Or not?
Let me explain my predicament to you.
Up to yesterday at about 12:00 I was content with my decision to join Richard Branson's Virgin Active group in an atempt to shed the extra kilos I have gained since getting married a few years ago.
To elaborate on my moral dilemma, I also need to explain that I thought I had my next two biking years sorted in my head.
I was to get a 1200 GSA by the end of 2009. That means that my wife would take over my current 650GS twin, and we would ride together into the sunset and onto numerous beautiful places.
In two years time my laaitie would be four years old. For his fourth birthday he would receive his first bike. Most probably a CRF50F, or something similar. Of course his dad would need to get a plastic in order to ride with him and to teach him. :biggrin:
My biking experience up to about five years ago only compromised of riding on bikes from school friends who owned farm bikes. That was mostly DR500s or XR650Rs, and more than 12 years ago.
Then five years ago I bought my first bike. It was a Lifan Hunter 200cc chinese takeway. It developed about 2BHP and vibrated the fillings out of my teeth, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Then at the end of June 2008 I got my F650GS Twin. That was the beginning of a new era. I was ecstatic! The power, the quality of the product, the service, everything. That was the bike that got me started on Dual Sport riding. Getting on that bike is like a therapy session, and I have even contemplated putting in a request to my medical aid to pay my service fees, because other people claim therapist fees on a regular basis, so why can I not claim my therapist fees?
Ahhh, ignorance is bliss!
So what has happened that has changed all of this?
THIS:
I rode the new BMW 450X yesterday.
This was my first ride on a plastic; ever!
That was 120 kilograms of 300mm suspension travel, knobly yielding, 450cc four stroke, low down torque, 33kw producing plastic!
I took it around the flat track for a few rounds and the result was immediate addiction!
The grip of the tyres and the suspension setup is confidence inspiring to put it mildly.
After two rounds I got used to the handling and controls and was starting to enjoy myself immensly.
I saw speeds in eccess of 70Km/h, and that on uneven terrain, I took banked turns at full speed! (personal full speed of course
)
This was just amazing!
After the recent rains, the track was covered with a few mudmonster 'strongholds'. The first round I was scared of them to be honest (I met that ugly lady a few weeks ago), but by the third round I was charging through it.
The track included some nice churned up sand parts, some mud and even hard packed earth. Excellent for testing this new addition to the BMW lineup, and in my mind this bike passed with more than flying colours!
(Please keep in mind that this is my first encounter of the plastic kind, so I have no frame of reference when it comes to plastic bikes, so please forgive me if you have a different oppinion of this bike.)
After returning I found out that the bike I rode was the one that helped DeonDj buy that piece of real estate near Bethlehem a week ago. The only damage I could see was the huge ding in the silencer, a slightly bent handlebar and heard that the one rear panel was replaced, so it seems that plastics do crash quite well.
Getting up this morning I realised that I was in trouble.
My hands and forearms were aching, my neck was stiff and my legs feel as though they need twice the effort to get going without cramping.
That feeling I last had when I started gym in high school!
So ladies and gentleman, my dilemma is this:
Should I join the Virgin Active group for a few gym sessions per week?
Or do I keep my current 650 twin, convince the wife that she needs to wait a little while longer for her bike, and get myself a plastic? >
What say you?
Let me explain my predicament to you.
Up to yesterday at about 12:00 I was content with my decision to join Richard Branson's Virgin Active group in an atempt to shed the extra kilos I have gained since getting married a few years ago.
To elaborate on my moral dilemma, I also need to explain that I thought I had my next two biking years sorted in my head.
I was to get a 1200 GSA by the end of 2009. That means that my wife would take over my current 650GS twin, and we would ride together into the sunset and onto numerous beautiful places.
In two years time my laaitie would be four years old. For his fourth birthday he would receive his first bike. Most probably a CRF50F, or something similar. Of course his dad would need to get a plastic in order to ride with him and to teach him. :biggrin:
My biking experience up to about five years ago only compromised of riding on bikes from school friends who owned farm bikes. That was mostly DR500s or XR650Rs, and more than 12 years ago.
Then five years ago I bought my first bike. It was a Lifan Hunter 200cc chinese takeway. It developed about 2BHP and vibrated the fillings out of my teeth, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Then at the end of June 2008 I got my F650GS Twin. That was the beginning of a new era. I was ecstatic! The power, the quality of the product, the service, everything. That was the bike that got me started on Dual Sport riding. Getting on that bike is like a therapy session, and I have even contemplated putting in a request to my medical aid to pay my service fees, because other people claim therapist fees on a regular basis, so why can I not claim my therapist fees?
Ahhh, ignorance is bliss!
So what has happened that has changed all of this?
THIS:
I rode the new BMW 450X yesterday.
This was my first ride on a plastic; ever!
That was 120 kilograms of 300mm suspension travel, knobly yielding, 450cc four stroke, low down torque, 33kw producing plastic!
I took it around the flat track for a few rounds and the result was immediate addiction!
The grip of the tyres and the suspension setup is confidence inspiring to put it mildly.
After two rounds I got used to the handling and controls and was starting to enjoy myself immensly.
I saw speeds in eccess of 70Km/h, and that on uneven terrain, I took banked turns at full speed! (personal full speed of course
)This was just amazing!
After the recent rains, the track was covered with a few mudmonster 'strongholds'. The first round I was scared of them to be honest (I met that ugly lady a few weeks ago), but by the third round I was charging through it.
The track included some nice churned up sand parts, some mud and even hard packed earth. Excellent for testing this new addition to the BMW lineup, and in my mind this bike passed with more than flying colours!
(Please keep in mind that this is my first encounter of the plastic kind, so I have no frame of reference when it comes to plastic bikes, so please forgive me if you have a different oppinion of this bike.)
After returning I found out that the bike I rode was the one that helped DeonDj buy that piece of real estate near Bethlehem a week ago. The only damage I could see was the huge ding in the silencer, a slightly bent handlebar and heard that the one rear panel was replaced, so it seems that plastics do crash quite well.
Getting up this morning I realised that I was in trouble.
My hands and forearms were aching, my neck was stiff and my legs feel as though they need twice the effort to get going without cramping.
That feeling I last had when I started gym in high school!
So ladies and gentleman, my dilemma is this:
Should I join the Virgin Active group for a few gym sessions per week?
Or do I keep my current 650 twin, convince the wife that she needs to wait a little while longer for her bike, and get myself a plastic? >
What say you?
