Dakota Dual Sport Riders

I guess it's time I introduce my new AT to the group.  2017 AT with DCT.
Bought from a member of the Omaha riding crew.

Just drove to Sioux Falls yesterday afternoon to meet and pick it up. Awfully chilly to ride but had to take for a short spin around the parking lot at flying j.

Thanks to Sprout for some wise words to be patient.


Now....who knows someone that wants to buy a gooseneck trailer?

Next are some bark busters and looking at some tires.
Dana would like something for a backrest/trunk with a seat back.

When I get back and replace mine, I am thinking the Africa Twin. I have been in love with them since the announcement from Honda. And then the Dr. let me ride his around the fish and fry.... I think that's the bike!  Sorry you have to wait for weather. Its going to be a long winter for you.

.... I think that's the bike! 
I think its likely a similar bike.  This has just a mere 1550 miles on  it...and came from Storm Lake Honda


Sorry you have to wait for weather. Its going to be a long winter for you.
Dont underestimate my level of making bad decisions.  One of the reasons it is still in the back of the truck for night #2 is I'm fairly certain I might want to ride it around since its warming up some here.

Sorry, didn't mean that was specifically the same bike, just the correct model for me! Jelous of your bike and your bad winter decisions.. 8)

Can hardly wait to hear a ride report...  Nice bike...

It's all good.

This bike is a bit too heavy at 530ish lbs to remove from this truck myself.  Not when snowstick to my boots increasing traction exponentially.  Didn't get to take the trailer to get it as the connector was messed up.

Biggest bike I've owned to date...but handles seemingly better than my XL600 as far as weigh distribution being low in the bike.
Still need to get used to the girth...even without the planned panniers.
Seat is in the highest position and feels like it would be better just a touch lower.
Not sure I'll need bar rises yet...i know my XL does need them.

As far as tires go... I see lots of threads on them but no one says anything about kenda k270s like I have on the XL. I'm sure to have all winter and much of spring to decide.

Finally out of the truck and in next to it mates.  Bike got too cold to start outdoors for 2 nights.

what year is the CBR?

1989.  One year only paint.

Doh, I could have looked at your signature  :-[  Nice!

That CBR might find itself on the sale boards in the Spring if I find I don't ride it much...although I hate to break up the set.  The 3 most desired Hondas I have wanted (or wanted back).

Did the biggest accessory to date today.  Finally got a great place to put that good looking sticker.  Should make me a better rider....maybe better looking?
Made some calls on other parts.
A set of Honda side luggage, and some barkbusters  Both previously used. Also continued looking at tires. There is a lot of opinions on what to run.  Still no mention on K270s....must be a reason aside from they are an inexpensive tire.

Well I took it out for a short ride yesterday.  Most of the ice that had plagued the secondary streets has been dealt with.   I had to restrain myself from messing around in the snow as I didnt want it to be all dirty going away later. 
I was more impressed with the factory tires having adequate grip on the iced/snow areas that I had to cross. Much more than I thought I'd be. My CBR tires dont' do that well and they aren't that different in design.
The "wind" screen seems to be tall enough for me and the pivot area wind block worked as designed it seemed.
The DCT is a little different getting used to not grabbing for the clutch.  Sport mode is snappy.  Drive mode seems like the Goldwings rain mode...which is good when there is less ideal traction.  I don't know what the "G" button does on the upper fairing. I dont have the owners manual yet.  Its in the mail.  Lots to learn and experience with ABS and Traction Control. Love how this bike feels light weight up high.  Makes pretty tight turns with little effort. 

Early ownership rating is pretty high...8.5 or 9 out of 10. 
Biggest gripe so far is where the battery is located with its ease? of access.  And the less than adventurous tread design from factory. Easy enough to change that.
Not a gripe, but more of getting used to the amount of buttons on the bar ends. I'm sure it will get easier or familiar the longer I own it.

More thoughts as I get into this going forward.

Merry New Year!! ;)
Kenda 270's....what can I say? If you ride the AT like an adult and don't burn the rear off of it they will last 8000K niles. I have ran them on both the F800 and AT with great luck! $105 from rmatv, a bargain! You should run at least #32 in the front to keep it from cupping.

