Venture said:
When you lose the front end you go down quick. I lost the front on my KLX a few weeks back and I'm sure my MX boots saved me. That was on a 290lb bike though...
A wise old goat recently told me NEVER to ride through big puddles like he did, because you never know what's underneath the water. There could be a big rock, or in some cases the hole could be much deeper than what you think. Very good advice.
Back in the 80s, I watched some guy go through what appeared to be a very long and large puddle, it turned out to be so deep he completely disappeared, bike and all! I forget how they fished the bike out, but it wasn't quick. I like to think I learn from the mistakes of others, and in this case, I did. I was over where venture and I rode our 250s a few months ago on the Tenere, and I walking it through the large mud holes I had to cross. losing control of that much weight is something I want to avoid. I started riding on dirt, and was spanked often for foolishness in my beginning days. I was riding 180-200 lb bikes in those days, so the pain was less than what our beast could provide, and I was young and healed quickly. But it still hurt. I have a healthy respect on what can happen if I slack off on the good sense part of riding. Never ride over your head, and learn to handle rough terrain on bikes light enough to allow you to walk away from mistakes. Why anyone would use any big bike as a learning tool is beyond me. Just like calling a 600cc sport bike a beginner bike. Bozos.
On a scale of 1-10, I'm probably a five or a six mostly, and on my best days, maybe a 7.5 for a few milliseconds, and I don't forget that.
As for wisdom, I'm not very wise, but have long ago learned only a fool tempts fate when they don't need to. I have no illusions on the outcome of having my beast land on me. I spend all week in hospitals, I don't want to spend my time off there as well. In fact, I want to spend less time there than I do right now.
The guy on the video is trying to keep up with us: note how his left cylinder is now liquid cooled. He needs to flip the bike and do the other side. >