New to dual sport

[Supernam]

So i just bought a Honda NC750X and plan to take it offroad a bit this summer. It is geared for the trails somewhat. Travel edition. Been lurking on here for a week...thought i'd say hello. Hoping to get more info on big bike friendly trails & rides & also more info on ODSC in general. How does one become a member? Don't have that much riding experience. No offroad yet. Went to buy a lawnmower 2 years ago and got out with a PCX150. After two month had bough a Suzuki Gladius and now with the Honda. Alon, Supernam, Motorcycle Mike...I feel like i know you guys already. Lol

That NC750X is 50 lbs heavier than my CB500X which I already struggled with. Hopefully you are much bigger and stronger than I was.

Ground clearance is going to be your biggest problem, put a set of TKC80'S and see what happens.

You may just end up buying a small dual sport in the end if you find out you really like riding the trails, like I am.

 

[ScooterBoy]

Yes...the TKC80 are already on it. That edition come with them on. Im not planning to go over many logs & rocks. Maybe the ODSC is too much for what i want in general but from the video & reviews of previous Bethany ride it looked like heavier bike were ok to participate. Wont be following around Motorcycle Mike on my first go...seems everyone crash when they go with him! Lol I needed a bike to commute most of all but also do a bit of highway & trail exploration. I think the NC750X will do just that for a while. Don't think ill be getting a real dual-sport machine any time soon unfortunately. Garage getting full. The wife kept the Gladius for herself.

 

[I82l8]

So i just bought a Honda NC750X and plan to take it offroad a bit this summer. It is geared for the trails somewhat. Travel edition. Been lurking on here for a week...thought i'd say hello. Hoping to get more info on big bike friendly trails & rides & also more info on ODSC in general. How does one become a member? Don't have that much riding experience. No offroad yet. Went to buy a lawnmower 2 years ago and got out with a PCX150. After two month had bough a Suzuki Gladius and now with the Honda. Alon, Supernam, Motorcycle Mike...I feel like i know you guys already. Lol

Welcome ScooterBoy, IMHO ODSC is a good start. I'm a member myself.
Unfortunately I was only able to do a couple of rides with them last year, but they seem to have more rides geared to the bigger more street oriented bikes.
To join you have to join the OFTR (http://www.oftr.ca/join-us/) and pick ODSC as your primary club.
Their first ride of the year is usually the Bethany which also has a big bike option.
Hope to see you out there.
Cheers.

 

[doozerdave]

I think those bikes aren't really made for "off road", they're just made to handle gravel, sand, rocky roads.

 

[ScooterBoy]

I think those bikes aren't really made for "off road", they're just made to handle gravel, sand, rocky roads.

Maybe I went with the term off-road too fast. Trails, gravel, sand...that is what I'll be looking for. Don't think you will find me in the mud pit. I don't really find any sections for this here on the site. The dual-sport section is as close as I could find around.

 

[ScooterBoy]

Welcome ScooterBoy, IMHO ODSC is a good start. I'm a member myself.
Unfortunately I was only able to do a couple of rides with them last year, but they seem to have more rides geared to the bigger more street oriented bikes.
To join you have to join the OFTR (http://www.oftr.ca/join-us/) and pick ODSC as your primary club.
Their first ride of the year is usually the Bethany which also has a big bike option.
Hope to see you out there.
Cheers.

Thanks for the info I82l8...I will check the website and for sure I'll be around this summer.

 

[doozerdave]

Maybe I went with the term off-road too fast. Trails, gravel, sand...that is what I'll be looking for. Don't think you will find me in the mud pit. I don't really find any sections for this here on the site. The dual-sport section is as close as I could find around.

To me trails are single track and flowy double track. I consider the "main trails" at places like Ganaraska to be sand roads. That's really what they are, signage and all. We've seen lots of cars, trucks and vans in there. haha...

 

[Iceman]

Maybe I went with the term off-road too fast. Trails, gravel, sand...that is what I'll be looking for. Don't think you will find me in the mud pit. I don't really find any sections for this here on the site. The dual-sport section is as close as I could find around.