There is also 3 pink air box drains hoses under the radiator shrouds on that thing that will need to be drained every 4K miles. If you don't, will fill the airbox with oil and ruin your air filters >:(

Sprout

Quote from: sprout on January 03, 2020, 07:44:13 AM
Merry New Year!! ;)
Kenda 270's....what can I say? If you ride the AT like an adult and don't burn the rear off of it they will last 8000K niles. I have ran them on both the F800 and AT with great luck! $105 from rmatv, a bargain! You should run at least #32 in the front to keep it from cupping.

There is also 3 pink air box drains hoses under the radiator shrouds on that thing that will need to be drained every 4K miles. If you don't, will fill the airbox with oil and ruin your air filters >:(

Sprout

What do you know about riding like an adult?

 I wanted to say like a "white man", guess tha"s what I should have went with!!  :evil

Don't know what you mean by that Hank?? If you come to chadwick this spring, I will take you back to DRZ school :-*

Quote from: sprout on January 03, 2020, 07:44:13 AM
Merry New Year!! ;)
Kenda 270's....what can I say? If you ride the AT like an adult and don't burn the rear off of it they will last 8000K niles. I have ran them on both the F800 and AT with great luck! $105 from rmatv, a bargain! You should run at least #32 in the front to keep it from cupping.

There is also 3 pink air box drains hoses under the radiator shrouds on that thing that will need to be drained every 4K miles. If you don't, will fill the airbox with oil and ruin your air filters >:(

Sprout

Adult riding....hmmmm.  for the first bit.  Then I'm certain to do more with it.  If they last around 3-4K  I'm ok with it.
I don't anticipate being as bold as you seem to be with yours in the near future....but I can have goals.  Practice and confidence in improving riding abilities will usher that. 

Good info on the drains.  will keep an eye on them.

Merry New Year...

Quote from: sprout on January 03, 2020, 07:44:13 AM
Merry New Year!! ;)
Kenda 270's....what can I say? If you ride the AT like an adult and don't burn the rear off of it they will last 8000K niles. I have ran them on both the F800 and AT with great luck! $105 from rmatv, a bargain! You should run at least #32 in the front to keep it from cupping.


Sprout

Did you use the 5.10 18 for the rear?    That is a BARGAIN....

Yep, 5.10 x 18.   

Well got a warmer day with minimal ice, so I took it out for a ride. Got around 10 miles in.
Learned a few good lessons...
Heated gloves would make a great next investment.  Really wasn't bad otherwise...maybe bark busters with storm guards would have helped also.
Next...I know I can pick this beast up myself. Found some low traction ice...would have made for a super cool looking turn around if I could have held it up.  Heed bars and the rear passenger pegs held the bike off the ground well as the snow helped cushion the drop.  No worse for wear.
Pretty sure these factory tires are not going to be good enough for much more than highway and some gravel? maybe. Sorta knew this but those big blocked tires just didn't have the edges to grab the ice ridges.  Maybe they will surprise me with dirt performance when dirt is exposed eventually.

Quote from: locopny on February 16, 2020, 03:17:07 PM
Well got a warmer day with minimal ice, so I took it out for a ride. Got around 10 miles in.
Learned a few good lessons...
Heated gloves would make a great next investment.  Really wasn't bad otherwise...maybe bark busters with storm guards would have helped also.
Next...I know I can pick this beast up myself. Found some low traction ice...would have made for a super cool looking turn around if I could have held it up.  Heed bars and the rear passenger pegs held the bike off the ground well as the snow helped cushion the drop.  No worse for wear.
Pretty sure these factory tires are not going to be good enough for much more than highway and some gravel? maybe. Sorta knew this but those big blocked tires just didn't have the edges to grab the ice ridges.  Maybe they will surprise me with dirt performance when dirt is exposed eventually.

Haha, I did the same thing with my first new Tenere.  I came into a little money when I flipped a house next door so I bought a new Tenere in December.  In February some friends and I were going to haul bikes down to Texas to ride the Hill Country so I thought I would bring the New zero mileage Tenere.  We were loading at a friends place but I had 200' of compacted snow and ice to get to the dry black top.  Everything was going good until I seen my Harley riding neighbor watching my so I got brave and stopped power walking the bike and started riding.  I got off the crown of the road and down I went with about .2 miles on the odometer. 

