I love checking out new gear. If I had the money, I’d definitely get some Touratech. But since I don’t have the luxury of spending lots on my bike I usually just read the Touratech catalog and dream… Anyways, lots of good stuff in Sterling Noren’s video!

One of the things I want to do this year is to go on some dual-sport rides. That means taking my bike on some more dirt roads in addition to street. To that end, I added some handguards (to protect from lever-breakage caused by a fall) and am planning on getting some more aggressive tires. The Metzeler Tourance tires are 90/10 and have worn pretty nicely, but both the front and rear are nearing their end-of-life. I haven’t decided exactly what kind of tires I want, but one choice is Michelin Anakee 2 tires, front and rear, or perhaps a Heidenau 76 rear and 60 front.

The other day I was at the bookstore and came across the Adventure Riding Techniques book by Robert Wicks and Greg Baker. It’s filled with a lot of information on taking a large “Adventure Bike” off-road. My bike is not quite as large, but at 425 lbs is a bit heavier than a smaller 450cc Japanese bike. I’m planning on taking a dirt class this year, and will take my F650 GS of course! But just reading the book and looking at the great photos got me all reved up to hit some dirt trails.

On the Two-Wheeled Texans website there are several good beginner dirt roads listed so I decided to give it a go. I’m glad I did cuz riding on dirt (even easy dirt) is a blast! It’s so much fun standing on the pegs! I even did a couple small water-crossings. Those were pretty tame, but still a bit hairy.

After riding on the dirt I can say that I agree with most everyone who rides an F650 GS single when they say the stock pegs are too narrow. My feet are only sized 7.5 (US) but even I can tell that the stock pegs need about an inch more width. Unfortunately, a good pair of replacement pegs is $100+ so I might just stick with stock.

As I was approaching where CR-310A intersects with 310, I saw three other riders on the trail, but they zoomed off and I couldn’t catch them. I would have liked to find some more roads to ride on, but I have a list of good ones bookmarked on my computer so I think I am pretty much set.

ODO: 171 miles (About 6 miles of dirt)

I love this video! Jealous of these motorcyclists on their amazing journeys.

The ride itself was enjoyable and I did see several interesting animals, such as roadrunners, horses, cows, and goats. I stopped to take a photo of these goats but as soon as I shut off the motor, the ran away from me! I could only snap a picture of their butts…

Riding the smaller county roads is pretty fun to me. You pretty much only see locals on these roads, since there wouldn’t be any reason to take these roads unless you were going to or from your house/ranch. It’s cool because the locals are very friendly, waving from their yards, or as they pass by in their vehicles. On this morning, I passed a couple of cowboys riding their horses and they gave me a big wave. Yep, this is Texas!

Odometer: 82.15 Miles
Moving Time: 2H 4M

• Barkbusters Handguards
• Modular Helmet
• Speedbleeders
• Headlight Guard

Also in 2011, I did my first Saddlesore 1000. That was a lot of fun and although I said I’d never do it again, never say never! But I realize that I do love long-distance riding. I’m hoping to do another long ride, probably not for any kind of certificate, but I’d love to take a few days and ride to Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. I also rode a bit on the dirt. Not a whole lot, but it was still fun. This year I’d like to take an off-road class and get some experience. Hopefully in the summer when it warms up to a nice 110 degrees.

My final odometer reading for 2012 was 10,325 miles for a total of 3,174 miles for the year. And I am going to need new tires soon!

Very cool, relaxing video of a motorbike trip in Mexico. Some narration by Bruce Brown would be perfect for this!

A little too serious and artsy, but some nice footage.

The handguards serve two purposes. First and most importantly, they protect the levers from being bent/broken in case the bike goes down. Some handguards are simply plastic covers, but these Barkbusters have a strong metal backbone which is securely connected to the bar-ends and inner handlebar and should offer some really good protection. The second useful feature of the handguards is that they offer wind/rain protection for your hands. Riding in cold weather, my knuckles would get cold really fast because of the constant wind on them. With the handguards, they still get cold, but not nearly as quickly. One final benefit is the “sparkle” part of farkle: the looks. I think they look cool! Barkbusters VPS handguards come in a varietly of colors but I went for the plain black. They were very shiny plastic when I unwrapped them but I prefer a flat-black color so I took some fine sandpaper to them and now they match the flat black of the headlight cowl and mirrors better. The next step is to get some black reflective tape to cover the white logo to complete the stealth look.

I think pretty soon I want to do some more light dirt roads around the Hill Country. Should be pretty fun and I’ll have a little bit more insurance with these handguards. But with my luck, I’ll probably brake the clutch lever when I drop the bike next time!

Something to put on my To-do List.