Don't worry, there's lots of gravel roads, road allowances etc that your Honda can handle. Where are you located? My Versys definitely sees more off pavement use than it was intended for.
I live in the Barrie area and could definitely lead you around on some fun stuff this season.

Sent from my Le Pan TC802A using Tapatalk

 

[Supernam]

To me trails are single track and flowy double track. I consider the "main trails" at places like Ganaraska to be sand roads. That's really what they are, signage and all. We've seen lots of cars, trucks and vans in there. haha...

It's not meant for those roads but it can do it with TKC80'S , just a little slower.

 

[Supernam]

Yes...the TKC80 are already on it. That edition come with them on. Im not planning to go over many logs & rocks. Maybe the ODSC is too much for what i want in general but from the video & reviews of previous Bethany ride it looked like heavier bike were ok to participate. Wont be following around Motorcycle Mike on my first go...seems everyone crash when they go with him! Lol I needed a bike to commute most of all but also do a bit of highway & trail exploration. I think the NC750X will do just that for a while. Don't think ill be getting a real dual-sport machine any time soon unfortunately. Garage getting full. The wife kept the Gladius for herself.

Did you buy it from Markham Outdoor Power? If you did, they put the tires on to sell. Normally they don't have them. I bought my bikes there too. Great people.

I said the same thing as you 2 years ago when I bought my bike, but when the fun starts you just want more of it and the bike will limit you after a while.

Go with Alon on the rides, I was a total noob too and he's helped me a great deal. He is like my Obi-Wan Kenobe or Yoda?

 

[I82l8]

Don't worry, there's lots of gravel roads, road allowances etc that your Honda can handle. Where are you located? My Versys definitely sees more off pavement use than it was intended for.
I live in the Barrie area and could definitely lead you around on some fun stuff this season.

Sent from my Le Pan TC802A using Tapatalk

I'd be interested as well
Did some of the Simcoe Forest tracks last summer and had lots of fun.

 

[ScooterBoy]

Don't worry, there's lots of gravel roads, road allowances etc that your Honda can handle. Where are you located? My Versys definitely sees more off pavement use than it was intended for.
I live in the Barrie area and could definitely lead you around on some fun stuff this season.

Sent from my Le Pan TC802A using Tapatalk

I'm in Brampton and don't expect the trails to be on my doorstep so the distance isn't an issue at all. We'll have to talk more about this when the snow melt!

 

[ScooterBoy]

Did you buy it from Markham Outdoor Power? If you did, they put the tires on to sell. Normally they don't have them. I bought my bikes there too. Great people.

I said the same thing as you 2 years ago when I bought my bike, but when the fun starts you just want more of it and the bike will limit you after a while.

Go with Alon on the rides, I was a total noob too and he's helped me a great deal. He is like my Obi-Wan Kenobe or Yoda?

Funny you say that. I did buy it from Markham Honda at the motorcycle show a couple weeks ago. The tires DID sell it for me. I think it's Honda trying to make the model interesting to adventure riders more than the actual dealership switching out rubbers to sell.

Its exactly as in this video...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X47d-u-UDro

I'll have to get with Alon at some points it seems. Not sure I'm a deserving Padawan just yet. May need a couple rides on my own first...lol

 

[Motorcycle Mike]

I have a whole lot of roads and places that I need to investigate that will most likely be tame and I will be checking out on the vstrom with kenda big blocks.

I've been pouring over the back roads map book, open street maps, and toying around with the geobase dataset in qgis.

I've read about a bunch of ruins, interesting anonilmies, and ghost towns with still standing structures that I want to investigate.

All of this will be long days with lots of riding, and maybe some over nighters as some of these spots are north of Algonquin or as far East as Renfrew.

I doubt I'll run much of this as an organized group ride though, because very often I won't know where I'm going, there will be lots of uturns, and a bunch of pouring over the map on the side of the road. Generally I go seeking on the vstrom and then return to the too aggressive spots on the drz.

Anyway, come spring I'll have some things planned, and perhaps a new game to keep things interesting.

