Howdy!

Back behind the keyboard of a snazzy new MacBook, prepping to write about my snazzy new motorcycle, housed in my snazzy new place. We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto. Or Klamath Falls for that matter.

Looks like May, ’22 was the last real post, spent talking about my nifty (not snazzy, for sure) new KLR 650. Stuff has since changed.

Got this, as it was what I wanted even before the Twin, but Yamaha had to fuck about for 3 years “promoting” the thing, then boned North America by waiting another year on top of that before releasing it here. So I ended up with a Africa Twin and Gen 3 KLR in the interim, waaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Poor fucking me. 🥺

Got this Fella in late November, ’23. It’s a ’24, wanted the few upgrades over the ’23 and earlier model and it was only $300 more. Thanks to the El Nino we have in the PNW this winter, riding in the hills lasted until about, well, 4 hours ago when I went to go for a dirt ride and turned back due to sloppy wet snow. The bike is described as “Confidence Inspiring” off-road and I could kinda understand it intellectually before riding the thing, but holy shit this thing rips in the dirt. I have a number of loop/routes in the hills here (where here is will be covered shortly, we have motorcycles to talk about) that I’ve ridden all 4 of the bikes I’ve owned on and this one is by far the most competent feeling, basically effortless.

There are 4-5 general complaints about the Tenere, I’ve found far fewer.

It’s too tall – you’re too short, it’s fine. I’m 5’11” and can flat foot it.

It’s top heavy and hard to pick up – kinda, but you’re also weak AND short. Have have you ever ridden a Gen 1 KLR with raising links and a full tank of gas? THAT is top heavy. this thing turns in like nobody’s business, agile AF. I’ll take a less than my old KLR top heavy bike to have that agility.

The suspension is weak – you’re fat and are riding an adventure bike like a dirt bike. Yes, it’s touted and the most dirt bike like adventure bike, but it’s still a ADV bike. a Sub $11k bike for that. Want the super plush suspension? PAY for it. Just like the Twin that was shit talked for it’s suspension, I don’t see the problem, the bike rides great and handles all the stuff I throw at it as a bigger boy typically hauling travel gear, but I’m not ‘core. Solid Intermediate.

“Where’s the cruise control, electronics, quick-shifter, tubeless tires, self cancelling turn signals, etc.” – they are readily available on the 890 Adv, Norden 901, and Toureg. You just have to pay for it. The Tenere is exactly the bike it was built to be, and Kawasaki failed to imagine when it came time to update the KLR. I’t a modern KLR with so many fewer negatives and a ton more positives including the most solid parallel twin engine available.

I’ll have to agree to a point on the quick-shifter, tho. Not that it should be stock, but the optional QS should be up/down, not just up. Useless. If it were U/D I’d have paid for it in a heart beat. After seeing the utility of a QS on the Twin, I would love to have it on this bike, maybe they’ll do something about that in the future that I’ll be able to add on. We’ll see.

The exhaust is stupid – Yep, indeed it is. Sounds good, but has shit routing. Camel ADV to the rescue.

It’s got great power for it’s size and function (goes as fast as the Twin that had a 997cc motor on the freeway), is easy to accessorize in a minimalist manner and get it dialed to how you like to have you bike kitted out, and it sounds sweet ripping up the gears with the throttle opened up. So glad not to have to listen to the KLR wheeze its way up the RPMs to the power band.

Wanna buy a well kitted out ’22 KLR? I have one for sale, just so ya know.

So, home.

I’m back in Vantucky, WA, about 3 miles down the road from where I lived before heading down to K Falls during Covidfest 2020. While there were some plusses to living down south, the crushing social isolation and loneliness that resulted from said isolation took a heavy toll I was no longer willing to medicate myself through. Plus, my boss offered me a significant promotion with and eye-watering increase in pay (for me, not all you bazillionaires out there) that required my presence in the office. Fine by me, I am a shit remote worker. Can’t focus, it’s difficult to coordinate with others in a meaningful way and I fuck off wayyyyyy too much. The office is nice because you go in, you work, you leave, you stop until the next time you darken the doors of the place. I like that. Field work and travel for meetings and such being the exception, of course.

And I got what amounts to a $3-400 a month raise coming back to WA, no longer having to pay state income tax in OR which seems to go to dumber and dumber shit as the years go by, Tom McCall is probably spinning in his grave. Don’t worry, I still pay plenty tax, I like roads too.

Found a new place quite recently, seems I love moving during the X-Mas season, that totally suits the bill. The place I got when I moved back up here last December was a placeholder. Not terrible, but not great. The new place has a full yard, big garage, and no walls connected to walls other people live behind. Fuckin’ sweet. And, beyond not turning it into a shithole, the landlord doesn’t care what I do in the yard so i’m going to go nuts with the blueberries and raspberries this spring.

The longterm plan is to rathole cash for a down payment on a house for 5 years and I don’t plan to move from this place until that next thing happens. If that goes as planned, it will be the longest I’ll have lived in one place since I was 13. Then one last move. Hopefully.

So, I’m back in WA, back in the office, and back to writing on this here blorg about dumb shit.

There is not a lack of cool places to check out up here either.