The thing about motorcycles....

[vash]

They are a bit “job specific”

Long distance haulers, fast street middles, corner carvers; AND THIS!

Holy smokes - I want this! This looks incredibly fun.

[flatbutt]

Looks very sweet but I wouldn't want to be hauling all that mass through the dirt. Now as a super moto...

[LakeCleElum]

Pure styling job. Dirt tires and low exhaust were never meant for each other......

[HardDrive]

Its really a cafe racer (and a beautiful one at that), so ditch the dirt tires, and let it do what it was created to do: Drive to starbucks for the Saturday morning meetup

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Looks very sweet but I wouldn't want to be hauling all that mass through the dirt. Now as a super moto...

Problem with trying to make one machine that is good at everything you end up with something that is just okay at a bunch of stuff.

[scottmandue]

I know... still with a down pipe:

[Bill Douglas]

I wouldn't want to fall over in a middle of a river with that. I don't think I could pick it up especially with flowing wate,r rocks etc. Plus the onboard computer probably wouldn't want to get a soaking.

However, my old Honda XR400 can manage the highways, steep dirt, river crossings. And I can pick it up in adverse situations. It's just not cool or pretty like the BMW is.

[john70t]

Big bike + Big high tank + Big cylinders(hanging far out) = Fulcrum negated.

It would be kinda hard to throw that puppy around on all the rocks and road ruts it was intended for.
(Unless BMW starts investing in computer controlled electric 2-wheel steering for motorcycles of course)
https://ranwhenparked.net/2010/01/30/what-lies-beneath-honda-4-wheel-steering/

[Rick Lee]

Just finished the last farkle on my S1000R today - LED headlights and a mod to make the low beam stay on all the time. Stock version only lets one beam on at a time. Got the OEM LED turn signals, Hyperlites and proper tank bag. All ready to go now.

This is when I was picking her up at the seller's house in Pasadena a few weeks ago.

[MMiller]

Cool bike but may be a bit much off road...

The custom TW200 thing has caught my attention of late... Looking to build one for RV toyhauler.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Problem with trying to make one machine that is good at everything you end up with something that is just okay at a bunch of stuff.

I used to think that way until I got this stupid thing
I used to road race, so I agree that this is not the right track weapon, but man does it handle the twisties well with that cantilever suspension and low centre of mass
, and after railing through the switchbacks in the Canadian rickies on those continental 70/30 street /dirt tires, who needs sport tires?

Frankly I was amazed, AND it went off jumps with 8 inches of suspension travel, but no, I couldn’t pick it up by myself from a dry riverbed. For that I needed Richards help





I can only imagine how much better THIS derivative would be in the corners
And unless I’m doing lots of miles, I’d keep those continentals as sport bike tires, they are THAT good, ( and remember, I used to road race )

[wayner]

And on pavement, given the profile of the continentals on these rims, not much of a chicken strip left for a 600lb bike loaded with bags, tent, gas can and spare tires

I can only imagine how much finid have tossing that new bmw around ( although I’d have a hard time choosing between I and the Cafe fairinged model

These are not your grandfathers motocross tires...

[MMARSH]

Originally Posted by MMiller

Cool bike but may be a bit much off road...

The custom TW200 thing has caught my attention of late... Looking to build one for RV toyhauler.

hmmm, I think I've just been inspired, I have an old T-dub sitting in the shed that my wife no longer rides....

[MMARSH]

Originally Posted by wayner

I used to think that way until I got this stupid thing
I used to road race, so I agree that this is not the right track weapon, but man does it handle the twisties well with that cantilever suspension and low centre of mass
, and after railing through the switchbacks in the Canadian rickies on those continental 70/30 street /dirt tires, who needs sport tires?

Frankly I was amazed, AND it went off jumps with 8 inches of suspension travel, but no, I couldn’t pick it up by myself from a dry riverbed. For that I needed Richards help







I can only imagine how much better THIS derivative would be in the corners
And unless I’m doing lots of miles, I’d keep those continentals as sport bike tires, they are THAT good, ( and remember, I used to road race )

I couldn't agree more. I have embarrassed more then a few guys on sportbikes while on my TKC80 shod GS...These bikes are extremely capable in the right hands...

[Hawkeye's-911T]

Problem with trying to make one machine that is good at everything you end up with something that is just okay at a bunch of stuff.

Case in point - General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark - this coming from someone still jonesing for a V-Rod.

Cheers
JB

[MMiller]

Originally Posted by peteremsley

That first TW200 is cool. It looks like there is a lot of custom, and a lot of effort in that bike.

More about it here...

Fat Tracker: Wolf Moto's chunky Yamaha TW200 | Bike EXIF

And sorry about the thread hijack Vash.....

[sammyg2]

There's a reason they try to make dirt bikes as light as possible.

[epbrown]

Originally Posted by vash

They are a bit “job specific”

The thing is, they don't have to be.



The difference between then and now is not that rider needs have changed, but that riders have bought into marketing fantasies about what capabilities they need. Everyone sees themselves as motocross heroes or world travelers when something with dual sport tires, high pipes, 50hp that's easy to work on and light enough to pick up alone would serve. Something like this (with a front fender):

[wayner]

While the I’m not so sure I’d want that for my 23,000km ride of which over 3000 was dirt, I do agree that the bike above would be a hoot wearing some TKC 80 tires!

(....but then again Richard travelled much of the trip with me on his KLR650 with less impressive mixed use tires and he was the one waiting for me :-)

[Tidybuoy]

Vash, This is my R Nine T. Not exactly the same as the bike you posted but nearly the same. I will contest that the bike is a lot of fun. I ride mine almost every day unless we have rain and have put 15k miles on it since Sept 2016. It handles fantastic, is very quick and definitely quick enough for me. Has tons of torque and the power seems instant.