 

[alon]

Scooterboy, welcome. If you're in Brampton then Orangeville is just a stone's throw away from you and there are tons of great gravel roads and road allowances that you'll enjoy. As for odsc and OFTR, they are offering many more big bike routes on their rides this coming season and while you're at it, check out www.rallyconnex.com as well as they're adding big bike routes to their rides too. I've been spending a to. Of time overseas for work lately (I'm in the uk right now) and back home on Friday for at least one or two weeks until returning to Europe. We should try to all get together for a pub night or something and discuss ride planning for the spring - it will be here before you know it

 

[Supernam]

Funny you say that. I did buy it from Markham Honda at the motorcycle show a couple weeks ago. The tires DID sell it for me. I think it's Honda trying to make the model interesting to adventure riders more than the actual dealership switching out rubbers to sell.

Its exactly as in this video...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X47d-u-UDro

I'll have to get with Alon at some points it seems. Not sure I'm a deserving Padawan just yet. May need a couple rides on my own first...lol

They had a CB500X set up the exact same way when I bought mine, I bought the base model so I can set it up the way I wanted. They do look good with those tires.

My first time in sand/dirt, I went with Mike on my street tires. 2nd time I went through some snowmobile trails in Simcoe Forest. Then I started riding with Alon.

Here is some videos of those rides if you want to get an idea.

Ride 1 Creemore to Hockley
https://youtu.be/AZq3lWL9E5k

Ride 2 Hockley to Creemore
https://youtu.be/bnGG3FBUMuc

Ride 3 Small section near Creemore
https://youtu.be/Jy5RKXPAap4

 

[ScooterBoy]

Scooterboy, welcome. If you're in Brampton then Orangeville is just a stone's throw away from you and there are tons of great gravel roads and road allowances that you'll enjoy. As for odsc and OFTR, they are offering many more big bike routes on their rides this coming season and while you're at it, check out www.rallyconnex.com as well as they're adding big bike routes to their rides too. I've been spending a to. Of time overseas for work lately (I'm in the uk right now) and back home on Friday for at least one or two weeks until returning to Europe. We should try to all get together for a pub night or something and discuss ride planning for the spring - it will be here before you know it

Thanks Alon...It would be out of place for the new guy to organize a pub night but if you all meet somewhere I'd be interested. The wife is starting to be fed up of hearing about GPS & handguards so the exercise would benefit the both of us. LOL Hope you are right and spring is just around the corner. Looking outside is depressing...Its snowing here. How is it in UK? What are you doing there?

 

[ScooterBoy]

They had a CB500X set up the exact same way when I bought mine, I bought the base model so I can set it up the way I wanted. They do look good with those tires.

My first time in sand/dirt, I went with Mike on my street tires. 2nd time I went through some snowmobile trails in Simcoe Forest. Then I started riding with Alon.

Here is some videos of those rides if you want to get an idea.

Ride 1 Creemore to Hockley
https://youtu.be/AZq3lWL9E5k

Ride 2 Hockley to Creemore
https://youtu.be/bnGG3FBUMuc

Ride 3 Small section near Creemore
https://youtu.be/Jy5RKXPAap4

Hehe...wish I could lower the music and hear the bike sounds more. That hill look kind of steep. I would have done the same thing as you with all my weight on the back break. I guess you get used to this after the first couple time down. Hopefully!

 

[alon]

No no snow here, I'm in the London area. It's been cool but not Canada cold so that's one thing I'm not looking forward to returning to tomorrow. I'm working here - client is the UK's biggest water utility and I'll probably need to keep up these work rotations until June and then I'll take the whole summer and fall off for riding if things work out. I'll organize something for next week - is there a preferred night that works for everyone on this thread?

Thanks Alon...It would be out of place for the new guy to organize a pub night but if you all meet somewhere I'd be interested. The wife is starting to be fed up of hearing about GPS & handguards so the exercise would benefit the both of us. LOL Hope you are right and spring is just around the corner. Looking outside is depressing...Its snowing here. How is it in UK? What are you doing there?

 

[alon]

Hehe...wish I could lower the music and hear the bike sounds more. That hill look kind of steep. I would have done the same thing as you with all my weight on the back break. I guess you get used to this after the first couple time down. Hopefully!

Which hill was steep?