My apologies to Mr. Orwell for the blog title.
In mid-December, the toy collection grew by one to include a KTM 250 dirt bike. A couple guys at work have bikes, and after getting a tutorial from another friend (thanks Shane!), it was an easy step to get into one. I found a great deal that included safety gear and a bike with a freshly rebuilt motor. The only issues were leaking front fork seals and a gummed-up carburetor. Those were easy fixes over a couple evenings.
With the holidays and intermittent cold weather, I hadn't been able to ride the thing more than in the parking lot at work. Thanks to the crazy warm winter weather and a co-worker with a trailer (thanks, Billy!) I was able to take the bike out for about an hour at lunch. It was a great learning experience, and I finally started to feel comfortable toward the end. The 250cc two-stroke engine is pretty powerful, especially having no prior motorcycle experience. I kept it in the low revs in first, and occasionally second gear. Two-strokes aren't known for low-end torque, but this one has been tuned to be pretty docile. It refused to stall a couple times I was sure it would, so it makes a good beginners bike.
Final lap around the little track area near work:
Trail riding through the woods around the track area:
