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i love thumpers

two wheel tramp

two wheel tramp

is the cutest
Joined
Dec 28, 2010
Location
your mom’s house
Moto(s)
DR6Fiddy x 2!, 790 ADV S, 9Fiddy SM-R, 89 Transalp, TTR2Fiddy
Name
Triple R
BARF perks
AMA #2771957
i’m on my thumper. it’s slick out. this bike is primitive and i love it.

i like being my own traction control. i appreciate the feedback and it helps me ride smoother. these light bikes are giggle factories whether it’s wet or dry out.

talk to me about your favorite thumper.

(today’s view from the stinson beach overlook)
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Lovely!!! I too love Thumpers but have to say I love my little twingle.
 
I prefer the feel a V-twin, but right now I have a vertical twin and a thumper. I'm coming up on 17 years of ownership of my 2001 XR650L. Right now, everything about the bike works as well as it ever has. I ran it out of oil once and had to get the engine rebuilt, but it came out of that with more power and just being a better bike. For some reason, in the rough stuff, the faster I go the better it handles. I don't need any anti-lock brakes on it, because the brakes are so weak it's hard to lock them up. ;)

I have owned two other XR650L's, but for some reason this one has slightly better suspension (softer?) and definitely more power with the 10.5:1 675cc piston in it. I've owned the bike longer than any other motorcycle and I can't see ever selling it. But my KTM is a better ride on dirt roads most of the time. When the KTM was getting its engine rebuilt, I had to ride the XR and I love riding it almost as much. I love them both.

Gratuitous photo where you can barely read the plate that says THUMPR. I'm going to lose that plate when I finally get the thing reregistered (long story on that).
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I’m pretty sure my love affair with my 2007 Husqvarna SM610 is well-documented here, but yes…I love love love my big single :love It is raw, unrefined, rompy, and oh so much fun to ride. Doesn’t matter if I’m on pavement with the sticky 17’s, in the dirt with proper knobbies, or anywhere/anything in between. It's fast enough and agile enough to be humongous fun in the tight twisties, yet versatile enough and light enough to ride on any surface and still have tons o' fun. It just hits the sweet spot for me. I’ve had a lot of bikes in the last 40 years, from a 2-stroke CR80 to a GSXR750, and the 610 continues to be my all-time favorite, even after 18 years of ownership. I still get a very visceral reaction when I fire it up and hear that noisy motor come to life. Nothing like it. Super reliable, excellent versatility, and a motor that gets my heart racing. What more do ya want?

These photos were taken on the same day on a ride up to the Lost Coast, twisties all the way, Usal Road and all that, then camping on the Eel River...
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I sat in the container with Beastie ( my 2000 ATK 605) yesterday. Like Woodschick, this bike is my soul bike. Yes, it's huge, yes it's old, yes it was using as much oil as gas but oh how I long to resurrect it.


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I had an XR650 twenty-ish or so years ago. I sold it (and a few other toys) to scrape together the money to buy a 48 Ford pickup. After I got the funds in place, the seller pulled out of the deal. I was bummed because it was a great bike!
 
SFMCjohn said:
I think it's the same bike you threw down Hwy 1 when I was tagging along with you on a SMR. I failed to snap the pic ... :facepalm

you picked yourself up, and we kept on going. good times ... :laughing :ride
Click to expand...
details. that was funny.
 
Nothing captured my attention more than Baja, the bikes, and riders in my younger years. Before trophy trucks, and after the two stroke era…. Big XR’s and their riders were the kings of Baja.

To me the big XRs with their oversized Baja Designs lights, before the era of HID and LED, just epitomizes Baja and the desert.

Owned a number XR’s of various flavors, and rode them in Mexico too! 🤠🇺🇸

Johnny and the big number 1 air cooled Honda. 👍 Even the sound of the newer water cooled XR650r is something special to me. Like a V8 muscle car just burbling along at a lumpy idle.

I own and have ridden newer, more modern Thumpers. They are categorically better motos. But they don’t have the soul of a big XR to me.

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