Dirt Rider mag 24 hour test

ktmboy

~SPONSOR~
Apr 1, 2001
2,474
0
I'm in agreement with all the above rants! I only subscribe to Dirtrider 'cause it's cheap, and I like the 'purty picshures'. Oh, and it's a great catalogue too!
 

trivial

Member
Feb 14, 2002
115
0
I was pretty disappointed with this issue (in particular) as well. I skipped over the 24 hour test becuase I couldn't care less what those bikes are like with 5000 bucks worth of mods...no way I will even come close to that...at least as far as my wife knows!
 

Arby

Member
Mar 19, 2001
196
0
I saw the show on Speed and I enjoyed it. Sure the bikes are unaffordable for the average person, but so are the bikes at all the
supercross and outdoor motocross events and I enjoy looking at them too!
 

Rooster

Today's Tom Sawyer
Damn Yankees
LIFETIME SPONSOR
Aug 24, 2000
3,300
1
Hey - I could put 5K worth of mods into my bike and I'd still be a lousy rider :eek:

I don't even bother to look at DR at the store anymore, nothing but pictures. If I want to look at bikes, I look in my garage, or at the shops.

I get a new offer to resubscribe every month. I'm surprised they haven't started sending out door to door salespersons yet. (man, I gotta get off the politically correct thing) :p
 

Dirtvet

Member
Jan 23, 2000
187
0
DirtRider used to be the best. The 24 hour tests of basically stock bikes were what I found most interesting. The 1999 and 2000 ones were GREAT.

WHY THIS CRAP NOW. Is Faught now on the take from these aftermarket guys like MXA too???

Come On DirtRider. If we all drop our subscriptions, maybe they would listen. If you all can read spanish, I highly recommend MOTOVERDE magazine, from Spain. I used to get it when I lived in Venezuela. The photography and tests were by far the best around. :whiner:
 

placelast

Member
Apr 11, 2001
1,298
1
Re: Re: Money to burn

Originally posted by Timr

Then, they also don't cover racing anymore.

Remember when guys like Webb or Burleson would race test a bike...in stock form. What they would print would be a 4 page bike test followed by a 3 page race report from a National Enduro, HS, or GNCC


Not much from the enduro scene, so I don't bother. Trail Rider's fine, even tho it's on the other coast.

I still have copies of Burleson's tests going back to '90 or so. Even called him in '97 when I heavily modded my DR like his (USD forks, BIG bore kit) & wanted to pick his brain, but he's been thru so many bikes he couldn't remember details. Must be nice.

The /85 XR350 24-hr test was a good one, as were those to follow. I ignore them lately. Don't miss them at all. DRN rules.

I liked their old enduro bike shootouts best, tho. When I called him (Dick) again in '99, re: the RMX, he tried to talk me into a KTM 200 (which he was riding @ the time; tho his son works for them, I agreed, it's a fine machine). Both him & Larry Roesler(sp) - of whom are = in weight & height to me, tho certainly way over me in talent, ranked the RMX at or near the top in most categories, but that was back in '96, so I understand. I did not like the suspension nor transmissions of the 200s I rode so I got the RMX.

'96 budget, '03 tastes.
 

380EXCman

Sponsoring Member
Sep 15, 1999
721
1
Yeah these mags suck. They fill their covers with articles about hop ups 90% of us would never do. And what irritates me the most is all these factory bike tests. "We ride Damon Huffman's Supercross steed" Or "We ride Honda's 15 million dollar works bike". And blah blah blah. I think it boils down to the fact none of these guys can write.

Shoot, they start an article with a big fancy pick of someone (clearly a staged photo) railing a berm throwing dirt everywhere and the next page will have some crappy filler listing the bikes and trying to say something nice about each on. They will give a page for the test riders to write a paragraph about their favorite bike and a page to list the mods of each bike. And a tally of the costs. Then they usually end it with a list of suppliers in BOLD print with oh how conveinient their phone numbers and web addresses. They should be thanking us for our contributions in the form of subscriptions....

But on a lighter note I am still blown away at how well done the last MXA was. Go figure.........
 

mgorman

Member
May 8, 2000
258
0
Offroadr
I agree with you on swapping bikes as a real world test. I got to ride a bunch of different bikes over the past year and they were all nice in one way or another with the exception of the KX250 that felt like it had hypoid gear lube in the suspension and springs from a '59 buick. Would have been sweet if I'd been jumping off boulder dam.

I too remember that 24 hour test on the XR350. Why? Because I had a '83 that grenaded a few times. after that I was pretty picky about buying a reliable bike.

Untill Honda and Suzuki update the XR and DR, we won't see them in a test for a while and untill the dust settles and every one is on the same cc page in thumpers, it will be hard to test them side by side. How fair is it comparing a 520 to a 426?

The only reason we get DR is because my girlscout niece shamed me into it. Once I saw the mod $ in the 24 hour test, I skipped over it. I will read the Husaberg test because you don't see many of those around being tested. The sad part is the paper makes lousy fire starters.

Time to warm up the garage. Now where's that mag...
 

ktmboy

~SPONSOR~
Apr 1, 2001
2,474
0
You know, come to think of it, if I had $5000 to do mods with, I wouldn't need a new bike! New suspension, motor mods, bars, steering stabilizer,new rubber.

Hey Dirt Rider, hows' about you throw $5000 at my bike and compare it to the new ones!
 
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