The Ongoing Bike Journey

It's been a while since I posted, mostly because I have not felt like it.  Just after thanksgiving, my wife and I ended up with COVID and here we are in mid March and still feeling the effects of the illness.  This mostly manifests itself in brain fog, fatigue and for some reason I am really feeling the cold this year!

Anyway, what matters most here is that the motorcycle journey is still ongoing.  I am really enjoying the BMW Urban GS but given that it is winter here the riding has been occasional.  Temperatures of -27C and a fair amount of snow will put a stop to riding.

But there have been days when we have been able to get out and ride, and for Christmas this year, my wife got me an Insta360 camera that I am slowly figuring out how to use.  I have also been thinking about the smaller bikes; the two Honda Navi and the Honda Trail 125.  I came to the conclusion that I did not need them anymore so I am going to sell them once the weather gets a little better.

Once I have them sold, I am going to look at buying a small to mid sized bike; something I can bop around town on but also something I could do some distance on if I want to.  The Trail 125 almost fits this role, but I am over 200lbs and that 125cc engine struggles to get above 55mph.  To keep up with the wife on her trike, I need to be able to cruise at 65.  Have I mentioned my wife also rides? I don't recall.

So with that in mind, I have been test riding a few bikes. In January I tried a few bikes: first was a couple of Hondas; the CRF300L and the SCL500 Scrambler.

Honda CRF300L

Honda SCL500 Scrambler

I liked both bikes but the suspension on the Honda is not that great, especially with my weight and the SCL500 is a nice road bike but you wouldn't want to take it off road.

I also tried the Royal Enfield Scram 411 which on paper is rubbish but in reality, to ride is a great bike, although heavy.  It felt very stable and planted on the test ride.

Scram 411

Then in February I had a test ride at my local Kawasaki dealer. The competition to the Honda CRF300L is the Kawasaki KLX300.  

I have to admit that I like the KLX more than the Honda. The suspension is much better, however the KLX does not have ABS where as the Honda does. 

So where does this leave me? I still have another couple of bikes to try. I want to give the new Royal Enfield Himalayan a try, as well as the Shotgun 650 and the Triumph 400x. Once I have ridden these I will make my decision. At the moment I am leaning in favor of the Scram 411 because it nice to ride, and the prices right now are just right. 

So ... to be continued.