We’re thinking about what to do with/about our motorcycles. I haven’t been happy with the Sertao for awhile and Paul feels that the R1200GS is too big to ride off road. His interest in riding on the street is gone, where I’d still commute occasionally. We both want to explore riding off road more but it’s hard to do on bikes you’re not comfortable with.
When you start looking at dual-purpose or adventure bikes there’s always a compromise. It’s finding what’s the most important and going from there. To be comfortable I need a smaller displacement bike that’s light. I also want a decent fuel range. Since riding off road is more difficult the bike should be a little more orientated to that.
After weighing options I’m pretty sure that the new 2021 Honda CRF 300 Rally will be the one. I’ve liked it’s weird, bug-eyed rally look since it was released in 2017 (every year at the bike show I’ve spent a good amount of time sitting and standing on it) and the improvements this year are great. I know the engine is solid; it’s a bigger bore verison of the 250cc one that’s in the CRF250L and CRF250 Rally. We use the CRF250L at Pacific Riding School, and I know they can put up with a lot of abuse. They’re also not too bad on the highway; they can maintain 120kph with less vibration that the Sertao can.
We’re likely going to sell the BMWs in the spring either way.