Two years later I totaled that Tenere on a deer and bought another.  The first time I took the second one out of the garage I dropped an item I was going to give to my friend as he was driving his bike up.  I reached down to pick it up without getting off, lost my balance and dropped that Tenere first time out of the garage also. 

Yeah shoulda power walked it.  Don't underestimate my ability to make bad decisions...but I was a tad overconfident and rode it almost all the way down. May have saved it if I put my foot down sooner along with hitting the neutral button.  In the end, I was strattling the bike on a knee.   Probably looked great if anyone saw it..

Always feels good to get the first scratches and dents out of the way - makes the riding for the rest of the season more relaxed  :evil !

According to local legend there is a guy who dropped his new Adventure before he even started it.   

Legend huh?

Before starting would have to sorta hurt the pride a bit.  Hope the bike was ok.

Quote from: Fletch on February 17, 2020, 05:10:32 PM
According to local legend there is a guy who dropped his new Adventure before he even started it.

I know that guy!  Always love to here the story again.  Oh yeah, it was the first one sold in Rapid City.  Actually, it's on an old thread here......just cut and paste it.  :evil

had to be embarrassing, that guy should have kept it to himself.

Well At least it helped me not feel too bad about my error in ability and/or judgement.

Come on good riding conditions..

Quote from: Fletch on February 17, 2020, 05:10:32 PM
According to local legend there is a guy who dropped his new Adventure before he even started it.

Is it local legend, or was it a local legend?

haha.. perhaps it should be legendary local moron....

Got some more miles on it and it's getting pretty comfortable but still don't have much for dirt yet.

Picked up some factory Honda hard sides and had them shipped. Pick up Monday from Fastenal. 
Discovered my tank bag really won't work on this bike.  Need to find a tank-lock type with something fitted to the shape.
Of course in looking for used.

Corona Virus cluster....yeah.
Got to pick up my bags today at the shippers doing most all the transaction over the phone while standing in the parking lot.  But the important thing is I got them.  I'm sure the pallet they were shipped on weighed more than the actual contents of the box they came in.
Guy forgot to send the rubber pads that the lower mounts attach to for an isolated solid mounting.  Those are being shipped next.

Grocery run for folks.  90 mile round trip.  Can fit lots in those bags.  First 'real' ride.
Social distancing....seems like a Monday in ND?

Played on my own trail today.  My field.  Traction control on and off-it likes it better off and in sport mode 2.  Soft enough to sink in a bit but not enough to throw mud.
With these stock tires anyway.

Needed a feel for it in dirt.
Have video I have to figure out how to host.

If you put it on youtube you can embed it here.

Click the youtube button which will produce a pair of [bracketed] youtubes.    Copy and paste the address of the video in between them.

Look into that.  I have an account...thought I'd do it once.

Because LD asked...
It looks like the bike gets about 45MPG. Still trying to figure out how to reset the trip meter.  But as best I recall I got the miles really close.
I looked at my gas receipt wrong...it was 2.459 gals. For $5.38- helps to focus on the right number.

Here's the trunk on its pre-diet look.
Sitting there it looks heavy. But I think it will work ok for its intended purpose. Back rest for Dana and a spot to hold two helmets that's lockable. Won't have it on when I ride solo.

"Does this box make my butt look big?"


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Put it on a diet and gave it a good test ride to Sand Lake Sunday. Works really well...but will do some more tweaks to finalize.

Still waiting for the matching stickers...but got to ride together today.  Knee held up...but kept gravel to minimum just in case.

Damn thats a big case. Didn't know you had a knee issue.

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Yeah popped up about a month ago. First time back riding was today.  Also drove my manual pick up today.
So far so good.

The case looks big because it is. Fortunately it doesn't weigh what it looks like.  It's only on for Dana when she rides with me or if I'm using it on a shopping run.  I can give it another diet by removing the chrome rack on top to save a couple lbs.  Like it for the ability to hold 2 helmets when we stop. I'm sure I could over load it easily.  Removes with 4 nuts so not a big hassle to deal with.

Picked these stickers up from an outfit in Romania.  Cheaper than what I was guestimated from a local print shop.
Does not make it run better but improves the look when on the bike.