No Mama Kawa

[RBR SIDE DWN]

Well, took the girls out of school and went to the TO motorcycle show. The prime reason to go was to have the girls try and ride on Yamaha dirt bikes before I commited to buying one for them  . The girls were right psyched  to go and have their very FIRST ride on a dirt bike  . HOWEVER...... it turns out, Canuck69 (chuckles) got there before me with his girls, stunk up the place right good with a bunch of WOT  , caused a chic selling magazine subscriptions to pass out  , neccesitating a 911 call  and a four alarm response from Toronto fire and police. The resulting mayhem and panic caused the Yamaha motorcycle learning center to shut down a mere 5 minutes before we got there  . My girls were devastated, but luckily for us the Co2 effects started to effect and both became quite light headed and happy, until the headache kicked in  . Some people just have to mess it up for the rest of us  ........How's that for a guilt trip Mr C 

Sat on the new Triumph Explorer  , saw the KTM 990 and the 1200GS  . Sat on the Super T but it was on stands so couldn't get a feel for weight. Pretty well all the DS bikes were loaded with luggage but in cradles. (I guess so idiots wouldn't drop them on their leg  ) That would need a whole new 911 call.

The only bike builder not there was Kawasaki???????????????

[Camas]

The Urals always catch my fancy but probably will never own one unless Mr. Lotto comes knocking on my door with a mechanic is tow.

So, did the girls get new Yami's? 

[Canuck69]

Ok I feel a little guilty..........nah....actually I don't .

 Have to say I had a smile on my face the whole time they were out there.  Of course could have been the light headedness from the CO, or the scantly clad women walking around (did you miss those too RBR)  but non the less good time was had by all.  Made daddy prowd.......Even got my wife looking up dirt riding class for the kids now.  Not sure how I managed that one....

Ultimate plan was to go and see the Explorer, but not impressed.  Just a bigger version than the Tiger 800.  First time going down on that would get very expensive.  Tall bike, but too much space between me and the dash.  Have to see it to understand I guess.  Still not a 1200GS so I don't think BMW has anything to worry about on this one.  Looked at the new V-Strom also.  Nice bike, but still prefer the older design.  Looks too skinny now.  Needs more meat on its bones like the older model.  

Everytime I go to one of these shows, I learn to love my KLR more and more for the price and simplicity.  KLaiR won't need to worry for at least another year.

As for Mama Kawa....looks like they are going all out at the January North American show to debute the 1000 Versys.....

http://cmgonline.com/news/2011/11/18/kawasaki-confirm-move-to-imss/

[willys]

Hey 69er.....are you planning on the Jan show? I hope to get a group to go for saturday at 10am when the doors open and hopefully meet beforehand at Timmies on Derry rd. Interested if so email me.....jkj_roberts@rogers.com  Last year we had a reasonable turn out, just think of it as a group ride without your bikes....lol  I sat on one of those Big Yammi's last year, it's so heavy you would need a crane to pick it back up after a spill! It wasn't cradled last year....guess someone lost their leg after it went past 45 degrees. I know I wouldn't be able to stop her taking a nap!

[RBR SIDE DWN]

Camas

Nice to hear from you again. As far as "A" bike for my daughters is concerned, it's still a work in progress. We're off to a good start though; when my daughter told my wife that she sat on the very same bike that Daddy's buying , my wife replied  ,   that she would leave if I bought it. So what do I do????....   .

As far as a Ural goes they sell them here in Hillsburgh and have a serious cult following. I figure if you ride and work on a KLR you can work on a Ural as both subscribe to the same mantra, KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)

Canuck you're right about KlaiR, JR(willys) and I were yacking just after we spoke about the same thing. Drop a 990, Tiger or the new Explorer and you're not going to Ebay for cheap parts anytime soon.   where's the noose around the neck smiley.

[willys]

RSB....just buy a chinese knock off until they get the hang of it and then think something better afterwards. I can't kill the one I have! 200cc's of fun every time I start it!  The hardest thing was getting the carb cleaned after a month's ride across the pond or wherever it came from. I'm sure they leave enough gas in them just so they can gum the whole system up well enough to cause everyone issues. Once I got it cleaned out, it runs like a champ! Even with my fat ass beating the snot out of it, and it still comes back for more.....ask Dogen! Even he's ridden it, that was when he could get his Husky to run correctly after submerining it!  lol...just needed to be thrashed a bit....man that is a sweet bike! More bike than I can handle without getting hurt!  Way too much power for me....lol
Seriously, take a look on Kijiji and the like for a near new china bike and see what you can find, even Royal is starting to sell replacement parts for them now! Not that I have needed anything yet.
Oh ...I found Justine's for $600 super cheap with 134kms on it!!!!

[RBR SIDE DWN]

They had better come with an automatic and electric start or it's a no go and we're back to the Yami TT-R110e which has both. 

[willys]

Magic button but no auto....sorry, scooter is your best friend.....lol

[gunny]

the thing about the chinese knock off bikes is that most are honda clones, the engines are turning out to be quite dependable. A guy down the road from me has one of those 200cc dualsports, forget the clone name but it has been a very dependable bike once you replace all the friggin light bulbs on it with something not made from cotton filiment. Thought about getting one for the wife, The price almost makes it a throw away bike if ya trash it.

[MicroDAN]

i have a couple 200cc clones from PRC and the engines are built well enough to withstand teenage sons.
the rest of the bikes are junk. took my boys three weeks to break the frames in half and rip the swing arms off.
Dan