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Sunday, November 6, 2016

Minimalist Rider and Madness

Yesterday I dug out my old motorcycle with the idea of getting it road ready for spring. It was a monster bike in its day, but there are modern bikes out there that will pass me like I'm sitting on jacks. However, the old bike climbed Mt. Washington and could easily break highway speeds. How much power do you really need?

Then you get guys like Ed March. Just a head's up. While he's funny as heck, he's also more than a bit rude.



To sum up, this guy's been all over the world riding a little Honda c90. Ed shows how to adventure travel for small money. Once again going simple has its advantages.

Ed did inspire me. No, I don't want to ride a Honda 90 all over the world -exactly. I was thinking that I could pick up something like a small scooter on Craigslist. It would be a blast to go on an extended trip around New England sticking to twisty old back roads. Small scooters that get crazy good gas mileage combined with stealth camping would make for a pretty interesting cheap adventure.

After watching Ed's videos I really don't have any excuse.

-Sixbears

16 comments:

  1. Suzuki burgman scooter comes in 400 or 650cc and the 400 gets 60-65 mpg and runs highway speeds. Will carry 2 people. Not a lot of ground clearance with a turning radius of a school bus.
    Plenty of used ones around DFW on Craigslist.
    Bigfoot

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    1. I like the 400 Burgman. Looks like it might be a fun ride that's fairly reliable. The 650 is bigger and heavier than I'd like.

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  2. Ever read "Jupiter's Travels"?

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    1. Looks interesting. Just downloaded it on Kindle. Thanks!

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  3. Bicycle would be even greater an adventure!

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    1. Working on that too. I'm working out on the exercise bike this winter and hope to lose a few pounds. There are some great bike trails in my area.

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  4. The current issue of "Backwoodsman" magazine has an excellent article about using the Honda CT90..good info. I'm too old and fat to use one anymore, but it's fun to read about it. I enjoy your blog and read it everyday.., I live over in the N.E.Kingdom across the Conn. River from you. Good luck getting back on the water.

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    1. I'll have to look out for it. I'm too fat for a Honda 90 but the article sounds interesting.

      From 95 to 99 I went to college at Lyndon State. Love the Northeast Kingdom. Did some great motorcycle trips on your side of the river.

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  5. In the 70s when the KZ900 came out it was the hot-rod of its time. Nothing was faster. In Caracas at the time the thing was bank holdups done by guys on motorbikes for quick getaway in city traffic. The KZ900 was their preferred bike. They were highly sought after and were the most stolen. Eventually they banned the import of the model as the cops could not catch them on their own bikes. The fellow on the C-90 going from Alaska to Argentina first did the trip from Australia to the UK. He has a series of videos on it somewhere.

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    1. The KZ takes a lot of body English to work it in the corners. On the straights, however . . . I've had the old bike to 115 and there was more left in it. Pretty scary on an old naked bike.

      Great story about Caracas.

      There's a lot of Ed's stuff on youtube. Crazy Brit. It's his girlfriend who really impresses me. Guys who want to do crazy trips are a dime a dozen. Women who also want to go are one in a million.

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    2. I just had a chance to look at Ed's videos and realized it is not the same fellow I had seen before. Seems Ed shipped his bike to Malaysia and rode back. I really like his attitude about it all. The fellow I was thinking of was a different one, he started in Sidney and made it to London.
      Here is his video:
      https://vimeo.com/146780242

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    3. Thanks for the link. Nice to know there are a few glorious nuts out there.

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  6. I like that kid's style.

    Oh to be young again...

    later,
    -Moe

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  7. A big guy like you on a little bike doesn't paint a pretty picture. Get something big enough to handle you safely.

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    1. I know. That's why I'm fixing up the old bike.

      However, there are some big framed scooters with enough power to make it worthwhile.

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