mx775

2011 Honda CRF450R

I'll admit it: new bike introductions have lost a little bit of their magic these past couple of years. Because of economic concerns at the factories--paired with the fact that very few riders spring for a new bike every single year--the excitement that used to surround the unveiling of the new models has diminished just a little. This trend was underlined during Honda's 2010 model launch, in which their flagship race bike, the CRF450, turned out to have no significant changes. Worse yet, Honda also revealed that the bikes would only arrive at dealers in very limited numbers...in the spring.

It wasn't Honda's fault, though--they still had lots of '09s sitting around, and that bike was a complete redesign from the '08. Still, I can't help but yearn for the days when nearly every year brought dramatic changes--the '80s and early '90s was the heyday for this--and nearly every year most serious riders would pop for a new ride (or two.) With the MSRP on the big bikes eclipsing $7,000, nowadays only riders who routinely sport top-hats and monocles can afford to buy bikes in the volume that regular guys did a few years ago.

All that said, the new rides from Honda and Suzuki still look plenty awesome. I don't think 2011 is a new-bike year for me (my '08 is still going strong,) but these new machines still do fire up the imagination...if not quite as much as they used to.

2011 Honda CRF250R

2011 Suzuki RMZ450

2011 Suzuki RMZ250

Posted by beaupre716 at 09:35 PM | Permalink

...mission accomplished. I checked shredding loamy dirt off my to-do list on Sunday and it felt good. It was so good, in fact, that riding went right back onto the top of the list. So it goes.

Posted by beaupre716 at 07:58 PM | Permalink

It's been too long.

For the past few weeks, it's been one thing or another--a family vacation, a mountain bike trip, a niece's birthday party--that has kept me off my motocross bike. Every time I pass my bike in the garage, I think to myself, Gotta get out to ride soon. Yet it hasn't happened.

But a few minutes ago I resolved to change that. I cleared my schedule and made the plans. I called my dad to invite him along and mentally prepared myself to have my front brake on the right side (again, I've been riding my mountain bike a lot.) And it feels good to have done these things.

Sometimes it's tough to put all the pieces together to just go out and moto. It's far too easy to get distracted when you've got kids and bills and a semi-bustling web site to pay attention to. Yet the truth is that until you make the time, riding is just another thing on your to-do list. And I'm trying not to add many more things to that list these days--there are enough car repairs, dentist appointments and e-mail chores to fill that list just fine as it is.

So this weekend I'll be lightening my burden a little by throwing some roost off it. See you Sunday.

P.S. Please excuse the lack of posts this week--it really was family vacation time, and the laptop didn't come along. We went to the ocean and the combination of electronics, salt water and young children seemed like a dangerous mix.

Posted by beaupre716 at 08:46 PM | Permalink

I'm worried I've hit my head too many times.

I don't worry because I have lots of trouble remembering where I left my car keys (I don't) or when my wife's birthday is (in all likelihood, she wouldn't let me forget that one anyway.) I worry because it seems like I can't open a magazine these days without finding a new article on the dangers of concussions.

Ever since scientists began a few years ago to notice a pattern of ex-NFL players developing mental-health problems in middle-age--many of whom have exhibited signs of early-onset dementia as early as their 40s--there have been increased worries that repeated blows to the head can affect one's brain long after the initial damage is done.

Continue reading "Concussed" »

Posted by beaupre716 at 11:23 AM | Permalink