Dirt Bikes

I started riding dirt bikes in Jr. High in 1973 with a Honda XR75 and continued to ride through High School (upgrading to a Honda XL125 which I immediately tricked out for dirt riding). I raced a Suzuki RM125 during my last two years of High School (79-80), but sold it to buy my 1st Martin guitar. I bought a very used Honda SL175 (for $175!) while in college and rode it for awhile, but then was bikeless (a sad state of affairs) until about 1987 when I got a 1984 Honda XR200R. Not long afterwards, I bought a 1984 Honda XL200R as a second bike for commuting and for my wife to ride. I sold both bikes about 2 years later, to buy falconry telemetry (these hobbies are all inter-twined!). A long, dry period lasted until March 21, 1998 when I bought a brand-new 1996 Honda XR250 with proceeds from various writing projects, including the Falconry Equipment book (see what I mean about being intertwined?? <g>). The first thing I did upon getting it home was go out and catch some air! In August of '98, I bought a used Yamaha YZ250WR and rode both bikes for awhile to see where my riding interests would be. A year later, I decided that while I loved woods riding, it was easier to find riding partners for track conditions and the WR250 was considerably better than the XR there. So, I sold the XR250. A year later, my financial condition changed for the worse and a new baby was expected, plus I was just getting too busy to go track riding and was beginning to slow down. The WR250 was too much bike for me. I wished I'd kept the XR then, since it was a great putt-putt bike! Within a month, the WR was gone and the car was paid off with the proceeds. A year later, spring of 2001, I decided I was never going to ride again and sold all my gear (except my helmet and gloves) on Ebay. A few months later, I was doing my lutherie books and realized that...I could afford a dirt bike! I'd been reading and decided that a Kawasaki KDX200 might be a fun bike to try. The long story is below- the short story is that in September 2001, I bought a KDX200!

2005: Well, a lot has happened since my last update! See XR50, JR80, KX125, Kazuma 50 below.

2007: KTM200sx and YZ450F added. KDX, KX, and KTM sold.

2008: YZ450F sold. '05 KX125, '06 KX85, and '06 TTR-125 LE added

The Bikes

1973 Honda XR75

1978 Suzuki RM125

1983 Honda XR200R

1996 Honda XR250R

1992 Yamaha YZ250WR

1996 Kawasaki KDX200

2001 Honda XR50

2001 Kawasaki KX125