ADV bikes are popular!

AdventureDad · 09-22-2016, 11:41 AM

I just had to make an unfortunate last minute trip from Mississippi to Santa Barbara California. I took my Jeep, due to the circumstances, and the need to rush, not because I wanted to get 18mpg.

I saw more ADV bikes on this trip than I have ever seen on the roads, on all my travels, combined. Surprisingly, most popluar were KTM's, followed by GS's second, KLR's next, few VStroms. I didn't, and didn't expect to see any RX3's. As I had plenty of time to think, I did think that IF I had to make this run, and time was of the essence, I'd have preferred my (sadly sold) 1250 Bandit, as it just started to stretch it's legs around 85 mph. All day comfy, crazy power to spare, and smooth. Only when I entered the Southwest did I think about that the RX3 would be fun on side roads, dirt roads and in the desert.

I do like my bike, but as my time is limited, I also thought that I'd have most likely lost my mind at 70 mph and 7-8k rpm's. Of course, I may have lost my life at 100 + mph on a Bandit, KTM, Vstrom etc... life is all about trade offs. I was in a desperate rush to arrive in California, so it's a poor litmus for a cross country ride. That said, crossing the country in my Wrangler, with the top down was just the therapy I needed to begin to deal with the unexpected loss of my sister, but wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea either. Temps were 109F in the Mojave to 43F in the mountains of New Mexico. Seeing the increase of ADV bikes, compared to the typical Harley and related cruisers was such a nice and welcome change.

09-22-2016, 11:41 AM	#1
AdventureDad Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: South Mississippi Posts: 253	ADV bikes are popular! I just had to make an unfortunate last minute trip from Mississippi to Santa Barbara California. I took my Jeep, due to the circumstances, and the need to rush, not because I wanted to get 18mpg. I saw more ADV bikes on this trip than I have ever seen on the roads, on all my travels, combined. Surprisingly, most popluar were KTM's, followed by GS's second, KLR's next, few VStroms. I didn't, and didn't expect to see any RX3's. As I had plenty of time to think, I did think that IF I had to make this run, and time was of the essence, I'd have preferred my (sadly sold) 1250 Bandit, as it just started to stretch it's legs around 85 mph. All day comfy, crazy power to spare, and smooth. Only when I entered the Southwest did I think about that the RX3 would be fun on side roads, dirt roads and in the desert. I do like my bike, but as my time is limited, I also thought that I'd have most likely lost my mind at 70 mph and 7-8k rpm's. Of course, I may have lost my life at 100 + mph on a Bandit, KTM, Vstrom etc... life is all about trade offs. I was in a desperate rush to arrive in California, so it's a poor litmus for a cross country ride. That said, crossing the country in my Wrangler, with the top down was just the therapy I needed to begin to deal with the unexpected loss of my sister, but wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea either. Temps were 109F in the Mojave to 43F in the mountains of New Mexico. Seeing the increase of ADV bikes, compared to the typical Harley and related cruisers was such a nice and welcome change.
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