Thank you! That TTR sounds like the right bike for what you are doing. The BDRs have been tempting me and I might give them a go over the next couple of years… Good luck with completing the western TAT!

Yeah, I hear about the WR250r a lot, but don’t know much about it. The CRF300L is sweet, but its so TALL! Wasn’t that the one Steph Jeavons took around the world?

I did something sort of similar. Not as epic as riding to Argentina, but still a fairly big motorcycle trip. I bought a 2006 Yamaha TTR250. This is not like the new TTR play bikes. The 2006 TTR was basically a clone of the venerable Honda XR250. It is very off road capable with fully adjustable suspension, a 6 speed gearbox just like your NX, and electric start. It also has an amazing forum group in the UK. I chose that bike to ride the Trans America Trail (TAT). I had to make it street legal because all TTRs sold in the US are off road dirt bikes only. No it’s not a powerful bike, but it was perfect for me. I stayed off the highways anyway.

I live in Ohio by lake Erie, and after 8 days of riding on the eastern TAT, I ended up at the Mississippi border. Everything was going great until 2 deer jumped out of the thick woods to my right. This was an old country road, and the tree line was only a couple feet from the roadway. Needless to say I hit the deer at about 35mph. The deer stopped me immediately, and my helmet hit the ground very hard. I was knocked out for an hour before someone found me. I was riding solo. I was laying in the road while I was “sleeping”, so I am very thankful someone didn’t come up the road behind me and run me over. It was on a blind curve to the right so it very easily could have happened. My left wrist was badly broken (along with my right pinky), and I had a concussion. So my trip on the TAT was over before I even got to the interesting part.

That was in 2019 when I was 53. Since then I have ridden on the Kentucky Adventure Trail (KAT) twice, and I ride the Hatfield & McCoy trail system in West Virginia almost every year. I plan to ride several BDRs in the next couple years, and eventually I will ride the western part of the TAT.

Thanks again for an amazing story.

I used to follow Doug because I was reading The Horse Backstreet Choppers. I loved his stories and photos. It was fun because a lot of the people who I would read about would be present for chopper shows. Old choppers. Doug rides in the vintage rally from coast to coast. I think he even won it once. That is so cool that you have a connection with him. If anyone knows how to fix a vintage motorcycle in the outback of the Middle East, it’s Doug. There’s a story about him almost getting arrested for taking a picture in a forbidden zone. He had pics of himself with his head wrapped in toilet paper mimicking the dress of some Arabic people. The Middle Easterners saw the pics and thought he was hilarious. They weren’t offended. He has some sort of motorcycle guest house somewhere like Hungary. I forget. Anyway, I’m thrilled for your being able to traverse the globe as you have. I’m 67 now and these type trips just aren’t in the cards anymore.
Keep it between the ditches. Cheers!

Thank you for your kind words.
I am yet to meet him in person, but I “know” Doug online. He’s a wizard when it comes to maintaining old bikes. He once diagnosed a myriad of combined moto problems I couldn’t figure out in Guatemala, just by my descriptions over Facebook. He’s never even seen my bike before, but his advice was spot-on and thanks to him I was able to solve it and get back on the road. Top bloke!

Oohhh, that’s a very good looking bike! I’d love to! Much higher seat – I suspect my feet would be dangling mid-air on that one. Looks super fun off-road. Air-cooled five speed – what’s it like sitting on the highway?