A short Introduction....Finally

[lukachuki]

Hello Everyone,

I've been lurking for over a year here on this forum and have never really introduced myself. First of all let me say thanks to all the guys here who contribute. It is because of this forum that I have had the nerve not to listen to the naysayers and actually purchase an exotic bike that no one has ever hear of.

Ok I'm not going to bore you with the details but let me say that I've ridden since about the age 8 and mostly on big thumpers out in the desert. Unfortunately after getting married I had no choice but to relocate to SC which has been a shock to my dirtbike riding system. When I first arrived in SC I was the proud owner of an XR650R which is a nice bike for the wide open desert but very very unsuited to the tight gnarly singeltrack of the SE. In searching around the net and reading various forums I started hearing good things about gg. I was looking for a bike that was smooth, reliable and as opposite as possible from the xr and the GG enduro series seemed to fit the bill. I bought my first GG, an '02 XCO250, from a fellow forum member and haven't looked back. In fact when the same member was getting ready to sell his '05 300 I purchased that as well. These bikes are helping me to get over the great disappointment of no longer being able to ride in the dirtbike heaven of the west.

My disclaimer for asking dumb questions that are obvious to everyone else

I am going to have lots and lots of questions as I have been pretty much the kind of guy who has ridden the bikes i've owned hard and put them away wet until the next time with very little maintenance or wrenching needed. (gotta love the xrs for that at least) So my mechanical skills leave a little to be desired, but I want that to change. The reason I own 2 bikes is so I can be working on one and have the other to ride and vice versa. I want to keep my GG bikes for along time and also want to start "fiddling" (i.e. upgrading etc.) and maintaining them.

For example I have no idea how to:
Replace a top end,
do anything with my shocks as far as adjusment or maintence (fortunately the previous owner who was a A class racer was a wiz and sent both bikes to john curea of mxtech etc and we are about the same weight )
etc
etc

 

[Brian VT]

We have some in common. I got into big thumpers while living in Utah. I moved back East with my XR500R. My next bike was an XR650R. I miss both of them dearly for play riding but they were less than ideal for the enduro/scramble courses here in the East, especially for a scrawny-azz 165#er like myself. My EC300 has been a great replacement. I couldn't be happier (except on the tar sections).
Top ends are a piece of cake on a 2 stroke. Rebuilding forks, with the help of these guys, was also a breeze. The only problems I've had maintaining any bikes, including the XRs, is the swingarm pivot bolt. DO NOT NEGLECT IT and, if possible, try to remove it on a used bike before you buy it.
There are few things more depressing than having to use a torch and sledgehammer on your bike.
Good riding to you.

 

[bukwheat]

Welcome....

I too, moved to the southeast from the desert, Arizona. When I was still living in AZ, an old desert racing buddy had moved here to Birmingham and we had talked
about dirt biking and he had told me that this area was thriving. A couple of years later when my job moved, I was given the choice of location, either Atlanta or Bham. I chose Bham just because, one thing its not near as crowded and the riding
possibilities and terrain around here.

It took a while to get used to the trees and tight single track but in my opinion, this is some of the most technical, gnarly trails I have ever riden. I grew up in KY and had a lot of woods experience before going to AZ. While I still love the desert
and had a total blast riding and racing out there, I find the southeast to be more to my off road liking.

If you get a chance, come over to Alabama and I will show some awesome riding.

 

[lukachuki]

Thanks for the responses guys. The thing I really loved about the riding out west was the simple fact that not only was the riding fun but the destination was usually awesome as well. The little mountain pictured in my signature was 35 miles away one way from my house and a really fun trip as far as motorcycling goes lots of slickrock, scrabble, ledges and whoops etc. But the best part even more fun than riding the dirtbike itself was the country through which this road wound, just unbelievable canyons full unexplored ruins, beautiful vistas off both sides of a hogback, old uranium mines you name it. Between my house and the mountain in the distance was a whole lifetime of exploring just begging you everyday to come and enjoy it.

Here in the SE we ride in small riding areas with lots of other people trying to appreciate the nuances of riding a motorcycle fast and well which is fun, but not the same as trying to figure out how to get somewhere and then once you get there putting on your hiking shoes and packing your climbing ropes to try to get to a little nook way high in a cliff in the hopes of finding a 1000 year old mummified baby or a turkey feather blanket or something. I'm learning to enjoy it and becoming a better rider because of it. I do wish I owned a gg when I lived out there though I think you could set up a 300 to be a great desert bike.

Anyway thanks for the responses.