Having a good reason to brake from the day’s routine is always a good excuse to do something or go somewhere different. In this case I had a small injury to my upper back from lifting weights so I decided to take a brake today and take my dirt bike Suzy (DRZ400) out for a ride to Lake Havasue and visit the only KTM dealer in the area. On the way I stopped by a new development where home cost are 260 to 300 K. What amazed me was how small the back yards were. Note the picture above showing new homes back yard and his neighbors, incredibly small. It seems that with all the available land, developers have become so greedy, wanting to leverage every bit of present and future equity out of the market which hopefully will backfire.
Anyway back to topic. I have been contemplating buying the new KTM 525 (made in Austria) as it is the number 1 off road performer in the world and also the most comfortable. Considering that my Suzy DRZ400 is a great trail bike but not the best in race performance has been making my mouth water for the KTM. While the Suzy has been described as a great trail bike for moderate speed and careful riders, the KTM can almost ride off trail at brake neck speeds comfortably like a magic carpet. At 7K the KTM is seriously expensive compared to the 5K I paid for my Suzy, but going to the dealer to take a look never hurts and sometimes gives just the dose of exposure to make you forget about it and in this case it worked. The Austrian KTM may be the best dirt bike in the world for young great riders, but it is not worth the money spent for shoes I can never fill. At 49 years old I am as good a dirt rider as I will ever be (fair) and will actually become more diminished with age and I still haven’t ridden my Suzy to its full potential yet. How can I possibly fill the shoes of a KTM other then bragging rights amongst other has-beens. So I will stick to the Suzy satisfied in the fact that it is a great trail bike ridden by fairly good rider able to beat all the other baby-boomers on the block but not a young Baja racer.
