes “grew” out of the need for bike to perform in the rough (like mountain bikes were developed vs road bikes that people rode in the dirt for centuries).

They are fun to take off road (mildly rough off road), but in cycling terms, you wouldn’t want to ride a cross bike down a wold cup downhill course. Dirt roads, smooth “flat track”, etc ok. But when the going gets rough, you want a bike built for that purpose.

No matter what tires you put on this, this is a street bike at heart.

My KDX is more “dirt” than street: Longer travel suspension, ground clearance, geometry to handle the woods vs the road, etc. It looks a lot different than Jerks new Yammy.

Whatever you’re riding, motorcycles rock!

KLX400-ME.jpg

thanks, helps
seems like the jerkcycle would be a lot of fun up in VT where it's like 50%+ dirt roads
and yours looks like i would be perpetually one throttle twist away from grievous injury but with a smile on my face
the wife claims i cannot ride a motorcycle. but she never said what she would do if i did and i cannot believe she'd really leave. maybe a nice ducati to start :)

[twowheels]

Nice bike craig!

[jerk]

This is a fun looking machine. I always wanted to buy a harley in Aix but getting the motorcycle driver's license is such a pain in the ass that I have always put this off. Harley's are uber cool in France. Just saying.

i've always always wanted an XR750 Harley....but alas.
i had a new harley 48 1200 sportster with the peanut tank for a while that was fun.
my business partner Jeff and his wife lived off the back of a motorcycle for two years in france- the easiest way to to do it i think is get a license here in the states- then get an international license for the motorcycle for when you're back in aix...

c

[jerk]

for those of us that don't know bikes, what makes this one a dirt / track bike other than the tires? if it had street tires, what kind of motorcycle is this?

it's a yamaha xs650 from 1977 that has a flat track swing arm and has had a bunch of the bullshit taken off it. the tires are horrible but look cool. xs650s kinda have an engine that triumph or bsa wish they made. they're lighter, far more robust, and put out more power than the '60s and '70s Brit bikes Yamaha was trying to copy with this thing.

flat track is a dirt oval and back in the day you'd race something like this but you'd have no brakes and you might even move the brake and shifter to the same side so you didn't have to dick with trying to do stuff with your inside foot other than dragging it around corners.

the whole "scrambler" thing is based on the same type of bikes- prior to MX becoming a thing people would race flat track- do some trials and some off road races or even off road hill climbs on the same bike.

i like'em all and this thing also has modern electronics and looks the part.

[Lionel]

the easiest way to to do it i think is get a license here in the states- then get an international license for the motorcycle for when you're back in aix...

That's interesting, I wonder if this works.