Northern New England chatter...

But at $15K base, it's a ways out of my reach, that's for certain .

Nice day for a ride...

Fog never lifted here on the Maine coast and the temp hoovered around 40*still not a bad afternoon to get out tagging..

I just saw this! Oh well, got caught up on some stuff at home, maybe next time!

On a side note: I was at ATM today (American Trikes and Motorsports) in Keene, NH on Winchester St. Yeah, I know, a lot of people I talk to don't care much for the owner, but he is like the only dealer left in the area who actually gets parts, has some decent gear, and can get whatever I need within a reasonable time. I have had some small issues, but maybe two out of the 150 times I ordered something, so I am going to be reasonable and not complain. The guys there treat me right 99.9% of the time, and got me a lower than internet price on many items, including my A* Scout boots. But, not to get sidetracked - I was there today getting a new air filter and a couple of oil filters for my WR, and what greets me right behind the door - a line of brand spanking new 2013 Husqvarnas. 310, 610, and a few I never saw before. Apparently, they are now the only NH dealer for husky. I know one of the tech guys (who is very good, actually) used to work for a husky dealer before, so the tech know-how is there as well. In the day when most dealerships around here are either closing doors or cutting product lines, it was nice to see a dealer that is actually expanding. I still don't have money for a new husky, but they were nice to look at

610 or the new 650 Terra/Strada?

He had he 650 Strada, waiting for the Terra. The Strada looks okay, I actually sat on it for a minute. Nothing to brag about, my 650GS is more comfortable. It was funny to see essentially the same motor with a different paint scheme. Yeah, I know, the red head has some improved, better stuff in it vs the old BMW head, but the motor is essentially the same motor that started as Rotax, was silver, black, silver again, and now it is silver with black, and a red head.

I'm not knocking it down, my 650GS has been super reliable for the past 11k miles.

Thought I'd post a hello in this thread. I moved up to Concord,MA from Richmond,VA late last summer. For Dual Sport I have my nicely modded DRZ400S. I have two wheel sets one with Kenda TrackMasters and on the bike now I have a set of MEFO Explorers.

I expect to do some splorin' in NH/VT/ME and would want to know how well the MEFO's will do. I know that when there is mud nothing works better than good knobbies.(hate burning up Knbs on tarmac)

I've riiden as for North as Heniker NH on my beemer and I've been to Loon and Bretton Woods for skiing so far this winter.

I guess I'm looking for some pointers on where to ride etc.

RO2

Welcome! There will be lots of rides posted here and in the regional forum so keep an eye out for those. There are several organized events put on by various organizations and dealerships. One is the New England Classic Charity Trail Ride for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in early June. Two days of trail riding, a Big Bike Ride, with camping at the NHMS in Loudon, NH. A number of us will begin pre-riding as soon as the snow melts, usually in April. We'll post a separate thread as we get closer, Here is the CF link for more info.

My favorite tire for my DRZ is the D606. Good in mud, pretty good on pavement and lasts fairly well (for a knobby). Only downside is they do tend to whine at 55-60MPH on pavement. My solution to that is to try to stay off the pavement

The BBR is a lot of fun. The hero sections are perfect for a DRZ, one fairly tricky rocky downhill that some riders might want to avoid (at least last year) but otherwise just lots of fun. I rode sweep last year and had fun... and most importantly had an easy job because I didn't come across anybody stuck or broken down.

More importantly the event raises money for a very good cause. I had a cousin who died from Cystic Fibrosis, trust me what he went through wasn't pleasant. Any disease that affects children is just plain sad.

Oh yeah... just remembered one of my favorite roads which is in Heniker. There are a couple of unmaintained roads that go over Pat's Peak. Definitely a summer time road but worth a go. The one that starts near the entrance to the ski area is the trickiest bit, I would highly recommend just going up that direction vs. down.

edit: just looked at google maps, "Craney pond road" and "Craney hill road" are the roads I was thinking of.

Nice to hear from you guys, Looking forward to meeting some of you this spring. I spent a spring/summer/fall on a P43 trials tire, very impressed with what it could handle except mud. It hung in there for about 3k of 80/20 pavement/dirt.

My DRZ came with 606 when I bought it,not a bad tire at all.

I suspect you mean MT43,I run the same set up with tubliss,fantastic on everything but mud.

oops, correct on the MT43. So how do you think the MEFO Explorers will do? It's rare that I find enough off road to just run knbs. If I came up for one of the weekend rides I'd put the knbs on for sure.

Craney Pond Rd is definitel "tricky." Road through there this summer and the ride up was covered in 4' deep washouts and boulders. The Henniker area (Hillsboro, Warner, Hopkinton, Weare) offer some great dual sporting fun - lots of Class VI with plenty of Class V to connect. Be aware that Warner selectmen forbid the use of Class VI roads for recreation - I take that to mean no smiling :)

Welcome.

A buddy rides through Concord every time he comes up to ride with me. I'm in SW NH and there is riding to be had. Knobbies would be highly recommended for the class VI roads, but you can get away with something else on the unpaved roads.
I generally try to get 2-3 rides in this region together every year, mostly big-bike friendly with 10-20% pavement, but those can be run with Anakees. Then I do some gnarlier rides that would call for knobbies and a 650 or under bike. Those are okay with TKCs but a real knobby means less work.

I'll be hitting the trails as soon as the snow melts to stitch some routes together.

I have run 2 set's of Mefo's on my KLR 650, decent tire off road, good on road, fine in the wet, lacking in the mud but it isn't a knob. The one big drawback I found is cost vs mileage. I just didn't feel like it was there.

I am trying a Shinko 700 on the rear, different tread pattern than the mefo but I am thinking similar in capabilities and a lot less money. I just put it on late last fall but so far I like it. The local rider that turned me on to it liked his a lot on his DRZ.

I am running 606's on my DR350 but it is meant to be my most off pavement bike, but they actually handle fine on pavement for a knob..

In VA I had acess to several riding clubs. They would lease rights to ride and develope trail systems on "Hunt Club" land. Mostly Sunday rides during Hunting Season but spring summer and early fall open riding.

We also had acsess to the George Washington and Jefferson Nat Forrest. My wife and I did the Leaf Peeping thing last Oct and we hiked some of the trails in Lincoln Woods north of Lincoln. I paid a vist to the Ranger Station and asked about about White Mt. Nat Forrest. Couldn't believe no riding in the whole park, yikes!