I was off work Wednesday and Thursday this week. Decent weather, mid 40s. I did rain quite a bit a few days earlier. I just got this bike in October, and hadn't had a bike ever since my '94 KX125 was stolen out of my garage about 8 years ago. Even when I had that, I didn't get a whole lot of riding in through the years, a couple of trips to Haspin Acres, and a few trips to a local private track. When I went to Haspin Acres, I attempted to take the KX125 into the woods, but it wasn't happy there, so I turned around and kept it on the MX tracks where it was happier.

So my last real trail riding was when in 1984, the year I graduated igh school. Been riding various Honda XRs starting with a new 1978 XR75 for Christmas of 1977. So basically almost all my trail riding experience is between those years of 1977 to 1984. Then I had another gap in my life from summer of '84 until about 1995 or '96 of not having a bike. So even though I go way back, my experience is not that all that.

I was hoping that having a dualsport that is easy to ride would encourage me to ride more. I think it will. I already have trails to ride on because I joined Dayton Dirt Riders. It is 8 easy miles from my house. They have about 40 acres of mostly tight single track woods trails to ride on, some of it pretty tough. I took my bike there Wednesday for the first time. There was nobody there for a while, so I just putted around and did some exploring by foot. Then four people showed up, 3 riding 2 stroke KTMs, one on a CRF450R. One was the president of the DDR. I introduced myself, and he pointed out some areas I might want to try. They all knew the trails like the backs of there hands, and were flying through them. There is going to be an annual Hare Scrambles through these woods tommorrow, they were riding the layout of what the path will be. The Dayton Motorcycle Club is right next door, and they have a motocross track that will be linked up to the trails as part of the race. I wish I could go, but I have to work, I also will have to work next year too, I checked.

The trails have some steep hills with some roots, rocks and ruts. There was also a lot of leaves. The ground on the wooded trails was somewhat slippery, but not overly muddy, mostly hard packed and slick with scattered puddles. My KLX has stock tires, they did so-so on that surface, but did not inspire much confidence. I got hung up on a small log that I watched the KTMs go over like it wasn't there. I'm sure if we switched bikes, the results may have been similar, it's mostly rider skill I believe. I got my front wheel over ok, but was going too slow and didn't carry enough momentum to get the back tire over. I just spun the tire, and had to get off and pull the bike over using the seat strap. I got back on the bike, went about 5 feet, lost my balance and fell. It wasn't a bad fall, didn't hurt anything. But the bike took a lot more effort for me to get up than I thought it would. I need to start working out or something. I was winded, I just had to sit there for about 2 minutes to catch my breath.

Here is the only pic I took. It is in the parking area. Felt good to get at least a little bit of dirt on the Kaw.

 

To get to the parking area, there is a gravel road you have to go up. Runnin parallel to the gravel road is an uphil single track trail in the woods. I kind of like it, somewhat challenging for my skills. There were ruts and roots to go over, somewhat slippery. The first couple of times I went up it I kept putting my feet on the ground to keep my balance. Then the next couple of times, I kept my feet on the pegs the whole way up, let the bike do the work for me. Hey, skill aquired! At least for that hill. There are much tougher hills in those trails than that one. But it was a step forward.

I don't think I rode more than 15 minutes without taking a rest break. I know I need to work up my endurance, I just don't want to get to worn out and make a stupid mistake. My hair was getting wet with sweat. There was an opening in the woods, like a little track with some jumps. It looks like a great area to mess around on when it's dry. But it was very slippery. There was a layer of mud covering the hard packed dirt. My tires hated it, my back end was squirming around like crazy, and both tires got caked quickly. That's when I looked at the knobbies on the other bikes and decided I need to get some much more aggressive for the dirt, but still DOT. I'm thinking Michilen AC-10s based on what I've read on multiple forums. I kept having to ride down to the paved road to clear some mud off the tires.

I rode to the trails again on Thursday, but nobody else showed up while I was there. I putted around a bit, practiced some low speed rear brake slides and other stuff. I couldn't wait too long, I had 2 invitations to Thanksgiving dinners, so I baled a little earlier. Can't wait till next summer. Probably not many decent riding days left.

 

Welcome!!! The one bit of advice I like to give people just getting back into trail riding is take your time getting back into the swing of things. If you try to go too fast too soon you'll end up hurting yourself or worse hurt the bike. I would also suggest getting some barkbusters and some decent body protection. Elbow and knee guards plus mx boots are a must as far as I'm concerned. Your my age so I would also say get a kidney belt too.

 

Hey lost66....I graduated HS in 88, just a few years after you and have similar experience..in a little you will be roosting the newbs and havin fun with real wipe outs or get offs if you prefer ..... bike riding and getting back into surfing REALLY helped my wind....dirt riding is work. lol

Oh, welcome to the forum...looking forward to some pics when you get your wind back.

 

You have the same attitude I have. Havent been off road for 20 years, hadnt been on a bike in over 10 years. Got the KLX, and love it. Put 2800 miles on it this year. Gaining confidence everytime I ride. At first I was a bit timid, but now I feel like I can tackle most any trail.
As lcpl0331 said, get the best safety gear you can afford, and take it easy out on the trails. Soon you will find someone to ride with, and you can learn a lot watching and following them, these little KLX's really handle well, and are easy to ride. Dont be afraid to stand up and get your center of balance on it, you will need to be comfortable up on the pegs in order to tackle some of the tougher trails.
We all fall over, no big deal.#1 thing I have relearned, is you need to keep your momentum up, and just point the bike were you need to go, and it will get there.
Most important thing, smile alot, relax, and have fun.

 

Yeah momentum is key. DON'T look down at what your riding over. Look down the trail at what your ABOUT to ride over, that way you can adjust your line or speed if you have to. Pick a good line and be smooth and the speed will come. Not that going slow is bad it's just that going fast is FUN!!!!

 

Welcome to the forums, and welcome back to the wonderful world of fun again. You sound like half of the several hundred guys on this site that got back into biking with the KLX. It sure brings back the memories. Have fun and take more pics.

 

Great point on the kidney belt, they really help and provide backsupport also.

Goggles, gloves and helmet, always helmet.

 

lol...kidney belt, yup I wear one too, even on mellow rides.

Bunch of damaged old guys on here

Knee brace is mandatory for me now too.

 

I need a knee brace too just haven't found one in my price range yet.