[Emerikol]

I've had my DR over (more times than I like to admit), and and I really think it comes down to knowing when to try to save it, and when to step off. When you're out on the trails, you can usually feel when things start to go pear shaped. That gives you plenty of time, relatively speaking of course, to decide how the bike is going to go down. If you're going faster than the riding conditions or your abilities will allow, then bad things are bound to happen. I've found that working on the technical stuff first made me a better on and off road rider. Most of these young bucks out here want to hit the trails as fast as they can, and get frustrated with other riders who are working at skill building. The point to this very wordy post, is that everyone needs to decide what they want to do with the motorcycle, and form will follow function. All off road riding as fast as possible? Two stroke dirtbike that you trailer to the stomping grounds. Round the world motorcycle tour? The list is endless, ranging from the 650 singles up to the 1200 BMW's and Triumphs (a-la Ewan and Charley in the Long Way Round movies). Putter around town running errands with the occasional dirt road? That's where most of the CB's we see on this forum come in. The long and short of it is, if you always ride what you're comfortable with and inside of your skills and abilities, you shouldn't ever have a problem with the equipment not supporting your needs. That's why I have three bikes (really just a temporization as a reason to have that many motorcycles) that all do different things well. That's my thought, at least.